A French company is working to clear Beirut's port of up to 30,000 tonnes of grain, 10 months after a explosion rocked Beirut and destroyed the port's silos.
Environmental engineering company Recygroup International has identified a number of potential health risks caused by the piles of rotting grain.
"Insects and rats are feeding on the grain, which has been lying outside fermenting under the rain and now in the heat, spreading foul odours and germs," Benjamin Constant, one of the company's vice presidents, told The National during a visit to Beirut.
Temperatures in Beirut are expected to near 30°C by the end of the week, with high humidity levels.
The blast, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in recent history, killed more than 200 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes on August 4.
Lebanese authorities, who said the blast was caused by thousands of tonnes of poorly stored ammonium nitrate, are still investigating the disaster.
Recygroup International signed a contract valued at €1.4 million ($1.7 million) with the Lebanese Economy Ministry on May 6 during French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's visit to the country.
With these funds, which were donated by the French government, Recygroup International will sanitise the leftover grain from the explosion with the help of local construction company Man Enterprise.
In early July, the company will set up a treatment centre at the port to spray the grain with fertiliser and separate it from port waste, including concrete and rocks.
The grain may then be used locally for different purposes, such as compost and fertiliser.
“We will guarantee that the grain is treated correctly, but we are not responsible for its distribution and storage,” said vice president Vianney Mercherz.
There are four kinds of material: metal, mineral matter such as concrete, mixed waste, and 600 to 700 old cars.
Built in 1968, the giant port silos are widely believed to have shielded Beirut from more destruction. They had a capacity of 120,000 tonnes and were the brainchild of Palestinian banker Yusuf Beidas.
Last August, caretaker economy minister Raoul Nehme said that the destroyed silos held 15,000 tonnes of grain at the time of the blast.
But Recygroup International believes between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes of grain, mostly wheat, are currently scattered around the port.
A number of foreign countries are involved in clearing the area, a prerequisite before reconstruction.
In the days and weeks after the explosion, the French army supported its Lebanese counterpart to render the port, via which most of the country's imports are moved, operational again.
In November, German company Combi Lift started removing the remaining hazardous material. in early May, a ship laden with more than 1,000 tonnes of dangerous chemicals left Beirut for Germany for treatment.
The previous month, German companies unveiled a $7.2 billion plan to revamp the port, but the proposal is tied to the Lebanese government implementing long-awaited reforms to increase transparency and fight corruption.
Such reforms are unlikely to be enacted any time soon. The government resigned after the blast, and President Michel Aoun and prime minister designate Saad Hariri have been bickering for almost nine months about how to distribute ministerial jobs in the new Cabinet despite the country's worsening economic crisis.
Lebanon is governed along sectarian lines. The country's many sects are represented proportionally in government and parliament.
In addition to treating the grain, Recygroup International has been working at the port for several months to identify waste and suggest ways of selling or upcycling it to local authorities.
Products that were stored at the port before the blast, including bags of salt, clothes, and paint, are jumbled together in large piles.
"There are four kinds of material: metal, mineral matter such as concrete, mixed waste, and 600 to 700 old cars," Mr Constant said.
The study, which was approved on January 15, is also financed by a donation from the French government valued at €820,000.
Port authorities are evaluating their options and expect a final report from Recygroup International in mid-July, said port director Bassam Al Qaissi.
“Do you remove parts from the cars and sell them separately or sell the car [as a whole]? These are the kinds of scenarios we’re looking at,” he said.
Mr Al Qaissi spoke to The National hours before his successor, Omar Itani, was officially appointed on Thursday afternoon.
He became port director in the days after the blast but for health reasons did not renew his mandate on May 14.
Hassan Koraytem, Mr Al Qaissi’s predecessor, is in pretrial detention along with 19 other port officials and employees.
Last month, a judicial source told The National that new charges are expected in the coming weeks.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
Cagliari 5-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 0-0 SPAL
Sampdoria 0-0 Atalanta
Lazio 4-2 Lecce
Parma 2-0 Roma
Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Tour de France 2017: Stage 5
Vittel - La Planche de Belles Filles, 160.5km
It is a shorter stage, but one that will lead to a brutal uphill finish. This is the third visit in six editions since it was introduced to the race in 2012. Reigning champion Chris Froome won that race.
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