Rebecca (“Becky”) Dykes was “a talented, devoted humanitarian, whose skill, expertise, and passion improved the lives of many people,” the British embassy in Beirut said on Friday, a few hours after the British diplomat’s murderer was convicted of murder and rape.

“She was an impassioned advocate for those who most need support, a true friend of Lebanon, and an outstanding representative for the UK. She had an exciting, bright future ahead of her,” the embassy said in a statement.

Protests have flared in Lebanon and around the world, with citizens rallying for the last few weeks demanding change in their countries.

Here are the reasons seven of them from Lebanon to Chile are taking to the streets.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday urged the formation of a “sovereign government” within “days,” as he noted the Lebanese have managed to foil a “strife” scheme and a “political coup” attempt.

“We call for dialogue and communication between all components and the protest movement's representatives,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

The United Kingdom announced up to $25m in support to Lebanese Armed Forces for 2019-2022, the British Embassy in Lebanon said on Twitter on Friday.

The Internal Security Forces arrested a handful of activists on Friday who stormed the headquarters of the Association of Banks in Lebanon in the Gemmayze area.

Eighty five Syrian refugees have returned on Friday back to Syria in the latest wave of returns to their war-torn country, the National News Agency reported on Friday.

Lebanon's General Security Directorate organized the return of refugees who arrived at the Masnaa border crossing early on Friday coming from the Central Beqaa area.

Lebanon banks reopened for the first time in two weeks Friday as the country began to return to normal following mass demonstrations for radical political change.

Deliberations to set a date early next week for Lebanon’s parliamentary consultations with President Michel Aoun intensified amid reports that Aoun did not “veto” appointing the now-caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported on Friday.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday said the country's next cabinet should include ministers picked on skills, not political affiliation, seemingly endorsing the demand by a two-week-old protest movement for a technocratic government.

"Ministers should be selected based on their qualifications and experience, not their political loyalties," Aoun said in a televised speech on the third anniversary of his presidency.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement’s political bureau on Thursday hailed the “peaceful” nature of the “popular uprising” despite what it called “militia-style attempts to harm it, derail it from its patriotic course and sectarianize it,” in reference to Hizbullah and AMAL Movement’s attacks on protesters.

The politburo, which convened under caretaker PM Saad Hariri, emphasized “the patriotic identity of the popular protest movement in all regions,” saying it has strongly succeeded in “overcoming sectarian alignments and the barriers of blind loyalties.”