UK Edition
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Beirut blast: Russian businessman abandoned cargo
The timer started ticking six years ago, when 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were taken from an impounded ship and stored in the port of Beirut. It was a massive bomb just waiting to go off; a disaster equivalent to an earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale. After the huge explosion which could be heard as far away as Cyprus, at least 100 are dead and an astonishing 4,000 are injured. About 300,000 more have been left homeless in one of the Middle East's greatest cities. Click and scroll down to see a graphic showing how windows were blown out up to 15 miles away - and the radius of how far the blast could be heard. Shockingly, it is all because Igor Grechushkinof, the Russian owner of a ship carrying the deadly cargo from Georgia to Mozambique, declared bankruptcy on an unscheduled stop. Read how he was forced to abandon it there, leaving the authorities with a fearsome problem.
The footage of the destruction of Beirut's port has shocked the world, but Lebanon's long-suffering population are already dealing with the fall-out of an economic explosion that has tipped the country into hyperinflation. Economics Editor Russell Lynch reveals how the blast has delivered a near-fatal blow to the country's crippled economy. Ammonium nitrate is being blamed by the Lebanese authorities for the disaster but what is it? Here is everything you need to know. Click through a gallery of some of the most striking images of the aftermath. And back home, Conservative MPs have urged the Government to take long-term strategic action in Lebanon, warning of a power "vacuum" that could help groups who "pose a threat" to the West.
Pubs ordered to close in Aberdeen amid outbreak
Lockdown measures are being reimposed on the city of Aberdeen, after Nicola Sturgeon warned that an escalating coronavirus outbreak was at risk of spreading across Scotland. The First Minister said that all pubs, bars and restaurants would be required to close by 5pm today, while a five mile advisory limit on travel is also being reintroduced. While shops will be able to remain open for now, residents have been advised not to visit other people in their homes. The measures come after 54 cases were reported in the area. Our coronavirus liveblog has the latest updates. You can find out the risk of a local lockdown in your area by seeing whether Covid-19 cases are rising or falling with this search tool.
Meghan wins right to keep friends' names private
The High Court has ruled in favour of the Duchess of Sussex to keep secret the identities of five friends who gave an anonymous interview to a US magazine, in the latest stage of her legal action against a British newspaper. In an article for People magazine, published last February, the friends spoke out against the bullying the Duchess said she had faced. They have only been identified in confidential court documents. The ruling is part of the Duchess's legal action in which she is suing Associated Newspapers, the publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline, over an article which reproduced parts of a "private and confidential" handwritten letter she sent to her estranged father, 76-year-old Thomas Markle, in August 2018. Read what Mr Justice Warby said as he delivered his ruling - and her legal team's response.
At a glance: Latest coronavirus headlines
- Regulars abandon locals | Quarter of pub goers have not returned
- Return to work | Shielding workers 'comfortable going back to office'
- Historic plunge | Sweden suffers record dip despite lighter lockdown
- Holiday fears | Greek PM warns of 'worrying' rise in cases - latest
- Record deaths | Australia suffers worst day of Covid pandemic
Also in the news: Today's other headlines
Caroline Flack inquest | Caroline Flack tried to take her own life the night before she was due in court for a "show trial", an inquest has heard. The inquest into her death has resumed at Poplar Coroner's Court in east London. Her twin sister Jody told the inquest that she believed Flack tried to kill herself in December, ahead of her first appearance at the magistrates court for assault. Read on for the latest.
- Serious injuries | Teenager hit by multiple cars on the M5
- Tropical storm | Isaias kills at least six people as it pounds US
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20 | New phone unveiled at live event
- Bribery scandal | Arrest ordeal of lawyer who lifted lid on oil staff
- Snow joke | Satellite images show 'hidden' Antarctic penguin colonies
Around the world: How Italy avoided a second wave
Just a few months ago, Italy was an international pariah, a nation which the rest of the world regarded with a mixture of pity and terror. At the height of the pandemic, more than 900 people died in a day. Thankfully, those days seem like a distant nightmare and the tables are turned. Now it is the Italians who regard the likes of the US and Brazil with anguish and sympathy. Nick Squires analyses how the country has avoided the kind of second wave that has caused such concern elsewhere in Europe.
Wednesday interview
Eddie Newton - 'In the end I stopped giving my CV'
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Eddie Newton, who scored in the club's 1997 FA Cup final win, has been coaching for more than a decade but as yet has not been offered a No 1 role with an English club. He tells Mike McGrath how he stopped applying for jobs in England before finding managerial success within six months in Turkey
Comment and analysis
- Tom Harris | Scottish exam results show teachers let down pupils
- Angela Epstein | Shutting pubs to save schools is a zero-sum game
- Jack Watling | Price of Lebanon's endemic corruption paid in blood
- Con Coughlin | 'Useful idiots' like Corbyn still helping UK's enemies
- James Corrigan | Golf will pay a price for its snooty ways
Editor's choice: Features and arts
- Curious case of Basil Rathbone | How Sherlock Holmes ruined star's career
- Traffic gridlock, litter and 'mayhem' | A dispatch from the Devon resort of Salcombe
- Fans out for blood | How Twilight took teenage obsession to a frightening new level
Business and money briefing
Pub and high streets surge | Growth is back as businesses in the services sector reported their strongest expansion for five years last month. Reopening the high street, pubs and restaurants, combined with encouraging more people back to work, helped stimulate a rebound in the UK's biggest sector, according to a major survey. Read on for details.
- Hastings deal | Insurer agrees £1.7bn takeover by biggest shareholder
- Gold price | As it hits record high, here's how to buy it
- On top of markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day
Sport briefing
England v Pakistan | The tourists made a solid start in thier first innings on the opening day of the first Test. Follow live updates here.
- Aston Villa | Midlands side pursue Brentford striker Ollie Watkins
- Jadon Sancho | Man Utd ready to walk away from deal over £108m fee
- Ryan Sessegnon | Fulham in the hunt to sign full back on loan
Tonight's TV
Harlots, BBC Two, 9.00pm & 9.50pm | If you didn't catch Alison Newman and Moira Buffini's rambunctious historical drama when it first aired on ITV Encore and Amazon Prime then now is the time to rectify that. Read more.
And finally... for this evening's downtime
A relic of the Covid era | From plagues to Pompeii, every historic catastrophe has had an emblematic object. Peter Snow reflects on the signs of the times through the centuries and how, one day, the face mask will become a symbol of the age of coronavirus.