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2020 Beirut Explosion
On 4 August 2020, a major explosion occurred in Beirut, Lebanon, triggered by the ignition of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. The chemical, confiscated in 2014 from the cargo ship and stored at the Port of Beirut without adequate safety measures for six years, detonated after a fire broke out in a nearby warehouse. The explosion resulted in at least 218 fatalities, 7,000 injuries, and approximately 300,000 displaced individuals, alongside property damage estimated at US$15 billion. The blast released energy comparable to 1.1 TNT equivalent, kilotons of TNT, ranking it among the Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions#Largest accidental artificial non-nuclear explosions by magnitude, most powerful non-nuclear explosions ever recorded and the largest single detonation of ammonium nitrate. The explosion generated a Earthquake, seismic event measuring 3.3 in magnitude, as reported by the United States Geological Survey. Its effects were felt in Lebanon and neighboring regions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blast Crater
An explosion crater is a type of crater formed when material is ejected from the surface of the ground by an explosion at or immediately above or below the surface. A crater is formed by an explosion through the displacement and ejection of material from the ground. It is typically bowl-shaped. High-pressure gas and shock waves cause three processes responsible for the creation of the crater: * Plastic deformation of the ground. * Projection of material (ejecta) from the ground by the explosion. * Spallation of the ground surface. Two processes partially fill the crater back in: * Fall-back of ejecta. * Erosion and landslides of the crater lip and wall.P. W. Cooper. ''Explosives Engineering''. Wiley-VCH. The relative importance of the five processes varies, depending on the height above or depth below the ground surface at which the explosion occurs and on the composition of the ground. Examples One of the largest explosion craters in Germany is in the borough of Prüm. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silo
A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use today: tower silos, bunker silos, and bag silos. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage. Types of silos Tower silo Storage silos are cylindrical structures, typically 10 to 90 ft (3 to 27 m) in diameter and 30 to 275 ft (10 to 90 m) in height with the Slip forming, slipform and Jumpform concrete silos being the larger diameter and taller silos. They can be made of many materials. Wood staves, concrete staves, cast concrete, and steel panels have all been used, and have varying cost, durability, and airtightness tradeoffs. Silos storing grain, cement and woodchips are typically unloaded with air slides or augers. Silos can be unloaded into rail cars, trucks or conveyors. Tower silos conta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
COVID-19 Pandemic In Lebanon
In Lebanon, the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 () has resulted in 1,238,552 confirmed cases and 10,936 all-time deaths after COVID-19 was confirmed to have reached Lebanon in February 2020. Background On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019. COVID-19 is transmitted through little droplets carrying the virus. These droplets can enter the body through the eyes, mouth, or nose, and they might contaminate surfaces. Unlike SARS of 2003, the case fatality rate for COVID-19 has been much lower, but the transmission has been significantly greater with a significant total death toll. Lebanon was successful in handling the pandemic during its beginning, having reported between 0 and 100 d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebanese Pound
The lira or pound is the currency of Lebanon. It was formerly divided into 100 piastres (or ''qirsh'' in Arabic) but, because of high inflation during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), subunits were discontinued. The plural of lira is either ''lirat'' ( ) or invariant, whilst there are four forms for ''qirsh'': the dual ''qirshān'' () used with number 2, the plural ''qurush'' () used with numbers 3–10, the accusative singular ''qirshan'' (قرشًا) used with 11–99, and the genitive singular ''qirsh'' (قرش) used with multiples of 100. The number determines which plural form is used. All of Lebanon's coins and banknotes are bilingual in Arabic and French. From December 1997 through January 2023, the exchange rate was fixed at LL 1,507.50 per US dollar. However, since the 2020 economic crisis in Lebanon, exchange at this rate was generally unavailable, and an informal currency market developed with much higher exchange rates. On 1 February 2023, the Centr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Default (finance)
In finance, default is failure to meet the legal obligations (or conditions) of a loan, for example when a home buyer fails to make a mortgage payment, or when a corporation or government fails to pay a bond which has reached maturity. A national or sovereign default is the failure or refusal of a government to repay its national debt. The biggest private default in history is Lehman Brothers, with over $600 billion when it filed for bankruptcy in 2008 (equivalent to over $ billion in ). The biggest sovereign default is Greece, with $138 billion in March 2012 (equivalent to $ billion in ). Distinction from insolvency, illiquidity and bankruptcy The term "default" should be distinguished from the terms "insolvency", illiquidity and "bankruptcy": * Default: Debtors have been passed behind the payment deadline on a debt whose payment was due. * Illiquidity: Debtors have insufficient cash (or other "liquefiable" assets) to pay debts. * Insolvency: A legal term meani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Politics Of Lebanon
Lebanon is a parliamentary democratic republic within the overall framework of confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. The constitution of Lebanon grants the people the right to change their government. However, from the mid-1970s until the parliamentary elections in 1992, the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) precluded the exercise of political rights. According to the constitution, direct elections must be held for the parliament every four years. However, after the parliamentary election in 2009 another election was not held until 2018. The Parliament elects a president every six years to a single term. The president is not eligible for re-election. The last presidential election was in 2025. The president and parliament choose the prime minister. Political parties may be formed. Most are based on sectarian interests. 2008 saw a new twist to Lebanese pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebanese Liquidity Crisis
The Lebanese liquidity crisis is an ongoing financial crisis affecting Lebanon, that became fully apparent in August 2019, and was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon (which began in February 2020), the 2020 Beirut port explosion and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The country experienced liquidity shortages in the years prior to 2019 but the full extent of the fragility of the economy was concealed through financial engineering by the governor of the central bank. Lebanon's crisis was worsened by sanctions targeting Syria's former government and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which intensified under Donald Trump. The currency was devalued by over 98% between January 2023 and March 2024, with an annual inflation rate of 221.3% in 2023. Public services have collapsed; without using a private generator, households can expect only an hour or so of power a day. Shortages of drinking water have contributed to disease outbreaks, including the first cholera cases f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Economy Of Lebanon
The economy of Lebanon has been experiencing a large-scale multi-dimensional crisis since 2019, including a banking collapse, the Lebanese liquidity crisis and a sovereign default. It is classified as a developing, lower-middle income economy. The nominal GDP was estimated at $19 billion in 2020, with a per capita GDP amounting to $2,500. In 2018 government spending amounted to $15.9 billion, or 83% of GDP. The Lebanese economy went through a significant expansion after the 34-day war of 2006, with growth averaging 9.1% between 2007 and 2010. After 2011 the local economy was affected by the Syrian civil war, growing by a yearly average of 1.7% on the 2011–2016 period and by 1.5% in 2017. In 2018, the size of the GDP was estimated to be $54.1 billion. Between 2019 and 2021, the economy shrank by 53.4%, the highest contraction in a list of 193 countries. Since 2020, the International Monetary Fund no longer publishes data on the Lebanese economy. Lebanon is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hezbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. Its armed strength was assessed to be equivalent to that of a medium-sized army in 2016. Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Inspired by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's model of Islamic governance, Hezbollah established strong ties with Iran. The group was initially supported by 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors, who helped unify various Lebanese Shia factions under Hezbollah's leadership. Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto outlined its key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region, destroying Israel, pledging allegiance to Iran's supreme leader, and establishing an Islamic government influenced by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabinet Of Hassan Diab
A Lebanese cabinet led by Hassan Diab was formed in Lebanon on 21 January 2020, after an agreement was reached by the heads of the involved political parties after nearly three months. Diab was appointed prime minister by president Michel Aoun following the resignation of Saad Hariri following the 2019–20 Lebanese protests The 17 October Protests, commonly referred to as the 17 October Revolution or Hirak or Thawrah (), were a series of civil protests in Lebanon that began after the Lebanese cabinet announced financial measures on 17 October 2019. These national ..., that started in October 2019. The protest movement had demanded an independent and technocratic government, and the incoming Diab cabinet was criticized for appointing ministers who, although they had technical expertise, also had clear political allegiances. The cabinet, which was composed of twenty ministers, appointed six female members to improve the gender ratio and cited the ratio of male to female m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hassan Diab
Hassan Diab (; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic, engineer and politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was appointed by President Michel Aoun in 2019 to succeed Saad Hariri as prime minister. He submitted his resignation on 10 August 2020 in wake of the 2020 Beirut explosion and served as caretaker prime minister until Najib Mikati formed a new government on 10 September 2021. Prior to his premiership, he served as the minister of education from June 2011 to February 2014 under President Michel Suleiman. Early life and education Diab was born in Beirut on 1 June 1959. He has a bachelor of science degree in communications engineering, which he received from Leeds Metropolitan University in 1981. Then he obtained a master's degree in systems engineering from the University of Surrey in 1982, and a PhD in computer engineering from the University of Bath in 1985. Academic career Diab was a career academic, joi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of Lebanon
The prime minister of Lebanon, officially the president of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon. The prime minister is appointed by the president of Lebanon, with the consent of the plurality of the members of the Parliament of Lebanon (after the Taif Agreement, 1990). By convention, the office holder is always a Sunni Muslim. The current prime minister is Nawaf Salam. He was tasked by President Joseph Aoun to form the new government after mandatory parliamentary consultations on 13 January 2025, having received 84 out of 128 votes. The prime minister designate does not assume office until both he and the president sign an official decree forming the government as per article 64 of the Lebanese constitution. On 8 February 2025, the new government was formed and Nawaf Salam officially assumed his duties as prime minister of Lebanon. The prime minister is assisted by the deputy prime minister of Lebanon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
