The Middle East today is in bloody and tragic turmoil for many different reasons. One of them is that the five major powers in the region, like the two global powers, are all at war simultaneously. The five regional powers – Turkey, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – are all involved in wars at… اقرأ المزيد
Philip IssaMohammed Zaatari| The Daily Star BEIRUT/SIDON: Mounting public anger Friday rattled a Cabinet plan to distribute Beirut and Mount Lebanon trash to landfills and dumps around the country, exposing deep, popular distrust with the government. And, experts warned that the perils of inaction were mounting. “We are waiting for the danger to reach our… اقرأ المزيد
BEIRUT: Demonstrators blocked roads in the Chouf, Akkar and the Bekaa Valley Thursday to derail key components of a Cabinet plan aimed at defusing the ruinous trash crisis. While residents and local officials angrily denounced proposals to distribute trash from Beirut and Mount Lebanon to dumps in Akkar and the eastern Bekaa, the Naameh landfill,… اقرأ المزيد
| The Daily Star Iran and Russia may be dealing with a difficult situation in Syria as they defend the regime of Bashar Assad, but they can take solace in the fact that the Syrian president’s enemies are facing hard times as well. The Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia at their head, as well as… اقرأ المزيد
BEIRUT: Civil society groups, backed by labor unions, will stage a massive demonstration in Downtown Beirut Wednesday to protest the first round of National Dialogue designed to end the 15-month presidential vacuum and revive the role of Parliament and the Cabinet, activists said Tuesday. In an attempt apparently aimed at averting a clash between… اقرأ المزيد
A fascinating political face-off this week will see demonstrations organized by the “You Stink” movement in Downtown Beirut publicly challenging the National Dialogue organized by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. The movement rejects the dialogue as a waste of time. These two poles of the current national contestation reflect different conceptions of political power and how… اقرأ المزيد