by aawsat.com — Lebanon’s top Christian cleric has reiterated demands for politicians to speed up the formation of an all-party government and …

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister has criticized the militant group Hezbollah for sending three unmanned …

By Lisa Schlein -- voanews.com-- GENEVA — The United Nations is warning that Lebanon is in a state of crisis, with millions of people out of work, and suffering from shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential needs. The United Nations says soaring food prices are forcing 90% of Lebanese families to consume less expensive food, skimp on meals, and reduce portion sizes. It warns spiking crude oil prices threaten to tip thousands of families over the edge, worsening food insecurity, malnutrition, and hunger. A recent survey finds almost a third of Lebanon’s labor force is unemployed, with youth unemployment at nearly 50%. U.N. resident coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi said 2.2 million Lebanese, 86,000 migrants, and 200,000 Palestine refugees need emergency aid, an increase of 46% over last year.

She said the outlook for the country’s financial stability is not good. She notes the World Bank projects Lebanon’s gross domestic product will contract by a further 6.5% this year, with inflation expected to reach devastating new heights. “The socioeconomic meltdown in Lebanon has been further exacerbated by the impact of course of the Ukrainian crisis on the country, which is mainly reflected in the depletion of wheat reserves and the soaring prices of fuel items that are leading to drastic increases in bread prices and threatening food security in Lebanon," she said.

By Maria Fantappie and Vali Nasr -- foreignaffairs.com -- US. President Joe Biden’s July trip to the Middle East comes at a delicate moment. There is a last gasp effort underway to revive stalled talks between the United States and Iran on restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from being able to develop a nuclear weapon. Since the last round of talks in Vienna, Tehran has accelerated its program and will soon become a threshold nuclear state. When the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—the UN nuclear watchdog—censured the country for failing to cooperate with inspectors, the Iranian government further curtailed IAEA monitoring of its nuclear program and announced new underground advanced enrichment facilities.

Israel, however, has long promised that it will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran, and it is working outside of multilateral institutions to realize that goal. Israel has assassinated Iranian scientists and military officials. It has conducted air attacks on Iranian targets in Syria and expanded its strike capabilities, presumably in preparation for new attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and military facilities. With American backing, the Israelis are also seeking to organize a number of Arab states into a military alliance against Iran. According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States convened a meeting last March with security officials from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to integrate intelligence sharing and air defense systems to combat aerial threats from Iran.