Lebanon
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My Distant Country
Portrait of the musician Bachar Mar-Khalife
The Lebanese-French musician Bachar Mar-Khalife creates soundscapes that resonate between Orient and avant-garde. His latest album "Ya Balad" features a musical spectrum that spans the divide between ironic reggae, electronic rhythms, Arab poetry and chansonesque lullaby. Stefan Franzen met up with the multi-instrumentalist and composer
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The global risks of an imploding Middle East
A region in flames
Among today′s geopolitical risks, none is greater than the long arc of instability stretching from the Maghreb to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. With the Arab Spring an increasingly distant memory, the instability along this arc is deepening. An analysis by Nouriel Roubini
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The Arab view of the European refugee crisis
Ludicrous squabbling
Syria’s Middle Eastern neighbours have to date absorbed four million Syrian refugees. For this reason the EU should make it plain that despite images of train stations full of refugees, Europe is only shouldering a relatively small part of the current burden. A contribution to the debate by Karim El-Gawhary
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Popular unrest in the Middle East
Who says popular demand for change is off the agenda?
Recent protests in Beirut against government corruption and incompetence highlight a growing revival of non-violent dissent across the Middle East and North Africa. As well as an end to corruption, protesters in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon have been taking to the streets demanding improvement in basic public services such as waste management, accountability and transparency. By James M. Dorsey
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Refugee crisis in Europe
The price of European indifference
In dealing with the refugee crisis – harassed by its xenophobes and consumed by self-doubt – Europe has turned its back on its values. Or has it lost sight of them altogether? A critical discussion by the French philosopher Bernhard-Henri Levy
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The National Museum in Beirut
Fighting to save the region's cultural heritage
As world heritage sites in Iraq and Syria continue to be bombed, blown up and bulldozed, the question as to what can be done to save their historical treasures has taken on a new urgency. The National Museum in Beirut is playing its part in trying to save the region's cultural heritage. By Juliane Metzker in Beirut
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Lebanon's "You Stink" protest movement
Rubbish knows no religion
Triggered by a waste disposal crisis, a new movement has formed in Lebanon. Yet the "You Stink" campaign is more than an initiative against unsolved rubbish problems; it is also a rebellion against Lebanon's family clans and confessionalism, a system that divides up political power among the country's religious communities in proportion to their percentage of the population. By Karim El-Gawhary
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Druze in the Golan Heights
Squeezed between occupation and civil war
The Golan Heights were unilaterally annexed by Israel in 1981. At the time, many Syrian residents fled. Most of those who remained belong to the Druze community. In this article, Ylenia Gostoli takes a closer look at the situation for the Druze in the Golan Heights and shines a light on their relationship with both Syria and their co-religionists in Israel
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Book review: "Always Coca-Cola" by Alexandra Chreiteh
The agony and the allure
Written when the author was only 19, Alexandra Chreiteh's first novel "Always Coca-Cola", focuses in a highly entertaining way on how three young friends in Beirut are affected by Western commercialisation and contemporary beauty ideals. By Volker Kaminski
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Najwa Barakat on Arabic literature
Combating the desertification of Arab culture
Lebanese writer Najwa Barakat has written six novels since 1986. Over the past ten years, her work has been garnering increased critical acclaim. However, instead of resting on her laurels and focusing solely on her own work, Barakat is reaching out to young writers across the region, acting as a guide and organising workshops for emerging writers. Marcia Lynx-Qualey spoke to her about her work
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After the upheaval in the Arab world
Escalating wars
The violence unleashed in Arab countries in the last four years may turn out to be just a first taste of what is to come. Escalating brutality and the actions of governments have put Arab citizens under immense pressure. Without a change of course, the outcome could easily be further conflict and a new wave of uprisings – this time not peaceful. By Maha Yahya
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The Lebanese women's rights activist Hayat Mirshad
"We need a feminist revolution"
The efforts of the women's rights movement in Lebanon have remained unsuccessful for more than 70 years, says Hayat Mirshad, a member of the Democratic Women's Association. The blame lies with feminists' willingness to compromise, but also with women's rights organisations' hunt for sponsorship money. Juliane Metzker spoke to her in Beirut