Beirut
All topics-
The Middle East's cosmopolitan tradition
Back to a Levantine future?
As regional and global problems rise, the once mixed cities of the Eastern Mediterranean may offer ideas for how we can escape our distress
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Life in Lebanon
Fighting sectarianism with cheap groceries
Two women in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, have founded a non-profit grocery store that offers goods at affordable prices. But their bigger vision is to break down political and religious segregation
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Financial crisis in Lebanon
Beirut's bank robber folk heroes
Desperation is driving some Lebanese to take matters into their own hands. These days, robbing a bank to access your own money is likely to make you a folk hero. Karim El-Gawhary met two such 'criminals' in Beirut
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Equality in the Arab world
Lebanon's 'dangerous' Khateera feminists
A popular Beirut-based media platform is tackling some of Arab society's most sensitive subjects – such as sex, love, desire and gender roles – with distinctive humour. Diana Hodali reports
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Beirut blast 3 years on
Still seeking justice in Lebanon
Three years after the explosion in Beirut port that killed nearly 220 people and displaced tens of thousands from their homes, the family of one of the youngest victims is still seeking answers and fighting for justice. By Diana Hodali
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Lebanese writer Alawiya Sobh
I'm not afraid for myself
In her latest novel, Lebanese writer Alawiya Sobhwrites about the failure of the Arab Spring and how religious bigotry and patriarchal structures are impacting people's health. Interview by Lena Bopp
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Sectarian politics in Lebanon
A harried Hezbollah
Hezbollah faces massive challenges – Lebanon’s presidential vacuum, sectarian tensions, as well as the ongoing economic turmoil. Yet, as Mohanad Hage Ali argues, it currently has few options for dealing with them
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Lebanon's economic collapse
Staring into the abyss
Lebanon was long viewed as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Until relatively recently, billions were deposited in its banks. Gulf states were among the foremost investors in Beirut. But this all came to an end in 2019. Now the troubled nation is gripped by the worst economic crisis in its history. Birgit Svensson reports from Beirut and Tripoli
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Jadd Hilal's debut novel
Women searching and yearning for home
In his debut novel, "Flügel in der Ferne" (Wings in the Distance), award-winning French author Jadd Hilal gives voice to four women from four different generations who tell the stories of their uprooted lives in Europe and the Middle East. By Volker Kaminski
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Lebanon between the wars
The revolutionary art of Beirut's golden 60s
A Berlin exhibition explores the buzzing heyday of Beirut's art scene in the 1960s – and how it was cut short by the darkness of the Lebanese civil war. By Ruairi Casey
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Middle East
A new Arab Spring, thanks to the Ukraine war?
The price of bread is rising rapidly in the Middle East, thanks to concerns about wheat supply from Ukraine and Russia. In the past, such increases have led to violent protests and political upheaval. By Cathrin Schaer
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Lebanon
Beirut nightlife grinds to a halt
A pandemic, civil strife and an economic meltdown have conspired to bring Beirut's vibrant club scene to its knees. Yet the city needs parties more than ever. Kate Martyr reports