he's only going to. lead. the world on fire charge aug 12th d.w. . land. this is due to the news a live shot from berlin a disaster strikes beirut as 2 massive explosions caused devastation across the city. the blasts tore through the city's port to killing more than 70 people and leaving many others trapped under rubble thousands have been injured and hospitals are overwhelmed the

blast have been transferred to a warehouse that contained tons of highly explosive material. also coming up on the show with just 90 days left until the u.s. election we need some lifelong republicans are so fed up with donald trump they're thinking of doing the unthinkable and voting for democrat joe biden and. i'm guy raz and thanks for joining us the lebanese capital beirut has been rocked by 2 massive explosions that have now killed at least 70 people and injured more than 3000 and officials say the blast likely came from a warehouse where nearly 3 tons of highly explosive material had been stored for 6 years without safety measures. the explosions in this. port area upturned cars and shattered windows as far as 10

kilometers away over 2500 people have been taken to the hospital with injuries all many others remain trapped in their homes the prime minister says those responsible will pay. prime minister has called for a 2 week a state of emergency and appealed for help from the international community. a devastating blast followed by billows of smoke visible from all across the city. the massive explosion rocked beirut on tuesday evening flattening the city's port area with buildings destroyed and people trapped under the rubble. ambulances raced to and from the area transporting the injured to hospitals. but now the we were at home we heard what sounded like fireworks we thought it was

a container in the ports that was on fire and they weren't able to put it out a few seconds later we were flying through the air. not the one we heard the 1st explosion we went to see what happened and i didn't have time i didn't realize there would be a 2nd explosion the glass exploded in front of me in the. car. the blast destroyed buildings not only at the port where it originated but across much of beirut even kilometers away from the epicenter. shop windows were smashed walls and doors of people's homes knocked down. the prime ministers said those responsible will be brought to justice. it will not pass without accountability and those responsible for this catastrophe will pay the price this is a promise to the martyrs and the injured this is a national commitment to examine all funny. the blasts hit

a country already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic and the deep economic crisis. hospitals already burdened with covert 19 patients are overwhelmed. countries including longtime rival israel have offered many terry an aid to lebanon . support is sorely needed to help the country deal with this enormous catastrophe . the tragic scenes unfolding on the streets of beirut and we are grateful to now be able to speak to our correspondent bassler reading about where were you at the time of the blasts and what did you experience. in fact i was. about 200 meters away from. the flames. close area. one of the most. well known.

first of all i heard a small explosion. few seconds. i heard the 2nd one which was completely huge all the places out on. the shock it was and to quake all the denture what i was they were completely full of smoke and all the gold windows they were smashed completely and. so people are running all the streets. for the west to see with what was going on. down there friend told me that he was injured. had to become. in to the house because. he didn't want any room seeing. what teams have you been able to witness at the hospital and what else were you able to assess in terms of exactly how much damage

. 1st of all to this moment we have more than 75. 50 dead. more than. almost i don't 3000 injured and we have dozens of missing as well as we have some unknown bodies at the hospital. at this moment. jane fonda every single hospital in beirut. asking for the family member for their beloved ones they know nothing about them just listening to waiting for anything come out from from the hospital announcing the names of the injured or the dead of those who are following it search it i know so the whole thing is that i'm i think when i was at the hospital the. roof was completely filled with injured people

the whole the even before you go because every single room everything is good or there was someone injured in the place the medical team was working in which. would be. best to save those who can be saved. i think everyone checking his injuries it's minus. in my side order of 5 and then to follow these who both could get one when i was the tap and i met a man i don't know him he just asked me for all to do to go to my phone and ask me to take care of his child a 7 year old kid who was injured just want to call his wife to check on her. doesn't know anything about his wife so then you're not going to take care of his son yet. on the 2nd 2 there was another key. that was injured and there was

screaming screaming. blood all over the floor and. by the way who was very strong who was very cutting edge. even who was injured. fortunately your name unsinkable seems at that hospital and can you tell us what we know so far about the cause of the explosion. the minute the high council security council is meeting a think i know what i go. craziest thing i haven't heard. that is 2000 just listen 2750. 2750 monia there were luck there was bad luck

at the border since 2000 the there was the straw in what was become one of the ships i think to. be in full so they. want you to to mourn yeah just look at the boat. being about. 60 years. sixty's no one know about it it's still crazy and i'm sure there will be many questions to follow in the coming days when a terrible i phone on. i really thank you so much for your reporting despite it all from beirut thank you thank you. well let's turn now to some other stories making news around the world it's in italy firefighters and volunteers are spending a 6 the day battling forest fires in the eastern region of a bird so the mayor of the regional capital lock with us at a no one has been evacuated but that contingency plans are in place if the blazes spreads closer to residential areas. 2 women have been injured one of them

seriously while swimming with whales off the northwest coast of australia they were part of a group of snorkelers on a whale watching trip when they were caught by the tail fin of a mother whale protecting her calf. tropical storm is the u.s. has a battered the u.s. east coast killing at least 4 people 2 people died when a tornado created by the storm destroyed a mobile home park in north carolina the national hurricane center is warning of more floods to come as the storm continues its way north. to stay in the u.s. now where the presidential election is just 90 days away from where we stand now donald trump is facing a difficult path to reelection he's trailing by large margins in opinion surveys and he's been a roundly criticized for his handling of the coronavirus and demick now some staunch republicans are mulling what was once unthinkable voting for

a democrat in november. brian mcgrath has been a republican all his life the military adviser had a career in the navy where he was commander of a destroyer conservative values are his compass but since donald trump took office he no longer recognizes his party he's turned his back on it and longs for change listen i disagreed with virtually every word that came out of brock obama's mouth his policies were anathema to me but i was never not proud of him i see president trump as a man who has almost no ideological moorings. mcgrath is part of the new republican resistance movement they call themselves republican voters against trump many voted for trump in 2016 but now they're turning against him with nearly 100 self produced videos. before the president has broken in my. face. riddled with guilt and

very embarrassed that i voted for him and the d.n.c. run as a tomato. i will vote for the film made ok is because i believe the tomato can through was harm. but our current president. this initiative for rebellious republicans was founded by sarah longwell a conservative political strategist she hopes that the videos will encourage as many republican allies as possible * to do the unthinkable they don't trust the media they don't trust elites they certainly don't trust democrats what they need is to feel like they have permission to kind of cross tribal lines and vote for a democrat which is something they've never done before something's wrong with donald trump. another republican anti trump initiative is the lincoln project they attack trump head on using guerilla tactics putting provocative videos on the us t.v. news network fox each clip as a punch in the presidential stunning they show him as incompetent or as

a lot of your putin's friends and comrades house congress some clips seem to be addressed directly to the president himself trump has hit back calling the lincoln project a disgrace and the people they're losers when he's attacking us for a day he's not attacking joe biden we focus on us for a day he's not focus of running a campaign so you know he's easily manipulated person some of the most vicious attacks on trump and simultaneous support for the democrats come from top flight republican political strategists. george conway the husband of trump's advisor kelly conway is one of the founders of the lincoln project the conway couple is symbolic of how trump is dividing america's conservatives the republican party as it comprised today is infected by the virus of donald trump i don't think there's any saving it they don't want to be saved they don't want to walk away from trump and trump ism so i think the republican party is effectively dead bryan mcgrath

still has hope for a post trump era in which republicans examine their conscience and renew themselves as a party donald trump connected with a lot of dark parts of people's hearts in this country i didn't think it was possible that it could happen so quickly but it did i'm hoping that his performance . turns enough people against his approach so that we can get on with the business of trying to be a trusted. force for good in the world to that end in november he'll do the unthinkable and vote for democrats joe biden but in 2024 he wants to see a conservative candidate he can be proud of. well let's go to tennis now and a world number 2 rafael nadal has announced he will not take part in the u.s. open this year earlier the madrid open his home term that was cancelled male and female tennis players traditionally use the event to prepare for the french open

which is still set to take place organizers in spain felt the current rise in cases meant a cancellation it was the only responsible action rafael nadal is the tournaments record a winner. that's your news update at this hour and don't forget you can always get the latest information our round the clock on our website at the d w dot com i'm claridge's and berlin thanks so much for joining us. images of those cars and. blue studios are kind of documents lives and bygone era on and leads to those living today. are guarding guns us ministers in the box. calling.