The arrest of a prominent activist in the port blast case, William Noon, has sparked protests across the country and political condemnation.

The Lebanese Army on Friday announced that it opened fire at an Israeli drone near the border with Israel.

“As an army patrol was inspecting an (Israeli) violation in the outskirts of the town of Houla and the Honin Valley, a drone belonging to the Israeli enemy violated the Lebanese airspace over the aforementioned area and hovered over the patrol, which promoted soldiers to open fire toward it,” the army said in a statement.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday held talks with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The National News Agency said the meeting tackled means to develop the relations between Lebanon and Iran in addition to the situation in the region.

Israel’s outgoing army chief Aviv Kohavi has warned that if a new war broke out with Hezbollah, Israel would send Lebanon 50 years back in time through what he called “waves of firepower” that Israel would unleash on the Iranian-backed group as well as against Lebanese national infrastructure.

“Hezbollah and (its leader Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah know that Lebanon will be hit in an unprecedented way which it has never experienced in its history,” Kohavi said in an English-language interview published by The Jeursalem Post.

Caretaker Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram announced Friday that it has been decided to approve a hike of an LBP 1.9 million on the wages of the private sector and to increase the transportation allowance from LBP 95,000 to LBP 125,000.

The decision was taken in a meeting for the country’s Consumer Price Index Committee.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks Friday in Beirut with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib.

“We heard from Abdollahian Iran’s keenness on Lebanon’s stability and the importance of finalizing the presidential juncture,” Bou Habib said at a joint press conference after the meeting.

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.