Lebanese protest outside parliament as anger rises following devastating blast

Beirut, Lebanon: A small protest triggered by anger at authorities in the country took place outside an entrance to parliament in central Beirut late on Thursday.

Some demonstrators burned objects on the street and security forces fired tear gas canisters to keep protesters at bay, footage from local broadcasters showed. Earlier at the port, destroyed by Tuesday's giant mushroom cloud and fireball, families sought news of the missing, amid mounting anger at the authorities for allowing huge quantities of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, used in making fertilizers and bombs, to be stored there for years in unsafe conditions.

Dozens are still missing after the explosion at the port that killed at least 145 people and injured 5,000, while leaving up to 250,000 without habitable homes, hammering a nation already staggering from economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus cases. Officials said the death toll figure was likely to rise.