Lebanon’s political crisis is set to deepen as the UN prosecutor’s findings into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri were filed on Monday, writes freelance political writer Antoun Issa.
Lebanon
Hezbollah quits Lebanon government … fears again of civil war
The people of Lebanon are sick of war, and all parties are desperate to avoid it, writes Michael Safi, who is studying politics and Arabic.
Opposition walkout throws Lebanon into a state of flux
Lebanon’s Hezballah-led Opposition has resigned en masse from the country’s fragile national unity government, triggering its collapse, writes freelance political writer Antoun Issa.
Mickey mouse in a war zone: the power of war photography
Photography in a war zone can have a strong impact on how foreigners view a war. Erroll Morris talks with Middle East AP photographer Ben Curtis about manipulating and posing photos and the popularity of mangled toys amongst war debris.
The new battlefront in the Middle East: hummus and tabbouleh
Lebanon and Israel are engaged in a heated battle; not over territory, religion or politics, but over which country invented hummus and tabbouleh. Lebanon has struck the latest blow, breaking world records by cooking a 2056kg bowl of hummus and 3557kg plate of tabbouleh.
The cupcake craze hits the Middle East
Cupcakes have conquered the West, and now they’re taking the Arab world by storm, with additions like dates, pistachios, tahini and pomegranate adding a regional flavour.
Meet the Lebanese Bernie Madoff
Salah Ezzedine, a Lebanese businessman with ties to Hezbollah, is the mastermind behind the biggest fraud scheme in the country’s history, swindling billions out of locals and leaving a long trail of ruined families in his wake.
The warped logic of banning al-Manar
There are many good arguments for and against allowing the Lebanese Hezbollah-run TV station al-Manar to be broadcast in Australia, writes : but those put forward by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council aren’t any of them.
A big step backwards in the Middle East
A week after Lebanon’s elections were won by the moderate, pro-western forces, Iran has gone the other way, writes Charles Richardson.
Hezbollah: Der Spiegel is conspiring with Israel
Political group and terrorist organisation Hezbollah has accused German magazine Der Spiegel of conspiring with Israel against them in an attempt to influence the upcoming elections in Lebanon.
Banned in Beirut
Despite being named UNESCO’s 2009 World Book Capital City, a long list of books, films and music are banned in Beirut.
Lebanese democracy in a state of farce
Although the West upholds Lebanon as a Middle Eastern democracy, vigorously supporting to its beleaguered “elected” government, there really isn’t much democratic about the country’s political process at all, writes Antoun Issa.
Lebanese vote an exercise in confusion
It’s always good to start a political campaign off with a bang. In Lebanon’s case it was another political assassination, writes Guy Rundle.
