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.

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.

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.