Lebanon for more than three years has been mired in a deep financial, economic and social crisis, aggravated by a political deadlock.

Here is a recap since turmoil broke out in October 2019.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has decried what he described as “political blackmail” and “presidential blackmail” in the current controversy related to the army’s Military Council.

“The Defense Minister is making an excuse that extending the term of the incumbent Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amin al-Orm would not be legal, although the term of former Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman had been extended,” Jumblat said in an interview with Annahar newspaper.

Following a lengthy break in ties and a political clash between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party, a mediator has managed to set up a meeting between FPM chief Jebran Bassil and PSP leader Walid Jumblat, al-Jadeed TV has reported.

The meeting will be held Friday over a lunch banquet attended by MP Taymour Jumblat, the TV network added.

Lebanese investigators have identified suspects in the fatal shooting of an Irish United Nations peacekeeper whose vehicle came under fire earlier this month, a judicial official told AFP on Thursday.

Private Sean Rooney, 23, was killed and three others injured on December 14 when their UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle was attacked near the village of Al-Aqbiya in Lebanon's south.

Youssef Safouri wandered through a noisy jam-packed Beirut Christmas market, where the hundreds of families who flocked to stands selling gifts by Lebanese designers belied a severe economic crisis that has sapped the savings of millions.

Safouri is among thousands of Lebanese who left the country when its economy started to tumble in late 2019. They have now become a lifeline for families back home who receive remittances from abroad and cash brought in suitcases during holiday visits. Three-quarters of the population is now plunged into poverty.

Tucked away in the hills north of Beirut below a Maronite monastery, Lebanon's only remaining Christian-majority Palestinian camp gives few outward clues to its identity. Unlike the country's other Palestinian refugee camps, there are no flags or political slogans on display in Dbayeh camp.

Behind closed doors, it's a different story. At a recent community Christmas dinner for elderly residents, attendees wearing Santa hats danced the dabke to popular Palestinian songs like "Raise the Keffiyeh," twirling the traditional Palestinian scarves, or using napkins to simulate them. A speaker who toasted his hope of celebrating next year's Christmas in Jerusalem in a "free Palestine" prompted ululations.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Lebanon Friday to "get rid" of its political leadership who have for months blocked reforms vital to save its stricken economy.

"The problem with Lebanon is that we must solve people's problems and get rid of those who cannot do it," Macron said, referring to the country's entrenched political class -- widely blamed for the country's financial collapse since late 2019.

The Internal Security Forces on Thursday denied claims by MP Paula Yacoubian alleging that the newly-formed hardline Christian group Soldiers of God had intervened following an alleged robbery in Ashrafieh.

In a video circulated on social media, Yacoubian had said that a woman in Ashrafieh had called the relevant police station to report a robbery, after which young men from the Soldiers of God group arrived and told her that they had been "informed by the police station" about the incident.

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit said Thursday that Lebanon can not bear a presidential vacuum and that the league is willing to play its role in a Lebanese dialogue.

During the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut, Abul Gheit considered that the way to recovery is by electing a new president and making reforms, urging parties to rise above the divisions and to prioritize Lebanon's interests.

The Judicial Council on Thursday dismissed the electoral appeals filed by Jad Ghosn in Northern Metn and Haidar Issa in Akkar.

The rulings mean that MP Ahmed Rustom of Akkar and MPs Razi al-Hajj and Hagop Pakradounian of Northern Metn will keep their parliamentary seats.