Exploded reducing large parts of the city to rubble. This footage was filmed immediately after the explosion buildings lie in ruins theres broken glass everywhere people are in shock. God may be ok i believe god i think they are getting married oh hello. Less than a 2nd with most everything i so good that. Is unfair and. Biased it was a custom this is the old version 911 more than 150 people are dead and thousands injured many others are still missing. The suspected cause of the blast incorrect storage of highly explosive chemicals. The porch where the explosion took place is thought to be largely under the control of hezbollah and state structures have ceased to exist in many parts of lebanon. And the she has a lot more party of god has exploited the power vacuum for years undermining lebannon spall the nickel system supported and financed by iran hezbollah is dividing the country. As follows chris 6 would say yes this does destabilize the region hezbollah supporters would say that as well as ministries strength is an asset for loveman because that keeps israel away in the war in syria has pulled off fought successfully on the side of president Bashar Al Assad helping to keep him in power. Back home in lebanon the group has emerged stronger than ever the more theyre fighting to defend is the model of bashar assad which this is its a ship. So to what extent does hezbollah determine the course of politics in lebanon. Even before the beirut explosion the city still bore the scars of a civil war that for more than 15 years crippled the capital and the country as a whole. Was among those who fought back that. He was 16 years old when he 1st held a weapon in his hands. The lebanese civil war erupted in 1975. Beirut became a battlefield as did virtually the entire country. The war initially saw christian militias fighting against the Palestinian Liberation Organization or p. L. O. Which was threatening to take control of beirut. The hostilities then escalated into a broader conflict between christians and. Arab nationalists. Eventually in 1902 israel invaded and occupied southern lebanon in order to expel the p. L. O. From the country it was during this time that hezbollah was formed in resistance to israel the war claimed tens of thousands of lives and left the country devastated the arts are believes his generation has a lot to answer for the bad thing theorists who was a person who were might a very they know but they dont speak about that. Thats why every 1520 years something some places were people. They know. How to throw the buildings and the gone old movie a small house where they go they dont know anything about their life except to try to. Among the biggest losers of the civil war for the maronite christians who are affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. In 1943 france had relinquished its mandate over levanon and the country became independent for decades afterwards the maronites held sway and levanon muslims druze Orthodox Christians and all other religious minorities had to accept the political and economic supremacy of the maronites. Defeat and the civil war had far reaching consequences for that as middle east Analyst Daniel gallo explains. Even on board of the state of lebanon was created in order to guarantee a christian majority its an absolute exception in the history of the middle east a state was created with the help of the west and also the league of nations in which christians were in the majority and he could have asked by a vote at a time in Political Developments the before the lebanese civil war that the christians had enjoyed guaranteed. Privileges including a majority in parliament to the wall and through the agreements that was signed in its wake will get this changed today the christians no longer have those privileges you need now after the civil war but cards were reshuffled lebanon system of shared power was revised to give the Muslim Population equal representation. Each religious group was granted hosts and privileges but those groups tend to look after their own interests rather than working for the benefit of the country sectarian networks have thrived fueled by corruption and nepotism making the whole system resistant to change. The party of the maronite christians is led by. Who comes from one of lebanons most prominent political dynasties. Both his uncle and brother were assassinated. Nevertheless the mile believes and lebanese democracy. We have a history of 80 years of democracy the only maybe country in the region where you have expresident living in peace in their own country you have every 4 years in the election you have. Governments are being formed even if it takes time even if its difficult to do it every time but at least you are doing it and its a democratic process and this is a model that we. That you are willing to defend. The political system in lebanon is now under greater threat than ever before the shia has Ball Movement is growing in strength. Many of its supporters despise the lebanese state. On the last friday of ramadan has a last celebrates clicks or jerusalem day which was 1st instituted by the iranian later on. Tola khomeini in 1979 as a day of resistance to israel the dome of the rock in jerusalem has become a symbol of that struggle. Hezbollah calls itself the party of the resistance opposing not only israel but also its own seemingly powerless state. Only resistance has proved successful but by hezbollah not the state this Resistance Movement emerged the moment it became clear that the state was powerless to do anything for the state let the occupying israelis humiliate us to the extreme in the south of the country on a daily basis the Resistance Movement consists of all these people here live on land that is now. Hezbollahs base is made up of the many or shiites who constitute roughly one quarter of the population of lebanon. Hezbollahs secretary general. Is the man they look to for decades hes been the head of the party and the armed militia its been years since now israel has appeared in public due to the risk of assassination the list of not enemies as long as israel regards him as a chief terrorist. On this occasion his supporters only get to see him on a big screen he sent a video message from a hiding place in the mountains. We have precision missiles capable of hitting all essential targets in the zionist entity. And hezbollah doesnt just make empty threats over the years its carried out attacks in many parts of the world targeting the us french and above all israeli interests the u. S. And israel have designated hezbollah a terrorist organization and. Some European Countries have completely banned the group. Called the European Union only calls has laws military. When a terrorist organization. Hezbollah has mounted numerous attacks on northern israel near the border with lebanon up ducting soldiers targeting and killing civilians firing rockets and using suicide bombers. To move through. Your home sites or works at the institute for National Security studies and telhami. Hizbullahs definitely the most Dangerous Organization but its not only organization is a beloved is a Political Party its the social network its. Religious faulty and its also an army its a very well equipped Army Advanced aami with sophisticated weaponry was were provided by the iranians and the syrians. Hezbollah was formed in the 1980 s. And the cob valley on the border to syria. Today the group also controls parts of beirut and the south of the country. During lebanons civil war the hezbollah militia began fighting against israel after it occupied the south of the country. Faced with a guerrilla war of attrition the israeli army eventually pulled out of lebanon in 2000 hezbollah claimed victory. Nicholas blanford as a british journalist. During the 1990 s. He was writing for lebanese daily newspapers back then there was a general consensus within lebanon to support hezbollah to support hezbollahs resistance. Activities including from those the view has followed with some distrust. And theres a long List Organization with links to iraq but the resistance of credentials helps hezbollah game popularity across the country. Has been lost a version of history is that Israel Occupied southern lebanon and that hezbollah put up resistance until the israelis withdrew. In fact as ball also mounted repeated attacks on its arch enemy after that time. In 2006 as began firing rockets into northern israel. Then crossing over into israel hezbollah militants killed 3 Israeli Soldiers and abducted 2 more. Israel hit back launching a Ground Invasion of southern lebanon and a series of airstrikes reaching as far as beirut. More than a 1000 lebanese were killed most of them civilians. The war also cemented hezbollahs status as one of israels principal enemies. The israelis faced with and is challenge by an army these using those guerrilla tactics thats what i call the thin. And it is very well trained very well equipped. With money intentions any jeopardize the stability of the region and it may create the war between israel and lebanon the state of living on which crucible has basically a 100. United nations troops had been stationed in southern lebanon since 1978. Their mandate to guarantee peace and security in the contested region. But it proved an Impossible Task for a u. N. Force that was far too small. The Lebanese Army was in a pitiful state after the civil war and controlled by different religious groups. Only when 6 un peacekeepers were killed in the 2006 war between israel and hezbollah did the United Nations change its policy. Since 2006 the un forces have had whats known as a robust mandate which allows greater scope for the use of force if necessary. For years things were pretty quiet along the border but recent months have seen a number of armed skirmishes leading to a renewed rise in tensions to this day a state of war still exists between israel and lebanon and the 2 countries have no diplomatic relations. Tel aviv lies 150 kilometers south of that border with lebanon on. Its israels biggest city and it now lies within the range of hezbollah missiles. Thats one of the reasons why the Israel Defense forces have chosen to locate their center of operations deep underground beneath their headquarters. That. Israel is such a small country that a short reaction time to attack from outside is team. The final 2 its survival. The israeli army monitors the activities of hezbollah lot closely its findings show that hezbollah has grown in strength partly through the experience it has gained fighting in the war and neighboring syria. Israel sees hezbollah law in a wider strategic context. It views the shia militia 1st and foremost as a proxy for the implementation of iranian plans. Many analysts say iran is trying to establish a land corridor from its own territory to the mediterranean with the aim of projecting an extended sphere of influence were the regime in tehran now has close allies over a wide area reaching from iraq and syria through to lebanon with hezbollah. We see rainy and attempts to create a land corridor or from iran through about a 1000 kilometers more or less from iran all the way through lebanon through iraq and syria when we look out events in syria we care less about if the dictator Bashar Al Assad regains control over the country or not what were interested in is whether the iranians will be able to make this into yet another iranian. Outpost military outpost against israel and we have said very clearly that we have no intentions to allow the iranians to do so. In recent years israel has launched hundreds of attacks on suspected iranian targets in syria. Supplies destined for hezbollah have also been bombed in a low level war thats never been officially declared. Back to be. Route. Assura or day of remembrance is one of the most sacred dates on the shia calendar. Here in the lebanese capital its the time when veterans of the hezbollah militia are honored many of these men fought in syria its estimated that hezbollah lost more than 1500. 00 fighters in that war together with Iranian Forces they helped to keep the regime of Bashar Al Assad in power. Good it was a slow time to go one of them. Was the families of those who have died in combat for hezbollah are given financial and Material Support hezbollah also runs schools and hospitals and has become an important Welfare Institution and weapon on i so how is the organization financed. With the iranians have always been the main bankroller of hezbollah hezbollah years ago diversified his portfolio and they have all kinds of Revenue Streams coming directly into the organization so a lot of it is chargeable donations from wealthy shia businessmen who support hezbollah respect the same applies on a smaller scale to has followed sport base but they also have a whole array of business networks. Hezbollah continues to grow in power and influence and is shifting the denominational power structure in lebanon in favor of shiites. Wealthy christian and sunni muslim families fear losing their influence. Corruption and nepotism which are widespread in lebannon have also served to guarantee many of them a luxurious lifestyle. For years the sunnis had hoped they could keep hezbollah under their control. Lebanons former sunni Prime Minister saad hariri was no exception he followed in the footsteps of his father rafi career. And just like his father he tried to unite the lebanese under sunni leadership to this and he was prepared to make concessions to has belonged. To. The billionaire Building Contractor with lebanese saudi and french citizenship wanted to build on the legacy of his father who had been a dominant force in lebanese politics often curry was assassinated in 2005. Kerry had been a beacon of hope not only for levanon and its National Agenda is a need you know he was also a figure with whom the sunni side tend to find out that the man who brought the cosmopolitan sunni elites back to the country well and who had also given greater emphasis to the sunni identity of lebanon model. But saad hariri is tolerance of the shia Hezbollah Movement did not go down well with saudi arabia the selfappointed protector of the sunnis. For years the saudis urged her to exert more pressure on hezbollah. The groups closeness to saudi arabias bitter rival thereon was enough to win period the kingdom because i mean by the movie to confuse the saudis were always eager to have a foot in the door to wield power in lebanon and theyve achieved this in diverse ways vajra Investments Property and government bonds that they purchased the sound is big problem was that hariri who they placed so much faith in had not managed to suppress the interests of other powers in favor of saudi interests different person. Did nothing to rein in hezbollah then during a state visit to the saudi capital riyadh in november 27th team he suddenly announced his resignation in a statement that completely contradicted his previous political line. And the new law out of the. I am stepping down because i cannot accept disappointing the lebanese people. Over the last few years and decades with its arsenal has repeatedly presented us with a fait accompli has been that is sad enough. Im going to walk but then it claims that these weapons are for the resistance when in fact they are being used against our brothers in syria and yemen even against lebanese. Or yemeni you. Im in the 19. To this day it remains unclear whether hariri was forced to step down but it took the intervention of french president a manual mcfaul before hariri was able to leave saudi arabia once back in lebanon to be rescinded his resignation these political machinations only served to boost hezbollahs position a few months later the group had a strong showing in elections and a government led by hariri has ball all had 2 cabinet posts for the 1st time. Look at the earth today is the only a position for tea in the middle we refused to be part of the deal the managed to get the husband to control the country. And today we are fighting alongside with a lot of independent personalities and the some groups from the Civil Society in order to form a larger position to the to the way lebanon is being governed today. But perhaps the loudest opposition to the government has come from the streets with the countrys economy deteriorating fast hundreds of thousands turned out to protest in october 29th teens in beirut and across lebanon. They blamed the political elite for the countrys problems they demanded more jobs a working administration and called on the government to resign many protesters were hoping for an end to lebanons sectarian divisions and power structure hezbollah was quick to respond sending in its supporters to intimidate the protesters asanas rolla was once again in evidence. The police sought to keep the 2 sides apart but the peaceful demonstration simm descended into violence. On october 29th saad hariri resigned as Prime Minister the rest of the government remained in office including has been lost to ministers. Despite repeated requests for an interview no representative of hezbollah was willing to talk to us so instead we met with u. S. Senior bear hes a shiite and a longstanding member of parliament. He sees has blog as indispensable. As well as the woman is the seen by many people as a part of the the health of the feed lives is the hope the believe the lebanese their thirtys and with all the threats. Continuously for the israelis the. Who could be a at least the balancing. Shop there has been a politician for many years and has also held cabinet posts. He currently chairs the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs committee. When meeting with representatives of the Us Government or International Organizations like the world bank as seen here he resists all attempts to try to exert pressure on the lebanese government because it has been long. Washington is once again seeking to limit hezbollahs power and cut off its funding channels something sha bear finds inappropriate. To do is below is represented in parliament of police focus following the single the there was a lot of them in government and they have a good presentation i mean they were present the chunk of people in the country so as lebanese i mean all the lebanese the factions have stayed to the moon. Raising this issue in the negative way or asking us to put pressure here over who will lead to confrontation into a conflict with the conflict. But even many who up until now accepted hasbro law as a legitimate defender against israel are now realizing how dangerous the groups of course could be for lebanon. Laurie hi taiwan is a popular blogger and activist she criticizes hezbollahs policy of sending its militia into conflicts elsewhere in the middle east because she believes it increases the chances of lebanon becoming embroiled in a war. You have to swallow does the Lebanese Hezbollah woods defense lebanon on. This is reality if this in. The same time there is as below which is the regional players and this is where the division comes. The fact that hezbollah has become a state within a state is perhaps only part of a wider problem faced by lebanon on the out of politics being defined by religion and. Laurie high tie on organizes meetings for women who want to bridge the divide between the religious groups. That are here christians and muslims are sitting at the same table. They believe this is the only way the country can progress. In the office so that shovel of nabi and when the lebanese people have no voice and condiment apart from one or 2 politicians with a microphone in front of them of course everyone speaks the name of the lebanese people but in reality no one represents as politicians are only concerned with defending the interests of their particular religious group adding in a lot of forms you saw a lot it has to be possible for us to live in this country and have our own convictions then there is hope of changing things but that can only happen if we challenge the political and sectarian regime we need a secular state which also respects the interests of Civil Society and any that him and walk in the deep divisions within Lebanese Society have a long and violent history the challenge for any new reforms will be how to overcome them the explosion in beirut has thrown everything into question the government has resigned paving the way for new elections and the protesters are back out on the streets they want an end to the sectarian divisions that many blame for the destruction of their country. After. The current india. Telling tales which textiles. Tibetan designer tenzin succeeds in doing so as a child he fled to northern india and stayed there. His creations are a multicultural mick. Indian style and to beckon tradition. In 30 minutes on d w. Turning trust to children germany 945. Ounces were alone and homeless. Below is offering them refuge in mark to india story of small mystery. Survivors retold their experiences. The children of mine destroyed. In 75 minutes on d w. What secrets lie behind these walls. Discover new adventures in 360 degree. And explore fascinating World Heritage sites. D w World Heritage 360 get the map now. This is the news and these are our top stories. The german hospital treating russian opposition figure alexian of ali says it has found evidence that he was poisoned a volley cannot just on a plane on thursday after drinking tea but his team believes was laced with a toxin he was flown from russia to berlin for treatment of ali is currently in intensive care in a medically induced coma his condition is said to be serious but no longer life threatening