The most powerful men in Lebanese politics have been in charge for decades, some since the early 1970s. They've survived civil war, assassinations, uprisings and other turmoil, hanging on to power for decades in a turbulent, unforgiving region.

Now, they're in a desperate fight to cling to positions and wealth as Lebanon takes hit after hit, grappling with one of the world's worst economic meltdowns in decades and the aftermath of an explosion that ripped through the capital a year ago, killing more than 215 people.

Israel is quietly advancing controversial settlement projects in and around Jerusalem without making major announcements that could anger the Biden administration. Critics say the latest moves, while incremental, pave the way for rapid growth once the political climate changes.

On Wednesday, as Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with U.S. officials in Washington, a local planning committee in Jerusalem approved the expropriation of public land for the especially controversial Givat Hamatos settlement, which would largely cut the city off from Palestinian communities in the southern West Bank.

The street violence in and around Tayyouneh on Thursday was reminiscent of the 1975-1990 civil war that involved several of the same players. Who exactly was involved in Thursday's flare-up?

Tarek Bitar, the young and discreet judge investigating last year's devastating Beirut port explosion, is arguably the most exposed man in the country.

With gun battles breaking out in Tayyouneh Thursday during a protest against Judge Tarek Bitar, AFP looks at how the apocalyptic blast that devastated the port of Beirut last year has rocked the country.

Iraq's Shiite militias that often serve as a proxy for neighboring Iran have taken a beating in Iraq's election, while a Shiite cleric who set himself apart by taking a more nationalistic approach has emerged as Iraq's strongest political figure.

The results underscore growing divisions over Iran's heavy-handed influence in the country, weakening Iran's allies as it seeks to revive its nuclear deal with world powers and engage with its regional rival, Saudi Arabia.

The Lebanon judge leading the investigation into last year's huge Beirut port blast was forced to suspend its work Tuesday after what human right groups have condemned as an attempt by politicians to evade justice.

It is the second time Bitar has had to suspend the investigation in the face of lawsuits filed by former ministers he had summoned on suspicion of negligence, and comes amid growing calls from top officials, including Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, for him to be replaced.

More than a year after his son was killed by Israeli forces under disputed circumstances in the occupied West Bank, Mustafa Erekat is still seeking his remains.

It is one of dozens of cases in which Israel is holding the remains of Palestinians killed in conflict, citing the need to deter attacks and potentially exchange them for the remains of two Israeli soldiers held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of Jewish settlers swept down from the dusty hills, hurling rocks at a small Palestinian village in broad daylight, smashing windows, cars and water cisterns as families hid inside their homes and Israeli soldiers looked on.

Palestinians in this rural part of the occupied West Bank say last week's attack was especially violent but not unusual. They view it as part of a much larger effort by Israel to force them off their land, including by cutting off vital water resources in a parched region.

Blinking under the garish lights of a hotel ballroom in southern Iraq, Wael Makhsusi argued his case to a young audience.

Microphone in hand, the engineer in his 30s stood onstage in Basra with other novice candidates in Sunday's parliamentary election. Among them were independents and hopefuls drawn from the protests that filled the streets two years ago with demonstrators angry about high unemployment, government corruption and lack of basic services like electricity and water.