Lucia Stein, ABC News Online: Lebanon's banking, economic and political systems were already under threat before the explosion. Here's why
The massive blast that hit Lebanon's capital on Tuesday has delivered yet another devastating blow to a country already rocked by crises.
Well before the explosion, and even the coronavirus pandemic which upended the world, Lebanon was in the midst of the worst economic crisis in its history.
Half its population of 6 million lives near or below the poverty line and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs.
The nation's currency has more than halved during the crisis, with people's savings locked up in inaccessible bank accounts.
And the pandemic has only further laid bare the strain the whole system is under.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials On The Beirut Bombing -- August 6, 2020
Why the US and its allies should keep Lebanon from blowing apart -- Jon B. Alterman, The Hill
'Moment of reckoning': angry Lebanese vow not to let leaders off the hook -- Martin Chulov, The Guardian
Someone’s to Blame for the Beirut Blast -- Bloomberg
Why Hezbollah will not escape blame for deadly chemical blast in Beirut -- Hussein Ibish, The Print
I have reported from Lebanon for years. What I saw at the Beirut port after the blast was total devastation -- Cherine Yazbeck, ABC News Online
Lebanon is no stranger to disaster – but this is like nothing we've ever seen -- Kim Ghattas, The Guardian
Don't blame fate for Beirut's cruel tragedy -- Frida Ghitis, CNN
No lights, no glass, no money: Beirutis hamstrung in efforts to rebuild -- Bethan McKernan, The Guardian
Beirut explosion: What we know so far -- BBC
Beirut blast timeline: what we know and what we don't -- The Guardian
