Rage erupts at first protest since deadly Beirut blast

Thousands of Lebanese protesters, some of them brandishing nooses, vented their anger on Aug. 8 at politicians they blame for a deadly explosion that made hundreds of thousands homeless and shocked the world.

Demonstrators marched through streets devastated by the blast that leveled Beirut port on Tuesday, gathering in the central Martyrs' Square as their grief gave way to rage.

As scuffles broke out on the fringes, a group of protesters led by retired Lebanese army officers stormed the foreign ministry in central Beirut and declared it the "headquarters of the revolution".

Elsewhere, police fired tear gas to disperse groups of young men hurling stones and seeking to push towards parliament.

Two days after a landmark visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, diplomatic activity intensified in Beirut to drum up international support for the disaster-hit country ahead of a Sunday virtual aid conference.

For the fourth day running, Beirut woke up to the sound of broken glass being swept on the streets, its inhabitants still taking stock after one of the biggest blasts of its kind in recent history.

A fire at Beirut port on Tuesday ignited a stock of ammonium nitrate and triggered an explosion that was felt in neighboring countries and destroyed entire neighborhoods.

The explosion was widely perceived as a direct consequence of corruption and incompetence, perhaps the most egregious case of callousness on the part of a ruling elite that was already reviled.
"You were corrupt, now you are criminals," read one banner at the demonstration, while protesters chanted: "Revenge, until this regime reaches an end."

"We are hanging the nooses because the same people have been ruling us for 30 years," said Jad, a 25...