The press office of caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced Friday that “things are getting better” after the raids carried out by the minister on medicine warehouses.

Judge Tarek Bitar’s decision to issue a subpoena ordering security forces to bring caretaker PM Hassan Diab to interrogation has infuriated the so-called club of former premiers, which comprises ex-PMs Saad Hariri, Najib Miqati, Fouad Saniora and Tammam Salam.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed "deep concern" over the "rapidly deteriorating" socio-economic situation in Lebanon.

"The people of Lebanon are struggling every day with hyperinflation, acute shortages of fuel, electricity, medicine and even access to clean water," Guterres said in a statement by his spokesman.

Acting State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Fadi Akiki charged on Thursday three people with causing the deadly fuel explosion in al-Tleil, the National News Agency said.

The horrific explosion killed dozens and injured scores of people. Soldiers were among the victims.

EU Ambassador to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf announced that he met Thursday with President Michel Aoun, PM-designate Najib Miqati and Speaker Nabih Berri, carrying “an urgent message from the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell.”

The lead investigative judge into the port blast, Tarek Bitar, on Thursday issued a subpoena ordering security forces to bring caretaker PM Hassan Diab to an interrogation session on September 20.

State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat on Thursday denied that he has rejected to grant Judge Tarek Bitar permissions for the prosecution of State Security chief Tony Saliba and General Security head Abbas Ibrahim in the port blast case.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab will not appear before the lead investigator in Beirut’s port blast case Judge Tarek Bitar, as a defendant today, Thursday, according to a memo issued by the Premiership's General-Secretariat.

The memo was sent to Bitar informing him of his “lack of jurisdiction to interrogate the resigned prime minister.”

The lead investigator into Beirut’s port blast, Judge Tarek Bitar, supervised on Wednesday afternoon a simulation of the welding work that preceded the explosion in hangar 12, the National News Agency said on Thursday.

“The simulation took place in the presence of a number of lawyers representing the concerned parties,” the agency reported, adding that “it was prepared by a joint committee of army officers, the ISF Intelligence Branch, members of the Civil Defense and a judge.”

In collaboration with the FBI, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut has conducted a training on countering public corruption at the Internal Security Forces (ISF) academy in Aramoun, the Embassy said on Wednesday.

"Twenty-four ISF members and four judges were able to complete the training and benefit from the knowledge of the FBI experts," the Embassy added in a statement.