Former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter are expected to defy summons to appear today for questioning in the investigation into the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, according to our sister publication L’Orient-Le Jour. Fadi Sawwan, the lead judge in the probe, charged the two sitting MPs alongside caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos with criminal negligence last week, and is pushing hard to question them, despite strong pushback from large parts of the political class. Fenianos went to the Justice Palace in Beirut yesterday expecting to attend his hearing with Sawwan, unaware it had been rescheduled.

Caretaker Economy Minister Raoul Nehme presented his proposal for retargeting subsidies on live TV. The outgoing minister suggested shifting subsidies, which currently benefit the richest portions of the population, towards the most vulnerable individuals. Under the program, the government would initially provide $50 to Lebanese people over 23 years old and $25 for children each month, before decreasing every two years. The money would be loaded onto an electronic card or a mobile application and people would be able to spend their dollars at the market rate. The central bank will continue using its dwindling foreign currency reserves until a new government is formed, Nehme said, to avoid further lira depreciation and steep price rises.

The medical equipment importers’ syndicate warned that companies will soon stop bringing medical products into the country, amid mounting debts to international suppliers. In a statement, the syndicate said that the central bank is four months late in facilitating payments to foreign suppliers. Syndicate head Salma Assi told L’Orient Today that the international suppliers have said they will stop delivering products to Lebanon if the some $60 million in unpaid invoices are not settled by the end of the year — just over two weeks away. Hospitals have already been rescheduling operations and other procedures for weeks due to financial pressures and supply shortages.

The Education Ministry’s Higher Education Council asked that universities stick to the official lira-dollar exchange rate of LL1,515 after two major universities announced an effective price hike last week. The American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University are requiring students to pay their tuition at an exchange rate of LL3,900, citing financial difficulties. Students have rejected the decision, saying many will no longer be able to afford to pursue their education. They plan to hold a “Day of Rage” protest against the decision on Saturday.

Customs chief Badri Daher is set to be questioned by a judge today for his involvement in the “Captagon Prince” case. Allegations Daher faces include abusing his position in July to lift a travel ban on a Saudi prince who had been arrested while trying to smuggle nearly two tons of captagon pills from Lebanon to Saudi Arabia through Beirut airport in 2015. The prince had completed his prison sentence but left the country without paying a fine as per Lebanese customs law. Daher has already been detained since August on accusations of willful negligence that resulted in the devastating Aug. 4 port explosion that killed over 200 people and wounded thousands. Daher denies wrongdoing.