President Approves Compensation for Families of Blast Victims
President Michel Aoun signed a law on Thursday approving compensation for individuals affected by the colossal Beirut port blast, the National News Agency reported.
NNA said Aoun signed law number 196 aimed at providing compensation and pensions to the victims’ families, and enabling health benefits for the disabled from the National Social Security Fund, and from a law related to the rights of people with special needs.
The August 4 explosion, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history, destroyed large swathes of the capital killing 200 individuals, wounded thousands and left around 300,000 homeless.
For six years, 2,750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been seized from an abandoned ship was held in Beirut's port.
The blast, was felt as far away as Cyprus, some 150 miles (240 kilometres) to the northwest.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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