Lebanon to elect its first new parliament since 2009
Polls have opened in Lebanon for the first parliamentary elections for almost a decade.
The last elections in the country were in 2009, for what was supposed to be a four-year term.
But parliament extended its term twice due to instability in neighbouring Syria, and to reform the country's electoral laws.
It changed the voting system, reduced the number of districts, and allowed expatriate voting for the first time.
Hezbollah, the armed group considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and others, is seeking to increase its parliamentary representation.
Voting for all 128 seats continues until 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT).
Journalists’ deaths can only thicken the fog of war over Afghanistan
Emma Graham-Harrison, who has frequently reported from Kabul for the Observer and the Guardian, assesses the full impact of last week’s suicide attack on the city
Afghanistan is not widely known for its media, but it should be. For the bravery shown by hundreds of reporters in the face of escalating carnage, but also because it is a beacon for free press in a region where that is rare.
In a country where officials are widely resented for corruption and incompetence, and security forces fight a deepening insurgency, a vibrant media at least means citizens know what is happening and have a platform to discuss it and challenge those in power.
This makes last week’s devastating attack at the heart of Kabul, in which a suicide bomber disguised himself as a reporter to kill nine journalists and at least 16 other people, doubly tragic. The victims ranged from towering veterans such as AFP’s photographer Shah Marai, known internationally for his powerful images covering decades of suffering, to enthusiastic new recruits such as Maharram Durrani, a student on her way to training for a job at Radio Free Europe.
‘Casspir the friendly ghost’: The Apartheid-era weapon of oppression haunting American police forces
Massive vehicle was used to intimidate demonstrators in Apartheid South Africa, and it has found its way into the American police arsenal
Earlier this week a colourful weapon of war and oppression called “the Casspir” was unloaded off a cargo ship in a port outside New York City.
The massive vehicle from Apartheid-era South Africa has been brought into the US by artist Ralph Ziman, who said his efforts to reclaim the vehicle and turn it into art were spurred by memories of the vehicle’s dark past in his home country — and that the vehicle used to terrorise tribes decades ago has a particular resonance with a dark present in modern America’s increasingly militarized police community.
On Thursday, Ziman stood dwarfed by the vehicle in a gravel courtyard, motioning to the intricate bead and needlework that makes the vehicle appropriate for the real estate it currently inhabits at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, at Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works.
Malaysia's tense vote fuels damaging ethnic 'brain drain'
Malaysia's racially divisive elections are fanning resentment among minorities, and risk escalating a "brain drain" of disillusioned ethnic Chinese and Indians in an exodus experts say is hurting the nation's economic ambitions.
About 60 percent of Malaysia's 32 million people are Muslim Malays but the country is also home to large minorities, with about a quarter of the population ethnic Chinese and a substantial number ethnic Indian.
The Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been in power since independence from Britain in 1957, has long promoted affirmative-action policies that confer Malays and other indigenous groups with many advantages, including access to cheaper housing and priority in government jobs.
The UltimatumEurope's Last Ditch Effort to Save Iran Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran and he has until May 12 to make a decision. If he follows through, it could mean war in the Middle East. But the Europeans are trying to prevent it. By DER SPIEGEL Staff
The weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies on May 12 in Washington, D.C. The embassies of European Union member states will be welcoming the public for Open House Day and one can assume that U.S. President Donald Trump will be working in the Oval Office. In the morning, he will no doubt fire off a couple of tweets like "The Iran nuclear deal is a terrible one for the United States and the world." And at some point on this day, his secretary of state and his national security adviser will likely walk into the room and ask him the decisive question: Mr. President, are you going to sign? Yes or no?
If Trump signs, the world will breathe a sigh of relief. It would mean that the U.S. president has once again prolonged the suspension of nuclear program-related sanctions against Iran for another 120 days. It would mean that the deal with Iran is still alive.
PUERTO RICO COULD become “the energy hub of the entire Caribbean area” under a vision laid out by Rob Bishop, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who visited the island.
Bishop is not thinking of wind or solar.
In a press conference held in San Juan on Friday, with Puerto Rican Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón — a nonvoting representative to the U.S. House — Bishop, R-Utah, said he had been consulting with oil and gas companies in Washington about how to bring more natural gas to the island.
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