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Lebanese speak out on the Web

Adoree Kim 11 August 2006


Web logs, or “blogs,” have become popular with computer-savvy Lebanese looking to express their anger and grief over the monthlong war between Hezbollah and Israel. The blogs range from furious rants against Israel and the United States to sentimental pessimism for their war-battered nation, which only recently held elections that were hailed as a model for emerging democracies in the Arab world. One Web site, “Electronic Lebanon,” features a blog entry titled: “War is becoming a way of life,” written by artist Zena el-Khalil from Beirut. “Blogging is a means of survival,” Mrs. el-Khalil, 30, told The Washington Times by telephone yesterday. 

Security Council votes unanimously for an end to hostilities in the Middle East

10 August 2006


The Security Council voted tonight to halt the deadly conflict that has engulfed Lebanon and northern Israel for the past month, passing a resolution that calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by the deployment of Lebanese troops and a significantly expanded United Nations peacekeeping presence across southern Lebanon as well as the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the same area. In a unanimous vote, conducted after weeks of intensive diplomacy with Secretary-General Kofi Annan pushing for action, the 15-member Council called for Hizbollah to stop all attacks immediately and for Israel to cease “all offensive military operations.” 

It's raining bombs; only two hours of electricity

Zena El-Khalil Beirut 11 August 2006


Last night, I counted at least 12 explosions. It was a difficult night. They just wouldn’t stop. I only heard 12; others say there were at least 18. They just kept going. The Israeli army announced yesterday that they were expanding their attacks into Beirut. And indeed they did, hitting areas in central Beirut! Today has been difficult getting online. Electricity is less and less. We are down to about two hours a day. Because there is a fuel and diesel shortage, it has become difficult to keep the generators going. You know in Beirut, everyone lives in apartment buildings; with the electricity shortage, it has become hard for the elderly to move in and out of their homes. 

Urgent need for inquiry into attacks on civilians in Lebanon and Israel - UN rights chief

11 August 2006


There is a “clear and urgent need” to investigate attacks against civilians in Lebanon and northern Israel, the top United Nations rights official stressed at a special session of the Human Rights Council today, emphasizing that the crisis demands a meaningful response from the UN body and repeating the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities. “Civilians must never be the object of a direct intentional attack…And yet, almost on a daily basis, information from the field indicates an alarming pattern in the scale and choice of targets by all sides in the conflict,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told the 47-member Council meeting in Geneva. 

Annan hopeful Security Council can pass resolution on Israel-Lebanon conflict today

10 August 2006


Observing that every day Security Council discussions go on, “the death, the killings and the destruction continues” in the Middle East, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said this morning that he was hopeful the Council can vote on a resolution to halt the conflict in the region before the end of the day. Annan, speaking to reporters as he arrived at UN Headquarters in New York, said: “I hope we should be able to do it [adopt a resolution] today. The will is there. We are close.” The Council has scheduled a meeting for later today to discuss the violence that has engulfed Lebanon and northern Israel for the past month. 

How I found myself standing with the Islamic fascists

Jonathan Cook 11 August 2006


It occurred to me as I watched the story unfolding on my TV, of a suspected plot by a group of at least 20 British Muslims to blow up planes between the UK and America, that the course of my life and that of the alleged “terrorists” may have run in parallel in more ways than one. Like a number of them, I am originally from High Wycombe, one of the non-descript commuter towns that ring London. As the TV showed aerial shots wheeling above the tiled roof of a semi-detached house there, I briefly thought I was looking at my mother’s home. But, doubtless, my and their lives have diverged in numerous ways. So, even though we may have been neighbours of a sort in High Wycombe, my life and theirs probably had few points of contact. 

Watching in Horror - and Acting to Help

Rabih Yazbeck 11 August 2006


News headlines took me back to the past — a dark, gloomy and depressing past that I have lived and survived: a 20-year Lebanese civil war, the 1982 full-scale Israeli invasion of Lebanon…1996…2000…and on and on….However, this time it is different because I am watching it on television away from my family and friends. This time I am not staying in a shelter hearing the bombs outside and not knowing when a bomb will strike our house. This time I am outside the country, watching live coverage on the news and seeing photographs of people, injured or dead, displaced or in shelters. They could be someone I know well…innocent souls caught in the middle of madness…. 

Mrabba Electroni[c]que: Global Lebanon Web Jam

11 August 2006


Live audio/video streaming transmission from Waag Society in Amsterdam, in direct connection with Beirut and surrounding localities. The event was initiated by Streamtime, a web support campaign for Iraqi bloggers. After one month of violence and carnage, this Global Web Jam brings together live interviews and conversations, video clips, cartoons and blog blurbs, soundscapes, DJs and VJs, a lively mix of information, art, protest, party and reflection. We feature the voices, images stories, reports and initiatives from Lebanon and beyond, with participation of activists, artists, bloggers, journalists, musicians and many others. 

Rainbow Warrior completes joint mission with MSF to transport humanitarian supplies to Lebanon

10 August 2006


Over 75 tons of essential medical supplies have been safely transported to Lebanon via sea, following a joint operation between Greenpeace and Medecins Sans Frontieres, in which three voyages were made by the Rainbow Warrior between Larnaca in Cyprus and Beirut. The humanitarian cargos consisted of essential relief equipment, including medical equipment, dialysis material, drugs, hygiene kits and fuel, which was transported on the three shuttle voyages, starting on 2 August and ending today at 0900 when the Rainbow Warrior arrived back in Larnaca. 

Lebanon crisis: Airlift under way

11 August 2006


Yesterday, UNHCR started an airlift from Jordan and Denmark to help rush tonnes of urgently needed relief supplies to Lebanon. The severely damaged roads along the so-called northern corridor into Lebanon from Syria - where we have a major supply base - via the Al Aarida border crossing, have slowed up our convoys and made it increasingly difficult to move supplies in bulk. The first flight - a Royal Jordanian Air force C-130 from Amman - arrived in Beirut on Thursday morning loaded with 14.76 tonnes of supplies including 9,000 blankets from UNHCR’s regional stockpile in Jordan, and boxes of drugs for the World Health Organisation.