Pope Francis welcomed Lebanon's Christian patriarchs to the Vatican on Thursday for a day of prayer amid fears that the country's descent into chaos is further imperiling the Christian presence in the country, a bulwark for the church in the Middle East.

Francis greeted the dozen clerics in the lobby of the Vatican hotel where he lives shortly after 8 a.m. and together they walked across a small piazza inside the Vatican Gardens and entered St. Peter's Basilica. There, they stood in silent prayer around the altar, and descended to the tomb of the Apostle Peter underneath to light a candle as a sign of peace.

Gunmen took to the streets in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Wednesday, firing in the air and at times throwing stones at soldiers amid rising anger at power cuts, fuel shortages and soaring prices.

The anger was fueled by rumors that a young girl died after electricity cuts stopped a machine that supplied her with oxygen. A Lebanese security official denied the rumors and reports on social media about the girl. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Ibrahim Arab waits in line several hours a day in the hot summer sun to buy gas for his taxi.

When he's not working, the 37-year-old father of two drives from one Beirut pharmacy to another, looking for baby formula for his 7-month-old son -- any he can find -- even though the infant got severe diarrhea and vomiting from an unfamiliar brand.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh held talks in Lebanon on Tuesday about last month's 11-day war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Haniyeh had arrived in Lebanon on Sunday and met several top officials, including President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Two Americans charged in Japan with helping Nissan's former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, jump bail and escape Japan for Lebanon apologized Tuesday in a Tokyo court.

"I deeply regret my actions and sincerely apologize for causing difficulties for the judicial process and for the Japanese people. I'm sorry," Michael Taylor, a former Green Beret said, bowing and holding back sobs.

Hizbullah on Monday strongly deplored an overnight U.S. airstrike against Iran-backed armed groups which a monitor said killed at least seven fighters.

In a statement, Hizbullah said it "strongly condemns the treacherous American aggression that targeted the Iraqi-Syrian border."

A Russian business delegation met Lebanese officials on Monday to discuss plans to rebuild the grain silos destroyed last year in a massive explosion at Beirut's port, a Lebanese Cabinet minister said.

The visit by the Russian team -- including officials from Russia's Hydro Engineering and Construction company -- comes as Lebanon is going through the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history.

Army troops deployed in the northern city of Tripoli early Sunday taking positions around major state institutions after a night of protests and riots against worsening living conditions left several protesters and 10 soldiers injured.

Sporadic protests were reported throughout Lebanon on Saturday as the country's 20-month economic crisis worsened. The World Bank described the crisis as one of the worst the world has witnessed in 150 years. It is coupled with a political deadlock that has left Lebanon without a government since August.

A man armed with a long knife killed three people and injured several others, some seriously, in the southern city of Wuerzburg Friday before being shot by police and arrested, German authorities said.

It was unclear how many people were injured in the attack in a central part of the Bavarian city. Police identified the suspect as a 24-year-old Somali man living in Wuerzburg. His life was not in danger from his gunshot wound, they said.

A Lebanese prosecutor Wednesday ordered the release of seven people who were detained after last year's deadly massive blast at Beirut's port, state media reported.

The decision by Ghassan Khoury came a day after the Lebanese judge leading the investigation into the explosion, Tarek al-Bitar, requested the release of 13 people who were detained after the August catastrophe, one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history.