By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Dozens of Lebanese MPs announced on Wednesday that they will boycott a closed parliamentary session that many people fear will further shield from scrutiny politicians accused of negligence that resulted in the massive explosion at Beirut’s port a year ago. Speaker Nabih Berri has called for a plenary session to be held on Thursday. It was not clear whether it will focus on a long-running request by judicial investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, and some political blocs, to lift the immunity from politicians and officials so that they can be questioned about their parts in the disaster, or on the formation of a parliamentary investigation committee. If such a committee is established, parliament would handle the case and it would no longer be under the jurisdiction of the judicial investigator. It would then be up to the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers to decide whether to prosecute the ministers and MPs accused by Bitar. The MPs boycotting Thursday’s session said: “It is aimed at bypassing the crime’s judicial investigation.”

Relatives of the victims of the explosion described it as “the session of shame.” They added that they intend to prevent MPs from entering UNESCO Palace in Beirut, where parliamentary sessions are currently being held because of coronavirus precautions, on Thursday. In a message posted on Facebook, William Noun, the brother of firefighter Joe Noun who died in the explosion, said: “We are going to face the rulers and their apparatus so that they do not approve laws that hide the truth.” A group representing the relatives of the victims said: “The parliamentary session aims to obliterate the truth and help the suspects escape punishment. The session comes as a continuation of a series of practices that violate the constitution and the law, undertaken by the ruling class to hamper the work of the judicial investigator or set red lines in the way of his work.” They called on MPs to “prevent parliament from reaching the required quorum or be considered accomplices in the wastage of our loved ones’ blood and the obliteration of the truth and justice.”

By GEORGI AZAR -- arabnews.com -- DUBAI: Lebanon’s oldest and most prestigious university, the American University of Beirut, has started rationing electricity on campus as the country’s fuel crisis exacerbates. The campus, made up of 64 buildings including the American University of Beirut Medical Center, will switch off its central air conditioning due to the shortage of fuel. The move came into effect Monday in order to “prioritize critical functions especially at the medical center,” a letter sent to faculty and staff, seen by Arab News, said. Human Resources Director Samar Diab Rouhana said the decision was due to “disruptions in fuel supplies in the country” and the fact that AUB’s fuel reserves have reached a critical threshold. Rationing will stay in place until Aug. 22, she said, with “exceptions made for buildings that house critical laboratories and heat-sensitive materials and equipment.”

The university, which was founded in 1866, also requested all faculty and non-essential staff to work remotely from Aug. 13 until Aug. 20. “In the meantime, the physical plant department will continue its efforts to secure fuel and rebuild the university’s fuel reserves,” the letter added. The university could not be reached for comment. Lebanon has faced months of severe fuel shortages that have caused hour-long lines at gas pumps and plunged the small Mediterranean country, dependent on private generators for power, into hours of darkness. Meanwhile, the state-owned Électricité du Liban provider is barely providing two to three hours of electricity in most regions. The shortages are blamed on smuggling to neighboring Syria, hoarding and the cash-strapped caretaker government’s inability to secure hard currency for fuel deliveries.

by reuters -- CAIRO: Saudi Arabia reiterated on Tuesday its solidarity with the Lebanese people, but said any assistance to current or future government depends on serious reforms, state news agency SPA reported, citing a statement by the Saudi Cabinet. "Any assistance provided to the current or future government depends on it carrying out serious and tangible reforms, while ensuring that aid reaches its beneficiaries, and avoiding mechanisms that enable corrupt people from controlling the fate of Lebanon," the Cabinet said.

by saudigazette.com.sa -- NEOM — The Saudi Cabinet on Tuesday reiterated the Kingdom's solidarity with the Lebanese people during times of crises and challenges, the Saudi Press Agency reported. In a virtual session chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the Cabinet lauded the Kingdom's assertion during its delegation's participation in the recently held global donor conference that the Saudi aid is conditional on the implementation of serious and tangible reforms by the Lebanese government while ensuring that the aid reaches those who deserve it, and evading the mechanisms that enable the corrupt to control the fate of Lebanon. At the outset of the meeting, the Cabinet was briefed on the contents of the talks and meetings that took place in the past few days between Saudi Arabia and a number of countries to enhance bilateral relations, develop aspects of joint cooperation in various fields, support international efforts aiming to achieve sustainable economic and social development and consolidate the values of harmony, world peace and humanitarian action.

khazen.org Stands firm with our Beloved His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Bechara el Rai - Hezbollah actions have led to the collapse of many of our Lebanese institutions in addition to not respecting the will of the majority of the Lebanese people.  Their priorities are not the same as the Lebanese who are suffering from an economic collapse, lack of food, gaz, medicine supply,  power outages and many other primary need.

by arabnews.com -- Najia Houssari -- BEIRUT: Hezbollah drew fresh criticism on Monday from the streets and the political class over the crisis in Lebanon. Angry residents blocked several roads in protest against the economic crisis. As the Lebanese pound’s value plummets, the country is also experiencing a major medicines shortage. The process of forming a government headed by Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati is slowly coming to a stalemate. Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched a broadside against the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, accusing him of taking stances that are no different than Israel’s. In his Sunday sermon, Al-Rai stressed that “the decision of war or peace should be in the hands of the state exclusively,” calling for “a return to the 1949 Armistice Agreements and Lebanon’s neutrality.”

Hezbollah’s campaign against Al-Rai elicited counter-reactions from various political figures and numerous Christian religious and political entities. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt tweeted on Monday: “What crime did Al-Rai commit when he mentioned the armistice agreement? It seems that it is forbidden to discuss anything outside of the opposition group’s discourse,” sarcastically adding: “A democratic atmosphere par excellence.” Resigned MP Marwan Hamade accused Hezbollah of igniting tension on the southern border with Israel and slammed the group for its attack on the judicial investigator in the Beirut port explosion crime Judge Tarek Bitar. Hamade addressed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: “Your graciousness has set us back 50 years. “The balance of deterrence advocated by Hezbollah is a pretext for controlling Lebanon.” Saydet Al-Jabal Gathering warned that “if this campaign (against Al-Rai) does not stop immediately, we will take action in several cities.”

Former MP Ahmed Fatfat told Arab News: “The Lebanese state is collapsing because there is a parallel state — the state of Hezbollah. It seems that we are now experiencing the Iraqi scenario, and even more. “Hezbollah suggests that it has the ability to replace the state, but in fact, it has so far failed to do so. Its entourage suffers like all the Lebanese, due to Hezbollah’s practices that destroyed the state.” He added: “Iran will not allow the formation of the government in Lebanon as long as the Iranian-US negotiations are ongoing. “Nasrallah has, for the first time, admitted that there is no consensus over the resistance in Lebanon. “This means that Hezbollah has lost supporters and stature, and its intimidation policy no longer works on people. “The biggest evidence is that the families of the Beirut port victims carried a banner that read Iran Out on Aug. 4. People have other priorities now.” Fatfat said that Hezbollah’s stances regarding medicine and fuel imports from Iran are mere propaganda. “The Iranians did it once in Venezuela, but they took gold in exchange. Do they want to get their hands on the gold that is in the Lebanese Central Bank?”