by npr.org -- RUTH SHERLOCK -- Lebanon's capital, Beirut, remains devastated by the massive explosion at the city's port last month. The country is in the depths of an economic collapse, and the coronavirus is spreading. But as Lebanon reels from multiple tragedies, conservationists are pointing to one bright spot. They say a record number of endangered green sea turtles have come to nest on the country's shores. Loggerhead turtles have also come in large numbers. Seventy-two-year-old Mona Khalil has spent the last 20 years defending a small piece of shoreline, less than a mile long, from the factories and private beach clubs that now carpet almost all of Lebanon's coastline.

Al-Mansouri Beach is now one of Lebanon's most important breeding grounds for turtles. Every nesting season, Khalil and a team of volunteers count turtle's nests. They watch over them — protecting them from foxes and other animals and from humans — and then help the hatchlings on their journey back to the sea. The last time Khalil saw an increase in the number of green sea turtle nests was during another crisis in Lebanon — the war with Israel in 2006. Israeli gunboats floated just off shore of the beach. "The beach was deserted," she recalls. Even back then, she only counted nine green sea turtle nests. This year, she has counted 20. "It's amazing!" she says. "We haven't had this number in two decades. It's really something that is important for the world and not just for Lebanon." Khalil says this is also a good year for loggerhead turtles after years of decline. She has counted 16 nests.

by AFP -- The World Bank said Friday it was canceling a loan to fund a dam in Lebanon that environmentalists claimed could destroy a valley rich in biodiversity. The Bisri Dam was partially suspended in June after the Washington-based development lender said it raised concerns about the project's implementation, and given the government of Lebanon until September 4 to finalize key agreements related to operations and maintenance as well as the environment. In a statement, the World Bank said it had notified the government that it was withdrawing its financing "due to non-completion of the tasks that are preconditions to the commencement of construction." "The canceled portion of the loan is $244 million and the cancelation is effective immediately," the bank said.

Located in a valley 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of the capital, the dam aims to supply drinking water as well as irrigation for 1.6 million residents. Environmentalists and some farmers had disputed assurances from the government and the World Bank that the dam, to be built on a seismic fault line, does not increase the risk of earthquakes. Roland Nassour, an activist who has campaigned against the project, said he was delighted the loan had been cancelled. "Today one of the corruption deals in the country has collapsed," said Nassour, the coordinator of the Save Bisri initiative, adding that popular anger had made the project a "burden" for the global lender.

By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, (CNA).- Cardinal Pietro Parolin told Lebanese Catholics at a Mass in Beirut Thursday that Pope Francis is close to them, and praying for them, during their time of suffering. “It is with great joy that I find myself among you today, in the blessed land of Lebanon, to express to you the closeness and solidarity of the Holy Father and, through him, of the whole Church,” the Vatican Secretary of State said Sept. 3. Parolin visited Beirut Sept. 3-4 as the representative of Pope Francis, a month after the city experienced a devastating blast which killed nearly 200 people, injured thousands, and left thousands without a home. The pope has called for Sept. 4 to be a universal day of prayer and fasting for the country.

Cardinal Parolin celebrated Mass for around 1,500 Maronite Catholics at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, a major pilgrimage site in the hills of Harissa, north of Beirut, on the evening of Sept. 3. “Lebanon has suffered too much and the past year has been the scene of several tragedies affecting the Lebanese people: the acute economic, social and political crisis which continues to rock the country, the coronavirus pandemic which has worsened the situation and most recently, a month ago, the tragic explosion of the port of Beirut which ripped open the capital of Lebanon and caused terrible misery,” Parolin said in his homily. “But the Lebanese are not alone. We accompany them all spiritually, morally and materially.”

Parolin also met with Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, a Catholic, on the morning of Sept. 4. Cardinal Parolin brought the president greetings from Pope Francis and said that the pope was praying for Lebanon, according to Archbishop Paul Sayah, who is responsible for external relations for the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch. Parolin told President Aoun that Pope Francis “wants you to know that you are not alone in these difficult times that you are experiencing,” Sayah told CNA. The Secretary of State will conclude his visit with a meeting with Maronite bishops, including Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Maronite Catholic patriarch of Antioch, during lunch Sept. 4.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s army said on Thursday it had found 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate near the entrance to Beirut port, …