U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has extended the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that investigated the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri until the end of the year to complete non-judicial functions so it can cease operation.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that a completion plan, developed and agreed by the United Nations and the government of Lebanon, will guide the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to ensure the completion of its work by Dec. 31.

SchoolTec, the first event of its kind in the country, is inviting school principals, school administrators, teachers, IT managers, professionals, university teachers, training managers, trainers, and parents to get ready to attend the exhibition that will take place for three days starting Wednesday January 18th until Friday January 20th, 2023, from 3:00 until 9:00 p.m. in Mövenpick Hotel Beirut.

WHY ATTEND?

A french memo requesting a meeting with those concerned with the port blast file has been confirmed, al-Akhbar newspaper reported Thursday.

The memo asked for a January 24 appointment between two French judges and Attorney General Sabbouh Suleiman, who is tasked by the public prosecution to oversee the file of the port investigation, the daily said.

Amnesty International on Thursday decried that blocking the work of Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar is “akin to crushing the domestic investigation.”

“Judge Bitar should be allowed to resume his work immediately. But the international community should also heed the victims’ calls for an international investigation,” Amnesty’s MENA dept. tweeted on its official account.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will arrive in Lebanon on Thursday evening, al-Jadeed television reported.

The top Iranian diplomat will meet with Lebanese officials during his visit, the TV network added.

Two people have been arrested for preventing members of an Internal Security Forces patrol from removing a construction violation in the Koura town of Kfar Qahel as well as hurling insults against the patrol’s members and Bkirki.

“To preserve the state’s prestige and prevent any transgression against religious authorities and security forces, the (ISF’s) Intelligence Branch arrested Diaa and Mustafa Qaraali in Batroun after they insulted security forces and Bkirki in Kfar Qahel, Koura,” caretaker Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi tweeted.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil urged Thursday the Lebanese government to immediately start working on returning the displaced Syrians to their homeland.

In an FPM conference on refugees, Bassil said that Lebanon must implement its plan to return the refugees and must apply local and international laws.

The Observatoire Européen pour l’Integrité du Liban has said that General Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has received a request to interrogate several individuals responsible for auditing the accounts of the Central Bank.

A European judicial delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg had started to arrive in Lebanon this week to probe the country's Central Bank governor and dozens of other individuals over suspected corruption.

Families of the port blast victims gathered Thursday in front of the Justice Palace after some judges asked the Higher Judicial Council to meet to discuss the requirements of the judicial probe into the case of the Beirut port blast.

Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat left the Justice Palace after quorum was not secured.

A European judicial delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg has started to arrive in Lebanon to probe the country's Central Bank governor and dozens of other individuals over suspected corruption, the justice minister said Wednesday.

Five European countries are probing the embattled governor, Riad Salameh on allegations of laundering public money in Europe. Switzerland first opened a probe two years ago, followed by France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein.