By LARA SELIGMAN, ALEXANDER WARD and ANDREW DESIDERIO  - politico -- U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city’s airport, a choice that's prompted outrage behind the scenes from lawmakers and military officials. The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last week after the Taliban seized control of the country. It also came as the Biden administration has been relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport.

Since the fall of Kabul in mid-August, nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated, most of whom had to pass through the Taliban's many checkpoints. But the decision to provide specific names to the Taliban, which has a history of brutally murdering Afghans who collaborated with the U.S. and other coalition forces during the conflict, has angered lawmakers and military officials. “Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.” Asked about POLITICO's reporting during a Thursday news conference, President Joe Biden said he wasn't sure there were such lists, but also didn't deny that sometimes the U.S. hands over names to the Taliban. "There have been occasions when our military has contacted their military counterparts in the Taliban and said this, for example, this bus is coming through with X number of people on it, made up of the following group of people. We want you to let that bus or that group through," he said. "So, yes there have been occasions like that. To the best of my knowledge, in those cases, the bulk of that has occurred and they have been let through. "I can't tell you with any certitude that there's actually been a list of names," he added. "There may have been. But I know of no circumstance. It doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, that here's the names of 12 people, they're coming, let them through. It could very well have happened."

by reuters — BEIRUT: The European Union is deeply concerned at the rapid deterioration of the crisis in Lebanon, its ambassador to …

by armenianweekly.com -- Tsoler Aghjian -- It was only a couple of years ago when my career as a pharmacist wasn’t of major importance to the Lebanese people. I was seen as an employee in a community pharmacy dispensing prescribed drugs and recommending some over-the-counter drugs to treat minor illnesses. However, after almost two years of tragedies that undermined the economy of this tiny Mediterranean country, things have changed radically. I am now the acquaintance that people rely on to make the needed drug available despite the overwhelming shortage in supply.

Since the October 2019 revolution in Lebanon, the hidden failures of 30-year-old corrupt economic policies have become gradually tangible. The Lebanese lira started to lose its worth against the US dollar in the black market, and it is now worth 13 times less. These dramatic changes in the economy took their toll on the health sector as well, leaving the drug importing companies desperate to find foreign currency to be able to buy the stock demanded by the Lebanese market. To overcome the currency issue in the drug supply, the government had adopted a subsidy policy which obliges the Central Bank to provide the drug importers with the foreign currencies from the national savings at the official low rate so that the drugs can be categorized as “supported” products and sold to the people at their original low prices. However, this solution was never a sustainable one. The drug prices remained unchanged for a year or so, but now that the Central Bank’s resources are depleted, drugs can no longer be sold at low prices.