U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have kicked off exercise Resolute Union 2022.

The annual exercise focuses on maritime security operations, mine countermeasures and explosive ordnance disposal.

MP Ali Hassan Khalil, who is Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide and a former finance minister, denied Tuesday a media report alleging that he has hired a law firm in the United States in order to lift the U.S. sanctions imposed on him.

These are “baseless fabrications,” Khalil said in a statement.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday called for an end to “obstruction” and “political and constitutional absurdity,” in an apparent reference to the ongoing delay in the formation of a new government.

“We call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities by pressing the political and security levels in the Israeli entity, reining in its hostility and compelling it to abide by the relevant U.N. resolutions,” Berri said in a written statement marking the first day of the 2006 war with Israel.

Civil Defense firefighters backed by the Lebanese Army battled Monday a large fire that had ripped through the forests of Roumieh, a village north-east of Beirut surrounded by pine-forested hills.

The Army sent water-dropping helicopters to help the Civil Defense extinguish the fire, as the wind speed, the rugged area where the fire erupted and difficulty to secure water for the fire engines complicated efforts to contain the blaze.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday warned that "not facilitating the formation of a new government with full constitutional powers" is an "act of sabotage."

Senior Hezbollah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq on Saturday boasted that the three drones that Hezbollah sent towards the Karish gas field last Saturday had a “quick effect” on the course of the sea border demarcation negotiations.

“The resistance today is a strategic treasure, the shield of Lebanon and the title of its glory. It has performed its duty in a manner that serves the interest of the Lebanese and preserves their dignity and resources,” Qaouq, who is a member of Hezbollah’s central council, added, referring to the drones flight.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Saturday hoped the Lebanese people will manage to get rid of whom he called the “hijackers” of their “dreams.”

“On Eid al-Adha, we extensively reflect on the meanings of this feast, hoping the Lebanese people’s sacrifices over the past years will translate into a better future that is full of welfare, safety and peace, after we get rid of the hijackers of our dreams,” Geagea tweeted.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Ian Collard has written a farewell op-ed reflecting on his one year as the UK’s envoy to Lebanon.

Below is the op-ed’s full text as received from the British embassy:

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati stressed Friday the need to speed up the government formation, before President Michel Aoun's term comes to an end.

"The tight timeline and the upcoming junctures require us to take proactive steps and to form a new government quickly, before the presidential election," Mikati said in a statement.

President Michel Aoun urged the Lebanese on Friday to learn from Eid al-Adha the meaning of sacrifice.

"If only some (politicians) would sacrifice their interests for the sake of their homeland and the happiness of the Lebanese people," Aoun said in a statement on social media.