A warehouse where fuel was illegally stored exploded in the Akkar town of Tleil early Sunday, killing 28 people and burning dozens more in the latest tragedy to hit the country which is in the throes of a devastating economic and political crisis.

Tleil is about 4 kilometers from the Syrian border, but it was not immediately clear if the fuel was being prepared to be smuggled to Syria, where prices are much higher compared to those in Lebanon.

Severe fuel shortages and wide power cuts have paralyzed Lebanon, with some businesses temporarily closing down as top security officials met to discuss the situation.

Lebanon has for decades suffered electricity cuts, partly because of widespread corruption and mismanagement. The Mediterranean nation of 6 million, including 1 million Syrian refugees is near bankruptcy.

Head of the Free Patriotic Movement Jebran Bassil asked the central bank governor Riad Salameh and all those who are backing up his decision to end fuel subsidies to “stop the (social) explosion!”

He called for a gradual lifting of the subsidies “until the ration card is distributed.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi held talks Friday in Baabda with President Michel Aoun.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, al-Rahi stressed the need to form a new government “as a gateway for reforms and to reach solutions,” urging the PM-designate and the President to “form the government as soon as possible.”

The British Embassy Beirut has announced the opening of applications for Chevening Scholarships to study in the UK between 3 August and 2 November 2021, with applications to be submitted via www.chevening.org/apply

President Michel Aoun held a meeting Thursday with Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and the caretaker ministers of energy and finance, hours after Salameh announced the end of fuel subsidies in a controversial move.

The Presidency said Aoun stressed during the meeting that Salameh’s decision “has dangerous social and economic repercussions.”

A parliament session on the port blast case was adjourned Thursday due to lack of quorum, parliament's secretary Adnan Daher said.

The parliamentary attendance reached 39 lawmakers.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday called for an emergency ministerial meeting to discuss Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh's controversial decision to lift subsidies off fuel imports.

Diab also asked caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni to tell Salameh that his decision is "illegal."

President Michel Aoun summoned on Thursday Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh after his decision to lift subsidies on fuel, the Presidency said.

The bank had said overnight it will provide a line of credit for fuel importers at market price, ending subsidies on the scarce resource.

Head of the Free Patriotic Movement Jebran Bassil said that the "sudden" lifting of subsidies by the Central Bank governor Riad Salameh is "a violation of the government’s decision and of Parliament's law."

Bassil tweeted on Thursday that the BDL is an independent public body "subject to the government and its decisions," and said that the central bank decision is "unilateral" and "sudden."