BASSEM MROUE -- BEIRUT (AP) — A son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was briefly taken to hospital this week after his health deteriorated nearly three weeks into a hunger strike to protest his detention without trial in Beirut, a person familiar with the case said Thursday. The health of Hannibal Gadhafi, who has been only drinking small amounts of water, deteriorated on Wednesday the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Gadhafi, who started his hunger strike on June 3, was taken to Beirut’s Hotel-Dieu de France hospital on Wednesday after suffering a drop in blood pressure and inflammation in the spine. Gadhafi was given serum, antibiotics and food supplements and after his health stabilized he was taken back to the jail where he is held in Beirut, the person said. A doctor checked on Gadhafi in his cell on Thursday and he is in stable condition, the person said. He had been suffering back pain due to being held in a small room where he cannot move freely or exercise.

Hannibal Gadhafi has been detained in Lebanon since 2015 after he was briefly kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information on the whereabouts of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing in Libya 45 years ago. Lebanese police later announced it had collected Hannibal from the northeastern city of Baalbek where he was being held. He has been detained in a Beirut jail without trial since then. The disappearance of al-Sadr in 1978 has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr is dead. He would be 94 years old.

By Saundra Latham, Editor at LinkedIn News — Soon, you may be able to catch your favorite HBO show on … Netflix? …

BEIRUT - By Bassem Mroue -- (AP) — Auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Nissan and about a dozen individuals in Beirut over his imprisonment in Japan and what he says is misinformation spread against him, Lebanese officials said Tuesday. According to the officials, Ghosn’s lawsuit accuses Nissan and the individuals of defamation and of “fabricating charges” against him, which eventually put him behind bars in Japan. The lawsuit was filed last month, the judicial officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the case. The officials did not identify the individuals that Ghosn is accusing. Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gains and violating securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation. According to Judge Sabbouh Suleiman, who is at the Beirut’s prosecutor’s office, a hearing date in the case was set for September.

The judicial officials who spoke to The Associated Press said that Nissan and the accused individuals are expected to send representatives to Beirut or name a Lebanese lawyer to represent them. The 69-year-old Ghosn, who for two decades was the head of Nissan and Renault, has repeatedly said he is innocent. In December 2019, he jumped bail in Japan in a daring escape by hiding in a box spirited aboard a private jet out of the country. Prosecutors in Japan have charged three Americans with helping Ghosn escape the country. He now lives in Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan and does not extradite its citizens. Renault and Nissan have both been distancing themselves from the Ghosn scandal. Ghosn has citizenship in Lebanon, France and Brazil.

By Najia Houssari - ARABNEWS.COM -- BEIRUT: The Lebanese parliament on Monday passed an appropriation bill to cover public sector employees’ salaries and transportation allowances. The decision came even though the caretaker government led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati has not yet approved the 2023 budget or adjusted the figures in the 2022 budget. In a controversial session, the 128-seat parliament also passed a proposal for a law that provides financial incentives and transportation allowances to professors at the Lebanese University during the current academic year. The session was boycotted by 29 MPs representing opposition Christian parties and reformist MPs. The session achieved a quorum with the presence of MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement bloc, led by MP Gebran Bassil. This parliamentary bloc considered its stance to be in line “with the principle it adopted, which limits its participation in legislating essential matters related to the higher interests of the state.”

The boycotting MPs emphasized in a joint statement that Monday’s meeting came after Hezbollah and Amal Movement team disrupted the 12th voting session last Wednesday. According to the constitution, parliament cannot legislate if the position of president remains vacant. It is exclusively an electoral body until the president is elected. Therefore, the MPs said the session is unconstitutional, and additional appropriations cannot be approved in the absence of the 2023 budget, which has not been passed by the caretaker government lacking parliamentary confidence. The boycotting MPs from the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb and Tajaddod blocs said that “the arbitrary and unfunded increases lead to inflation, which previously resulted in cutting the purchasing power of these salaries in half.” This approach “lacks seriousness, vision, and a comprehensive plan, and it does not address the problems,” they added. Speaker Nabih Berri responded to the boycotting MPs at the opening of the session. He said: “Some parties believe that the government should not meet, and the parliament should not convene or legislate. If we want to proceed with what they want, then we will never work.” Mikati said during the session that “the 2023 budget is ready, and the Finance Ministry will send the final draft of the budget to the government before the end of June to begin its discussion, and we will call for consecutive government sessions to approve it.”