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Lebanon - Civil War, Sectarianism, Conflict: The attempt to establish a centralized state bureaucracy, begun by Chehab and continued by Hélou, came to an end with the election of Suleiman Franjieh to the presidency in August 1970. Franjieh, a traditional Maronite clan leader from the Zghartā region of northern Lebanon, sought to weaken the state security apparatus built by Chehab and Hélou, which was viewed with suspicion and resentment by many for both its corruption and its impact on Lebanon’s traditional patronage networks. However, in so doing, he proved unable to shield the state from the conflicting forces lining up against it. The dramatic increase in
In the first series of reports on the third Saudi expansion of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Asharq Al-Awsat delved into the development of the subject with the issuance of the royal decree to form a team of experts comprised of Saudi university professors and other global specialists. This initiative was undertaken to scrutinize the proposed expansion project in the year 2008.
A team of US orthopedic surgeons is visiting the Gaza Strip to perform a series of joint replacement operations and provide training to local doctors. Khaled Saleh, president of the US-based non-profit Fajr Scientific, said the visit would help patients immobilized by joint problems and chronic pain, as well as those in wheelchairs or who use a cane to walk. The five-day mission aimed to operate on 150 patients, train local surgeons, and donate $4 million worth of vital equipment.
Three years after Beirut’s massive port blast, attempts to prosecute those responsible are mired in political intrigue, the final death toll remains disputed and many Lebanese have less faith than ever in their disintegrating state institutions.