British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard has hosted the Queen’s Birthday Party in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and her 96th birthday. This year, Her Majesty became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, which marks 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth.

The event, which was held at the Mouawad Museum in Beirut, was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib representing President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Lebanese forces leader Samir Geagea has said that his party will refuse any Prime minister and any President who are allied with Hizbullah.

He added, in a press interview, that the divisions in Parliament will lead to a big confrontation between Hizbullah and its allies and the LF.

The binding parliamentary consultations to name a new Prime Minister will likely start next week, media reports said Thursday.

The consultations will start the middle of next week, after the election of the parliamentary committees' members, according to the reports.

Humanitarian organizations and associations protested Thursday in front of the Central Bank, urging authorities to free their funds trapped in the banks.

Social Affairs Caretaker Minister Hector Hajjar participated in the protest.

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has announced the 2022 Kavli Prize Laureates in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience. Eleven scientists from six countries, including Lebanon, were honored for their research that has transformed our understanding of the big, the small and the complex.

Lebanese Huda Zoghbi and three other neuroscientists received the 2022 Kavli Prize Laureate in Neuroscience.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard and British Embassy’s Defense Attaché Lt. Col Lee Saunders have visited UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, the Mission’s area of operations and the Blue Line.

The British Embassy said in a statement that Ambassador Collard was briefed on UNIFIL’s crucial work especially along the Blue Line, and the challenges faced at the current time. "Ambassador Collard was also briefed on how the Lebanese Armed Forces are working to maintain stability in South Lebanon."

The World Bank has extended its Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with Lebanon by one additional year "to advance urgently needed socioeconomic recovery programs targeting the poor and most vulnerable and support urgently needed macroeconomic and structural reforms."

In a statement, the world Bank said it has restructured and reprogramed its portfolio by cancelling underperforming projects and proactively allocating resources to newly identified priorities through a response focused on relief, recovery, and resilience.

A fight broke out Wednesday between supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement and supporters of the Lebanese forces at the Lebanese University.

The Lebanese army intervened to stop the fight that had started yesterday between the students over displaying portraits of certain politicians.

Free Patriotic Movement MP Cesar Abi Khalil slammed Wednesday Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat for switching in ten minutes from "defiant" to "non-defiant."

Abi Khalil questioned how Jumblat voted for Amal's Speaker, then against FPM MP Elias Bou Saab as Deputy Speaker.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called Wednesday for a Parliament session on Tuesday to elect the joint committees' members.

Berri had been re-elected as parliament speaker Tuesday for a seventh consecutive term, cementing his reputation as an immovable centerpiece of the country's political landscape.