A Sunni Muslim cleric who went missing earlier this week was killed by people from his northern hometown with whom he had been at odds with for more than a decade, security officials said.

Sheikh Ahmed Rifai was last seen in the northern city of Tripoli Monday evening and his car was found days later in a village a few kilometers south of the city. His family said they lost contact with him Monday night after they tried to call him and found that his cellphone was turned off.

Intensive contacts will be held over the next two weeks in a bid to reach a presidential settlement within weeks or a few months at the latest, a media report said.

A Lebanese and Belgian citizen considered a key financier of Hezbollah has been arrested in Bucharest, Romania's capital, U.S. federal authorities said.

Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, 58, who was labeled a "global terrorist" by the United States in 2018 when $10 million was offered for information about his whereabouts, has funneled millions of dollars to Hezbollah over the years, authorities said.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon on Friday announced the temporary suspension of the banking sector strike for a period of one week.

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun on Friday thanked the Higher Judicial Council and all its members for issuing a statement that called on caretaker PM Najib Mikati and caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to reverse two controversial decisions.

The world’s leading maritime organizations and companies have released an open letter calling on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urgently prioritize the evacuation of 331 seafarers -- including Lebanese seafarers -- and 62 ships that remain trapped in Ukrainian ports.

The 34 signatories, including the International Chamber of Shipping, NKY Line, the Union of Greek Shipowners, Danish Shipping, and seafarer charities, called the situation an ‘unacceptable risk to life.’

The Embassies of Australia, Denmark, Japan and the United Kingdom in Lebanon will light up on Friday night their shared Embassies’ Complex in Beirut in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

"Today marks a year since the brutal, unjustified and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. In that year, thousands of innocent Ukrainian people have been killed, and millions forced from their homes," the Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, and Japan said in a joint statement.

The issue of extending the term of General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has suffered a “setback,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has recently asked U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea whether her country is against the election as president of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, a media report said.

Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has described his party’s undeclared nomination of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh as “reasonable,” as he denied that Hezbollah backs the extension of Central Bank chief Riad Salameh’s term.