they heard they heard the blast that's how powerful it was we are now approaching the entrances of beirut port you can see the heavy security presence the lebanese army the lebanese security forces the ambulances trying to. evacuate. if there are any survivors it's still not clear. i spoke to a port employee about an hour ago i saw him leave in a state of shock he could barely speak. all he could tell me was that it was an explosion i don't know what happened. and he told me that he saw dead bodies and injured people lying on the floor he was clearly in a state of shock he couldn't continue the conversation so you can see hospitals ambulances still evacuating. casualties to the hospital another fire truck leaving beirut ports beirut course is in the center of the capital it's. it's very close to the main highway that's these the northern entrance of beirut if you like . so the force of the explosion was felt outside. the beirut airport area central beirut all the way to the commercial district i can just give you an idea how people are were on the edge when it 1st happened a lot of them saying

questions authorities will have to answer a lot of questions on what this material was doing at beirut ports how was it stored at the root ports and whether or not it was stored in a safe manner clearly what we saw today that it was not. sent if the mother many thanks officers and a lot of the. lie of what they report as they were saying lebanon's president has called an urgent defense council meeting that meeting is underway the prime minister has declared a national day of mourning on what to say these are lives live pictures now from the scene of that explosion where firefighters are continuing to tackle the blaze at the began immediately after that massive explosion but hit the lebanese capital around to 2 hours 15 minutes ago now but so speak to how the battle. who is a journalist of the founder of beirut reports he joins us now from that open suburb beirut they tell us good to have you with us what do you make of these reports that an explosive material not explosives but an explosive material had been stored in a warehouse at the port for quite some time and the speculation that. a te

well it was an emotional vigil just outside the beirut port the site of that massive explosion a lot of people crying remember the moment that really changed the lives of so many people a massive blast that destroyed many areas in the lebanese capital 171 people killed that's the latest death toll 30 to 40 people still missing the rescue search teams excuse me continue to dig underneath the rubble at the poor to try to find the bodies a fire truck arrived at the ceremony and people were cheering because firefighters they were the 1st responders what happened was there was a fire at least this is what initial investigation show and firefighters arrived to try to put out the flames which spread to warehouse 12 where that highly explosive material was stored and there was so much anger we've been speaking to people they they believe that there should be an international investigation that they don't trust lebanese authorities who are well aware of the presence of this highly explosive material the president himself just a few days ago acknowledging that a report that reached his desk an

a 2 week state of emergency in beirut following tuesday's devastating explosion in which at least 135 people died and 5000 wounded it's also agreed to place several ports officials on the house arrest in connection with the blast beirut's governor says the disaster has left 300000 people homeless and its course $3000000000.00 worth of damage the government says the $2700.00 tons of ammonium nitrate ignited in a port warehouse an estimated 85 percent of the country's grain stocks have been destroyed out as a result a has the latest from beirut. many in the opposition are calling for the need for independent international investigators to to look into the the cause of the blast because the many state institutions are run by political parties and they have appointed their men their loyalists to positions and these people are loyal to parties and not the state so many feel that there will be some sort of a cover up many are not you know you tell them this accident and they say no no no this was not an accident this is a criminal act against the people of lebanon governments around the world have been sending offers of help from russia and germany are among

program lebanon's cabinet has agreed to put several port officials under house arrest in connection with cheese days devastating explosion in the capital beirut at least 100 people were killed and thousands more injured when a fire tonight at more than 2 and a half 1000 tons of ammonium nitrate in a port warehouse beirut's governor says up to 300000 people have been left homeless describing the situation as in the city as apocalyptic reports. the people of this disaster stricken city are starting to assess and comprehend the extent of the damage of a blast that was far more destructive than any explosion lebanon has ever seen just before sunset on tuesday highly explosive material stored at a warehouse at beirut port caused the blast sending shock waves across the city now in ruins. almost every building has been damaged many are dead thousands are injured and hundreds are missing rescue workers worked through the night and into the morning as people and bodies were feared trapped underneath the rubble because it was. my husband is an employee at the electricity company he survived but his colleagues didn't the only non moving dead bodies fro

yes a dream chaotic scenes outside beirut port as the ambulances arrived to evacuated the wounded but we have since moved to one of the hospitals in the center of beirut the american university hospital where most of the injured have been taken there are also requests on social media for people to donate blood because really dozens and dozens of people were injured in this massive massive blast that took the lebanese capital when you mentioned explosive material at one of the warehouses that is what the head of one of the 11 on security agencies general major general about suppressing him announced about approximately an hour ago and now we are hearing from lebanon's interior minister mohammad for me what he is saying is that the highly explosive ammonium nitrate was stored in the ports and he says that the lebanese people should ask customs about why it was there so officials trying to really distance themselves on what this highly explosive material was doing at the beirut port that caused this massive blast that has taken the law. it's of at least 10 people that is what we understa

of its needs there are other reports in the country in the south in the north but not as big as beirut port so you can see the damage with your own eyes how did the sheer explosion really cause damage across the city we've been driving across the city almost every building almost every apartment has been damaged and you mentioned 300000 people now homeless zain any clarity on why 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate would be left poor for you. well this is a question many lebanese are asking we've been hearing from officials since late yesterday that there will be investigations there promising accountability but the reaction in the street is how can we trust you when you have been in power over the past 3 decades yes the government took office in january new faces but they were appointed by the same political parties which have been governing this country and the political parties who many blame for mismanagement and corruption that run the economy to the ground in fact the international community is holding off providing any aid to lebanon lebanon has been requesting billions of dollars in aid t

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 ca

nearly 3,000 metric tons of it that sat in the beirut port for more than six years. now we know, we believe how it ended up there, it was a shipment headed to mozambique. financial disputes on the port. it ended up stopping in beirut, confiscated. the beirut port authorities confiscated the consignment and kept it there in a warehouse. now what we understand happened since over the years multiple times according to local officials is that they notified authorities several times in memos that apparently seemed to be documented, whether it's in court documents or emails saying they needed to resolve the situation. they needed to move this dangerous, hazardous material out of the port. now ammonium nitrate is used as an agricultural fertilizer. it's used as an explosive for mining, but it is a highly explosive, hazardous material and it was being kept in the heart of the capital. so the questions right now, the focus of the investigation is, one, what led to the initial spark? what ignited that blast but also who knew about this being there. why did they do nothing about

top story the president of lebanon says an investigation into the beirut port explosion will look at whether it was caused by negligence an accident or possible external interference 19 port officials have been detained as frustration grows over the government's response to the blast bernard smith starts our coverage from beirut. armies of volunteers are on the streets of beirut. sweeping clearing digging. they're filling the gap left. by the state. which is conspicuous by its absence. we had an i.t. company here times were tough before tuesday's explosion now she says she can't see any future here. i am in. los angeles. i see i'm 30. and both come. from 25 years. i work here out this is the 1st time i. i see something like that. lebanon's president michel aoun says an investigation into the explosion will look at whether it was caused by negligence or external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act whatever it was in beirut they want to know why 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored in an urban area. when the ammonium nitrate ignited the shock wave instantly crossed th

minister and president warmed blast months about the devastating explosive materials stored in beirut port. again i'm adrian forgotten this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up. russia says that a coronavirus vaccine has been successfully developed with production due to start in september. or current goes into coronavirus locked out new zealand reports its 1st cases of community transmission in $100.00 days. and belarus is leading opposition count that leaves the country amid violent protests over the election results. lebanon's prime minister president warned last month about the explosive material stored in beirut ports with calls last week's blast security documents seen by the reuters news agency say that leaders were told the $2750.00 tons of ammonium nitrate posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if it exploded it comes as lebanon's part of a decides on a new prime minister of the house and announced that he and his government would step down the decision follows widespread public fiore the blast killed more than 200 people injured thousands more and left hundred

fwhuns beirut port, rhosus's owner abandoned the ship and crew. according to the captain, he left us in a knowing dangerous situation, doomed to hunger. the captain also telling raid yoef free europe n.v.rhosus was impounded due to not paying fees. it then shifted to a warehouse. why so much and why such a dangerous bomb-making precursor was still there six years later is central to the government's investigation. >> translator: facts will be announced about the dangerous warehouse that's existed since 2014, meaning six years ago. i won't jump into any conclusions. >> reporter: president trump told reporters his generals think it's an attack. >> they would know better than i would but they seem to think it was an attack. it was a bomb of some kind. >> reporter: hours later the d.o.d. dialed back the bomb theory. three u.s. officials telling cnn they didn't foe what the president was talking about. however, lebanese officials are still investigating. one intelligence officer said the theory they're working on is the explosions were treated by a bom

lebanon's president raises the possibility of external interference or a rocket attack being behind the beirut port blast the number of officials under arrest is now. hello and welcome again i'm peter w. watching al-jazeera live from our headquarters here in doha also coming up sri lanka's governing party gets the victory it was looking for a majority for the rajapaksa brothers to push through sweeping constitutional changes. unemployment dropped slightly in the u.s. but the painful reality does remain for millions of americans out of a job because of the pandemic. that was never something that i thought would happen to me in my life. the u.s. is accused of political manipulation after donald trump signs an order banning business with the chinese and apps to talk and we chat.

the more than a hundred people who are missing after a huge explosion devastated the port area of the capital beirutay. the blast killed at least 100 people and injured more than 4,000 others. the whole city was shaken by the explosion and a mushroom cloud could be seen spreading over the port area. local authorities say it is likely the blast was caused by a fire igniting tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse at the port. a number of beirut port officials have been placed under house arrest pending an investigation. this afternoon, her majesty the queen has said she's ‘deeply saddened‘ by the blast. a warning, this report from our diplomatic correspondent james robbins contains some disturbing images. even beirut has rarely seen horror on this scale. part of the port utterly devastated by a massive blast of explosives which should never have been left here. stored for six years beside a city now suffering terrible consequences. yesterday, after an initial fire in the docks which caused only concern, without warning, this happened. the immense pressure wave ripped through much of

the country faces a crippling financial crisis and the aftermath of the devastating beirut port explosion. lebanon's president has called for a secular state, saying its the only way of creating real unity in the country. rebecca bailey reports. its 100 years since french authorities declared the state of greater lebanon, carving its borders modern lebanon is not ina mood borders modern lebanon is not in a mood to celebrate. some of the some of these buildings have survived. killing at least 200 people. the government resigned en masse but that's done little to dampen people's anger. on sunday, the president called for change. translation:

number of beirut port officials have been put under house arrest ending an investigation into those responsible for the blast at least a 135 people have been killed but officials are saying the death toll is likely to rise as the rescue efforts are still ongoing a spokesperson for the u.n. has said that damage to beirut's poor presents a major humanitarian challenge both in lebanon and for all the parts of the region . we expect that the damage the port will significantly exacerbate the economic and food security situation in lebanon our which imports about 80 to 85 percent of its food. our colleagues at the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs also expect that this will affect our ability to provide aid to syria because the port in beirut was one of the ways that we should be a need and of course we also use the airports so we'll need to find alternate plans but 1st we'll need to do a damage assessment and see what is needed. to repair the port and to go about our operations well in all the stories are following the number of people who have died from the coron

investigators have begun searching the wreckage at beirut's port a 1st step towards fulfilling the president's promise to deliver justice. or earlier our correspondent bosler e d in beirut told me how beirut overwhelmed hospitals are dealing with the thousands of people injured in the blasts since yesterday some of these casualties they were moved out so to us because our site beirut some of them reach 50 kilometers away from beirut to the east to become a body that doesn't pick up on the east of lebanon some other other injured people they moved to mar mountain area countryside around 30 to 40 kilometer away from beirut so sticking it out in beirut i said before there's 2 main hospitals that are in complete damage one of them it's totally out of surface it close to its members 2 nurses what lost lost their lives yesterday in the explosion it's as if he's got . to the minister also as i mentioned acutely at the hospital to teach it's capacity right now there's an edge pretty much from 2 different counties that account is from 14 countries western countries a kind off at a bridge for. me to tre

and the hospital ts all its needs from the port of beirut. porter: the port of beirut, where the explosion took place, has been almt obliterated. it is feared some are still the silos, leaving relatives desperate for news. r lebanon, this feels like a crippling wound, to lose its port right in the middle of the worst economic crisis in generations. en after the shock subsides, the impact will be hard to fathom. bbc news, beirut. laura: for more on the scene in the lebaneseit c, we heard from our correspondent on the ground. reporter:e ve been to more hospitals because more people are rushing to the hospitals. yesterday people who vere cases were treated and many in the thousands were sent back home because they could talk and walk. they told them, if you can talk emergency.u are not an you can go home. today they were trying to go seek some treatment. most of today,eople are waking up to a new reality, the reality city that have become houses in completely smashed and people will not be able to return to their houses anytime soon. iseans we ha

measures at least 100 people were killed and thousands injured authorities have placed a number of beirut port officials under house arrest the government has now declared a 2 week state of emergency for the city. the sun casts an eerie glow over a beer roots obliterated port. once a vital artery for imports and home to the country's wheat and grain stores it's never a sea of metal and concrete. levanon is a nation in mourning among them the staff at this nearby hospital. believe the. sudden. there are a lot of victims we lost for nurses and patients visitors many dead and many injured and we have like 200 injured on the scene we paid heavy. it was a sleepless night at the rest of the city's hospitals overwhelmed doctors treat to be entered in hallways vital supplies are running low outside agonized families waiting for news of their loved ones many remain unaccounted for. a little of socialism he is 29 years old from 7 pm in the evening we have been all over every hospital in beirut and now we're waiting for the names to come out and nothing has come out we do not know if he is dead or alive

the moldovan—flagged vessel called at beirut port after facing technical difficulties. icers, who found ‘deficiencies' and banned it from sailing, resulting in ‘rhosus' being stranded in beirut. the majority of the ship's ukrainian crew were repatriated on the grounds they were in ‘imminent danger‘ due to the explosive nature of the cargo on board. a warehouse, dubbed ‘hanger 12', which according to the videos of the blast, was the epicentre of the explosion. a letter shared on social media indicates customs officials had warned judges of the risks associated with storing the explosives in ‘hanger 12‘ on several occassions between 2014 and 2017. major chris hunter is a former british army counter—terrorist bomb disposal specialist — here‘s what he said about ammonium nitrate. it's it‘s not designed to be left in ports for several years on end, and effectively discarded, and of course left with the other environmental conditions to degrade it, to dry it out, that sort of thing, you know, it should never have been stored there in those conditions, and certainly not colocat

no doubt behind me is beirut port or what is left of beirut port you can see the scale of the damage this was a massive massive explosion shock waves were felt across the city i was a few kilometers from here walking in the street when i heard a thud i thought it was a mock air raid because israeli warplanes have been flying frequently violating lebanese airspace as of late but then i saw smoke and this and the shockwave pushed us to the ground glass everywhere panic chaos this country has hasn't been immune really to political violence and assassination so the 1st thing that came to our minds that this is yet another political assassination and then reports emerge that some sort of an accident happened at the beirut airport but people here are refusing to call it an accident they're calling it a man made disaster they're blaming the authorities for for this hundreds of people remain missing many of them port employees people who were working at beirut ports when that explosion went off their families are hoping that they will be 5 found alive but as you can see it's going to be very

dignitaries and officials and their ears the man himself coming to see the disaster zone itself at beirut's port he's expected to meet house and the prime minister and also michelle but he's made very clear that he wants to meet the people of beirut and the people of lebanon who got to experience this disaster michel aoun there the president of lebanon greeting the president of france they expected to have a private meeting to discuss how fronts could help at the moment france along with countries such as turkey saudi arabia and qatar have sent in medical supplies food and even on thursday iraq has now announced it will be sending food an oil tankers virus landrieu into lebanon of course we'll continue to bring you more of what the president has to say and where he visits on his very short trip to the lebanese capital. still ahead here on sarah find out why a canadian pastor has been sent to prison in me and martha holding a religious gathering. and open to widespread strolled to president trump again attacks the legitimacy of november's election as his approval ratings slump. and plenty of tran

lebanon's president says an investigation into the beirut port explosion well look at whether it was caused by negligence an accident or external interference 19 port and government officials have been detained. this accident is a wake up call as i said it could be an act of negligence or we have another possibility it could be a record attack or a bomb attack i personally requested from the french president if they were in possession of any aerial footage to kindly provide us with it in order to identify any aerial attack or missile attack if any would you know the u.s. is imposing sanctions against hong kong's leader carry lamb and 10 other officials there and in mainland china donald trump signed an executive order 2 weeks ago to punish beijing over its national security law in hong kong and china has accused the u.s. of political manipulation after president donald trump's issued another executive order banning business with 2 tech giants blocks any transaction with the parent companies of social media talk and the owner of messenger app we chat to talk has threatened legal action

laura carlisle this is the news hour live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes a port city in mourning beirut confronts the impact of choose days port blast with many remaining missing. counting the votes in sri lanka's parliamentary elections a poll that could cement the president's grip on power. twitter and facebook take down a post by president donald trump calling it false and harmful misinformation about covert 90. i don't sleep well. ask the worried about. and despair for renters millions are facing eviction in the u.s. after coronavirus safeguards come to an end. with. the coronavirus pandemic gets underway as the world's greatest players compete at the p.g.a. championship. lebanon is appealing for international help after it was left devastated by a huge explosion a humanitarian crisis is developing 2 days after the blast shredded the heart of its capital beirut it destroyed the city's ports and more than half the country's food supply comes through there it's thought medical equipment was among the items lost in the explosion. a number of countries have already sent help including f

investigators have begun searching the wreckage at beirut's port, a first step toward fulfilling the president's s promise e to der justice. brent: w we take this story nono beirut. i'm joined by our correspondent. good evening to you. it has been a little more than a day since the blast. talk to me about what beieirut s like tonightht. >> let me ususthis word -- it's like a widow.. beirutut citizens in specific ad lebanon in general are still undedeshock. they are still b bringing ththe pieces together. 300,000 citizens are displacace, left alolone. they are seeking foror homes aroundnd beirut in d different s , so y you can imagine howow dramaticic the situation is, especicially that. we arere talking about a c costf billions of dollars to rebebuil. brent: it's the middle of the night right now. we know that there's not much electricity that's being provided in the city right now. what does that mean for search-and-rescue efforts? they sayay there are still peope under the rubble. >> exactly. the black smoke a high me is what is leleft of beirut port -- the black smoke behindnd me.

beirut when a comparison of satellite images is providing another stark view of the size of the explosion and the damage this picture of the port of beirut from planet lab was taken in may this is how it looks today you can see the structures there wipes away and a large section of the main dock is gone well the focus is also turning to the long term humanitarian impact more than 300000 people as we are reporting they've lost their homes and beirut's governor says fixing the damage will cost billions of dollars medical stockpiles are depleted and some hospitals are in ruins those that are functioning have largely been overwhelmed and lebanon's main grain silo was destroyed at the port leaving less than one month's reserves. we expect that the damage the port will significantly exacerbate their economic and food security situation and lebanon which imports about 85 percent of its food. our colleagues at the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs also expect that this will of affect our ability to provide aid to syria because the port in beirut was one of the ways that we are shipping it and of course we also use the

concerns about food security in lebanon after tuesday's explosion at beirut's port in the midst of the coronavirus and economic crises. council rommany what you want is their allies my headquarters here in doha coming up in the next 30 minutes twitter and facebook take down a post by president donald trump accusing it of being harmful information about covert 19. counting the vote in sri lanka's parliamentary elections a poll that could cement the president's grip on power. and remembering the victims of hiroshima japan mark 75 years since the world's 1st atomic bombing that killed 140000 people. welcome to the program a dire humanitarian situation is coming into focus in lebanon 2 days after a large explosion tore through its capital there are concerns about food security after the destruction of beirut's port which is the main route for supplies coming in now the country imports up to 80 percent of its food the economy minister has warned that lebanon is not financially capable of dealing with the impact of the explosion and will lead international help several countries are already

stories on al-jazeera food a big concern and lebanon in the wake of the explosion that destroyed beirut's port economy minister says lebanon will need international aid to help cope with the financial fallout from tuesday's blast at least 137 people were killed and more than 5000 injured and holder is in beirut with an update on relief efforts. we saw families they've been waiting since monday night for use about their loved ones dozens of people remain missing many of them employees at beirut port the site of those massive explosions they were telling us it's not enough that these the authorities were that diligent enough to keep highly explosive material at the ports but the search operation is just so slow but we managed to talk to red cross workers in the lebanese army and they're telling us that the destruction it's just very very difficult because lebanon does not have the equipment and now rescue teams from abroad are coming to help in the search operation but there is little hope that they are going to find more people alive over 100 people dead and thousands injured many of them still

explosion has hit lebanon's capital beirut government officials say at least $73.00 people are dead and around $3700.00 injured the blast went off in the city's port area destroying buildings with a large radius. my. but we heard from 2 reporters in beirut. and owen hall the way they told us more about the fallout from the devastating explosion. the devastation here in the lebanese capital is very massive it is being estimated by tens of millions of dollars as we said earlier the blouse had was felt 10 kilometers away from the port where it took place i believe this is going to be a sleepless night for the lebanese and a very sad night on social media a lot of lebanese are faring through the incident unfortunately there are for and through it as lebanon's here shima course there's no comparison between a nuclear bomb and what's happened today but it's only shows how deeply impacted and how saddened they are and how devastating this explosion has been on the up and on and on the lebanese who are already grappling with a very bad economic situation kovac 19 pro-reform demonstrations or demonstrations asking to lemonade corruption from the power shar

it's almost exactly 24 hours since that huge explosion ripped through the port of beirut causing extensive damage across the lebanese capital the destruction has been so widespread that song according. a catastrophe is a live picture of the scene right now where there's been a recovery operation underway we know that at least 113 people have been killed and more than 4000 injured and nearly 300000 people have lost their homes lebanon's president has promised a fast and transparent investigation and the cabinet has agreed to put a number of ports officials under house arrest when investigators look into the chain of events that led to tuesday's explosions al-jazeera is. in beirut begins our coverage. the people of this disaster stricken city are starting to assess and comprehend the extent of the damage of a blast that was far more destructive than any explosion lebanon has ever seen just before sunset on tuesday highly explosive material stored at a warehouse at beirut port caused the blast sending shock waves across the city now in ruins. almost every building has been damaged many are de

and concerns over international aito beirut in the wake of the port explosion. next on "pbs newshour weeken" >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. ls the cheryl and philip in family. ra hope zuckerberg. charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we lieve taking care of tomorrow e most of you make today. mutual of america financial group, retirement serves and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visitwww.consume. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporationor ic broadcasting, a priva corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank r joining us. the day before the republican national convention gets underw

beirut by yesterday's blast. this neighbourhood here is very close to the site of the past. many of the buildings here have balconies that overlook the portnear their windows, stretching their necks to catch a glimpse of the fire when the blast struck. if you were here when this happened, where you were standing would have made the difference between life and death, between a superficial or very serious injury. pretty country as a whole, this feels like a crippling wound. lebanon has just lost its port, feels like a crippling wound. lebanon hasjust lost its port, to which of its imports come through and it has lost it right in the middle of the worst economic crisis in generations. the moment of the explosion was caught on camera by a bbc arabic reporter in beirut who was recording an interview at the time. we can watch some of it back, the images are distressing. look in the top right corner of your screen. mariam al toumi is the reporter in the top right hand corner, she was conducting the interview with a guest based in morocco. mariam is in a stable condition with minor injuries — all bbc staff are safe and have been accounted for. dr

beirut where the comparison of satellite images is providing another stark perspective on the damage this picture of the port of beirut from planet lab was taken in the month of may this is how it looks today you can see their structures wiped out and a large section of the main dock is gone the focus is also turning to the long term humanitarian impact more than 300000 people have lost their homes as we've heard and beirut's governesses fixing the damage will cost billions of dollars medical supplies are depleted and some hospitals are now in ruins those that are functioning have largely been overwhelmed and lebanon's main grain silo was destroyed at the port leaving less than one month's reserves help however is arriving turkey russia cata iran and some of the e.u. countries are among those sending aid france says 2 planes are being sent with supplies as well as firefighters and medical staff the french president emanuel macro plans to travel to beirut on thursday and an iraqi delegation has met the lebanese prime minister promising to send fuel and wheat lebanon imports up to 80 percent of its foodstuffs.

suggests lebanon's leaders had been warned just last month about the explosive materials told to beirut port au let's go live now to al-jazeera zaina holder who's of course been following this story in the capital beirut and we have seen a great deal of anger in recent days and of course that is that feeling is still very much that it was tempered today by a more somber atmosphere as well. yes an emotional ceremony people gathered close to beirut towards these sites of that blast that the damaged and destroyed many neighborhoods in beirut and changed the lives of so many people the health ministry updating the death toll saying 171 people were killed and that 30 to 40 people remain missing search operations continue at beirut poor but you know the hope of finding survivors or is little hope of finding any survivors this blast destroyed 70000 homes made 300000 people displaced so people are angry it was an emotional ceremony but at the same time they were demanding justice accountability they said enough is enough that we don't want to bury our dead before burying the political elite their me

correspondent: a country sti reeling from this massive explosion at beirut port.tor say that chaos following thelast on august 4 created a perfect storm for the virus. and hospitals here were casualties too,ncluding st. george's, wherehe explosion destroyed a 50 bed covid unit. overall at this hospital, 31 people died. >> right there is the port. 800 meters from the blast. actually, the second the blast happened to, though small hospital became dysfunctional, so w you could nk anything inside. system is still going off.arm you can see here the force of the blast, it ripped the door clean from its hinges.every poss being taken here to contain covid-19. the explosion put a stop to that. the hospital chief of staff says that cases were increasing before the blast, and since then they have doubled. >> we are in a delicate time now becausthere is community spreading of the virus, we lost testing capabilities, and we lost at least two hospitaco admitting thna patients. correspondent: most patients are being treated at lebanon's laest public hospital, which escaped serio

has ever seen just before sunset on tuesday highly explosive material stored at a warehouse at beirut port caused the blast sending shock waves across the city now in ruins. almost every building has been damaged many are dead thousands are injured and hundreds are missing rescue workers worked through the night and into the morning as people and bodies were feared trapped underneath the rubble because it was. my husband is an employee at the electricity company he survived but his colleagues didn't the only now moving their bodies from under the rubble this is a country already reeling from a dire economic crisis where 50 percent of the population live below the poverty line the state is close to bankruptcy and the cost of damage is estimated at $3000000000.00 the damage spread several kilometers more than 300000 people are now displaced its people are not in a position to cope with this disaster or how the. material losses are sad but it's nothing compared to those who lost their lives this is my taxi it's my livelihood and i'm still paying for it. everyone has a story of survival or tra

lebanon is wailing from on president devastating explosion happened in the port of beirut the country is already in a series of long running crises so how will it deal with the fallout from the blast this is inside story. a welcome to the program. it's described by some as the great collapse the lebanese capital beirut is in a state of chaos and rule when many have been killed thousands injured hundreds misson and hospitals overwhelmed homes and businesses backed a blast that struck the city with the force of an earthquake has left the nation in shock. initial reports suggest explosive materials stored in a warehouse for 6 years in sport detonated about 2700 tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate are thought to be involved it's a fertilizer that can be used in bomb making health officials warned of a toxic cloud and urged people to wear masks and stay indoors beirut's governor about $300000.00 people were displaced and the economic impact is expected to be devastating for the lebanese president michel aoun has announced a 2 week state of emergency and promised an investigation will reve

beirut is a city that is in ruins. it is almost as if it has b been struck by a nuclear bomb. the portbeirut is entirely destroyed. half of the houses in beirut are either partially or entirely destroyed. there is a shattered glass in the streets. there is an ever present danger for people in the streets, because debris is constantly falling from buildings and people don't know what to do. they don't want to leave their homes and they can't stay in their homes. crisis is quite drastic and the lebanese government isn't able to deal with such a catastrophe. in fact, i don't think any country in the world would know exactly how to deal with such a crisis. it is for this reason that the people are angry. people feel that the governmental authorities aren't doing enough. is,the truth of the matter there was so much destruction and we have little means at our disposal. we almost have nothing that we can work with, and we are still suffering the first shock. that is why we need a few days for us to be able to muster up our strength that would enable us to be able to help people. one in 300,00

it's still unclear what igniting nitrate stored for years at beirut's port.uments have emerged showed the country's top leadership and security officials were aware that stockpile. >>> at the white housed to president trump announced united arab emirates and israel establish full diplomatic ties. >> thank israel for courage and for their leadership to forge this tremendous agreement. >> as part of the agreement to establish diplomatic ties, israel will suspend plans to annex parts of the west bank. uae is the third nation to have active diplomatic ties to israel along with egypt and jordan. >>> well a big sur price on jobed to, the federal labor defendant released the weekly jobs report, fewer than 1 million americans filed for new unemployment claims. 963,000 americans filed new claims last week. now that is the lowest numbers since the start of this pandemic. after keep peaking about of 6.9 million late march. weekly job less claim were typically less than 250,000. >>> well here in california, job less claims fell for the third straight week, and the smalle

there was an explosion due to ammonium nitrate that's the story of how the nitrate got to the port in beirut was then offloaded and kept in a warehouse is 2030 does that compute is this something that is commonplace. i don't see why no off i've been reading today comments where it was suggested that the sex and the fact that it was confined to mike you've been a factor i'm not quite sure whether whether i quite understand why that should be so when there's a gacy of explosion then confinement does can exacerbate an explosion but here we're talking about a solid material and so i can't think that there was anything. to cause concern in the procedures we've heard of. in conclusion professor should production and storage of such highly dangerous chemicals be more tightly controlled well the next if it's a fairly obviously is yes i suggested myself a very simple expedient of checking the temperature that such temperature measurements when interpreted by someone. well versed in the emission theory that's in the prius way. of making some stockpiling safer for ethical for jones from chester univers

little faith acknowledgedwho they knew that thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate were stored at beirut portcated in the middle of a densely populated city. the president himself saying the report reached his desk and he is saying it is not my responsibility. i am not in charge of the port, and that i spoke to the officials at the higher defense counsel and told them to do something about it. people believed he is the president, but he is also the head of the armed forces, the commander in chief. he should have done something about it. it is not just the president. other officials were aware area that is why people have been demanding an independent investigation. they believe that is the only way to know the truth and that there will be no cover-up but the message from the authorities has been clear from day one, that we will be investigating this case and they are promising what they are saying, a transparent investigation. maryam: thank you very much. with all the latest from beirut. ♪ it took six months for the coronavirus to infect 10 million people after it was first attacked it in chi

this was in the beirut port. on the shipment of a russian-owned ship that ended up stranded in the port of beirut because of arab use with the crew but for so many here it's another indication of just how the country's political elite really don't have the well-being of this country's population at the center of their decision-making process. >> pandemic, financial crisis, now this. hearts go out to the people of lebanon. thank you so much for that. arwa damon, thank you. >>> president trump is only adding to the confusion about the cause of the explosion. so far all indications point to what arwa was pointing to, negligent against ace and an av accident. mark esper agrees with that. the president called it an attack and followed it up with this yesterday. >> they don't really know what it is. nobody knows yet. at this moment they're looking. it could -- i mean, how can you say accident? somebody was -- you know, left some terrible explosive-type devices and things around perhaps. perhaps it was that. perhaps it

says the damage to beirut's port poses a major humanitarian challenge for both lebanon and other parts of the region we expect that the damage the port will significantly exacerbate the economic and food security situation in lebanon which imports about 80 to 85 percent of its food. our colleagues at the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs also expect that this will affect our ability to provide aid to syria because of the port in beirut was one of the ways that we should be in need and of course we also use the airports so we'll need to find alternate plans but 1st joe will need to do it damage assessment and see what is needed. to repair the port and to go about our operations. jonathan was all is the emergency coordinator of doctors without borders in lebanon he joins us now via skype from beirut jonathan good to have you with us what is your organization able to do to help in beirut right now thanks for having me doctors without borders is looking out where we can see in the situation in the last 24 hours. mobilizing where medical supplies there is a huge shortage o

this was the fire in beirut port. the flashes, they say, were fireworks.ing much bigger ignited. lebanon's interior minister told local media it was ammonium nitrate, which had been stored there since 2014. sirens. it can be used as fertiliser or to make explosives. alarm bell. this is downtown beirut, close to the parliament building. since the end of last year, lebanon has been paralysed by a political and economic crisis, and street demonstrations, before the country was gripped by the pandemic. the damage is spread across the city. the shock will run much deeper. and this tragedy risks pushing the lebanese further into despair. hassan diab, the prime minister, broadcast to the nation. he told them that those responsible would pay the price. beirut‘s hospitals, already pressed hard by covid—i9, are faced with hundreds of casualties. translation: we were at home. we heard what sounded like fireworks. we thought it was a container in the port that was on fire. a few seconds later, we were flying through the air. lebanon will get international help which,

is the public anger as you say has been directed against them on their control most all of the beirut port area i think it's right in saying are people really going to start questioning the group's huge influence and. that's not accurate to say that hezbollah controls the port the port is controlled by the by the government by the port authority as well as not some all powerful force that controls the entire country that's just not the case that is a certain narrative that we're hearing from certain political factions and certain like western narratives so it's not one specific party that was responsible for this it wasn't hezbollah that was responsible for this it was the people in charge of the port authority some people that were in the judiciary that refused to act on intervene and a corrupt elite that was trying to negotiate a way to make money off of this and couldn't figure out how to split the profits so they just let this fertilizer sit there until this dangerous explosion took place it's a fault of lebanon being a dysfunctional incompetent failed state for the most part and it's

for years and nobody did anything about it and the beirut port is located in in this city and in a densely populated city so people are demanding justice they wanted independent investigation they don't believe the government led inquiry into the pastor will give the required result they believe that there will be some sort of a cover up that's the feeling in the streets so let's have a look at the scenes yesterday in central beirut. i they stood their ground in the face of power. relentless tear gas by security forces at times live ammunition. but protestors didn't leave too angry at a political class they blame for tuesday's blast that killed dozens and destroyed and damaged many neighborhoods in the lebanese capital the authorities were aware that thousands of tons of highly explosive material was stored at the beirut port for years we have survived the explosion but part of all of us has died to be honest but what can we do i am one of the fortunate ones who can leave and establish myself outside but all these people cannot so what can we do what they did was return to the st

to to try to rescue people and then you have that and obliteration of the port of beirut which is the you know we're trading country we're not a manufacturing country this is a lifeline of the economy the economy that's in the gutter in the hole where r.t. or an economic catastrophe collapsed or who are already feeling suicidal there was suicides that there was a lot of depression and this was all before this atomic bomb like a mushroom cloud descended upon us so people are starting to pick up the pieces now in some neighborhoods a lot of you know who are out there trying to help and they feel sometimes some glimmers of hope you know encourage men helping you know an old lady here or or you know try and also gets i mean we have seen missing credible effort by the people trying to help each other which is inspirational and very encouraging but i mean what how long does that go on for because there's also a lot of anger and a lot of frustration people want change but it's not clear how how do you see that being being channeled. it's very difficult i mean i think you know you have to rea