>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> welcome to the news hour, i'm darren jordan, these are the top stories. deadly attacks in beirut, 23 people are killed after twos bombers hit the iran you know embassy. egyptian security forces fire tear gas at protesters. hello, there, i'm in london with the latest from europe, including a state of emergency is declared.

over 17 people die in flash floods. plus new images of the gunman who attacked the head officers of a newspaper and a bank. and find out the winner of the 2013 international word of the year. ♪ welcome to al jazeera, we begin our coverage in lebanon. at least 23 people have been killed after two suicide bombs exploded in the lebanese capital of beirut. a group linked to al-qaeda says it carried out the attacks. there has been conflicting reports about the condition of iran's coupletural attache, one suggesting he was killed another that he was seriously injured.

this is where the bombs were designated. the area is known to be a hezbollah strong hold. zanea bring us up to date on what happened today. >> like you mentioned two suicide bombers, and really that is a dangerous development, because we have seen bombings over recent months but this is suicide bombers, and it is very hard to prevent such attacks. we have talked to a number of people who witnessed the explosions. they were close buy. people told us that the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives and as people rushed to the scene, the second bomber designated his explosive. and that's why we have such a high death toll.

there has been reaction from iran, from its local allies, saying we know this is a message to us, but in no way are we going to change our political stance and stop supporting the regime of the syrian president bashar al-assad. >> reporter: scenes of devastation. two powerful bombs were detonated in beirut early on tuesday. along with civilians, the cultural attache at the embassy is among the people killed. firefighters rushed to the scene to put out the flames and help the wounded. >> translator: i am syrian. on my way to work the first explosion took place, minutes later the second took place, i fell unconscious and woke up here in the hospital. >> it is a message that says clearly, we can hate you

anywhere where you are. if you are going to be involved in syria, then we can also hit you in front of the iranian embassy in beirut or for that matter anywhere else. >> reporter: it's a major backer of bashar al-assad. the attack appears to be the latest spillover from the syrian war. in august massive car bombing kills many civilians. those who carried out that attack said it was because of the participation in the syrian war. for both of them, the fight in syria is their fight. >> translator: this message is useless and our deployment there is not only strategic but plus political.

iran and hezbollah will remainal -- allies to syria. >> reporter: the lebanese people are already divided by syria's civil war. many people now warn of more attacks in the days and weeks to come as syria's war is now also being fought in lebanon. >> so yet another attack in the hezbollah strong hold of southern lebanon. and that was highlight the political and sectarian divide made worse by the war in syria? >> undoubtedly. syria has always been a very divisive issue. for years now the lebanese oppose the syrian government. but the very fact that it is taking on sectarian colors,

because it's mainly sunnis in lebanon to support the shiite, so this is what is dangerous. when we managed to speak to the hezbollah leader on-site, he traded to plait down. but it is causing tensions. in the north of lebanon, people there welcome news such as bombings in hezbollah strong holds, and this is why it is very dangerous. people are worried. they fear the security situation is going to deteriorate even further until some sort of political solution is found to the syrian conflict. very important to note the syrian army is making territorial gains, and many fear that the opposition could retaliate against those helping

the syrian government here in lebanon. >> all right. thank you. well as we reported earlier. al-qaeda-linked brigades have claimed responsible for the attacks. the carrier close to the group has posted on its twitter page some of its demands. it says . . . well despite the claim of responsibility, iran's ambassad ambassador blames israel. >> translator: this is an example of the [ inaudible ] but iran and also the victors won against the resistance in the region and the whole war.

we're joined now from the iranian capital of tehran. what official response has there been? >> any official response out of iran so far has been an angry one naturally. but there's also a language of resolve coming from the iranians as well, that they are not going to be shaken in their stance. the ambassador survived the blasts, blaming israel, and blaming the puppets and purpose ratetors of these attacks. referring to syria of course. and the syrian government saying our position is one, and this act just gives us more strength and power. the iranian foreign ministry also weighing into this, one woman condemning the attacks as

inhumane. and one of the most powerful if not the most powerful security bodies in iran weighing in as well, saying these attacks have no impact on iran's path of continuing support for the islamic resistance. that islamic resistance refers in large part to hezbollah. >> it does highlight the complex web of players in the conflict. it is one of the big challenges facing the iranian president ahead of nuclear talks? >> you are absolutely right. it is a very challenging situation, and a murky situation at best. sometimes it's very difficult to know where one ends and another begins. iran is very open about its

support for hezbollah and its fight against israel. of course it's support for bashar al-assad and the syrian government. it posts it's a on one side with hezbollah, and against the united states and other allies who are supporting the rebels in syria. this has wider connotations. this attack happened in lebanon so there are people from iran and lebanon and perhaps other wider countries who are definitely effected by the events there in beirut. >> all right. thank you. well the attack hand as representatives from 71 countries and organizations are meeting in kuwait, taking part in an african arab summit. we know there is a strong delegation there from iran at the summit.

has anything been said about the bombings today in the lebanese capitol? >> well, darren we heard strong comments from the lebanese interim foreign minister who condemned the attack as a terrorist attack, and insisted that his country's resolve in combatting what he described as terrorism will continue to be strong. we are expecting statements by the lebanese president earlier than was scheduled. she was scheduled to speak on the second day of the summit, that is tomorrow, however, that has been brought forward. he will be speaking possibly within the hour after which he would head back home as soon as possible to essentially deal with the aftermath of this deadly blast. we haven't heard from other delegations, however, we did speak to -- for example, the united kingdom's minister who is

also here, monitoring on participating in the summit. this was yet another sign that there needed to be a swift political solution to this conflict. and that was the only way to ensure that attacks like these don't take place across the region. >> many delegates there must be concerned about security in the region, and the continuing violence made worse? >> indeed, and they have alluded to the fact that this crisis is causing more and more sectarian strife and division amongst the region, however, really the only thing that has been spoken about is financial aid to this place, and desieged and the syrian

refugees who have spilled over across neighboring countries, and on the other hand pushing and calling for the opposition to try to take part in this conference, and having some sort of plan to combat the escalation of violence, the possibility of the strife spilling over more and more into other countries, we haven't heard any real or practical solutions it to. when we did push, the only response we got was more aid was needed and there needs to be some sort of political solution. what that would entail, really, a there hasn't been any fresh ideas, darren. >> jamal thank you. you can get more analysis of the bombings on our website. the address, of course, aljazeera.com. ♪

now in egypt there have been skirmishing in cairo. 45 were killed in cairo in 2011. well these pictures are from the university in cairo. students have been demanding an end to military rule. security has been tightened in anticipation of the protests. earlier demonstrators were carrying banners against those that they say toppled the administration of mubarak. so bring us up to date, what is happening? >> reporter: well there are ongoing skirmishes, and now from what we understand and from what

we have been witnessing really, you have some of the youth who were in the scare who have charged towards the southern edge of the square where the supporters of general sisi have been gathering, and there has been a really, cat and mouse chase between the two sides. they have been lobbing at each other some stones. there have been 12 minor injuries so far. now the security forces are also there, but as you said they have been firing tear gas mainly to try to disperse the two sides clashing with each other. you have a few hundred people who are there, mainly the youth who had said that they will come to -- in remembrance of the events two years ago. they say that two years have

passed and there has been no stability. they say the major call of the 2011 revolution was [ inaudible ] dignity and social justice have not been met. and they are calling for what they call [ inaudible ] of the ministry and the police. >> so more protests on the streets of cairo there. is this likely to raise fears of more flashes with security forces? >> reporter: well, there has been a lot of anxiety leading to this day. the anti-coup alliance is also holding a rally, but it's quite far away from the square. they are in front of the presidential palace. but you had all sorts of rumors going around the country, and there was a bit of fear that each time you have two groups

that come into conflict, that's really when the clashes and problems happen. i have to say there is no security on the square itself, and i think that is purposely done to avoid any conflict, especially since these youth are still very, very angry that there has been no accountability, and the trials have not taken place. these youth have lost their friends and their families. i think the whole country is under anxiety. some have condemned the youth saying this was not the right time to go do the streets. they are saying actually we are the third way. we are going back to the basics of the revolution of 20111, and we don't want the military rule. we're not against the military itself, but we don't want the

military rule. we always don't want to support the muslim brotherhood. we want accountability. >> thank you. still to come here on the news hour, after the typhoon they are getting power again in the philippines, but switching the economy back on will take a little longer. plus ambushes and uncertainty in mozambique. and in sport, egypt seeks a world cup miracle as they prepare to host ghana in the playoffs. ♪ now at least 17 people have been killed after storms hit the italian island in extreme weather rarely seen in the mediterranean. >> yes, a state of emergency has been declared where rivers burst their banks and parts of the

island has been left in chaos. the worst-hit area seems to be around a northeastern city. a family of four drowned when their basement flat flooded. here is the latest. >> reporter: eyewitnesss called it a water bomb. the amount of water that flows in the usually sunny area, on monday, fell in the space of 24 hours, and this is the result. entire towns under water. cars swept away. the water engulfing everything in its path. >> translator: it got to the second floor of the building. the situation was really dramatic. >> reporter: overnight the storm is [ inaudible ]. the emergency services moved in, but several people are known to have died. by dawn the scope of the

destruction came clear. a state of emergency was quickly declared by the italian government. >> translator: the operation at the moment is concentrating on saving human lives and especially the assistance to the population that have been evacuated. >> reporter: after leaving death and destruction it is now moving towards the minland threatening the south of italy, including rome. at this time of the year the river tiger often fills up to its edges, on tuesday it its level grew up to 6 meters. [ inaudible ] uninterrupted

torrential rain until thursday authorities didn't take any chances and closed access to the tiger. >> live now to claudia in rome. how much concern is there that this storm could threaten other parts of italy? >> well, the storm has already reached the mainland even though it seams to have spared rome for now. there were massive storms last night, but now it has cleared up as you can see behind me, even though i can see menacing clouds coming from my right. but the region down south is already worse, in naples there are reports of flooding, but not of the scale we have seen in sardinea. once it became clear what the scope of the problem was this

morning the government met in an emergency meeting and promised to issue 20 million euros, about 28 million dollars to face the emergency, but that may not be even close enough, because if you consider it, there are entire towns that are still underwater, bridges that collapsed, there are a number of roads that are unusable, and of course there are up to 3,000 people that are homeless. so there may be the need of more aid and funds in the days to come. >> thanks so much. few images have been released of the fugitive gunman in paris who fired shots on monday. the man has yet to be identified. paul brennan joins us with the latest. how is the police investigation going, paul? >> well, it is going, but it's

not producing any results at the moment. that's for sure. they have been putting out fresh cc tv pictures of the gunman, a clearer picture of him wearing a change of clothes, and they have been giving more details about that. they are still convinced that he is working alone; that he is not part of some wider conspiracy but clearly shows a degree of planning involved in this series of attacks. the other thing they said today so far is they had more than 400 calls in response to appeals for witnesses or information after giving out those -- that the ccc tv pictures and reassurance from the interior minister that the police are doing all they can. >> translator: there should be no doubt about the commitment of the police and me in catching this individual, because as long

as he remains at large, as long as he is on the run, he represents from what we know a real danger and we'll only rest once he is caught. >> one of the main thrusts of the police inquiry as well as mobilizing officers to look for this man, is dna. the police saying that they have retrieved some dna from the car that the man hijacked. the other thing to report so far today is the man that was shot at the offices, he has been brought out of the induced coma. he is still critically ill but at least stable in hospital. >> paul brennan, thanks so much. we'll have more from europe a little later, including six green peace protesters released on bail in what appears to be a major change in position by

russia. ♪ banks, petrol stations, and other vital services are trying to reopen in the philippines. the government says it is doing its best to return life to the people. but that's far easier said than done. >> reporter: it's pretty meager, but at least it's something. the government is trying to get some streetlights functioning again. four petrol stations are now open again with patient lines forming outside of them. the main branch of the government bank is going to reopen on thursday. inside city hall the admin chief is on the phone to the business community in exile. many fled to manila over

security concerns in the early days. >> it's really to give them the signal that hey, everything is going back to normal. >> reporter: the government is now talking about one of its new priorities, a push for so-called normalcy. and getting cash machines installed as well. but for many people this is what passes for normal, and it doesn't look like changing any time soon. there is no signs of anything changing in this fishing port. a few meters away the tail tell grouping of recovery workers signifies another body found. this man worked as a day laborer, he lost his wife, the mother of his four children in the typhoon and doesn't know when he'll be able to earn money again. >> translator: my boss doesn't

know what to do yet. he will need to set up the cages first because they were all swept away. >> reporter: but the effort is on to give people something to stay here for. still ahead on the news hour, voters in nepal give bickering politicians another try. and find out who has got the appetite for the new men knew. and in sport, the l.a. clippers look to rebound. more on that. stay with us. ♪

>> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol.

(vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news. ♪ hello, i'm at the al jazeera headquarters in doha. a group linked to al-qaeda claims responsible for the suicide bombings in beirut. egyptian police have tired tear gas to disburse protesters

in the square. and french police are still searching for a gunman who attacked a bank and a newspaper office in paris. the attack in beirut happened here any iranian embassy. hezbollah, or the party of god is a powerful political and armed group in lebanon made up of shiite muslims. it was formed in 1982 in direct response to israel's invasion. his -- hezbollah has helped turn the tide in assad's favor this year. the french government estimates

there are between 3 and 10,000 hezbollah fighters in lebanon. lockman slim this isn't the first attack we have seen inside beirut. what can we make of the timing of this attack and why do you think it happened now? >> hi. first let me correct, this is not the first attack -- >> yes, no, i said it wasn't the first attack. but, yes, go ahead. >> exactly. so i think the timing is very interesting and the signature of this attack is as well very interesting. obviously it is happening at the moment where iran is trying to sell it's a flexibility to the whole world by making concessions in its nuclear program. so in terms of timing it's a

moment where iran and it's a allies were trying finally to lift up their profile. as to the signature that there was attached to this attack, if this was an al-qaeda-linked group, it means that lebanon has shifted from a land of support to a land of jihad, and we have to expect more similar attacks and more obviously sectarian tension between shiite and sunnis. >> let's talk about the access of the key players some of them you must mentioned. many observers say the alliance is rock solid and attacks like these will never break that alliance, in fact they probably make it more resolute. would you agree with that?

>> i totally agree that access to iran, beirut, damascus will never break up, but i'm not sure that lebanon will not break up. i think lebanon today is so fragile that any kind of escalation could break up the country, and the country will never be able to be used again by those players in order to achieve their respective and joint agendas. so today obviously, iran can finally stand such attack. hezbollah will have a problem with its constituency, because it's a big security failure that such attack took place. but i believe lebanon is the fragile link.

>> we see iran making positive oaftures to the west, and regional players fighting by proxy. this is all part of the regional power play game? >> i think any lebanese domestic reading of what happened today against the iranian embassy is not enough to understood what happened. what happened today is that iran was attacked in beirut, and this means that the fault line between the regional actors are getting more and more heated, and that the regional actors are no more satisfied by using syria as a battlefield. but it means also that things in syria and that iranian/european,

or euro atlantic dialogue is also moving forward. so the question is who has interest at this very moment at the eve of the resumed negotiations to push iran again to some corner. and i believe the answer is not very difficult. >> okay. lockman slim thank you very much indeed for your time sir. russia says that a meeting may pave the way for a broader peace conference in geneva. >> translator: in order to help opposition groups, in the spirit of the russian/american initiative, we have expressed our willingness to hold a meeting in moscow. and the syrian national coalition is also invited. we have received a response to this invitation to the effect that the coalition will be represented and accepts the

invitation. we note this as a positive step. and inside syria, state media says the military has regained control of a strategic town near the lebanese border. it is considered a supply route for rebels. regime forces have stepped up the efforts in the area. documents leaked by u.s. whistleblower edward snowden appear to show that [ inaudible ] has been listening to calls. he says he regrets any embarrassment becaused by the report, but stops short of offering an apology. six foreign green peace activists have been granted bail in russia.

more now from our european news center. >> i can tell you that it marks a significant shift in the russian position on this case. lawyers say the activists will now be allowed to go home while awaiting trial. we hope to be speaking to our correspondent in moscow about this apparent shift by russia shortly. the first ukrainian parliament has stalled on releasing [ inaudible ] from jail. a vote on the bill must take place supporters say. they have demanded release of the prisoner. people in denmark will start voting in local and region alec shuns shortly. the government has called on

help from an unlikely source; that is the global restaurant chain mcdonald's. alex reports from copenhagen. >> reporter: while cheeseburgers, big macs and fries are always on the menu here, today so too is politics. candidates standing in the local and region al elections in denmark are being asked to promote their campaign at mcdonald's. they allow candidates to argue their points of view in front of potential voters. >> i think a lot of big companies should do that, because nobody votes here. >> it will definitely encourage me to vote. >> they come with this, and they

are like vote on this guy, and i just want to eat my food. >> reporter: some mcdonald's restaurants have also become stoppoff points to polling stations, allowing some to cast their ballot ahead of election day. that's why local government has asked mcdonald's to get involved. voter turnout in 2009 was the lowest we have had in 35 years. but it was still only 66% which european standards is pretty high. >> yes, but it was a drop of almost 4 percentage points. people really staying away are the people below the age of 30. >> reporter: local councilman is seeking reelection, but he says not at any price. >> i think it cheapens the democracy when you can vote at

mcdonald's. >> reporter: mcdonald's, though, is adamant it is doing the right thing. >> it might be seen as controversial, but we don't see it that way. we're not advocating for a specific party, all we're trying to do is get people to vote. >> reporter: each candidate is hoping that they have persuaded customers to vote for them. i want to take you back to russia now where six of the foreign green peace activists have now been granted bail as they await trial for the protest they staged at an off-shore drilling rig. let's get the later from peter sharp now. what was said today about this decision to bail the six protesters? >> well this was a court hearing that was set to decide whether

the custody -- the custody's tension that they were suffering since they were arrested in mid-september should be extended past november 24th, and what we have seen now is the first of the loss of the 30 activists. yesterday three russians, two medical personnel, and a journalist were given bail. and today we saw these other activists granted bail. now they have made it very, very clear that they will get bail if they come up with the 61 thousand dollars but they will be duty bound by russian law to return to the country should -- when they are asked to when the trial is due to be set. we have not got a trial date yet. >> we all know that russia has

been heavily criticizes particularly by countries in the west. is there a chance they'll draw together for some of these activists? >> who knows. but there was one ominous note. colin russell, who is an australian, he has had his detention period extended to february 24. so it will be interesting to see what happens over the next few days, and a very worrying time for the families of those who remain in custody. >> all right. let's return you now to doha and to darren. >> felicity, thank you. still ahead, the winner of word of the year. and in sport, france is on the

brink of missing out on next year's world cup as they get ready to host ukraine. stay with us. ♪

♪ well come back now, voters in nepal have cast their ballots for a social assembly that will try to draft a new constitution. it is hopes that the polls will end a six-year political dead lock. in 2007 the country abolished the monarchy. seven months later a party was

elected, and given two years to write a constitution. but even now it is not finished. the next man failed as well. finally, in march this year, the chief justice of the supreme court was put in charge of an interim government ahead of these elections. >> reporter: voters wait patiently for their time at the polling booth. denttives are checked. there is a lot at stake. >> translator: the constitution is in the people's hands, but we don't know what the politicians will do after the election. >> translator: i'm proud i voted for the first time. it's for the people and future peace and prosperity of the country. >> reporter: international observers from 31 countries came to make sure the voting went well. the chief eu election observer

is a member of the frenienench parliament. security was tight across nepal. vehicles have been banned from the roads for 24 hours. over 200,000 armed personal has been deployed after the country. this is after a coalition of 33 parties threatened to disrupt the elections. a few small explosions over the last few days left one child in critical condition. >> i think in general the ones that had a more radical or extreme views in the past have come toward the middle so they can understand each other and cooperate better. i think there is a better chance now of being successful than there was at the end of the 2008

election. >> reporter: the politicians were out early, promising a change. >> make people feel and realize that things have changed and are moving in a positive direction. >> reporter: this is the second time that a country has voted to write a new constitution because the first one failed. whether they get it right will depend on whether they can make the right types of decisions and compromises that will benefit the people. people in mozambique will vote on local elections on wednesday. harry reports now from the city of barah. >> reporter: this trench was doug along the main highway in central mozambique.

this is a tactic the rebel group used during the civil war to am beneficiary people. workers tried to repair the road quickly. soldier hear gunshot coming from the bush, and everyone runs for safety. fixing the road is no longer the priority. that sort of violence is raising concerns about local elections on wednesday, partly because it's not the first incident. on saturday, police and others, some in t-shirts belonging to the ruling party, attacked a supporter from the mozambique mritd call -- political movement. >> we are trying to do our best, but the ruling party is not prepared to come to democracy, and not prepared to be in position, that's why they are trying to face our people, chase

our people, even they are trying to kill them. >> reporter: indian is a young opposition party. it is slowly getting support by people frustrated by poverty, and corruption. the second largest city is an opposition strong hold. members of [ inaudible ] say it's their supporters who have been victimized. >> translator: for the good of our families, and for berah, i urge you to vote peacefully. this is a very important day. >> reporter: things could get worse. fighters say they will continue destabilizing parts of the country. officials say the electoral laws favor the ruling party, and that's why they are boycotting wednesday's elections. growing instability could derail

the progress maid since the civil war ended in 1992. time for the sport now here is farah. darren thank you so much. egypt will be hoping for a world cup miracle. the home side has a difficult task ahead of them after they were beaten 6-1 in the last month's away leg. this will be the first time in two years a international match will be held in egypt. >> we represented egypt. and we represented egyptian football in a strong proud good way. 90 minutes didn't change that. yes, it was a terrible result. we accept that, but it doesn't change the way these players and the coaching staff have

represented egypt during a tough time in a way that i think people can still feel good about, and now we understand how much is at stake as we get ready for this game on tuesday. >> gone that's footballer association says it is satisfied with egypt's security plans ahead of the game. even though they are 6-1 up from the first leg, the side aren't taking anything for granted. and the other african qualifier, aljeeriaest -- hosts [ inaudible ]. the latest being in south africa in 2010. france is hoping to be the first team in history to overturn a 2-loss deficit.

sweden will also will looking to bounce back from the first leg defeat to portugal. and iceland could be the smallest nation to appear in the finals. two teams already in the world cup italy and nigeria played each other in an international friendly on monday. nigeria got two goals in five minutes. they were ahead 2-1 by halftime before italy -- equallized.

>> it must be very difficult for your team to play and to play at that level 48 hours after qualifying for the word cup? >> it is difficult, but you have to be tough mentally, and that's something we have been doing since saturday after the game, denying them from party, because they just qualified for world cup, and i said no, we have a big game waiting for us in london. let's go to sleep. and they have been very nice and i'm so proud of them. >> can african teams do well at this world cup? >> why not? >> and what about nigeria? >> well, i don't know how far we're going to get -- [ inaudible ]. despite the bombings in day route, lebanon is hosting a round in a asian cup qualifier.

earlier [ inaudible ] booked their place in the finals in a win over syria. memphis grizzlies beat the l.a. clippers in their first matchup since the grizzlies defated them in last year's playoffs. memphis's zach rudolf lead the way. australian golfer jason daye spoke out for the first time since revealing that several of his relatives were killed by the typhoon in the philippines. he is preparing to play in the world cup in melbourne. he released a statement on monday after learning that at least eight relatives, including his grandma were killed. >> it's a real tragedy. i called my mom and she was just in tears and you know -- i couldn't say -- it's so hard,

because i couldn't hold my mom or hug her or anything like so it was really tough. >> that's all of your sport for now. darren back to you. >> thank you very much. >> if you are taken a picture of yourself with your camera phone recently, you are not alone. the practice is so common there is even a new word for it. joe explains. bench watch, bitcoin, twerking, these are some of the words that have been short listed as the 2013 international word of the year. so which is the winner? let me demonstrate. you guested it, it's selfy. a selfy is a photograph taken of oneself and then upload it on the internet. it has gotten such that its

frequency has spiked about 17,000 percent since this time last year. it's so popular that even spin off terms such as selfy, and shelfy, taken in front of a bookshelf, and it's not just humans, nasa's rover captures this. and of course not all pictures are created equal. check this one out by a japanese astronaut. we see the sun, deep space, and of course our planet, a mirror of humanity that could very well be the ultimate selfy. stay with us, another full bulletin is straight ahead. to keep up with us throughout the day go to our website,

aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. ♪ ♪

>> al jazeera america brings you live coverage: typhoon haiyan. >> relief efforts are well underway here in cebu. >> we have a problem with no homes to go back to. >> clean water, food, medicine, all vitally required. >> the australian medical team arrived. >> this is a government warehouse that is preparing relief for the families most effected. >> al jazeera america is there with continuing live coverage. >> the water rose to half-way up to the second story. >> to find out how you can help, go to aljazeera.com.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. at least 23 people are dead after an explosion went off next to the iranian embassy in beirut. >> i was planning on a thanksgiving down here. we were all looking forward to that. but we don't know what we're going to do now. >> six more counties declare disaster zones in illinois. today marks the 150th anniversary of abraham lincoln's iconic gettingsberg address. ♪