PLYMOUTH, UK 9 Aug (ANA) - A shipping company has abandoned plans to store nearly 5,000 tons of the chemical which caused the Beirut explosion at a UK port. Despite insisting its was safe to house 4,999 tons of ammonium nitrate in Portsmouth, Portico has shelved its application anyway, saying it was no longer needed.  Locals had raised fears that the substance could cause an explosion similar to the one that almost completely wiped out the port in the Lebanese capital, killing at least 154 people.  The blast was caused when a fire set off a 3,000-ton pile of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse. It’s still not clear whether the tragedy was an accident or caused by an act of terrorism.(ANA)

FA/ANA/9 August 2020------