Democracy in decline worldwide

For the first time since 2004, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) has recorded more autocratic states than democracies around the world. Civil society activists often represent the last bastion of resistance. Autocracies such as Russia and China on the one hand; democracies like the USA or Germany on the other. Is that the great conflict

Syria, Iran on agenda as Putin hosts Israel’s new PM in Russia

Meeting in Sochi marks first in-person talks between the two world leaders. Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for the pair’s first in-person meeting, with talks focused on Iran and the situation in Syria. Welcoming Bennett at the start of their meeting on Friday in Russia’s Black Sea resort

Nebraska GOP Rep. Jeff Fortenberry charged with lying to feds hours after he denied crime in YouTube video

A federal grand jury indicted Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry on charges of lying to federal investigators and another crime in connection with a probe about illegal campaign donations provided by a foreigner, prosecutors said. The announcement of the indictment in Los Angeles federal court came hours after Fortenberry, in an unusual YouTube video featuring

Lebanon tensions test Hezbollah-Aoun alliance

Aoun, Hezbollah diverge over port blast probe Geagea wins Christian sympathy over Beirut violence-analysts Christian seats are main battleground in 2022 vote Worsening sectarian tensions in Lebanon are testing an alliance between Shi’ite Hezbollah and its Christian ally President Michel Aoun, who may lose ground to their rivals as they step up opposition to the

Lebanon: Deadly chaos erupts during Beirut blast probe – WION

Armed clashes have broken out in Beirut during a protest, people were seen protesting against the lead judge who was investigating the last year’s massive blast in the city’s port.

Thousands at Risk in Lebanon As Hospitals Face Closure – VICE News

The collapse of Lebanon’s economy is one of the worst ever recorded, and nowhere can it be felt more than in the ER of Beirut’s main public hospital.

Lebanon left without power as grid shuts down

Lebanon has been left without electricity, plunging the country into darkness amid a severe economic crisis. A government official told Reuters news agency the country’s two largest power stations, Deir Ammar and Zahrani, had shut down because of a fuel shortage. The power grid “completely stopped working at noon today” and was unlikely to restart

‘Once the best in the Middle East,’ Beirut hospital pleads for fuel as it faces shutdown

A once-famed Beirut hospital is now pleading for international aid to avoid running out of essential resources. The American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, is making an urgent appeal to the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the World Health Organization and the U.N. Children’s Fund, to supply the hospital with fuel before

Hezbollah launches rocket fire in response to Israeli air raids

Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket fire a day after Israeli air raids amid an escalation of cross-border hostilities. The Lebanese group, Hezbollah, has said it fired rockets at open ground near Israeli positions in response to Israeli air raids on southern Lebanon, drawing retaliatory Israeli strikes. In a statement on Friday, Hezbollah said it had

Lebanon days away from ‘social explosion’, PM Diab warns

World Bank has called Lebanon’s crisis one of worst depressions of modern history as half of population lives in poverty. Lebanon is a few days away from a “social explosion”, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab has warned, calling on the international community to save a country in deep economic crisis. The World Bank has called