Angry crowds in Beirut have urged Emmanuel Macron to help bring political change to Lebanon as the French president toured the city’s blasted port and the shattered surrounding neighbourhoods. Macron was surrounded by hundreds of people as he toured the wrecked Gemmayze neighbourhood near the port, many of whom called for radical political change. 'We have to launch a new political initiative,' Macron told reporters. 'All this anger is directed at politicians'
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Beirut explosion: baby born as blast rips through hospital – video
As a devastating blast tore across Beirut, Emmanuelle Khnaisser prepared to give birth to a baby boy while the hospital shook and windows were shattered.
Her husband, Edmound, captured the moments before their son was delivered safe and well on camera. In a social media post, the new father praised the efforts of the doctors and nurses, adding: ‘My son George was born under a catastrophic blast. I did not believe we [would come] out alive.’
The explosion has killed at least 157 people, left thousands homeless and caused up to $15bn (£11bn) worth of damage to the capital
- Blast timeline: what we know, and what we don’t
- ‘None of them this time’: Lebanese vow not to let leaders off hook
Beirut blast timeline: what we know, and what we don’t
What happened in the months and years leading up to the explosion at the Lebanese capital’s port?
Beirut is still counting the cost in lives and property from a massive explosion at its port on Tuesday that sent a shockwave blasting across the city. Anger is growing in Lebanon at what appears to be an industrial accident that authorities foresaw and warned about for years before. The Lebanese government is currently investigating, but many in the country and internationally are calling for an independent probe.
Exactly what happened at the port in the early evening of 4 August is still unclear, but several facts have come to light in the days since the blast. The trail begins nearly seven years ago, with a rickety ship leaving the eastern European state of Georgia, carrying a deadly load.
Continue reading...Beirut bride describes moment explosion hit during wedding photoshoot – video
Israa Seblani, 29, was smiling and posing for her wedding video when the Beirut explosion hit. Dramatic footage captured the moment the blast rocked the Lebanese capital, killing more than 135 people and injuring thousands more.
Speaking a day later at the same site, Seblani, a doctor who works in the US and was in the city for her wedding, said: 'There is no word to explain ... I was shocked, I was wondering: what happened, am I going to die?' Her husband, Ahmad Subeih, 34, a businessman from Beirut, said: 'We are still in shock ... I have never heard anything similar to the sound of this explosion'
Continue reading...Woman plays Auld Lang Syne on piano amid debris of Beirut explosion – video
Beirut resident Hoda Melki captures the moment her mother plays Auld Lang Syne on the piano among the debris and damage of her apartment, a day after a major explosion in Lebanon's capital. The blast killed 135 people, injured 5,000 and damaged the houses of up to 300,000 after ripping through Beirut's port
- Anger in Beirut after missed warnings over 'floating bomb'
- Beirut's ground zero: a rip through the heart of an already dying city
Beirut’s ground zero: a rip through the heart of an already dying city
‘Do you really think Hiroshima could have been worse than this?’ asked one man on an agonising Lebanese day
- Visual guide: how explosion caused devastation
- Tell us: have you been affected by the explosion in Beirut?
The twisted and mangled heap of steel that used to be Beirut’s port stretched to both horizons; to the left, battered skyscrapers seemed hunched in defeat and an empty highway strewn with wrecked cars led through a heat haze the other way.
A traffic barrier was covered in the bloody handprints of those who had somehow survived the cataclysmic blast and had staggered into the apocalyptic aftermath.
Continue reading...Before and after: drone footage shows devastation caused by Beirut explosion – video
Beirut's port district was left a tangled wreck following a warehouse explosion on Tuesday that killed at least 100 people and injured thousands. The port area is the country's main route for imports, which are vital to help to feed a nation of more than 6 million people
Drone footage courtesy of Anthony Rahayel, KT Drones, Getty Images and the AP.
Continue reading...Beirut explosion: priest dodges falling debris as shockwave hits church during mass – video
Footage filmed during a Beirut church's livestream shows the moment it was struck by the blast while a priest was delivering mass. The cleric can be seen fleeing as debris and stained-glass windows fall from above. At least 100 people were killed and 4,000 injured by the explosion in the city's port area
- Beirut blast: what we know so far
- Lebanon in mourning after deadly Beirut blasts
- Beirut explosion: claims 'nothing was done' for years over ammonium nitrate at Lebanon port – live updates
Footage shows moment Beirut explosion hits as bride poses for photographs – video
A bride in Beirut was filmed posing for photographs moments before a massive explosion ripped through the city's port and surrounding areas, killing at least 100 people and injuring thousands more.
Israa Seblani, 29, was outside Le Gray Hotel, where she and husband, Ahmad Subeih, had planned to spend their first night as newlyweds, when the blast hit. In the video, filmed by Mahmoud Nakib, Seblani was seen running away from the scene with those around her, later telling reporters: 'It was not describable the devastation and the sound of the explosion. We are still in shock'.
The deadly explosion has been blamed on thousands of tonnes of the chemical ammonium nitrate, which had been lying unsecured in a warehouse since 2014
Continue reading...The aftermath of the explosion in Beirut – in pictures
Lebanon is in mourning and surveying the damage to its capital, Beirut, after a massive explosion ripped through the city’s port and surrounding areas on Tuesday. At least 100 people were killed and 4,000 injured, with many still feared trapped under rubble
Continue reading...Aerial footage captures scale of destruction from Beirut explosion – video
Aerial video captures the devastating impact of the explosion that left dozens dead and thousands injured in the Lebanese capital. The full scale of the blast is yet to be felt as rescue efforts continued the morning after the explosion flattened much of the city's port
Continue reading...‘It’s a catastrophe’: Beirut residents and mayor react to deadly blast – video
Beirut’s mayor, Jamal Itani, struggled to describe what he saw as he toured parts of the Lebanese capital the day after an explosion killed at least 100 people. Footage from the blast zone showed extensive damage, with residents moving through rubble and cleaning up broken glass and overturned furniture in their homes
- Visual guide: how explosion caused mass casualties and devastation across Beirut
- Beirut explosion: latest updates
Donald Trump claims Lebanon explosion ‘looks like a terrible attack’ – video
The US president Donald Trump says an explosion that killed dozens of people in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, looks like an attack. 'We will be there to help. It looks like a terrible attack,' he said at a press briefing. Trump was later asked why he called the explosion an attack, not an accident, saying he met with generals who felt it was 'a bomb of some kind'
Continue reading...Beirut explosion: scores dead and thousands hurt as blast rips through city – video report
Beirut has been rocked by a huge explosion, devastating parts of the city and injuring thousands of people. Eyewitness footage shared widely on social media showed a section of the city's port area on fire before a huge blast engulfed nearby neighbourhoods, flattening buildings and leaving streets littered with broken glass and debris.
The Lebanese security chief, Abbas Ibrahim, later blamed combustible chemicals stored in a warehouse. Lebanon's prime minister, Hassan Diab, said those responsible would 'pay a price' for the disaster.
- Lebanon: at least 73 killed as huge explosion rocks Beirut
- 'We're cursed': shock and despair in Beirut as explosion devastates city
Beirut explosion: over half the city damaged in blast that killed at least 100 and wounded 4,000 – live updates
Lebanon PM Hassan Diab appeals for international assistance as search continues for missing in devastated city
- Full report: Lebanon in mourning
- ‘We’re cursed’: shock and despair as explosion devastates city
- Crisis upon crisis: blast rocks a Lebanon already on its knees
- Ammonium nitrate: what is the chemical blamed for blast?
- Tell us: how have you been affected by the explosion in Beirut?
The French Presidency has just confirmed that Emmanuel Macron will to travel to Beirut tomorrow (Thursday).
Pallets of aid are being loaded in Dubai to be flown to Beirut:
23 tonnes of aid will be sent via air to Beirut from the World Health Organisation warehouse in Dubai.
Items include medical trauma kits carrying syringes, bandages and gauze @TheNationalUAE pic.twitter.com/JoYpfklQDd
Beirut explosion: buildings destroyed and cars upturned in aftermath of blast – video
Two large explosions have devastated Lebanon's capital city, Beirut. Footage taken in the immediate aftermath shows windows blown out, streets littered with debris and cars upturned by the strength of the blasts. The impact was reportedly felt 200km away in Cyprus
- Lebanon: dozens killed as huge explosion rocks Beirut
- Beirut explosion – live updates
- Beirut explosion – in pictures
‘We’re cursed’: shock and despair in Beirut as explosion devastates city
Lebanese capital in state of chaos as people grapple with scale of blast that has injured thousands
As a ghostly brown haze began to clear, the streets of east Beirut emerged in apocalyptic ruin. Even 4km from the centre of the blast each building had lost some, if not all, of its windows. It was just after 6pm. Smoke, dispersed with pockets of pink gas, shrouded some of the carnage. Huge shards of glass covered roads – some jagged pieces had ripped through cars. Trees were shredded, and pools of blood formed puddles in the streets.
Continue reading...Beirut explosion – in pictures
An explosion has rocked central Beirut in Lebanon, shattering windows and shaking buildings for several hundred feet. The source of the blast is still unclear
- Beirut explosion – live updates
- Full report: huge explosion in Beirut
- Video: Beirut footage shows massive blast
Beirut explosion: footage shows massive blast – video
Video circulating on social media shows a massive explosion rocking central Beirut - shattering windows, knocking down doors and shaking buildings several hundred feet away.
Lebanon’s health minister told journalists a ship carrying fireworks had blown up in the port, though the size of the blast heard across the country raised suspicions it might have resulted from a rocket strike or detonation of explosives - deliberate or otherwise. The source of the blast has not been confirmed
Continue reading...Inside Lebanon’s economic crisis – podcast
Scenes of economic despair are visible across Lebanon – from shops to homes, businesses to hospitals. Guardian journalist Martin Chulov discusses why the country is verging on financial collapse
Across all pockets of a country conditioned to hardship over decades of war and tumult, the effects of a catastrophic economic implosion were evident when the Guardian’s Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov took a road trip across Lebanon. Since March, the prices of most goods have nearly tripled, while the value of the national currency has fallen by 80% and much of the country has ground to a halt. Those who still have work are surviving month to month. Poverty is soaring, crime is rising, and streets are incendiary. The country has defaulted on one bond payment and a second is due soon.
Martin tells Rachel Humphreys about how government corruption and financial mismanagement have lead to Lebanon finding itself on the brink of financial collapse.
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