Nada Homsi

Tensions that had been building for months in Lebanon erupted in violence Thursday in Beirut. Several people were killed at a protest being held by Hezbollah supporters.

"If we didn't lead this fight, nobody would," says a Beirut resident whose 3-year-old daughter was among the 217 killed in the blast. An official investigation has stalled. No one has been prosecuted.

It was a decision that appalled and angered Syrian opposition groups and international medical organizations. On May 28 Syria was appointed to the World Health Organization's Executive Board.

The conflict has not only pitted the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against a band of rebels, but drawn the U.S., Iran, Russia and Turkey, among others, into a complex proxy war.

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.