Inside the Middle East

Peace Breaks Out In Lebanon?

2008-05-15T15:41:00.002-04:00

Beirut, May 15, 2008. Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, left, speaks during a join press conference with Arab league secretary Amr Moussa.

After a week of violence, an Arab League visit, headed by the Qatari Prime Minister, leads to an announcement: the Helzbollah-led opposition groups will reopen key roads (including the one to the airport.) Also, both sides have agreed to talk their grievances out in Doha, Qatar.

Passengers arrive on the first flight into Beirut International Airport. May 15, 2008. (Photo AP)

I remember Qatar taking part on the U.N. resolution that capped the end of the Hezbollah-Israel war two years ago. It's a tiny Gulf state, but it seems determined to act as a mediator in the Levant.

The Hezbollah-led opposition is even talking of lifting a sit-in that has paralyzed parts of Beirut for over a year.

Did last week's violence force an agreement? Will a Doha agreement replace the 1989 Taef accord that ended Lebanon's civil war?

Another Arab Blogger Jailed

2008-05-15T05:17:00.001-04:00

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- A human rights group says a 24-year-old
Syrian blogger has been convicted and sentenced to three years in
prison on charges of undermining the prestige of the state and
weakening national morale.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, The
National Organization for Human Rights in Syria condemned Tuesday's
verdict as "outrageous" and called for Tarek Bayassi's immediate
release.

The rights group says Bayassi's sentence was commuted to three
years after an original sentence of six years. Bayassi was arrested
last May in northwest Syria for surfing sites of Syrian opposition
groups and posting comments online.

Back On The Road

2008-05-14T04:41:00.004-04:00

Beirut's empty International Airport, May 13, 2008. (Photo AP)

We will be leaving Lebanon today after a few days reporting on the conflict and political crisis in here. The country is still tense though there is hope that a visit by Secretary General Amr Moussa today could provide an opportunity for rival factions to come to some sort of agreement.

But the ingredients for violence are still there. Another trigger could set things off again. Lebanon always seems to be on the edge of a precipice.

The airports and major roads out of Lebanon are still blocked by the opposition so we will be driving out of the country through Syria.

This week-end, check out a special half hour show on how Arab media are covering the U.S. elections. It was a fascinating discussion with top regional media leaders at the recent Arab Broadcast Forum in Abu Dhabi.

Check out the program description here.

Going To School "Old School"

2008-05-14T04:35:00.003-04:00

Southern Gaza Strip, May 13, 2008. A Palestinian drives a horse cart to transport school children back from their schools in Rafah refugee camp. Gaza has been virtually sealed by Israel and Egypt since the seizure of the territory by Hamas, a group that Israel and the U.S. consider a terrorist organization. Gaza now suffers from widespread shortages of fuel, electricity and many basic goods. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

No Panic Withdrawals In Lebanon

2008-05-13T07:54:00.002-04:00

The country is in political crisis, street fights are rocking Lebanon, yet it seems the money ain't going anywhere.

The Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reports that despite the factional violence that has left at least 59 people dead "no abnormal currency transfers out of Lebanon have taken place and the banking sector is functioning normally despite the worst internal strife since the 1975-1990 civil war."

"Backed by nearly $14 billion in foreign currency reserves, Lebanese banks have again weathered the immediate negative effects of the fighting in Lebanon," according to the same report.

Check out the full story here.

Iran's Growing Power Sphere

2008-05-13T03:04:00.003-04:00

On the road in Syria, driving to Beirut, May 11, 2008. The back of a car at a gas station off the highway featuring pictures of the Iranian, Syrian and Hezbollah leaders.

Our story today will look at how developments over the last few years in the Middle East have given Iran more influence over Arab countries. From Iraq, to Gaza, and now to the current political struggle in Lebanon, Tehran is holding the cards.

We will be talking to analysts and journalists about the political and military proxy battle between the Tehran/Damascus axis and Western governments, including the United States.

According to Hezbollah expert Amal Saad-Gorayeb, what is unfolding in Lebanon now is the end of "the current U-S agenda in Lebanon."

U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday reaffirmed his support for the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, but can Western powers now do anything to save the Lebanese government from collapse and a defacto power shift to Hezbollah and its Iran backers?

According to Lebanese analyst Rami Khouri, what is happening in Lebanon is more nuanced:

"The Army has assumed significant power as it is funded and trained by the United States and receives political guidance by the Iranians [via Hezbollah]. It is the first Iranian-American joint venture."

We will be speaking to him as well later today.

Watch our story throughout the day on CNN.

In The Ruins Of Future TV

2008-05-12T09:53:00.004-04:00

Beirut, May 12, 2008. Standing in part of the offices of Future television, the pro-government network torched by opposition supporters two days ago. There is still smoke curling up from the debris.

A Tour Of Beirut

2008-05-12T02:54:00.002-04:00

We are off to check out the city; both in the neighborhoods that experienced some of the worst violence over the last few days, and those areas of the capital completely untouched by the recent sectarian and political tension.

Beirut is nothing if not a city of contrasts: one war-ravaged building from the civil war era will live side-by-side with a new swanky boutique; one neighborhood will see raging gun battles, while life will go on in another, uninterrupted.

I've been coming to this country for years now, and I've seen it go through periods of economic and social optimism, damaging political assassinations, a month-long war with Israel and now, uncertainty over whether the people in this land can ever leave peacefully together.

Watch out for our story on today's Your World Today and on CNN International throughout the day.

Driving To Lebanon

2008-05-10T16:27:00.002-04:00

I will be taking the long road to Beirut in a few hours. The airport is still closed, so our CNN team is driving in.

There is a lull in the fighting in the Lebanese capital and Hezbollah has withdrawn its armed men from the streets. But will it stay calm for long?

We will report on where the country goes from here, whether the Siniora government can survive and what life is like for ordinary residents of Beirut. We'll also look at the damage - physical and financial - to country mired in this protacted and divisive tug-of-war.

Lebanon: Hezbollah Controls West Beirut

2008-05-09T09:01:00.004-04:00

This AP photo shows a Shiite gunman from the Amal group, allied with Hezbollah, guards an intersection in West Beirut. Half of the city is now under the military control of the opposition. The U-S backed government of Fouad Siniora is now hanging by a thread.

This morning, Hezbollah militiamen took over the headquarters of Future TV, a pro-government network in Lebanon.

The road to the airport is still closed and checkpoints are peppered throughout Beirut.

What will pro-government supporters do now? As journalist Habib Battah wrote this morning : "militia logic has returned" to the streets of the capital city.

Nasrallah Speaks, Lebanon Holds Its Breath

2008-05-08T09:34:00.006-04:00

I just got off the phone with a journalist in Beirut who told me you could hear a pin drop throughout Beirut as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah began a live speech on television.

I am listening to the speech live and Nasrallah just said : "Whoever shoots at us, we will shoot them back."

He also called a crackdown on his supporters from the pro-western Lebanese government a "declaration of war."

This follows two days of demonstrations in which pro- and anti-government protesters clashed and the spectre of Lebanon's ruinous civil war reappeared in some Beirut neighborhoods.

This is a new phase in Lebanon. Is the violence stoppable now?

I want to open the blog today to a discussion on the situation in Lebanon. Email us your thoughts at mideast@cnn.com or add a comment below.

Thanks,

Hala

Lebanon - A Blogger's Report

2008-05-07T18:58:00.007-04:00

A cameraman reacts after being injured during protests in Lebanon today. (Photo AP/Hussein Malla)

A fellow journalist I've interviewed several times in Lebanon, Habib Battah, posts an interesting entry on the tense situation on the streets of Beirut today.

He writes:

"The chaos came as a surprise because up until last night organizers had pitched the event as a simple labor strike to pressure the government into raising the minimum wage. But by early Wednesday, a completely different plan seemed to be in place. In a clear show of force, the Hezbollah-led opposition had actually hired dump trucks and bulldozers to enforce what was thought to be a voluntary act of staying home from work. The move caught most Lebanese off guard, eroding the notion that this was a spontaneous 'public' outcry against the government's labor policies."

Pro- and anti-government demonstrators have been clashing today and the army has been forced to keep rival protestors apart.

Cars and tires went up in flames and in mixed Shiite-Sunni neighborhoods, the ominous crackle of gunfire could be heard throughout the Lebanese capital.

“This is a turning point. There can be no more cohabitation between the Government and the opposition. All trust is gone,” a Lebanese expert on Hezbollah, Amal Saad Ghorayeb told the Times of London.

Tomorrow will be a real test for Lebanon: will protestors stay home?

Lebanon: Political Compromise Up In Flames?

2008-05-07T07:41:00.003-04:00

A protestor holding a gasoline bottle near a burning car. Beirut, May 7th, 2008. (Photo Hussein Malla/AP)

Lebanon's opposition parties, including Syrian/Iraninan-backed Hezbollah, called a general strike across the country. Protesters blocked roads with burning tires and paralyzed Beirut's international airport.

While attending the Arab Broadcast Forum in Abu Dhabu over the last few days, I chatted with leading Lebanese anchor Shada Omar. She told me the two sides seem as far apart as ever and that a political compromise between the western-backed government of Fouad Siniora and the Hezbollah-led opposition grows more and more improbable by the day.

Politicians in Lebanon have tried - and failed - to agree on a consensus President almost twenty times since last November.

Many wonder if all-out violence will break out if rival parties cannot find a way to govern together. The conditions are certainly there.

Mideast Snapshot - Sunset In The Desert

2008-05-03T12:28:00.004-04:00

Liwa, U.A.E., May 1st, 2008.

The Singer Vs The Imams: We Have A Winner!

2008-05-02T13:17:00.004-04:00

(Photo AP)

Popular - and provocative - Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe performed in Bahrain Wednesday night, despite opposition from religious politicians and conservative clerics.

According to today's Gulf News, Wehbe wore a "floor length dress, but with spaghetti straps."

Hey, you didn't expect her to wear a turtleneck, did you?

The concert venue was just a few hundred meters from the Parliament, where Islamist MP's had objected to the show because, according to them, Wehbe has "no respect for traditional and religious values."

Standing In Line In Gaza

2008-05-02T09:25:00.003-04:00

Gaza City, May 1, 2008. (Photo AP/Adel Hana)

Gazans have been doing a lot of this lately: as fuel and supply shortages paralyze the tiny territory's economy, ordinary residents are waiting long hours for cooking oil in Gaza city.

Gas stations are empty of petrol, so some Gaza residents have resorted to creating a cocktail of cooking oil and turpentine to power their cars.

Meanwhile, the Mideast "Quartet," which doesn't recognize the Hamas authority in Gaza, is meeting in London today to try to come up with a solution to the laborious peace talks between Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fattah party and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

But if Hamas isn't on the agenda, what happens to Gaza?

Mideast Snapshot - A Checkpoint In Baghdad

2008-05-02T09:07:00.002-04:00

(Photo CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq)

Syrian Wins Award In Absentia

2008-05-02T08:36:00.003-04:00

(File/AP)

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — One of Syria's most prominent pro-democracy activists won an Irish award Thursday for his work trying to promote human rights for prisoners, political parties and journalists in his homeland.

But Anwar al-Bunni has yet to hear of the accolade. The 49-year-old lawyer has been imprisoned since May 2006 after Syrian President Bashar Assad launched a crackdown against opposition voices demanding greater freedoms.

Irish President Mary McAleese presented the annual Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk to al-Bunni's wife, Ragheda Issa Refki, at a Dublin City Hall ceremony attended by politicians and ambassadors. Refki received two standing ovations, as well as a hug from the Irish head of state.

McAleese said promoting human rights in a one-party state like Syria was "a very, very lonely place. It takes a very, very special person like Anwar al-Bunni to confront the extraordinary range of forces arrayed against him."

She expressed hope that the award would "send a message to his oppressors."

In an interview with The Associated Press, Refki said she did not risk telling her husband he had won the prize during their most recent prison visit a week ago because a guard, as usual, was standing beside them. She hopes to tell him of his honor next week.

"It is very important for Anwar's work and sacrifice to be recognized, for him to be seen as a defender of human rights. It will remind the world there are prisoners of conscience in Syria," Refki said through an Arabic translator.

Mideast Snapshot - On A Camel Farm In The Emirates

2008-05-01T03:11:00.002-04:00

Liwa, U.A.E., April 29th, 2008

Breakfast News: Israeli Jeweller Not Welcome In Dubai

2008-04-30T03:17:00.004-04:00

Another interesting item that got my attention while reading the local paper over breakfast today:

"Israeli Jeweller Has No Trade Licence To Open Shop In Dubai," reads the headline in today's Gulf News.

There is a whole lot of money floating around in Dubai ao who could blame Lev Leviev for wanting to open one (or more) of his self-named stores in the tiny emirate?

But, according to this article, no trade licence was granted to Israeli diamond magnate and the Dubai Department of Economic Development is quoted as saying that "Israeli citizens are not allowed to operate in Dubai."

Advocacy groups that oppose Leviev's investments in the U.A.E. say Leviev profits from companies that operate in the occupied territories.

The stores were supposed to open in the swanky Dubai Mall and the Atlantis Hotel later this year.

Who will win this one?

In Search Of Real Bedouins In The Emirates

2008-04-29T05:30:00.006-04:00

I've been to the U.A.E. many times, but - like most visitors to this part of the world - I've largely stayed in city centers like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

I was curious: what - if anything - is left of traditional Bedouin culture in the Emirates? The glitzy glam sky-scrapers, the flashy cars, the oil money and the lure of the big city; has all that obliterated old-style Bedouin living?

Fifty years ago, the few hundred thousand residents of this slice of desert either lived in tents or traded gold and fished for pearls along the coast. Travel was by camel or horse or foot.

The lightning speed explosive growth of the last few decades, with the essential foreign labor from the sub-continent, means most Emiratis have completely abandoned their old lifestyles.

On our journey through the desert, we found a few examples of what is left of the old days: older men who prefer to spend their last years in the houses that the government built for nomadic Bedouins a few decades ago, or wealthy locals who've made small fortunes breeding camels for races and beauty contests.

Today, Bedouins don't criss-cross the desert in search of water for their herds. They don't walk days from the coast inland looking for a place to pitch a tent.

All that is gone. The little bits and pieces left, peppered here and there, are on their way out too.

There are already cranes and cement trucks preparing the Bedouin area of Liwa for hotels and tall buildings.

In a few years, what we saw yesterday will most probably have disappeared too.

--Posted by Hala Gorani

The Singer Vs The Imams

2008-04-27T23:32:00.004-04:00

The tug-of-war between conservative politicians and clerics and scantily-clad entertainers strikes again.

The Inside The Middle East team is in Abu Dhabi today, getting ready to trek out into the desert in search of the last true Emirati bedouins.

Over breakfast, this headline in today's Gulf News caught my eye: "Morality Concerns Spark Calls to Ban Haifa Concert"

For those of you who don't know her, Haifa Wehbe is a popular Lebanese singer well-known for her racy style and easy Arabic pop tunes.

Who will win this round?

Mideast Snapshot - More Art In The Warzone

2008-04-27T09:54:00.003-04:00

Thirty-one year-old Azhar Abbas, an artist from Fallujah, in the heart of the Sunni Triangle. A few months ago, she started depicting the impact of war through her paintings. (Photos CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq)

Saudi Blogger Freed - Update

2008-04-26T17:51:00.002-04:00

Blogging from Dubai. I've received an update on jailed Saudi blogger Fouad Al-Farhan from CNN producer Mohammed Jamjoom.

CNN has confirmed that Al-Farhan, jailed by authorities last December -- ostensibly because he supported reform advocates accused by the Saudi government of supporting terrorism -- has been released.

CNN producer Mohammed Jamjoom today spoke to the Saudi blogger, who is apparently (and unsurprisingly) reluctant to speak freely about his time in detention. In a phone call with CNN, Al-Farhan said:

"I am happy to be back with my family," adding that he was "treated like any other prisoner."

Al-Farhan, who was jailed with 15 to 16 other men, said that he would not comment on his case now, but that he will issue a statement on his blog soon.

Abbas: I'll Meet Bush In Sharm El Sheikh

2008-04-25T14:00:00.004-04:00

I just returned from interviewing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington, D.C.

Mister Abbas, who met with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House yesterday, revealed that the two men will meet in Sharm-el-Sheikh Egypt "around May 17th."

I asked the Palestinian leader if he really believes a peace deal would be achieved by the end of the year (a forecast made by the U.S. president himself during his Mideast tour last January), I asked him what he thought of former American President Jimmy Carter's meeting with Hamas, what he makes of a recent opinion poll that suggests Palestinians would rather vote for Hamas today than his party.

I also asked Abbas a question submitted to cnn.com/hala by Anie in Durban South Africa, regarding yesterday's Washington Post report detailing a letter exchange between president Bush and former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, so tune in for that.

Watch this space for a link to the full interview later today.