Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin began a high-stakes video summit Tuesday in which the U.S. president was set to warn of painful sanctions and increased military support for Eastern Europe if Russia invades Ukraine.

President Michel Aoun on Tuesday told an International Monetary Fund delegation that Lebanon is “committed to devising a feasible reformist plan” and to “cooperating with IMF to approve it quickly.”

Aoun also said that “the priority should be given to the social and health issues, and to confronting poverty and moving forward in repairing infrastructure in the country, such as electricity, telecommunications and the Beirut port.”

Saudi Arabia signed deals with Oman valued at $30 billion, state media said Tuesday, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a tour of Gulf Arab countries, including former rival Qatar.

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday its official workweek will move to Monday to Friday, a significant change that brings the Islamic nation that is home to major financial institutions in line with Western schedules.

The decision, which is to take effect next month, makes the Gulf Arab federation one of the few countries in the Middle East to operate on Western hours instead of on a Sunday through Thursday week.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Monday presided over a broad meeting aimed at following up on the issue of tightening border control and resolving the latest disputes with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.

The meeting was attended by the ministers of defense, interior, foreign affairs, agriculture and industry, and the heads of Customs, Economic Committees, Association of Lebanese Industrialists, Beirut Traders Association, Union of Lebanese-Gulf Businessmen Councils.

Another Chinese property developer said Monday it had defaulted on a major bond repayment, citing liquidity problems amid a government crackdown on the debt-laden sector.

European equities advanced Monday on hopes that the Omicron coronavirus variant might not be as damaging as initially feared, traders said.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will announce an anti-corruption strategy Monday meant to tackle two major vehicles for money laundering in the United States -- real estate transactions and shell companies.

"We'll be releasing the first ever U.S. government strategy on countering corruption," a senior administration official said on a conference call ahead of the announcement.

EU ministers on Monday agreed measures to better protect wage levels in Europe and give workers more power to oppose low pay.

At 28, Thurayya left behind the Beirut neighborhood where she was born and moved to the family farm, not because of environmental concerns but forced there by Lebanon's bruising crises.