International leaders joined a virtual donor conference led by France and the United Nations. In opening remarks, French President Emmanuel Macron urged world leaders to come together and help "Lebanon and its people".

Lebanon's information minister Manal Abdel Samad announced her resignation, saying Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government failed to live up to the aspirations of the Lebanese people.



At least 728 people have been wounded in clashes with authorities as thousands of protesters hit the streets of central Beirut as riot police fire tear gas at those trying to break through a barrier to the parliament building. One police officer was also reported killed.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab has called for early polls after Tuesday's deadly blast, saying it is the only way out of the country's crisis.

At least 158 people were killed in the explosion and more than 6,000 others injured, but numbers are expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue for missing people.

Here are a list of countries that have pledged to provide Lebanon with financial aid at the donor summit co-hosted by France and UN.

- Qatar, pledged $50m

- France, pledged 50m euros ($58.9m)

- Germany, pledged $20m

- Kuwait, pledged $41m

- European Comission, pledged 63m euros ($74.2m)

- Cyprus, pledged 5m euros ($5.89)

The Lebanese army said that hope was fading of finding more survivors from Tuesday's catastrophic explosion at the port of Beirut.

"After three days of search and rescue operations we can say we have finished the first phase, which involved the possibility of finding survivors," Colonel Roger Khoury told a press conference. 

"As technicians working on the ground, we can say we have fading hopes of finding survivors," added Khoury, who heads a team of military technicians operating at the blast site.

The health ministry said 21 people were still missing following the explosion, killing at least 158 people and injuring about 6,000.

Hello, this is Farah Najjar taking over from my colleague Arwa Ibrahim.

World powers owe the Lebanese people support after a massive blast devastated the country's capital, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

"We must act quickly and efficiently so that this aid goes directly to where it is needed," Macron said in opening remarks to a UN-backed donor conference he was hosting by video link. "Lebanon's future is at stake."

The president said the offer of assistance included support for an impartial, credible and independent inquiry into the August 4 port explosion.

The explosion gutted entire neighbourhoods, leaving 250,000 people homeless, razing businesses and destroying critical grain supplies.

Rebuilding Beirut will likely run into the billions of dollars. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25 percent off of the country's GDP.

In Chile, members of the Lebanese Union in Chile lit candles, 'for Lebanon' in a show of virtual solidarity.

"We watched in desperation, I think that is the word, when we saw the strength of the pictures. In my head I tried to imagine what are the consequences that the explosion left behind," says Nissrin Esber, president the union.

The explosion that rocked Beirut last week has had far reaching ripples, including in the country's large diaspora communities.

There are estimated to be at least 90,000 Chileans claiming Lebanese descent.

Former Lebanese premier Tammam Salam has denied receiving correspondence or information about the arrival of hazardous chemical materials shipment in Beirut, which caused the deadly blast in the capital on Tuesday.

In a statement, Salam's media office said reports alleging that he was aware of the arrival of a ship carrying chemical materials to Beirut were "false and bare of truth."

Earlier, media reports suggested that a Lebanese court had ordered the ship to unload its cargo at the Beirut port when Salam was the prime minister.

He was premier between February 2014 to December 2016.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies