Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Wednesday at the Grand Serail with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, in the presence of the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis, former Minister Ghattas Khoury and Hariri’s advisors Nadim Mounla and Hazar Caracalla.

During the meeting, which included a working lunch, discussions focused on the situation in the region and the challenges that Lebanon is facing to preserve its security and economic and social stability.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday criticized the delay in discussing the 2020 state budget.

“The Speaker wondered about the progress of the state budget debate, after the series of meetings in Cabinet and in its ministerial committees,” MP Ali Bazzi said after the weekly Ain el-Tineh meeting between Berri and lawmakers.

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday said that appearing before the judiciary is “a duty, not a choice,” after two ministers refused to meet with the financial prosecutor over suspected corruption at the Ministry of Telecommunications.

“Respecting the judiciary is a duty, not a choice, and summoning someone to it is not necessarily an accusation,” Aoun tweeted.

Retired military servicemen on Wednesday staged a sit-in outside the Finance Ministry’s VAT building protesting austerity government measures and delays to end-of-service payments, medical aid and benefit cuts.

Amid concerns the government might be unable to finish studying the 2020 state budget before a mid of October deadline, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said its completion proves the government has kept a pledge to the international community, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday called for a “unified response” to the latest dollar shortage crisis in the country, as he slammed what he described as attacks on “the President’s dignity.”

British Ambassador to Lebanon Chris Rampling on Tuesday launched the UK-Lebanon Year of Education 2020 campaign during the British Council’s partnership agreement with the American University of Beirut (AUB) for Computer Delivered International English Language Testing System )IELTS), in the presence of Minister of Education and Higher Education Akram Shehayyeb, MP Bahia Hariri, Director of the British Council David Knox, AUB Provost Dr. Mohamed Harajli and Dr. Karma El Hassan, Director, Office of Institutional Research & Assessment at AUB, representative of the Lebanese Army Commander, General Camile Faisal, and representative of the HEAD of the Internal Security Forces Colonel Elie al-Asmar.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has released an audio-visual and audio public service announcement as well as a poster with the biographical information of suspected Hizbullah operative Salim Jamil Ayyash, who is accused of involvement in the bomb attacks against the Lebanese politicians George Hawi, Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr.

“This is part of the STL public advertisement campaign to inform the accused of the need to appear before the Tribunal and to invite the public to submit any information on the whereabouts of the accused to the STL. The poster and messages list the charges against Mr Ayyash and phone numbers at which the public can contact the STL in case they have any information about his whereabouts,” the STL said.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday announced that “the Emiratis have promised to make investments and offer Lebanon financial aid.”

“Efforts are underway to fulfill the promise,” Hariri told reporters as he wrapped up an official visit to the UAE.

American journalists on Tuesday published tweets and videos on social media about a pop-up window screen that showed on televisions in the pentagon press offices displaying “Hizbullah.”

Pentagon correspondent, Carla Babb, published a photo she has taken of her TV screen at the Pentagon.