A warning from one of Lebanon’s top hospitals over the weekend served as a reminder of the potential for the nation’s fuel crisis to cripple the country and bring vital infrastructure to its knees.

The American University of Beirut Medical Center said on Saturday it will be forced to shut off ventilators and other lifesaving equipment in less than 48 hours should the fuel shortage continue. Forty adult patients and fifteen children living on respirators could die “immediately,” it said.

The warning came after the central bank abruptly lifted fuel subsidies 
last week. The central bank had been accused of being slow to open credit lines, creating a fuel shortage that’s plunged the nation into darkness all but several hours a day. 

Adding to the crisis,  a fuel tank explosion in the northern region of Akkar killed at least 20 people and injured more than seven early on Sunday. 

Chart of the Week

Saudi Aramco’s acquisition of chemical makers Sabic, which led its debt levels to burst through a self-imposed borrowing target, now show signs of paying off as prices for plastics, paint and packaging soar. Last week, Sabic reported its highest quarterly net income in almost a decade. 

 

The Slant

Unlike former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “whose word was law,” incumbent Naftali Bennett is not free to act alone in dealing with the nation’s enemies, writes Zev Chafets. He is distracted by the coronavirus and constrained by U.S. pressure as his own coalition. 

When he meets President Joe Biden in the coming weeks, he should explain his goals and intentions without lecturing as Netanyahu did in the past. 

Need to Know

Iran’s new president picked hawkish Foreign Ministry veteran Hossein Amirabdollahian as the nation’s top diplomat, underscoring the shift in power that’s clouding the resumption of nuclear talks with world powers.

Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit narrowed as oil prices surged and tax revenue increased. The higher oil prices are giving the kingdom’s public finances a boost after last year’s crisis sent its deficit soaring.

A fourth coronavirus lockdown could cut Israel’s economic growth by half a percentage point, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron told Bloomberg TV.  Yaron urged the government to make “every conceivable effort’’ to avoid a lockdown. 

Kuwait named Ghanem Al-Ghunaiman as the new managing director of its $700 billion sovereign wealth fund, completing an overdue management reshuffle that had complicated decision-making.

The International Energy Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have pared back their assessments of the need for OPEC crude in almost every quarter to the end of 2022. 

Coming Up

• An Afghan delegation may head to Doha this week for talks with the Taliban 
• Israel GDP data on Aug. 16

Last Word

American celebrity chef David Burke has taken up a new challenge -- Saudi Arabia. Until recently, it would have been inconceivable that Burke open up a restaurant in staid and conservative Riyadh, let alone his second one in less than a year.

The social revolution, spawned by a transformation led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is promoting concerts, movies, and gender mixing that is playing out at city dining tables. 

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