Lebanon’s Parliament on Thursday approved a state of emergency in Beirut in its first session since the catastrophic August 4 explosion, granting the military sweeping powers amid rising popular anger at official corruption and mismanagement and political uncertainty.

The government resigned after the blast that killed more than 170 people, injured at least 6,000, and wrecked the capital’s port and caused widespread damage across the capital.

Lebanon’s government stepped down on Monday night, less than a week after a massive explosion in Beirut killed more than 160 people and sparked days of violent protests.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab addressed the nation, announcing his resignation and that of his government in the wake of the blast, which he called a “disaster beyond measure.”

In an impassioned speech, Diab berated Lebanon's ruling political elite for fostering what he called “an apparatus of corruption bigger than the state.”

Lebanon has appointed Charbel Wehbe as foreign minister after Nassif Hitti resigned from the position, saying the country risked becoming a “failed state” and the government showed a lack of reformist will.

In his resignation letter, Hitti wrote “Lebanon today is sliding toward becoming a failed state.”

Hitti’s resignation is the biggest blow yet to Diab's six-month-old government, which has struggled to make good on promises that it would implement wide-ranging reforms following massive anti-establishment protests last year.

Syrian and Russian planes have carried out deadly aerial strikes on schools, hospitals, and markets in Idlib province that amount to war crimes, UN investigators said on Tuesday in a report that also condemned attacks by Islamist militants.

They said that “indiscriminate bombardment” by pro-government forces, ahead of a March ceasefire brokered with Turkey, claimed hundreds of lives and forced one million civilians to flee, which may amount to a crime against humanity.