Beirut

The aviation industry, plagued by the novel coronavirus pandemic, is ready to help in delivering a potential COVID-19 vaccine across the globe.

Experts calculate that the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as its global distribution and logistics, will be a challenging process, with 15,000 flights and 15 million cooler boxes needed to transport every 10 billion doses.

Turkish relief efforts following Beirut's deadly port blast are also helping to strengthen bilateral relations, said a Turkish parliamentarian on Aug. 15.

Hollywood actor Russell Crowe has made a donation to a fundraiser to help repair a restaurant destroyed in last week's Beirut explosion.

Le Chef, an iconic restaurant, is located in Gemmayze, the neighborhood closest to the blast site.

"The restaurant has survived war and economic crises, but the port explosion left it in shambles," according to its GoFundMe page on Aug. 13. 

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli expressed suspicion over the timing of a blast that razed parts of Beirut to the ground last week.

A Turkish military plane carrying medical aid arrived in Lebanon's capital Beirut on Aug. 11 following the deadly blast last week that killed at least 171 people and injured thousands.

Hakan Çakıl, Turkey's ambassador to Lebanon, the Turkish embassy staff and Lebanese officials met the plane at the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut.

Lebanese protesters took to the streets in Beirut and other cities on June 13 in mostly peaceful protests against the government, calling for its resignation as the small country sinks deeper into economic distress.

Hundreds protested for a second night to decry Lebanese authorities' handling of a deepening economic crisis, despite the government pledging on June 12 to inject dollars into the market to bolster the sagging currency.

Near a protest square in central Beirut, around 200 young men drove in on mopeds and defaced shop fronts, setting fire to several stores, an AFP correspondent said.

Protesters took to the streets in Lebanon's capital on June 6 against the government's inaction over the worsening economic crisis.

Thousands gathered in Martyr's Square in Beirut calling for snap elections.

The protesters marched to the Parliament building demanding a change in sectarian political parties that were running the administration.

Turkey's state aid agency on April 15 sent aid packages to both Lebanon and Palestine to fight the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

In the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) handed out personal care packages to 2,000 needy families with the help of a local NGO.

A Turkish state-run aid agency sent aid packages to North Macedonia, Lebanon and Tunisia amid novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
In North Macedonia, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) distributed 2,500 packages of food, cleaning and hygiene products with the help of a local non-governmental organization.