A 5 day search for survivors. Of port explosion killed at least 158 people. But the. Demonstrations against the long. Term. A mix of the big stories from the past 7 days and right up to the moment developments as well this is the weekly on r. T. International hello and welcome. Protesters have regrouped in central beirut for a 2nd night solve all the rest the Labor Ministry has ripped portably been stormed out in a replay of last nights clashes around key government buildings another country is reeling from the shock of choose these deadly explosion with protesters demanding reform and for officials as well to be held to account arties eager to get down off reports from the lebanese capital. Yesterdays action was not the last one but that was for sure because people it seems are driven to the edge here in lebanon and indeed it is the 2nd consecutive night of protests and a lot of people are out here in the streets theres a very distinctive smell of tear gas in the air anyone who has been ever gassed in the life can never forget that smell its very distinctive so the police have most certainly have been using and if you just if my cameraman could just zoom in just over that you can still see the smoke its not the fires its the tear gas used by the police here we are at one of these checkpoints if you look over there you can see the military man there standing there and theyre preventing any protest as from getting inside here although they have been trying because they have been trying to dismantle this barbed wire this is one of the things here that they used you see so they literally they grabbed it like this and try to dismantle the barbed wire they had so far they have failed and theyre doing it right now in fact look they are you see they are wearing gloves this is what they are doing. And they have not succeeded but. This is what they this is what they have been doing. So again and again and over there they the army they are ready to jump them as soon as they get any any closer any closer to success now people are unhappy basically what broke the cat with the straw that broke the camels back was the last because it destroyed a lot of peoples homes and theyre saying essentially that they have no means of restoring of or of mending their homes themselves and they are blaming the government for the explosion theyre saying what all those tons of neutrik acid were doing in the port. And so they are very very angry and look they almost have almost dismantled the barbed wire at this checkpoint and. Clearly the army the military the the the soldier that hes talking over the walkie talkie and i think what hes doing right now he is calling for backup. On. The police and the army are trying to clear out of this street right now we are in the middle of the city a gas everywhere this is the only checkpoint that the protesters try to clear out and right now people are leaving theyre trying theyre running away from their running away from the epicenter from where would the action was from the most heated and you can clearly he was many hear the explosions not know so but there are people are very passionate as you can see any. Any here now but the army they are going the operation to free him. People are still people are picking up rocks over there if you look over that this is what people are. There covering their faces because tear gas is literally everywhere right now. You can see this and. People can barely breathe here. Through the notorious for c. P. S. Worker not because theyre going out and not because im still not again not getting any easier to drive her own youre fighting for the boys but everyone to everyone facing us because we want. Our news. But our country and our state and this sitting room not be your bill unless we take back our country and if you look if you just look over the map this is not street has just been swarming with people who will you can see there right now its just a line of soldiers just a pack of soldiers. Who are what about a 100 rooms. Well the protest and this is basically this is going to be the position now in trouble with. Moving here and they keep hearing from these bright flashes that you can see the night sky this is the tear gas these are the i guess. And i do apologize for the obscene language there is a look at the marriott doing her around me but i cannot i cannot control this. No longer there is there is a lot of tear gas you can see what protest is a century blinding trying to blind the army with these green lasers which is very very dangerous by the way you know they can deal with person literally who are just at the front line literally one of the few people left as close to the police as we are right now who were where the police were using the army were using tear gas we have been gassed a number of times like 3 or 4 times maybe will cover in reza to you right now but right now the army has essentially cleared out the street so you can see it is completely empty now the road block the Police Checkpoint the military checkpoint that the demonstrators were trying to dismantle is the right to be right after its right next to that glowing mosque so right now the police have cleared the army i should say because it is a military these are soldiers they have cleared all the street you can see field medics here who are ready to provide support to anyone who is sick to anyone who is room dead by rubber bullets which the police how the military excuse me have been using all who have had tear gas poisoning because it has been very extensive and so basically all the demonstrators they have moved down the streets and the police have been the army has been chasing them there is something set up a blaze over there also the old. Results also the aftermath of the protests from but right now you can see here ambulances because im absolutely certain that there will be plenty of wounded perhaps even as many as yesterday from the mall because it has been the 2nd consecutive day of protests and these are fully fully ged riot police who are falling back which probably means that the protesters have been scattered through the streets let me tell you their operation has been very swift very fast they moved as they were clearing the streets firing rubber bullets firing tear gas as people were falling back it was quite indiscriminate because all journalists were there in the crowd as well a lot of journalists were there they didnt care for it but well one might say its not really their job to care about someone who decided to cover the protest from the thick of it but yes right now it looks like the protesters have been have been while they have had to fall back and scatter through the streets again as ive already mentioned its the 2nd consecutive day of protest of protests excuse me here in the lebanese capital yesterday more than 700 people were wounded almost close to a 1000 people were injured in the clashes and basically today weve seen the very same scenario unfold people trying to occupy minister ariel and governmental buildings and the army evicting them from there shortly afterwards and be a basically people are very unhappy about so many things also some people have been pointing out that hospitals those that have not been destroyed by the blast in the port 4 they are already overflowing theyre being overwhelmed with patients essentially there are people who are sick with covert 19 there are people still injured from the bloss now daily they have to treat hundreds and hundreds of people because of the protests and be under some people has some critics have been saying that well its. Not the right time while it is certainly an emotional and a wrenching time for the people here in lebanon they have been saying maybe maybe there should be a different approach maybe people should wait but a lot of people are clearly very sick of waiting. Taking us through sundays developments well tragedy struck at a run 6 pm on tuesday when a massive blast hit the beirut port area 158. 00 deaths have been confirmed but with dozens still missing it is fear that number will rise the citys Health System already struggling with coburn 1000 has been overwhelmed by the disaster nearest city buildings have been damaged and thousands of locals left homeless. You know my son we found everything turned over our hands i turned around and i was hit by something in my right hand people screaming kids screaming but it was a choice to see. The devastation here in the lebanese capital is very much the blouse that was felt at 10 kilometers away from the board where it took place i believe this is going to be a sleepless night for the lebanese and a very sad 9. 11 years army and Fire Fighters have been still trying to put off the fire which is still until today burning through the remains of the warehouses rescue workers are still trying to take to the rubble to find the remainder or the the missing and differentials that are like the fear of. Angry. Or sad we lost the country we lost beirut we have people. Who didnt find out we have family members we dont know anything about people will they legal back to the streets they will daily ask for justice we need the justice made who doesnt deserve this and we would if you is what happened to us. Already being going through its worst financial crisis in years inflation is soaring and almost half the population lives below the poverty line around a 3rd of working age adults are all employed the latest arrest is a sharp escalation of the Anti Corruption release which have been ongoing since october on sunday demonstrators put up more gallows in a location where people were hungry or than a 100 years ago under the Ottoman Empire protestors raised cardboard cut outs with ropes around their necks depicting lebanons Prime Minister a leader as well as other officials in response to the own risk lebanons D Information minister has stepped out saying the government has feel the people the environment minister has also quit saying he has lost hope in the quote regime journalist rania kohak told me people are looking for someone to blame for the trench a. Lot of righteous anger in the streets of people who are angry they lost their anger they lost their homes angry this happened on top of Everything Else its been deteriorating in the country and theres also you know some attempts to manipulate the political game by different political factions so there are certain political factions who have people the streets trying to make it about his body as opposed to about the entire lebanese power structure and any course you have people who were demonstrating starting in october jude to the economic collapse who have continued those demonstrations in the aftermath of this and what were seeing is you know i some of the most violent confrontation. Between Security Forces and protesters in recent memory theres going to be extreme shortages in lebanon which is a country dependent on imports where its theres already a dollar shortage theres already an economic collapse there was already power cuts and now you have your most important port gone and the capitals in the center of the country is destroyed most people believe it was an accident due to corruption and negligence incompetence which seems to be the case. With this fertilizer that was stored for 6 years and really dangerous conditions where there was many complaints about it and warnings and nothing was done by the government so people are angry about that as for whos to blame you know people who belong to parties that are proamerican and tend to blame hizbollah because their leaders are blaming hezbollah what they. Rule in all this really is the public anger as you say has been directed against them on their control most all of the beirut port area i think its right in saying are people really going to start questioning the groups huge influence and. Thats 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 thats just not the case that is a certain narrative that were hearing from certain political factions and certain like western narratives so its not one specific party that was responsible for this it wasnt 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 couldnt figure out how to split the profits so they just let this fertilizer sit there until this dangerous explosion took place its a fault of lebanon being a dysfunctional incompetent failed state for the most part and its always been that way i dont see this deteriorating and feel like a civil war. This condition has not been on the country and theres nobody to fund a war you need weapons and money to fund a war. And moving the programme all know the leader of belarus is to extend his 26 years in power judging by early Election Results which a landslide victory but the rival counted it as the smiths something days vote and people are out on the streets protesting earlier in the day to video journalist from arties roughly agency were detained while covering the election or for more and all of a. Piece Daniel Hawkins onto the program good to see you again so much happening around the vote today. Yeah indeed earlier today it was a crowd of around 2000 people gathered here outside the embassy to cost the votes and as the results came in towards the end of the evening another crowd gathered around 150 people to express their. Protest against what they feel was an unfair result police have moved most of those people away things stand but there was a crowd here very much today here in place in fact as those results came out the exit polls of course preliminary but given that landslide victory to Alexander Lukashenko clashes began to take place in the by the russian capital minsk as well as other cities across europe outside the embassy of in kiev outside the embassy in warsaw even as far afield. Crowds began to gather to show their indignation. Those clashes are all have to and volunteer. With police using language is here is a protest is reports of injuries coming through as well these are the footage is that this is the footage that came out of the capital just a few moments ago. Well ill just remind you of course the exit polls just remind you those exit polls of course gave a president Alexander Lukashenko an overwhelming victory his main opposition rivals for the law and took an oscar has already announced she will be taking the matter to court saying that these elections were not free or fair earlier in the day of course she actually went into hiding in the capitol in minsk for own safety as members of her Campaign Staff were detained alongside another prominent opposition activist mahdi a kolesnikov a who was also detained briefly and subsequently released now Alexander Lukashenko of course has held the post of president of blue since 1994 this will be confirmed his 6th in office he has been accused of what weve seen reports rather of detentions of journalists of campaigners opposition activists and this is something hes denying he said there is no illegitimate use of force there are no oppressions nothing untoward going on in the country encouraging people to protest as long as they do it within constitutional a legal framework. To do months to go and demonstrate we have 6 sites in minsk 6 and there are demonstrations only 2 sites go and demonstrate but if you do anywhere in violation of the law everything is regulated and if you interfere with other people then we will hold you accountable now an example of a was widely predicted to win this election nevertheless many people had hoped the result may have been different this may have been a turning point a watershed moment in domestic politics in belarus if these exit poll result. Its all correct and they are looking likely to be so this will mean protests are likely carry on throughout the night and indeed in the coming days not only in better use but abroad as well don thanks very much for bringing us right up to date on all of our t. s done you hawkins. Its exactly 75 years since the u. S. Dropped an atomic bomb on the japanese city of and i guess he just days before that on the 6th of august 1945 russia was also attacked around 200000 civilians were killed some years after the tragedy to severe burns radiation sickness and other injuries. Mock local you know with. My 2 words its a semester. To guy night. I get. Through. Saying actions you have could have can you cant you cant i want you to hear that. Every night. I think youre about to take on china are going to. Get smashed. Down at my desk when i get to. Talking. To. You kind. Of condition. Memorial events being scaled back this year due to the pandemic but small certainly still took place in both cities affected by the tranche of a during the commemorations japans Prime Minister was joined by the few surviving witnesses all of the attacks they had marked the bluffs with a minute of silence. Over us nor forever linked by the tragedy here is what people in new york and hiroshima had to say about the events of 1945. A good job to measure here and i like to say i feel like i havent learned much. Against the u. S. Japan has just. Been the multiplicity more positive results or people like harbor maybe pearl harbor that had something to do with the us response to for alarm for. Fixing terms of. Its justified i dont know i think its tough to blame people for the mistakes of history see why Something Like that catastrophic should go like not an apology were like but im pretty sure im not for reparations im native american the fink of my get into this not going to happen its not going to happen but it just nice. But thats when my mother was 7 months pregnant with me the atomic bomb was dropped my cousin was also an atomic bomb survivor and died of leukemia after 75 years im still very sorry for those who died. And i think the use of the atomic bomb was unacceptable there was no reason to do it the military situation was utterly hopeless for japan perhaps it wouldnt have taken much longer for the water end and it would have been over without the bombings the war between japan and the us its a shame the u. S. Hasnt apologized to japan for the bombings. Its very important to say it out loud to emphasize what the real purpose of the hiroshima bombing was if we keep silent the propaganda war when. The only times in history atomic bombs have been used by one country on another and ok reminder for up to