UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis met with President Michel Aoun and briefed the president on the deliberations of the Security Council meeting on Resolution 1701, the Presidency office said in a tweet on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Lebanese officials to put their own interests aside and work on achieving the interests of the people.

France had announced Thursday that it will host a video conference with international partners on December 2 to discuss humanitarian aid for crisis-stricken Lebanon.

The conference will be held in conjunction with the United Nations. It aims to attract the highest-level representation possible, with the aim of encouraging aid to the debt-strapped Lebanese economy, media reports said.

Consul General of Lebanon in Istanbul Mazen Kabbara warned on Thursday that the Lebanese are at risk of being exploited by mafias deceiving them into paying huge amounts of money in return for smuggling them into Europe, the National News Agency reported.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis said on Thursday that if Lebanon decides to change its electoral law, it should agree on that “well before holding the 2022 parliamentary elections” to avoid a delay.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim held talks on Thursday with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis and discussed the latest political and security developments in Lebanon and the region, media reports said.

The media office of caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni on Thursday denied remarks made in a statement released by Alvarez and Marsal, alleging the Ministry informed the firm it will not receive the information requested “in the near future” to conduct an audit into the central bank’s accounts.

The international firm Alvarez and Marsal affirmed that it had withdrawn from a forensic audit of Lebanon's central bank accounts after failing to receive data it needed for the mission, media reports said Thursday.

The firm’s confirmation came after caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni informed President Michel Aoun on November 20 that he had received a letter from the firm terminating the contract signed with the finance ministry.

UNIFIL on Wednesday joined the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) in marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence at the Mission’s headquarters in Naqoura.

Speaking at a ceremony, attended by NCLW President Claudine Aoun and other dignitaries, UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe social and economic impact in the communities and deepened the existing inequalities, including gender inequality.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Wednesday stressed that Lebanon “urgently needs reforms.”