PM Mikati Visits Naqoura, Vows Punishment on Those Who Killed UNIFIL Soldier
According to Reuters, “Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that those responsible for the killing of an Irish soldier on a U.N. peacekeeping mission two days ago ‘will be punished’.” [Reuters] LAF Commander in Chief General Joseph Aoun was also present at the UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura. 

UN Secretary General Condemns Attack 
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a statement said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the death of Seán Rooney, a UNIFIL soldier of Irish nationality who served in Southern Lebanon. Guterres called for a, “swift investigation by relevant authorities to determine the facts related to the incident and the need for accountability.” [Naharnet]

Mikati Meets with Select Ministers
According to L’Orient Today, “A meeting of 20 ministers took place on Friday at the Grand Serail in Beirut, chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to decide on a ‘mechanism’ to continue the management of current affairs in the absence of a president.” [L’Orient Today]

Minister of Transport and Public Works Tests Soon to Be Launched Buses Donated From France
According to L’Orient Today, “Caretaker Minister of Transport and Public Works Ali Hamiyeh participated in a Friday test session of buses donated to Lebanon by France and announced that some of them will be put into service as soon as Monday.” [L’Orient Today]

AbiNader writes, “More than half of the country’s professional healthcare staff have chosen to emigrate, if they have not done so already, seeking better earnings so that they may feed their families and send their children to school. This has been the situation since the Beirut Port blast and the economic implosion that has left Lebanon dependent on international aid and remittances from overseas. Even if the government begins a process of paying its arrears, most hospitals are refusing to admit patients knowing that the country is bankrupt and neither the availability nor affordability of medical care will change soon.”

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Atallah writes, “Inara, an international charity, is organising a concert that features children affected by war.”

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