Pope Francis has sent a donation of 250,000 euros ($295,488) in aid to the Church in Lebanon to help with recovery efforts …

by AFP -- Layal Abou Rahal and Tony Gamal-Gabriel -- Lebanese protesters stormed several ministries Saturday in apparently planned raids after an explosion blamed on government negligence at Beirut port devastated the city and ignited unprecedented popular rage. The day started with funerals for some of the 158 people killed by Tuesday's monster blast but turned to rage when the largest anti-government protest in months escalated. With security forces focused on a large gathering at the Martyrs' Square protest hub, a group led by retired army officers snuck into the foreign ministry and declared the building a "headquarters of the revolution". The stunt, which marked a new development in the strategy of a protest camp whose October 17 uprising had lost steam lately, was facilitated by the damage the port blast shockwave had inflicted to the building. But the takeover lasted barely three hours.

Large army reinforcements using rubber bullets and tear gas drove out the roughly 200 protesters, who only had time to chant celebratory slogans against the government and burn a portrait of President Michel Aoun. At one point, protesters had stormed or taken over four key official buildings. "We are officially at war with our government," said activist Hayat Nazer, as tear gas filled the air in downtown Beirut. "This is war." - 'Lebanon is ours' -

Separate groups of protesters also stormed the economy ministry, the Association of Banks in Lebanon and the energy ministry before being forced out by the army shortly afterwards. The latter is the focus of particular anger from the population, which has in recent months been subjected to worse than ever power cuts due to the de facto bankruptcy of the state. "They ruled Lebanon for 30 years, now Lebanon is ours," said one protester speaking on live Lebanese television broadcasts. "We entered the energy ministry and we are here to stay. They will be surprised by our actions," he said, referring to the ruling political class protesters want to remove.

by politico.com -- ELISA BRAUN -- PARIS — President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone Friday about working with other countries to send immediate aid to Lebanon, the White House and the Élysée said. The two leaders “expressed their deep sadness over the loss of life and devastation in Beirut,” according to White House spokesman Judd Deere. Advertisement Later Friday, Trump tweeted: "Had a lengthy discussion this morning with President Macron of France concerning numerous subjects, but in particular the catastrophic event which took place in Beirut, Lebanon... "..At 3pm this afternoon, spoke to President Aoun of Lebanon to inform him that 3 large aircraft are on the way, loaded up with Medical Supplies, Food and Water. Also, First Responders, Technicians, Doctors, and Nurses on the way... "...We will be having a conference call on Sunday with President Macron, leaders of Lebanon, and leaders from various other parts of the world. Everyone wants to help!"

by reliefweb.int -- The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $15 million in humanitarian assistance to aid the people of Lebanon following catastrophic explosions at the Port of Beirut. These funds bring the humanitarian aid provided by the American people in Lebanon since September 2019 to a total of $403 million. With the funds announced today, the United States is financing life-saving medical responses and providing humanitarian assistance to meet the immediate needs of families affected by this tragic disaster, including food aid for 50,000 people for three months. USAID has also requested the unique capabilities of the U.S. Department of Defense to transport emergency supplies to Lebanon, including enough medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to support up to 60,000 people for three months.

Joe Akiki cross in the rubble 

by washingtonpost.com -- Miriam Berger -- Joe Akiki, 23, called his mother Tuesday afternoon to tell her he was about to start a 24-hour shift at his job as an electrician at Beirut’s port. Three hours later, he shared to a group chat a video of a fire at the port. Then he went silent. Three days after massive explosions that leveled a section of Beirut on Tuesday, he was still missing. His distraught mother pleaded on Lebanese TV for his return. “I will keep on waiting because I know that Joe Akiki is strong, Joe Akiki is a hero,” she told MTV, a Lebanese broadcaster. “Joe Akiki has been through worse things and has been able, with the help of God, to overcome them.” She decried Lebanon’s politicians, saying their children would be home by now. Akiki had taken the job, she said, to pay off university fees. He had wanted to leave Lebanon, but she had told him to stay and “water the cedar trees” — the country’s symbol. Hours later, civil defense workers pulled Akiki’s body out of the rubble. On social media, tributes poured in for the port worker. He had watered the cedars, one user wrote, with his blood.

the sister of Nicole el Helou

The explosions left at least 154 people dead and thousands injured. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said they were caused by the ignition of 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer and bombmaking ingredient, improperly stored since 2014. In Lebanon, already beset by the novel coronavirus pandemic, along with political and economic crises, many people are seething over the apparent negligence that allowed the material to remain in the center of the city. As bodies continue to be pulled from rubble and identified at morgues, the country grieves for and has begun to memorialize the departed. Victims of the blasts in Beirut, a city beloved for its cosmopolitanism, span nationalities There are the 10 firefighters who snapped a group photo before heading to extinguish the first of the flames at the port, only to be engulfed in the explosions that followed. The husband and wife killed while eating at a restaurant in the trendy Gemmayzeh neighborhood. The three young military service members at the port who never made it home. One of them was a father of two young children, according to local media.

There is the Armenian Lebanese nurse killed while on the job at Al Roum hospital, as the Armenian Foreign Ministry told local media. Bank employee Nicole al-Helou, whose sister draped herself over her coffin during a funeral Thursday in southern Lebanon. Across the country of about 5 million, some bereaved families are burying their loved ones. Others continue frantic searches for the missing. Some, as Akiki’s mother did, hold on to hope that their son or daughter will turn up alive, even as the chances dim. Adding to the trauma, residents have taken on much of the cleanup themselves, expecting little support for rebuilding from their cash-strapped and indebted government. “Today we are distraught and lost for words, but we are also angry and furious at the monsters responsible for this unfathomable madness!” wrote one grieving family member in a tribute on Facebook.