BEIRUT - Top diplomats criss-crossed Beirut on Friday to supervise growing aid efforts and weigh in on Lebanon's political future, following a deadly port explosion blamed on state corruption.
Both Hale and Parly have joined calls from the international community for a reform-oriented government that would coordinate aid flooding into the crisis-hit Mediterranean country after the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab's cabinet on Monday. Zarif said it was for the Lebanese to decide what government they wanted. "Others should not condition their aid on any change in Lebanon during this emergency situation."
The blast happened when a huge stock of hazardous materials stored in a warehouse in the heart of the capital for years exploded, despite repeated warnings of the dangers it posed. Meanwhile, public prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has filed lawsuits against 25 suspects over the Beirut blast, 19 of whom are already in custody, a judicial source said.
France, which on Friday confirmed that two French citizens were among the 171 people killed in the blast, has opened its own enquiry.
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