By Lucy Papachristou

YEREVAN, June 5 (Reuters) - Armenia holds a parliamentary election on Sunday that pits the governing Civil Contract party, which is pursuing closer ties with the West, against an array of opposition parties, many of which are pro-Russian.

Opinion polls predict Civil Contract, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, will emerge as the largest party, but it could fall short of the two-thirds majority necessary to make changes to the constitution.

Here's what to look out for:

REFERENDUM ON PEACE DEAL

Celtic's interest in appointing Robbie Keane as their new manager has sparked anger among the club's pro-Palestine fans after his previous role with Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Keane is the leading contender to take charge of the Scottish champions after reportedly entering talks with the club's principal shareholder Dermot Desmond.

Keane, who is Ireland's record goalscorer, enjoyed a prolific loan spell at Celtic in 2010.

By Ahmed Elimam and Jana Choukeir

DUBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - Iran has reaffirmed support for its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and demanded Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, underscoring complications facing an interim deal to end the broader conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran has made a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington to resolve the regional war, now in its fourth month, and restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Lebanon's leaders issued pointed calls for Iran to stop interfering in their country's affairs on Friday, as Israel and Tehran-backed Hezbollah traded attacks after a new truce deal was flatly rejected by the group.

Lebanese state media reported fresh Israeli strikes on more than 40 locations Friday, while Hezbollah claimed new attacks on Israeli troops who have invaded the south.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 to avenge the February 28 killing of Iran's supreme leader.

By Alexander Cornwell, Rami Ayyub and Steve Holland

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Benjamin Netanyahu has long portrayed himself to the Israeli public as being uniquely adept in dealing with Donald Trump, capable of winning and sustaining the U.S. president's backing.

But an acrimonious phone call this week where the president called the prime minister "fucking crazy", first leaked to the media and later publicly confirmed by Trump himself, laid bare the strains that have at times emerged between the two leaders.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, June 5 (Reuters) - The Middle East conflict is pushing millions of people closer to hunger, as rising fuel and transport costs drive up food prices while funding shortfalls force aid agencies to scale back assistance, the U.N. World Food Programme said on Friday.

Joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered a regional conflict stretching across the Gulf and into Lebanon, disrupting key shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, forcing vessels to reroute and sharply constraining global energy flows and supply chains.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, June 5 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Friday said it is doubling the amount of money it says it needs to help Lebanon meet surging humanitarian needs, as the war enters its fourth month.

Lebanon was drawn into the wider regional war in early March when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran, which was under U.S.-Israeli attack, prompting a major Israeli air and ground campaign.

The UN on Friday more than doubled its aid appeal for Lebanon as the country reels from Israel's war against Iran-backed Hezbollah, saying nearly $640 million was needed over six months.

Three months into the war, the United Nations warned that a "humanitarian catastrophe" was looming in Lebanon, with a quarter of its population needing aid.

"Communities across Lebanon have faced an appalling situation due to the escalation of hostilities," Imran Riza, the UN's resident humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Beirut.

June 4 (Reuters) - EU ministers on Thursday broadly supported a proposal to limit access to temporary protection for Ukrainian men of military age, Sweden’s migration minister said.

The European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to manage large-scale arrivals of displaced people.

The scheme, which has been extended three times and is due to expire in March 2027, grants beneficiaries residence permits, access to the labour market and social welfare.

WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believed progress was being made between Israel and Lebanon and that Lebanon deserved to have peace.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "I actually spoke to Hezbollah about it."

He continued: "And I think progress is made. It's been going on for a long time, you know," he said.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Steve Holland;Editing by David Ljunggren)