A Lebanese American businessman who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's report and who helped broker the release of American hostages is slated to receive at least a 10-year prison sentence on child sex charges.

George Nader was charged last June and pleaded guilty in January to bringing a 14-year-old boy from the Czech Republic to the U.S. 20 years ago to engage in sexual activity. He also acknowledged possessing child pornography.

The government will on Friday launch the electronic platform for money exchange shops, the information minister said.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday criticized the parties that boycotted the Baabda national meeting.

“Those who believe that their rejection of dialogue would expose the government, the Presidency or a certain group are rather stripping Lebanon of the essence of its existence, especially if dialogue’s objective is to prevent strife,” Bassil said in his remarks at the meeting.

The participants in the Baabda national meeting called for by President Michel Aoun warned that Lebanon's multifaceted crisis is "more dangerous than war."

A memo was submitted Thursday to the Baabda dialogue meeting by the representative of the Progressive Socialist Party and the Democratic Gathering, MP Taymour Jumblat.

Deprived of a crucial student loan because of Lebanon's economic collapse, Ali is struggling to save his seat at the American University of Beirut, itself gripped by the crisis.

Former President Michel Suleiman lashed out at Hizbullah and the Resistance during the “national unity meeting” in Baabda, which prompted a reply from Hizbullah Loyal to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad, and Deputy Parliament Speaker Elie Ferzli, media reports said on Thursday.

Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said Lebanon’s bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund are “positive and intense,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

President Michel Aoun said the meeting he invited Lebanese officials to on Thursday bears a major “protection of stability and civil peace”, mainly after the recent developments in the country.

A “national unity” meeting in Baabda kicked off on Thursday in the presence of the Lebanese government and its internal allies, and the boycott of opposition parties, as protesters gathered on the road to the Presidential Palace chanting slogans against the ruling authority.