Lebanese protesters blocked major highways with burning tires and roadblocks on Wednesday, saying they will remain in the streets despite the president's appeal for them to go home.

Schools and universities were closed and banks remained shuttered — a reflection of the deepening political and financial crisis the tiny country faces. A man was killed by a Lebanese soldier during Tuesday night protests, marking the first such fatality since nationwide demonstrations engulfed the country on Oct. 17.

Lebanese army troops on Wednesday deployed heavily near the Presidential Palace in Baabda amid tight security measures, after a night of unrest following President Michel Aoun’s announcement that there could be further delays before a new government is formed.

“Army troops deployed in masses in Baabda in case of any emergency,” said the National News Agency.

Lebanon's banking association said Tuesday that banks will stay closed on Wednesday due to a strike by employees as the country's financial crisis worsens.

Banks were supposed to open on Tuesday following a three-day closure, but employees have gone on strike, complaining of aggressive behavior by customers.

The governor of Lebanon's Central Bank sought to calm nerves on Monday amid a worsening economic and financial crisis, pledging to work on safeguarding the stability of the national currency and protecting bank deposits.

Riad Salameh told reporters at a packed press conference that the bank will keep defending the currency peg, stable since 1997. He said there won't be any capital controls or a "haircut" on customer's bank deposits, in which the state takes a cut of their money to cover its debts.

The United Nations' mission for Iraq on Sunday proposed a roadmap out of the country's social upheaval, while Amnesty International said Iraq's crackdown on anti-government protests has descended into a "bloodbath."

At least 319 protesters have been killed by security forces since the economically driven protests and unrest began last month, according to the latest figures from the Iraqi Human Rights Commission released Sunday.

Iran is acknowledging for the first time it has an open case before its Revolutionary Court over the 2007 disappearance of a former FBI agent on an authorized CIA mission to the country, renewing questions over what happened to him.

In a filing to the United Nations, Iran said the case over Robert Levinson was "on going," without elaborating.

Lebanon's protests are bringing out people from across the country's spectrum of faiths and communities trying to throw out the entire ruling elite. They give a glimpse into a Lebanon transcending longtime divisions among sects.

But the young protesters face an entrenched political leadership that depends on sectarianism and an older generation that fears disrupting it could bring back civil war.

German officials have rejected an asylum request from a Lebanese man who was convicted of drug dealing and deported but then returned to Germany.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Friday that the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had rejected Ibrahim Miri's application as "clearly unfounded" and authorities are preparing to deport him again.

The World Bank's regional director on Friday urged Lebanon to form a new Cabinet "within a week" to prevent further degradation and loss of confidence in its economy.

Saroj Kumar Jha told The Associated Press that the World Bank observed in recent weeks increasing risks to Lebanon's economic and financial stability.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported Friday that the country's banks will be closed for two extra days over the weekend amid deepening turmoil and public anxiety over liquidity and sustained anti-government protests.

NNA said the banks will be closed both on Saturday and Monday, along with the regular Sunday closure for the weekend.