Nada Homsi

They are the highest-ranking officials to date to face charges in connection to the August explosion that killed at least 200 people and devastated large portions of Lebanon's capital.

A symbol of Lebanon's resilience through its long, turbulent history, the country's towering cedars now face increasing threats from wildfire and parasites, both fueled by global warming.

Dangerous sea crossings are occurring in unprecedented numbers. "I can't believe that we've become that country where people feel like they have to escape," says a Lebanese software engineer.

The fire erupts at a warehouse storing oil and tires in the port's duty-free zone, sending waves of fear through the devastated city. By early Thursday evening, the fire was reportedly under control.

After 72 hours of searching the wreckage of a collapsed building in the Lebanese capital, the Chilean rescue team leading the operation has said they were unable to find a survivor in the rubble.

The effort was launched after a sniffer dog named Flash signaled to his Chilean search and rescue team that someone might be alive under a pile of concrete and debris.

"Lebanese people have to help each other in the absence of a functioning state," says Hussein Kazoun of Nation Station, a volunteer disaster relief effort operating out of an abandoned gas station.

"May God protect Lebanon," Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab said as he announced his resignation days after a disastrous explosion rocked Beirut.

Tuesday's blast came against a backdrop of ongoing, unaddressed government dysfunction. Some of the country's chronic problems may help explain how 2,750 tons of explosives were neglected at the port.

Medical workers in and outside the country say there's a lack of medicine and tests.