Lebanon and Israel hold new round of direct talks in Rome 

Lebanon and Israel are set to begin a new round of US-sponsored direct talks in Rome on Tuesday, as Beirut seeks Israel’s phased withdrawal from the country’s south. At negotiations in Washington in June, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon’s south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in test areas known as “pilot zones”.