On my. I dont know what happened i was fishing in the head there was a fire and i heard something explodes and i was injured i dont know what happened. To my colleague. I think my injuries were caused by the glass he could make my call and you dont like this. Also coming up tonight europes growing list of strong arm leader ship in the European Union be putting them in their place and the beach try to make a connection between the rule of law budget. Laws. Was successfully rejected. Well to our viewers on p. B. S. In the United States and all around the world welcome we begin the day in the aftermath of the blast in Beirut Lebanon as Prime Minister has declared wednesday a day of mourning the dead are still being counted hundreds have been hospitalized all caught by surprise when 2 explosions shook the lebanese capital late this afternoon tonight lebanon is a country people everywhere. Are asking how did this happen and why did this happen. You know theres flames still burning tonight in beirut we want to go now to our correspondent in beirut basel a reading youve also good evening to you it is the middle of the nights now where you are darkness making the situation that much more difficult we know many have died we know a lot more are injured what more can you tell us now. I think this moment i can say that there is more than 50 percent and more than 2700 injured according to the ministry of health which says. In a statement which is still. From minutes ago by the ministry of. The situation i can say that the 1st its the 1st time thats think ever. I covered. Too many stories in the region since 20 years at the 1st time i ever witnessed such things its something i cant i cant find the works describe what happened i was 500 meters 600 meters away from that explosion. Of all sorts of all i thought maybe its so i think i dont know what to say or what to think i just start to look around. So its 2 explosions the 2nd one was completely huge all the smoke covered all d the area. Around to the streets to to see what happened and i saw what i saw what did you did you feel the shock wave or basel i mean you were you were close enough to see the blast did you feel the shock wave did it hit you. Yes. Happened friend of mine was injured in this explosion so i told him it would be a hospital. Thank god hes not going to kill you dont tell it he doesnt have critical injuries but what i saw in the hospital and its so dramatic. The the all the giving to park the car park or the car the are all going to be. Whatever you look theres interest on the ground trying to get on most of the house all the hospitals in better that they are overloaded they cant receive or cant. Come any more cases so thats why they did lose some of the interest to the other editors outside of beirut which is 30. 50 kilometers away from beirut daily each day because any west. Mainly. West of lebanon which is about 50 kilometers away from beirut. When were talk about 2700 injured people until this moment on the un we have too many they are we dont know anything about them announce it on. Social Media Television were also sure whatever it takes people are asking for their beloved one day dont they dont know anything about them they are on this moment. Action and you know when its good if you. We apologize for the delay here in the city let me just ask you about you know where you are lebannon is located in a geo political power keg i mean almost immediately after the blast we heard from israel israel said it had nothing to do with the explosion weve heard tonight hezbollah is calling for National Unity weve heard from saudi arabia saying they will stand behind the government in lebanon on what what crossed your mind when you heard this blast did she think that this was. An act of terrorism. Yes of course the huge explosion i never thought that because by the way it seems that its due to. Your new trait it was blocked in indeed the port of beirut and some talking about hundreds of tons of that material lost some fireworks and. Liquid gas and so on thats why i was looking. In terms of explosions with meats i heard some news its not credible yet not confirmed yet. Im talking about more than 500 ton of explosions explosives so you can imagine the the sound and destruction that left behind so at 1st of all i didnt i didnt have any think thing about i just what the what could happen the 1st explosion i thought that maybe there was a small fire near the place where i am right now because you too the happy weather the summer. Garden done to toss thought the force for that something was happening right right here and down the explosion to be placed her they do their own thing and something going on the bus would you smell anything after the explosion if you would or the what i witnessed during the past 6 hours you know i can say that the situation in beirut its chaotic the people all around the year the area. They are looking for for health they looking for shelter its most of them they lost their homes now the. Its all. Just swallowed by the bite at lest they are asking some people from other areas they are asking the people trying by group too. To join them at their own if they open their doors their own. To watch them and you want. Any time you can spend their nights at their home tonight most of you but you think its sending messages through social media. Is all that efficient whats coming any time you need to spend these coming nights at their homes in tantamount to cite. Puzzling yet youre going to ask you the same time were running out of time buzz let me just ask you one thing we know that tomorrow wednesday has been declared a day of National Mourning what would you like to see come from the government we know that the country is in an economic meltdown as well as in the pandemic what does the government have to do in your opinion beginning tomorrow. Tonight the current Prime Minister the former Prime Minister the political parties. They sent ice cold bay they sent him a day cold. Bed with its. Possible. This evening the french president. Told the president. And he had possible. Other president s and kings from the region also they offered turkey. Very very. Different go International Gold thats received by Prime Ministers president and others. It is indeed a great leap. To go on im not that lockdown due to the 2 feet on the finest. Its yes which is. Nothing which is dangerous we have. Checked if you. Talk to people so what happened yeah i think that the coming days would witness a week. Where we certainly it was certainly. Recently hope that we hope that you and everyone in lebanon we certainly wish the best for you moving forward we know that you have some difficult difficult hours ahead of you our correspondent basel 3 didnt you when you did. Your time youre reporting tonight stay safe. Thank you. Well now to europe and a different kind of crisis has now seen 26 consecutive days of protests people are angry over a series of high profile corruption scandals and they are demanding the government of populist Prime Minister boyko bourse off resign the perception is growing across europe that the government in bulgaria is becoming increasingly authoritarian and bulgaria has company there are disturbing developments taking place in poland and hungary 2 shouldnt the European Union prevent this why isnt it well discuss the role of the e. U. In just a moment but 1st this report beginning in sofia. Protesters have been taking to the streets of the capital sofia and most other major bulgarian cities for weeks now they number in the 10s of thousands theyre calling for the government to step down accusing politicians of getting too cozy with the countrys all agog. And her husband mahmoud come out to join the protesters every day and own kinds of weather. So the team his father owns a company that makes elevators and influential attorney decided he would take it over and roll it tina says he was aided by the public prosecutor. Father refused to bow to the pressure and went public with the affair now hes fled the country since then his family claims theyve been continuously harassed and then a special police unit broke into their house in a drawer they allegedly discovered gold coins that hadnt been there before she says a surveillance camera recorded the home intrusion. Arrived later she shows us where the coins were allegedly found the 43rd. In the bocage magenta people i didnt think. That he is strong contained and resolute and a folder for seats. But they put little back of coins. Its in the name. And they said to me well. We found. Protein and stays in touch with her father who is in hiding somewhere in western europe she can still reach him by telephone she says but the police confiscated her laptop. Its grim extremely cruel. You know how people look at me grey im not. Sorry for me. Once the crew of irish crisis is related to me 1000000 bulgarians to flee to western europe only ones left in the country will be the Police Public prosecutors and attorneys. For the protests flared up on july 9th on the black sea coast when demonstrators formed up in front of billionaire and ex politician ahmed villa he said to have close ties to the government the police tried to stop the demonstration but the crowd managed to break through to dog on the illegal private beach many bulgarians deeply resent these special privileges the all the guards buy for themselves. Member of parliament because of the Coalition Party sees at least some of the demonstrators as enemies of the country and does not agree that the government should step down. Unfortunately some people are joining the demonstrations or obviously not interested in the teachers democracy nor in justice or liberty with a slew of democrats than it was spite of it it was the nichols who will doubt i the demonstrators for their part insist they wont back down till their demands are met. Well my next guest says it will gary of poland and hungary have moved away from liberal democracy and that the European Union is letting them get away with it daniel kilobit is director of the center for European Studies hes associate professor of Political Science at Rutgers University he joins me tonight from philadelphia then its good to have you on the day you write that the European Union has become trapped in an authoritarian equilibrium what is that and how is the e. U. Being trapped. You know what i mean by that concept is that while the e. U. Broadly speaking is a union of democracy this democratic process sees there are some Member States within the e. U. Which have drifted into a kind of hybrid authoritarianism and they can persist in existed within this broader framework of the e. U. And in fact some aspects of your membership even help them to get away with that so some of these regimes enjoy protection from europe parties so youre got about one area the Gerber Borisov party is a member of the European Peoples Party the center right party it may help defend them also these regimes get you money so that helps finance them and finally ended gratian is also a factor within the e. U. Because of Free Movement and how these regimes persist because essentially people who are happy with the situation in the country can very easily leave and choose sort of exit instead of remaining and voicing their discontent so youre put in both areas around 11 percent of the population disproportionately young educated as moved out of the country you mentioned these Political Party groups i want you to listen to a man they monfort webers from germany hes a member of the European Parliament and leader of the conservative European Peoples Party group which he refers to in this clip as the e p p take a listen to b. S. E. P. P. Via very happy now thats European Council sense now a clear signal off to get on this no where else in the vote 27 countries states are giving such a strong and united on sistas a call that crisis like they do in europe. So then when munford vapor there talks about unity does he mean that his conservatives from germany the conservatives of chance or americal they are in agreement and share the same values as the conservatives of hungary and of Prime Minister viktor orban. Well i did get that if you are clear what hes trying to get at is just crazy greenough a beach last weekend dont get me wrong theres plenty of good things about the agreement its good that the e. U. Was able to read a collective response to the pandemic but i think you know more generally you know webers been trying to sort of change his reputation on this issue lately and attend my piece sort of standing up for democracy will a lot you values but in fact he has been one of the most crucial in the learners of. Drift toward authoritarianism in hungary in particular in both areas also because the e. P. T. True in the European Parliament which he needs for instance still have 6 feet x. Or bonds party as a member even though hes been recategorized by all the ratings agencies like the dam or Freedom House as it autocratic regime by now and in fact bieber campaigned for bomb in 2018 call for his reelection elections that were described as deeply flawed by the way c e so yeah i think you know hes basically putting 30 years. The desire to have the Biggest Party group possible of European Parliament head of you know in schools and values and therefore you know keeping or on his teaching yeah that brings me to a woman named ursula fund a law and she was voted European Commission president earlier this year she won because the conservative party bloc in the European Parliament the p. P. Stood together behind her and that includes Hungarys Viktor Orban so she really has no incentive now to crack down on orban does she get mean she actually owes him. Well she certainly as you said for her election she could have become president of the commission you know without ask for in fact its one of the ironies that im trying to give the parliament more say over the Commission President kind of make it more democratic process that will effort increase the incentive to have the Biggest Party group you could write to be able to pick the president then increases the incentive to tolerate some very unsavory parties and regimes so thats what the e is done essentially is to. Put up with what i hope that autocrats in their group to try to be the dominant force in european politics and forget why you see what shes done she in terms of paying back or by 1st she gave in or bankroll a medium large it or folio which she. Wanted where he can influence the enlargement process and also since her commission came in they havent brought any new infringements on these you know rule of law and democracy kind of issues any new cases against hungary or me progress on existing ones and regret about 30 seconds left in let me ask you what do you propose this should be done to get the European Union alcott of this talk receive trap well id say 2 things you money has to be conditioned on respect for the for values of the e. U. So theres talk about that going on in the past you have sense that the deal that hasnt happened yet that really needs to happen if the jeans and their money suspended and then these party groups need to step up and take responsibility and eject member parties who are not democratic all right Daniel Coleman director of the center for European Studies and associate professor of Political Science at Rutgers University there we appreciate your time and your insights tonight thank you thanks for having me on. Hard to china now where the government is not only cracking down on muslims but other religions as well as it pushes to assert communist ideology buddhist temples have been closed or demolished while a campaign has been launched to destroy hundreds of statues of buddha. Reports. Is a devout buddhist view is not his real name hes afraid of repercussions in his hometown on buddhists have come under pressure from the government since they started protesting against the destruction of the buddhist sites in the outskirts of the city a 3 phase statue of. The d. T. Of mercy in chinese buddhism is bound for demolition. Suddenly the government fenced the statue off they are doing works inside but they havent informed society about the reasons for the destruction. This is left as buddhists and those who worship the goddess of. Inside and outside china quite bewildered. The 3 faced and religious and monastery were built in 2002 when a company donated the giant statue to the Buddhist Community made of white jaded quickly gained fame. I am trying to take a look at the site the statue is located in a mountainous region about an hours drive from the city center 3rd the decision to build a statue in these mountains was not a coincidence it isnt has a long history in. This area is Something Like the cradle of chinese borders and many of the buddhist classics with 1st translated from sanskrit into chinese in monasteries located in this area we approached the statue where security guards up posted at their roadside stopping and taking pictures of the demolition is trickly prohibited the government does not want these images to spread on social media we can only feel them out of the car window. It is unclear how far the demolition has already gone activists have written to the government and complained on social media for the conservation of the statue of buddhist associations as far as malaysia have protested against its demolition to no avail. C. N. N. Is an ancient capital of china tourists from all over the world come to see its Historic Sites including its buddhist heritage but in recent years the government has pushed for a revival of the communist ideology even inside dot untempered the world famous buddhist heritage the sign reminds visitors to uphold socialist values. Not only on buddhism but also on christianity and islam the Chinese Government is exercising immense pressure on religions compared to the latter to buddhism is treated even more leniently. The government considers it to be more in line with their norms but ive witnessed that pressure on buddhist temples myself and their activity is increasing. And the pace is picking up as well temples have been forced to cancel religious events monasteries have had some of the buildings demolished experts estimate that the 3 faced buddha is just one of up to 800. 00 statues that have been destroyed. From dismantling bhuttos 2 blasts in beirut the day is almost done but the conversation it continues online youll find us on twitter either at u. W. News you can follow me at brant gothe t. V. And remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see you then everybody. Women from 3 countries with one. Theyre fighting for their rights and their childrens. In brazil against violence and amazon. In india for the right to play. In sudan with visible success. Showing the freedoms. Of. W. More posters from nigeria thats what normally would expose their unique. Authentic. The to the successful beyond belief. Ali would start aug 7th d w. Im not laughing at the gym i guess sometimes i am but i stand up and whip it up and move things even for jam a culture of looking at stereotypes a question that is think the future of the country that i dont blame. Yet even seems to take his grandmother day out to eat its all about ok. I my job join me from the gym sunday w. Post. Crime fighters are back africas most successful radio drama series continues. This season the stories focus on hate speech color of prevention and sustainable charcoal production. All of the sodas are Available Online and of course you can share and discuss on africas facebook page. And other social media platforms. Writers to news know. Frankfurt. International gateway to the best connection self road and radio. Located in the heart of europe connected to the home with. Experience outstanding shopping and Dining Office and try our services. Biala guest at Frankfurt Airport city managed by from. This is g. W. News why but from berlin a massive explosion or walks beirut. The blast in tears through the citys 4th killing dozens and leaving many people trapped under the rubble rescuers are racing to save lives the Prime Minister says those responsible will pay the price well take you live to the lebanese capital also coming up with just 90 days left until the u. S. Election lifelong republicans explain why they plan to vote