French Ambassador to Lebanon Anne Grillo met Wednesday with President Michel Aoun to discuss the Lebanese-French ties and the latest political developments in Lebanon.

Grillo stressed the necessity of respecting the constitutional deadlines in the government formation and in the presidential election and the importance of reaching positive results in the mediated negotiations over the sea border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said Wednesday there is no escape from the necessity of carrying out reforms.

"Some say that the large number of tourists is a sign of prosperity and they forget that the Central Bank's reserves are declining every day as a result of the absence of basic reforms," Jumblat tweeted.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil accused Wednesday Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati of seeking constitutional means in order to keep the caretaker government and avoid forming a new cabinet.

"Mikati doesn't want to form a new government," Bassil said in a statement.

Huawei announced Wednesday it is working to help Lebanon lift its economy through technology.

"Lebanon stands at the precipice of change – it needs to move forward and prioritize the implementation of a resilient ICT strategy in order to secure its bright future," the CEO of Huawei in Lebanon, Aiden Li, said in a statement.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has accused Hezbollah of military cooperation with Hamas.

Gantz warned that the "actions" of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would lead to a powerful response by the Israeli army.

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."