Unhappy holidays: Ashura 2011

Anyone in need of  history lesson regarding Ashura, look here.  In Lebanon most of those who mark the event stick to ritual chest-smacking and non take it to the extremes as those in the southern town of Nabatiyeh. It's a bit of a gratuitous event for me, no real news value as such but visually it's certainly arresting.  Walking backwards amid a large group of excitable men vigorously waving large, sharp swords takes a modicum of faith; fortunately the inevitable spatters I had to clean off myself and my gear were all due to mourners.

Islamists vs Assad

Islamist groups in Tripoli – Lebanon's northern city – have been staging protests against the Syrian regime for a while but tonight marked their first demonstration in Beirut. The protesters apparently clashed with a  pro-Assad crowd early on in the event but were soon parted by a heavy security presence. There's a good report of how the evening played out here.

Assad supporters do their best to out-shout the Islamist demonstration, separated by  lines of security forces.