After one week of unprecedented Lebanese protests, President Michel Aoun addressed the nation in a televised speech saying he is ready to meet representatives of protesters.

Syrian state media and a war monitoring group say a car bombing wounded several people in a town taken by Turkey-backed rebels from Kurdish fighters during Ankara's invasion this month into northeastern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least four people were hurt in Thursday's explosion in the town of Tal Abyad.

Anti-government protesters scuffled with army troops on Wednesday in Jal el-Dib and Zouk Mosbeh areas amid attempts to reopen major roads as the country witnesses nationwide protests against the political class

France's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that Paris is closely following the developments in Lebanon, adding that the protests should remain peaceful and the right of Lebanese to protest should be respected.

It said France encourages the Lebanese government to carry out reforms in order for the CEDRE conference resolutions to be implemented.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri started meeting foreign envoys Tuesday, his adviser said, adding that he expected a very positive response to the cabinet's adoption of major economic reforms.

Senior adviser Nadim Munla said Hariri had begun a series of meetings with key ambassadors in Beirut, six days into a mass anti-government protest movement, which has drawn muted reactions from Lebanon's top foreign allies.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese protesters kept the country on lockdown on Tuesday, rallying for a sixth consecutive day to demand new leaders despite the government's adoption of an emergency economic rescue plan.

Demonstrations initially sparked by a proposed tax on WhatsApp and other messaging apps quickly grew into an unprecedented cross-sectarian street mobilization against the political class.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday expressed hope that Lebanon's government and political parties will pay "attention to people's demands," Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

It was the first remarks by an Iranian official about the protests in Lebanon.

Embattled Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday announced sweeping reforms in a bid to appease hundreds of thousands of protesters who have taken over Lebanon’s streets since Thursday in the country’s biggest demos ever.

“I did not ask for the three-day grace period from the people but rather from my partners in the government,” Hariri said in an address to the nation, referring to an ultimatum he had issued for his coalition government partners to endorse a reform paper he presented.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in court Monday to fight extradition to the United States on charges of conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer, with his legal team saying it needs more time to prepare its case.

Assange raised a fist in a defiant gesture to acknowledge his supporters in the gallery at Westminster Magistrates' Court for a case management hearing. He was clean shaven and wearing a blue sweater and sports jacket. He read his name to the court when asked and gave his date of birth.

The Spanish government says it will exhume and relocate the remains of late military dictator Gen. Francisco Franco on Thursday.

In a statement Monday, the government said the remains would be taken from the grandiose mausoleum at the Valley of the Fallen complex outside Madrid and taken to a discreet grave close to the capital by helicopter.