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Diab: Who Brought the Ammonium Nitrate and Why?

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Tuesday, in a statement on the eve of the first anniversary of the Beirut port blast, that the facts of the blast cannot be completely revealed “without clear answers to fundamental questions.”

Diab inquired: “Who brought the ammonium nitrate and why? How and why did it stay for years? And how did the explosion happen?”

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Year after Lebanon Blast, Children Still in Distress

A year after a monster explosion at Beirut's port, one in three families in Lebanon have children still showing signs of trauma, the U.N. said Tuesday.

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Miqati Reportedly Tells Aoun He'll Quit in 3 Weeks if No Govt.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati told President Michel Aoun in their meeting on Monday that he will give himself a three-week deadline to form the new government, informed sources said.

“He won’t tolerate that his mission be prolonged any further,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Tuesday.

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Lebanese Officials 'Criminally Negligent' over Port Blast, Says HRW

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Lebanese authorities of criminal negligence for failing to secure a shipment of hazardous chemicals that caused last year's monster port blast, despite repeated warnings.

The watchdog recommended an independent U.N. investigative mission conduct its own inquiry, and advocated for broad international sanctions against top officials.  

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A Year Later, Beirut Blast Victims Push Leaders for Justice

After the massive explosion at Beirut's port a year ago, only a small part of Ibrahim Hoteit's younger brother was identified: his scalp. His brother was a large man, a firefighter, a martial arts champion, but Hoteit buried him in a container the size of a shoe box.

Since then, Hoteit has sold his business and sleeps only a few hours a night.

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France Targets $357 Million at Lebanon Aid Conference  

France has said a forthcoming conference on Lebanon needs to gather $357 million in aid to meet the most urgent needs of the battered country's population.

The conference on Wednesday, co-hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, coincides with the first anniversary of the blast that disfigured Beirut and killed more than 200 people.

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Miqati Warns from Baabda: Formation Timeframe Not Open-Ended

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati warned Monday after meeting President Michel Aoun in Baabda that the timeframe for the cabinet's formation is “not open-ended.”

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Qahwaji Distances Himself from Lawyer Remarks on Hizbullah, Nitrates

Former army chief Jean Qahwaji has distanced himself from remarks voiced by his lawyer about the ammonium nitrate shipment that exploded at Beirut’s port.

“The remarks of my lawyer Antoine Toubia, in which he accused Hizbullah of covering up for the smuggling of ammonium nitrates to Syria, do not represent me and they were a personal analysis by him,” Qahwaji said in a TV interview.

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Bassil Calls on Berri to Hold a Session to Lift Immunities on August 4

Head of the Free Patriotic Movement Jebran Bassil called on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to hold a session to lift immunities on August 4.

Bassil said in a press conference held Monday In Sin el-Fil that the Beirut port blast is a "security-related act" and is not limited to workplace negligence. It outlines “the negligence, the corruption and the chaos in the country."

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Report: Imminent Progress Unlikely in Govt. Formation Process

Circles close to PM-designate Najib Miqati have ruled out chances of “progress” in the government formation process between President Michel Aoun and Miqati, according to media reports.

The sources told the PSP's al-Anbaa news portal, in remarks published Monday, that the Free Patriotic Movement’s intentions are not “right,” otherwise the government would have been formed since the first meeting between Aoun and Miqati.

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