The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has inaugurated the newly constructed Trilingual UNRWA al-Sakhra Co-educational School at the Mieh Mieh camp in Sidon.

The inauguration was attended by United States Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, French Ambassador to Lebanon Anne Grillo, Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour, Chairperson of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC) Bassel El Hassan, UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Leni Stenseth, and the Director of UNRWA Affairs, Lebanon, Claudio Cordone. The inauguration was also attended by Lebanese officials, representatives of the Palestine refugee community in Lebanon, teachers, students and parents.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on all parties to “respect the decision” of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, after the court sentenced two more Hezbollah members to life imprisonment in relation to the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

“The Secretary-General’s thoughts are with the victims of the 14 February attack, and their families,” his spokesperson said.

The Universal Postal Union has published on its website a LibanPost statement about the company’s efforts to achieve the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Below is the statement’s full text as published by UPU:

Hamish Cowell has been appointed as the new British ambassador to Lebanon, the British embassy said.

Cowell replaces ambassador Ian Collard, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment, the embassy added.

The parliamentary bloc of the Progressive Socialist Party, known as the Democratic Gathering, on Friday called for forming a new government as soon as possible and said it discussed “the characteristics that the PM-designate should enjoy.”

Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Stephen Hickey, has concluded a two-day visit to Lebanon. He met with senior Lebanese officials, local experts, international partners and visited projects funded by the UK supporting the most vulnerable people in Lebanon.

Head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Friday said that the Lebanese are awaiting the outcome of U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein’s visit to Lebanon with “great caution.”

“It is the right of the Lebanese to be able with the least cost, shortest time and easiest ways to exploit their natural gas resources and to extract them without obstacles or a conflict,” Raad said.

Saudi Arabia on Friday welcomed the verdicts that have been issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon against “two agents of the terrorist Hezbollah militia” over their role in “the terrorist attack that killed 22 people including ex-PM Rafik Hariri.”

“The international community must shoulder its responsibilities towards Lebanon and its brother people, who are suffering from the terrorist practices of the Iran-backed militia,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Norman Farrell has noted that the conviction of Salim Ayyash, Hassan Merhi and Hussein Oneissi over their participation in the 2005 murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri should not be “the final step towards accountability,” calling on Hezbollah to hand over its three members to authorities.

“Today we witnessed the completion of these proceedings against Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi et Hussein Hassan Oneissi, the three convicted persons for their heinous acts in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which caused incredible pain and suffering to the many victims and their families,” Farrell said in a statement, shortly after the STL Appeals Chamber sentenced Merhi and Oneissi to life imprisonment.

Head of Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), Dorothée Le Fraper du Hellen, has thanked the Defense Counsel after appeal judges sentenced Hezbollah members Hassan Merhi and Hussein Oneissi to life imprisonment for their roles in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"Following the pronouncement of the Judgment, Le Fraper du Hellen wishes to thank Defense Counsel and their teams for the considerable amount of work that they have done since being assigned to ensure the effective representation of the interests and rights of Merhi and Oneissi," she said in a statement.