al jazeera. it's. an hour. 'd a massive explosion sends shock waves across beirut killing 27 people and injuring more than 2000 hundreds more a trapped in their homes the top lebanese security official says the blast was triggered by confiscated explosive material that was stored in a warehouse in the port area. and our intake of this is al jazeera live from london also coming up colombia's a former president of our already bit says the supremum court has ordered his detention over alleged witness tampering and fraud. australia deploys the army to

victoria state and announces fines as high as $14000.00 to stop people breaking coronavirus isolation orders. and intense speculation over the whereabouts of spain's former king after he announces he's leaving the country. and i would begin with our breaking news out of lebanon where a massive explosion has shaken the capital beirut 27 people have been confirmed dead and the lebanese health ministry says around 2500 people have been injured security officials say the blast happened in an area of the city's port which housed highly explosive material that had been confiscated. shock waves are felt for several kilometers and buildings within a large radius of the site have been severely damaged the red cross warns many

others are still trapped in their homes the cause of the blast isn't known lebanon's president has called for urgent defense counsel talks israel has issued a statement denying any involvement and france and iran both say they're ready to help lebanon in any way. people who were nearby have described what they saw and heard. my car was down the road over i think this injury was because of the glass the glass cut me up my car was like this. i don't know what happened i was fishing i heard that there was a fire i turned and started to head home and heard something explode and then this happened i got injured. and just explosion i don't know what happened. this cannot use in a hotel in beirut this was a phenomenal explosion wasn't it. yes massive the whole capital shook people felt it across beirut and we've

been speaking to some people in southern lebanon and that is like 40 kilometers at least 40 kilometers from the capital they too felt and felt this this massive blast damage destruction everywhere people in their homes shattered glass everywhere in their homes people's balconies fell down you mention more than 2000 people injured we are at one of the main hospitals in beirut casualties continue to arrive the health minister says at least 25 people were killed the casualties were not all to beirut port this massive blast happened at beirut port but people across the city like i told you i was thrown to the ground by the the sheer force of this explosion family relatives of the victims are waiting outside the hospital for for news about the condition of their loved ones hospitals are under strain it's

chaotic scenes across the lebanese capital the capital is on edge the head of one of lebanon security agencies saying back to the blast caused by highly explosive material at a warehouse stored at a warehouse in beirut ports this is really causing a lot of anger already many many lebanese have been criticizing those in power for mismanagement over the years of running the economy into the ground and now this is what some people are calling negligence the very fact what was highly explosive material doing at beirut ports that cause so much damage and so many casualties and put you know. additional strain on an already collapsed saying health care system in the country. and say that you mentioned that the state of the hospitals and so on how equipped are they to handle the volume of casualties coming in from this

incident. yes the health care system is under a lot of pressure 1st of all there has been a rise in the number of coronavirus cases 2nd public hospitals have been underfunded for decades and so they are they do not have enough beds and enough staff really to treat people private hospitals on the other hand we are one of the main private hospitals they have been complaining because the government owes them billions of dollars and that they have had to lay off staff because of the economic crisis this hospital alone a few weeks ago laid off to 850 nurses and administrators in fact the nurses association was planning a strike tomorrow to highlight their plight at the difficulty of working conditions that they have had to endure long working hours little pay already the economic crisis has affected the value of the lebanese currencies in the era it's lost 80

percent of its value so people salaries are now worthless and these nurses are saying that we cannot continue like this already up to 40 percent up to 40 percent of the 1000 nurses who work in lebanon have been fired in recent months it just shows you the depths of the economic crisis this country is dealing with and that's why you have statements coming like from france for example that we are ready to help because levanon does need billions of dollars of external financing in order to kick start the economy driving through the streets of the lebanese capital you can see shops destroyed. the people's livelihoods and this for many many people this was all they had less. this blast happened during rush hour a many many people were in the streets and i don't think it is an exaggeration to say that everyone in the lebanese capital felt this explosion and in one way or

another somebody that they were affected either their livelihoods either their family or friends injured or either themselves or victims of what seems to be a negligence on the part of the of the lebanese authorities to talk just through that a bit more about the what was described as a highly explosive material stored in a warehouse tennis with a little bit about the information how that came out and whether any further information about why it was stored there and i don't want to be in there and so. yes many lebanese are now asking this question because both the head of one of lebanon security agencies major general of asa for him as well as the interior minister both talking and saying that this blast appears to have been caused by highly explosive material that was stored in a warehouse at beirut courts but they didn't give much more information the higher

defense council which groups the lebanese army as well as the different security agencies in the country they are holding an emergency meeting at the presidential palace maybe they will divulge more details but at the end of the day this government is likely to say that we are not responsible we took office in january in the midst of an uprising that has been calling for a new leadership but many lebanese will tell you this new government is not different from previous ones because it is controlled by the same political parties who have governed this country for decades political parties people here blame for the tire economic conditions for leading the states to bankruptcy just yesterday the foreign minister resigned saying that he can no longer be part of a government that doesn't. take. doesn't have. the will to carry out much needed reforms to fight corruption corruption at beirut airport i must mention these are demands of the international community in order for levanon to get billions of dollars in aid they also soars in what we've been talking to the lebanese prime

minister has people been making a statement saying a lot of catholics sorry to interrupt you while we were talking the lebanese prime minister's been making a statement saying that we will reveal facts regarding this dangerous warehouse that has been there since 2014 and he also said that all of lebanon is facing a catastrophe beirut is in mourning and he said to officials will pay the price for what happened today and then if you still him me but as you just suggesting that there's an they already saying that it isn't their fault because they've only just come into power. well yes the prime minister has sandia took power earlier this year he has repeatedly tried to gain credibility and legitimacy not just at home and abroad but his government has been criticized really for not doing anything to improve the economy in fact since january the situation has worsened dozens and dozens of businesses

are closing unemployment is on the rise more than 32 percent of the workforce that's more than $400000.00 people and this is a tiny nation of just approximately 5000000 people now out of work and able to feed their children aid agencies are saying that in the beirut area alone more than 500000 children are going to bed hungry and they are warning that the situation this humanitarian crisis will only get worse so has sandia has repeatedly tried to extricate himself saying that i was not in power for all the years that you know politicians have been blamed for corruption mismanagement but his critics will say you were appointed. and by those political parties who were in power and who were responsible for mismanagement and corruption and those political parties still call the shots so yes this is

a government trying to extricate itself from from really what many many are calling a natural disaster. that the explosion was almost like an earthquake it's was an earthquake the ground shook underneath our feet and as you can see people are being treated outside the emergency ward it just shows you how how how the health care system is under a lot of a lot of strain. in lebanon and this is one of the hospitals that is not at the forefront of the fight against the corona corona virus so. a mate a massive blast destruction that many will tell you they haven't seen in the in the history of lebanon and this is a country that has seen its share of violent explosions violent incidents assassinations that have shaken the capital and caused many many casualties this

couldn't come at a worse time for a country that is collapsing a state that is close to bankruptcy a bankruptcy a government that is cash strapped and a government that is not willing to carry out the needed reforms to get an i.m.f. economic bail out in order to kick start the economy they know how to thank you very much indeed mohamed haneef is a former lebanese health minister he's been helping to treat the injured and spoke to us a little earlier. i want to think of my home i told my family shouted to kids there's an earthquake and immediately in my covered lives everything collapsed. naturally i skipped a left turn really and jump to the hospital to see if we are in a very bad situation economy actually medical supplies sort of everything we managed to cope but the 1st question is beyond any description people still want to think of homes there are times when we have pressure injuries there were

a couple in. their heads maybe. we'll hear what they hit somewhere people from. 'd injuries because you can see their faces are swollen as a direct injured lessons it is fragments of people you know but it is a very crowded city if you are passing on a street and immediately clones of glasses collapses to insist that you from 20 said peter hart there are different sorts of. injuries how close to the meetings they lost with the pressure of injuries acceleration injuries still it is an injury is what we describe in medical care that the huns i was near the port when the blast happened she told us what she experienced i was in tears away from the electricity establishment and lebanon which is parallel to the port lebanese court i started hearing bombs and people were like they stopped and they got in the

middle of the street and we thought it's a it's a clash between the government and the professor neither the establishment than we 'd kind of natural but we heard kind of plain and i was asking people what's going on i want to know if i continue to go back i saw the. fire i suppose the smoke and then we have 'd the voice. when i i don't remember what happened when i went out of my car on the way to the entrance of one of the building but then i realized that the building was destroyed. when i talked to called my parents i couldn't reach anyone i could reach my my security group from my work and they just tell me what tucker to know if i say that. i go i can't go back home but they said mother things because you know the news that it was an attack how do you this main event they said i don't believe. so i

realized that it was an explosion and i can't run away i can't believe i'm still alive i can pretty homes and buildings quite some distance away from the explosion had been badly damaged and trevorrow is a journalist living in beirut these pictures from her house showing how powerful that blast was the impact of the explosion blew out her windows and damaged furniture inside she suffered minor injuries and until joins us live from beirut now i must mean a terrifying experience. one of covering the walls. to get our preview go watching next trick. i don't know what they were up a very. hovering of. the window he's a glass door and. i open the window and i was even found on getting.

smashed. i was down on the ground i was leaving there was a speck of blood. but i have to tell you that i thought he didn't have one of injuries because all the hospitals in the city get back a lot of journalists less than editors of trying to get me a doctor but they're hitting it. all the hospitals a fact and i already surely you know at this point in time i'd rather go to the doctor tomorrow i just sort of driven to the fence gone to a. city or. really sit down to see what i think the bought my own situation but it certainly was a terrifying experience. something i have a conflict all the time but this happened in court house and you know we just got off lucky funded. but that's not what you think of when that happened. the story of how devaney the struggle to buy bread but the price of bread has doubled and my

heart going out and for all the people these people already had it so hard everyone how did. you know the light took the electricity people are getting what they don't have to be and then on top of that this incident happened there but i did it at the hospitals and the other. question dominated area i don't want to live one track these conversations that have been out of course because of the war in 2000 but things can hold here i don't want to think that it's going to happen in an area like that but it happens that's all shaken up everyone and find your just bought property just sort of cross building and even as glasses were shot. back on my house about 5 buildings essentially. because i don't have to care about who is behind it and what's really going on i've not been able to pull that off and just to be out of my 1st resort on so many people have so many people in front of my eyes and on it's going to make sense to pay anything this country was already up.

and extract and now how what i've done and how this how can we expect not be talking as a bus again not even to john this cause you know this one time i'm also sort of a funny weekend and i don't want silver to lead on that because a lot of people around me will watch for see this. a lot of people around me are suffering a lot more than me and you've already got a flying activity and all part of you sort of about if you feel you know you know you know my heart is hurting for all the people who live around me and in the meantime to the prime minister has schools have a big catastrophe to hit lebanon and that there be offers of help from france and iran amongst all those after this give us an idea of how the port is in terms of actually bringing supplies for lebanon. well the politike say we could actually mean you know with the congo cocoa bridge of the book is obviously shot at all the

borders. not the blank wall their. effort was shut as well because going a lot of clever not opened up a few days ago that reimpose a lockdown because of a certain cases today that all down easily go for a few days and then there will be another lockdown to hold onto the really crucial to supply isn't there hate pathology like that i was thinking it's hard to put it mildly especially if actually hitting a country which is already really congress we are economic stress the worst. ever i mean i'm not saying it's likely people are struggling to buy bread people are struggling to bike vegetables people also banking on charity charitable organization that money is coming from guys hold up a lot for charity so people out of money i mean of course some do because they don't so it's already a very stressful very stressful situation in lebanon and as a journalist i've been following story don't you know the middle class is suffering

it's not going the upper middle class can perhaps have even a but not the middle classes not from the little suffering all the refugees and i want an incident like this happens i mean it's just it's harsh to do it at such a time and you can i don't know who's behind this is as a journalist i won't take names but somebody is whatever is not now not of this guy this is not a time to set of goals this is not a time to make statements because people get injured are real people and they haven't done anything wrong you know. and indeed at this stage of the lessons from is to be said those responsible for the explosion at what he described the dangers warehouse area would pay the price he said i promise you that this catastrophe will not pass without accountability those responsible will pay the price facts about the dangers warehouse it's being essence 2014 will be announced and i will not preempt the investigation at this stage. in terms of his investigations and also

presumably still a search ongoing for potential for victims who are under the rubble. well yes well i my own those things you know a lot of people that. i have. about being taken to hospitals that are leading up to that and go by i don't know if there are any casualties but i see least 50 to 60 people bleeding profusely and i don't have the statistics so i would say how many casualties that are a buck a lot of blood around a lot of blood on the staff is what is going on i shut off the face of my friend red cross workers young people here are here you know want to have a direct cross and a lot of dong young people have been running around trying to help with a trying to offer whatever help they can but you know i haven't managed to find a hospital because as then i was reporting there people queuing up outside the

hospitals to seek treatment so that is how severe really this this attack was and of course what my area the area that i live in was basically we in fact and it was very clear very very strong in fact so i don't know what the figures of people who are. what how many casualties there are but i do know that i have a i what i am i already are a lot of leading. unchivalrous thank you very much indeed for telling us of your experiences there in that a huge explosion in venice thank you. my . columbia's former president of arrow rebus says the supreme court has ordered his detention it's part of an investigation into alleged witness tampering and fraud. as a mentor of current president even decay whose right wing party is known for its loyalty to the former leader rebate has repeatedly declared his innocence and questioned

the court's independence asunder amputee joins us over the phone from the capital bogota offense more about this this latest development. yes more and well the decision hasn't been formally confirmed by the country's supreme court yet but it's already sending shock waves throughout the entire for the people here and to the society as a whole this is the 1st time that a former president has placed a preventive house arrest in the history of colombia and we're not talking about any former president. a decade after the end of his presidency is considered the most powerful politician in the country the man behind the opposition to the hard part peace deal with. gravel and he is currently a senator he will probably be suspended now after this decision and as you were

saying it's also the mentor and truly the political process current president. so this is a huge piece of news here that really divides the country because for many here he is seen as a savior because during his government he was able to successfully fight against. waging war against the state but name instead the vilify him considering him the man behind or with strong connections with paramilitary groups that are responsible for many massacres throughout the country's civil conflict and what do you think will happen to him now is there is any kind of potential for appeal who will be detained what's the what's the phone. right now what this means right now is that has now been formally charged where to participating in

bribing witnesses in a trial against him about his connections with. paramilitary groups. with trying to. get other point. moving forward in congress and people have to stay at home close to maybe even. one hour of the trial now will continue will move forward. so far this trial moving very slowly this decision was expected mine months ago which tells you just the kind of effect it can have on the political system and what a difficult position the. judges truly are one of the judges actually were accused her self from this trial just because she had worked.

during the 1st presidency so we're going to have to see what happens in this case and then he will also be able to appeal there is also a 2nd case in a civil court against one of his lawyers who is the man who is allegedly accused of directly paying these witnesses to witness in favor of either but this is just the start of a very long a trial of political conflict in the country and we can also expect protests on the streets in favor and against the even. and it's an amputee thank you very much indeed. still to come this hour public transport halted as millions go back under lockdown in the philippines where health workers say they're losing the fight against private 19. and the u.n. warns the disruption to schools caused by the pandemic could lead to a generational catastrophe.

hello the kinds of warm sunshine throughout much of southern europe although we have also been seeing want to even some thunderstorms and want to those working the way for you all scattered across southern areas of italy but in central. it is fine and dry some very nice sunshine people doing what they can to cool off but there's always a downside of course and typically for this time of year it is that hey this is not far from madrid in spain and he had the firefighters just buckling yet another blaze it'll say hot and dry across much of southwest europe the rain will continue to work its way down in small southern areas of if they havea down falls across into the balkans and down into greece and then another system working its way across into the u.k. it will work its way fairly swiftly east was pacy few showers into southern as a scandinavian all the while though that rain will just sit across areas of the balkan so we could end up with some localized flooding but the temperatures are on

the rise again slightly across areas of the northwest so london where we dip down just below the average for august look at these temperatures that mean by friday 33 celsius which is 10 degrees above the average normally for guess maybe some showers on saturday and even warmer than last across into paris again the average about 25 so we're looking at 11 degrees both on friday with those hot sunny skies a high of 36 and a warm day on saturday with a little bit of clouds. kovan daintiness see the war of words escalate between the u.s. and china all challenge us general robert spaulding and british diplomat and also kerry brown on whether the west is entering into a new cold war with china in a special edition of head to head you want to travel ban on china for much of the muslim support stop proposing we need a stricter vetting process is the tide finally turning against beijing we have

a china centric world and then a world which is not china centric head to head on out his iraq $150000000.00 trees disappear every year into the clothing that we all wear from uk cycling to save the forests the famous yellow dress fade from blue jeans. to conserving the world's dwindling wetlands 3 of the aids world's global bird migration of life intersect right where we are the basic discover the treasure trove it is one of the most special wetlands on the planet after ice ecosystems elaborate on al-jazeera. are one of the top stories here lodges era

a massive explosion has shaken the lebanese capital beirut 27 people have been confirmed dead and the lebanese health ministry says around 2500 people have been injured happened at a warehouse in the city's port where confiscated explosive material had been stored lebanon's prime minister described the facility as dangerous and says those responsible for the catastrophe will be held accountable. and colombia's former president about a rebus says the supremes. court has ordered his detention amid an investigation into alleged witness tampering and fraud current senator has repeatedly declared his innocence and questioned the court's independence. would be better is a jenison the found a favorite report he joins us via skype from antonius which is just north of beirut as just to go back to the site of the explosion itself and the prime minister suggesting that what was that was that had been there since 2014 do you have any

further information about what was being stored there and why no i mean it's very difficult. to know what's being stored in the port of beirut or any buildings in beirut because there's very little inventory. shared with the public and even with the firefighters in lebanon don't even have a clue of what's next or where in the country so you know we were always hanging on by a thread here and an ax and always great to happen. and at the moment it is your impression that they're still looking for potentially people who may have survived maybe maybe injured lying on the rubble and in amongst all the debris. i mean it's such a massive and devastating explosion we're talking about a court area that is probably several kilometers long that appears to be a wasteland right now i mean there are hundreds of warehouses there everything can be flattened you know a lot of these warehouses are built of steel and they could easily be just destroyed we saw buildings you know miles away that were totally devastated again

like feel structures so i imagine that we are going through the rubble for quite some time now and you know people have been injured on the roads on the highways you know really really the blast radius. is several kilometers and we're talking about beirut which one of the most dense cities in the world population wise so people with living on top of each other in the city very hard to access very bad infrastructure in the city so there's a lot of challenges for the emergency workers and challenges will supreme be for the health care system that says if i think a number of crashes and that's right hundreds of employees have been laid off of hospitals on recent weeks due to the pandemic and the dropping of the local currency has been devalued by 80 percent there's been a banking crisis there's been a debt crisis lebanese are facing really so many pressures and so many directions so health care is one of those areas where the hospitals are old millions of

dollars by the lebanese government different types of pay hospitals for care and so everyone's really hang on by a thread in this country and it's really hard to predict what more can happen and this is it was also i think politically charged potentially this week because of the event that was due on friday talk us through that is in one why it's significant. well the explosion immediately you know with the flashbacks of many people who have been through so many bombs and wars and in this country and one of the last violent events in lebanon was a series of assassination that rocked the country about a decade ago and most important of those with the prime minister how did he was assassinated and his trial was done this murder. has been resolved on going on for many many years by one of those expenses trials mystery and there was supposed to be a report a coming the next few days but again it's kind of a tenuous.