The man behind the Beirut silos, Iraq's black women, and the small crew aboard Yemen's 'floating-bomb' potentially protecting millions

'The National' picks out some of the most compelling international stories of 2020 from our coverage

Lebanese army members walk near the damaged grain silo at the site of Tuesday's blast, at Beirut's port area, Lebanon, August 7, 2020. REUTERS

Hanadi Saad, a human rights advocate who was nominated for the position of oil minister in Iraq. Hanadi Saad

Hassan Siddiqui, the alleged killer of 8-year-old Zohra Shah, at a police station in Rawalpindi. Twitter/ @RwpPolice

Staff of the NGO Caritas Lebanon load the women’s luggage. Finbar Anderson for The National

FSO Safer, an oil storage tanker stranded off the coast of the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah. EPA

Aqeeda, her father and her children in 'Kabul Camp'. Lynzy Billing for The National

Coronavirus has limited movement for The National's teams but it hasn't stopped them from offering some compelling reporting. Here's a look at some of the best work we've put forward this year.  

Beirut explosion: Legendary Palestinian banker envisaged silos that shielded his adopted city from more destruction

A Palestinian man dubbed the ‘genius from Jerusalem’ was behind the iconic grain silos that bore the brunt of the Beirut explosion, potentially saving thousands of lives.

The silos are the brainchild of Yusuf Beidas who rose and fell in 1960s Lebanon, creating the Intra Bank empire which fell apart in 1966.

The structure was created to withstand the pressure from the grains inside. It ended withstanding a pressure far greater in 2020.

Moments after Beirut's port blast rocked the city

The National's Sunniva Rose reported live from the streets of Beirut just after a blast rocked its port. Watch the aftermath of this life-changing moment through the eyes of the people it impacted here.

Iraq's black women say their society sees them as 'slaves'

In a country rife with sectarian divide, Iraqi women of African descent say they're seen as "slaves". While the Black Lives Matter raged on in the West, Mina Al Droubi spoke to black Iraqi women about their own struggle as a minority group in their home country.

Pakistani girl, 8, killed after freeing parrots from cage

Her story rocked Pakistan, took Twitter by storm and turned the world's eyes towards child labour.

Zohra Shah was eight years old when she was tortured to death for freeing expensive parrots from their cage.

Rights groups and politicians hoped Zohra's life and death would not be in vain and would instead further the push for implementing laws that protect children's rights in Pakistan and beyond.

Beirut's abandoned Ethiopian migrants 

Lebanon's economic crisis affected every level society including its middle class and the foreign workers they employed.

Dozens of Ethiopian domestic workers were forced to sleep outside their consulate for days after being abandoned by their employers.

The National gave voice to their heart-wrenching stories and their hopes of returning home.

The FSO Safer's tiny crew potentially keeping millions safe

Hostage to armed Houthi rebels, a tiny crew keeps Yemen's 'floating-bomb', the FSO Safer, from  leaking or even exploding.

By conducting rudimentary maintenance work, they have somehow kept the tanker holding more than a million barrels of oil from potentially killing millions and threatening fisheries, water security and desalination plants in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Djibouti.

A looming threat, a humble team and the risks they face aboard an isolated ship.

‘Don’t come back’: Afghan returnees from Pakistan regret their homecoming

Little or no attention paid has been paid to the 3.8 million Afghani refugees who have returned to their homeland. They live in temporary shelters with no electricity and little money.

They say finding homes and jobs is difficult without government support or access to help from NGOs.

Despite the tough life they led in Pakistan, they would not have gone back to Afghanistan had the police not forced them to.