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March 14, 2021
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Lauren Lewis
Wael pushed the key into the rusty lock and wiggled it from left to right until he felt the grooves catch and turn. He pushed the door open, kicked...
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February 21, 2021
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Lauren Lewis
In late February 1966, a faction of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Syria ousted the old leadership in a coup. The new leadership of young socialist Ba'athists included...
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December 22, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Jawahir "JJ" Roble is so dedicated to her career as a football referee she has "cut down" on her consumption of chicken nuggets in favour of "good food, like...
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December 2, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Our interview with co-founder of the Celebrating Syria Festival Abir Tobji
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November 29, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Lebanese author Naji Bakhti's debut novel is timely even though it is set in 2006. Touching on issues of adolescence, sectarianism, culture, conflict and emigration, Between Beirut and the...
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November 25, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Our interview with co-chair of the Palestinian History Tapestry Jan Chalmers
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Matt Hancock made the statement during an interview with LBC radio yesterday morning, without providing further detail on the government’s plan for the Christmas period.
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Lebanese have taken to social media with the Arabic hashtag #Not_Cooking_on_Sunday, after caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi suggested woman should start preparing food when a ban on deliveries came into force as part of the coronavirus lockdown
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November 11, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Our interview with Roua Naboulsi of the London Palestine Film Festival
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The son of current US President, Donald Trump, has been ridiculed online for seemingly confusing India with Iran on a hypothetical global electoral map prediction. Donald Trump Jr appeared to...
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October 22, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
The Taif Accord was signed 31 years ago today and led to the official ending of the Lebanese Civil War a year later. The accord set out a new...
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October 6, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Translated 30 years after it was originally published in Arabic as Bab al-Saha, Sahar Khalifeh's Passage to the Plaza is a fast-paced novel that follows a multi-generational cast through...
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Nutella has caused an internet storm this week after the brand's US Twitter account incorrectly said the product was not halal. The claim was made after a Manchester-based Twitter...
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Fans have heaped praise on Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall after she revealed her desire to reconnect with her Egyptian-Yemeni heritage
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September 11, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
An NGO in Jordan is using skateboarding to bring refugee communities together. Skateboarding, explains Belgian-born Kas Wauters, the programme manager of the 7Hills skatepark in Amman, helps to break down...
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September 2, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
The Children's Cancer Centre of Lebanon (CCCL) provides free treatment for children from across the Middle East, irrespective of nationality, religion or ethnicity. In the wake of the massive...
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August 21, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
It is immediately clear Iraqi culture is close to Ahmed Habib's heart when he describes fried aubergine sandwiches as "the world's way of saying everything will be fine". "They...
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August 20, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Even before 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut's port, killing nearly 200, injuring thousands more and devastating the city and the country's main port on 4 August, Lebanon was struggling...
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August 5, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Lebanon has a deserved reputation for resilience; an uncanny ability to rebuild and carry on when all seems lost. The last ten months, however, have tested that resilience, bringing...
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Canadian rapper Drake has made waves after he used Arabic lyrics in his latest single, a collaboration with Headie One titled Only You Freestyle, released on Monday. Drake, who...
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July 21, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
"Boom, boom, boom, boom," says Sergeant Rudy Reyes, a former US recon marine, as he stares down the camera lens in the first episode of the BBC Two documentary...
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July 18, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
In Palestine, where Israel's occupation and military checkpoints, encroaching settlements and the imminent threat of annexation are daily realities, animal welfare is not really a priority for most people....
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Iran is under pressure to halt the executions of 3 men who were arrested during anti-government protests in 2019
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July 4, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Since October last year, Lebanon's police and security forces have investigated or detained more than 100 civil rights activists in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has termed a "spate...
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June 22, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
This Palestinian-British filmmaker specialises in emotive short films which detail aspects of the daily life of Palestinians living in their ancestral homes in the occupied territories
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June 17, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
In August 2013, a military defector, known by the pseudonym “Caesar”, sent and smuggled more than 50,000 photographs out of Syria.
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June 8, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Floyd’s death sparked an outpouring of public anger about racially-motivated police brutality, triggering calls for the defunding of police departments in America and reforming school curriculums to include colonial history
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Lebanon's protesters have offered safety tips and shared their support via social media with demonstrators who took to the streets in over 75 cities in the US over the...
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June 1, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
"Whatever financial technical solutions you put in place, the underlying problem is a political dysfunction here… what we have now doesn't work and is never going to work… [the...
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At the end of April, Lebanon's Tripoli witnessed some of the most violent clashes between security forces and protesters since anti-government demonstrations exploded across the country in October. One...
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May 11, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Iraq's last princess dies aged 100. Princess Badiya bint Ali was born in Damascus in 1920. Her father King Ali bin Al-Hussein briefly ruled the Hejaz kingdom in western Arabia and held the title of Grand Sharif of Makkah
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May 1, 2020
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Lauren Lewis
Lebanon last week legalised the cultivation and export of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes. The move is intended to provide an economic stimulus for the country's ailing economy,...
Wael pushed the key into the rusty lock and wiggled it from left to right until he felt the grooves catch and turn. He pushed the door open, kicked...![Members of a Syrian military band hold a poster showing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his late father and predecessor Hafez al-Assad during a parade marking the anniversary of the Baath party in Damascus on April 7, 2011 [AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-113174904-scaled-e1612880367259.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
In late February 1966, a faction of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Syria ousted the old leadership in a coup. The new leadership of young socialist Ba'athists included...![Jawahir Roble is a a Somali-born British football referee and the UK's first female Muslim official [Jawahir Roble/provided]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Meet-Britains-first-female-Muslim-football-referee.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Jawahir "JJ" Roble is so dedicated to her career as a football referee she has "cut down" on her consumption of chicken nuggets in favour of "good food, like...
Our interview with co-founder of the Celebrating Syria Festival Abir Tobji
Lebanese author Naji Bakhti's debut novel is timely even though it is set in 2006. Touching on issues of adolescence, sectarianism, culture, conflict and emigration, Between Beirut and the...
Our interview with co-chair of the Palestinian History Tapestry Jan Chalmers
Matt Hancock made the statement during an interview with LBC radio yesterday morning, without providing further detail on the government’s plan for the Christmas period.
Lebanese have taken to social media with the Arabic hashtag #Not_Cooking_on_Sunday, after caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi suggested woman should start preparing food when a ban on deliveries came into force as part of the coronavirus lockdown
Our interview with Roua Naboulsi of the London Palestine Film Festival![Donald Trump, Jr. speaking with supporters of his father in US om 27th October 2016 [Gage Skidmore/Flickr]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2016_10_27-Donald-Trump-Jr.-speaking-with-supporters-of-his-father-1.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The son of current US President, Donald Trump, has been ridiculed online for seemingly confusing India with Iran on a hypothetical global electoral map prediction. Donald Trump Jr appeared to...![People come together following the Taif agreement on 4 November 1989 in Beirut, Lebanon [JOSEPH BARRAK/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GettyImages-95769389.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The Taif Accord was signed 31 years ago today and led to the official ending of the Lebanese Civil War a year later. The accord set out a new...
Translated 30 years after it was originally published in Arabic as Bab al-Saha, Sahar Khalifeh's Passage to the Plaza is a fast-paced novel that follows a multi-generational cast through...![The popular chocolate-hazelnut spread Nutella, 29 January 2017 [Pixabay]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Nutella-.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Nutella has caused an internet storm this week after the brand's US Twitter account incorrectly said the product was not halal. The claim was made after a Manchester-based Twitter...![Jade Thirlwall attends British LGBT Awards 2019 at Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on May 17, 2019 in London, England [Jeff Spicer/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/GettyImages-1149903482-scaled-e1600093164174.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Fans have heaped praise on Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall after she revealed her desire to reconnect with her Egyptian-Yemeni heritage![A child can be seen learning how to skateboard, 11 September 2020 [7Hills]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Jordan-Skatepark_2.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
An NGO in Jordan is using skateboarding to bring refugee communities together. Skateboarding, explains Belgian-born Kas Wauters, the programme manager of the 7Hills skatepark in Amman, helps to break down...
The Children's Cancer Centre of Lebanon (CCCL) provides free treatment for children from across the Middle East, irrespective of nationality, religion or ethnicity. In the wake of the massive...![Ahmed Habib, co-founder of Iraq’s first independent film festival (IIFF) [ahmedhabib/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Ahmed-Habib.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
It is immediately clear Iraqi culture is close to Ahmed Habib's heart when he describes fried aubergine sandwiches as "the world's way of saying everything will be fine". "They...
Even before 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut's port, killing nearly 200, injuring thousands more and devastating the city and the country's main port on 4 August, Lebanon was struggling...![Lebanese flag is seen in the rubble after the explosion on August 5, 2020 [Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20200805_2_43756584_57224312.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Lebanon has a deserved reputation for resilience; an uncanny ability to rebuild and carry on when all seems lost. The last ten months, however, have tested that resilience, bringing...![Canadian rapper Drake in Toronto, Canada on 9 August 2016 [The Come Up Show/Wikipedia]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/drake.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Canadian rapper Drake has made waves after he used Arabic lyrics in his latest single, a collaboration with Headie One titled Only You Freestyle, released on Monday. Drake, who...![Once Upon a Time in Iraq [Screenshot]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ONCE-UPON-A-TIME-IN-IRAQ-e1595344619815.png?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
"Boom, boom, boom, boom," says Sergeant Rudy Reyes, a former US recon marine, as he stares down the camera lens in the first episode of the BBC Two documentary...![A street dog at the Palestinian Animal League shelter, a charity that deals with animal welfare in Palestine, 17 July 2020 [Palestinian Animal League]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Palestine-first-animal-welfare-charity-_4.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
In Palestine, where Israel's occupation and military checkpoints, encroaching settlements and the imminent threat of annexation are daily realities, animal welfare is not really a priority for most people....![People protest against the death penalty in Iran in London, UK on 20 October 2018 [John Keeble/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/executions-in-iran-protestGettyImages-1052622404.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Iran is under pressure to halt the executions of 3 men who were arrested during anti-government protests in 2019![Lebanese protester poses for a photo as thousands of people gather at Martyrs' Square during a demonstration to protest against economic crisis and high cost of living, on June 06, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon [Hussam Chbaro / Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200606_2_42833832_55700036.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Since October last year, Lebanon's police and security forces have investigated or detained more than 100 civil rights activists in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has termed a "spate...![Farah Nabulsi is a filmmaker who specialises in emotive short films which detail aspects of the daily life of Palestinians living in their ancestral homes in the occupied territories [provided]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Farah-Nabulsi-_4.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
This Palestinian-British filmmaker specialises in emotive short films which detail aspects of the daily life of Palestinians living in their ancestral homes in the occupied territories![A Syrian military defector using the pseudonym Caesar, while also wearing a hood to protect his identity, testifies about the war in Syria during a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, 11 March 2020. [SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/GettyImages-1206550462.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
In August 2013, a military defector, known by the pseudonym “Caesar”, sent and smuggled more than 50,000 photographs out of Syria.![Black Lives Matter protests take place in London on 7 June 2020 [Lauren Lewis/Middle East Monitor]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_6877.jpeg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Floyd’s death sparked an outpouring of public anger about racially-motivated police brutality, triggering calls for the defunding of police departments in America and reforming school curriculums to include colonial history![Security forces fire tear gas canisters as they clash with protestors during a protest against the country's economic and political situation in Beirut, Lebanon on January 18, 2020 [Mahmut Geldi / Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20200118_2_40394215_51314617.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Lebanon's protesters have offered safety tips and shared their support via social media with demonstrators who took to the streets in over 75 cities in the US over the...![The Central Bank of Lebanon [Karan Jain/Flickr]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/central-bank-of-lebanon5960037898_cf24d15b99_o.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
"Whatever financial technical solutions you put in place, the underlying problem is a political dysfunction here… what we have now doesn't work and is never going to work… [the...![A Lebanese protester launches a bottle bomb toward the entrance of a bank in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon late on April 29, 2020, [MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GettyImages-1211366809-scaled.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
At the end of April, Lebanon's Tripoli witnessed some of the most violent clashes between security forces and protesters since anti-government demonstrations exploded across the country in October. One...![Princess Badiya Bint Ali Bin Al-Hussein died at 100 years old [Noor Al-Habshi /Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/EXpRUIcWkAEMawo-e1589209840900.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Iraq's last princess dies aged 100. Princess Badiya bint Ali was born in Damascus in 1920. Her father King Ali bin Al-Hussein briefly ruled the Hejaz kingdom in western Arabia and held the title of Grand Sharif of Makkah![Image of a cannabis plant [Sadak Mohamed/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2010_8_20-weed.png?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Lebanon last week legalised the cultivation and export of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes. The move is intended to provide an economic stimulus for the country's ailing economy,...