Beirut: Lebanon's Parliament met Thursday in the first session since the tragic explosion last week that changed the face of the capital and forced the government to resign.
Parliament is convening outside its regular location to observe social distancing amid a Coronavirus surge and because of continuous protests outside the Parliament building by angry Lebanese who want the entire political class step down. More protests were expected Thursday.
The session opened with a moment of silence for the more than 170 people killed in the blast.
It then moved to discuss the resignation of nearly a dozen lawmakers who quit last week in protest of the government's handling of the August 4 blast, which also left more than 6,000 injured. A major Christian party bloc is boycotting the session.
It still was not known what caused the fire responsible for igniting nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut's port.