Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday stressed to visiting U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon the need that the United Nations demarcate Lebanon’s maritime borders and demanded compensations for the oil spill caused by Israel’s bombardment of storage tanks at the thermal power station in Jiyeh during the July 2006 war.

“To date, Israel has not accepted to turn the post-July war cessation of hostilities into a permanent ceasefire in order to justify its incessant overflights in Lebanese airspace and its naval and territorial violations,” Berri added during talks in Ain al-Tineh with the U.N. chief.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said he was "deeply concerned" about the military prowess of Hizbullah and noted that the frequent Israeli violations of Lebanon’s territory and airspace continue to undermine UNIFIL’s credibility and Lebanon’s sovereignty.

"I am deeply concerned about the military capacity of Hizbullah and also concerned about the lack of progress in disarmament," the U.N. chief told a news conference after holding talks with Lebanese leaders.

The head of Libya’s National Transitional Council Mustapha Abdul Jalil stated on Friday that missing persons will be found throughout Libya, adding that so far missing Imam Moussa al-Sadr’s fate remains unknown.

He said after holding talks in Libya with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour: “We have placed great importance on this issue and a Lebanese-Libyan committee has been formed to find out what has happened to him.”

U.S. Central Command Commander General James Mattis renewed on Friday his country’s commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.

He underscored the United States’ “support in strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, recognizing its importance in serving as Lebanon’s sole legitimate defense force to secure Lebanon’s borders and defend the sovereignty and independence of the state.”

Thai authorities said Friday they had detained a Lebanese man with suspected links to Hizbullah, after the United States warned of a terrorist threat against tourists in the kingdom.

Hizbullah politburo member Ghaleb Abu Zainab denied the arrest.

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon said Friday he had no doubt that the Lebanese government would continue to respect its obligations towards the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

In an interview published in An Nahar newspaper, Ban said: “I am very glad that the Lebanese government decided to transfer the 49 percent of funds to the STL.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati held a meeting with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the holidays, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

The meeting, according to the daily, tackled the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri and the latest developments.

The cabinet will meet on Monday with the wage hike issue on its agenda following the price index committee’s failure to reach consensus over the salary increase for Lebanon’s employees, according to newspapers published on Friday.

The price index committee in its second consecutive meetings on Thursday failed to resolve the dispute between the Labor Minister, the Economic Committees, the General Labor Confederation and the Syndicate Coordination Committee over the wage hike.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has appointed a British diplomat as special coordinator for Lebanon to replace Michael Williams, a diplomatic source said.

The source told al-Mustaqbal daily published Friday that Ban appointed Derek Plumbly to replace Williams whose mandate ended in October.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Thursday met with the committee tasked with following up on the dialogue between Bkirki and Hizbullah.

The committee comprises Bkirki representatives Bishop Samir Mazloum and Hareth Shehab and Hizbullah envoys Ghaleb Abu Zainab and Mustafa al-Hajj Ali. The meeting was also attended by lawyer Walid Ghayyad, the director of Bkirki’s press office.