Tires of fire

It's been a busy day in Beirut, with a handful of hardcore Sunni supporters protesting against the selection of Najib Mikati as Lebanon's premier, after Saad Hariri's government collapsed earlier in the month.

Most of the protesting took place in the Northen city of Tripoli but some hundred (at most) demonstrators blocked off the Cola intersection for a good portion of the day, as well as other skirmishes around the city.  No doubt the world's press will tell us the whole country is a ablaze, but for now, in Beirut at least, the busses are still running and everything is pretty much normal - bar the obvious.

The thin blue line

 Nepal was one of the first countries to supply troops to the UN mission in Lebanon, sending five observers to the country in 1958. Today this modest mountainous country is responsible for the longest section of the UN demarcated 'Blue Line' between Lebanon and Israel, much of which crosses farm land - always a sensitive area when villagers can't harvest crops on land that has been in their families for centuries. I spent an afternoon running after a Nepalese unit as it patrolled such an olive grove, along with journalist Josh Wood for an upcoming piece in Esquire and maybe even the International Herald and Tribune, which would be nice.
 

The occupation of Beirut

At 6.30am on Sunday 22nd it was as if an occupying force had taken over Gemmayzeh and much of south Beirut; barely a soul was to be seen on the streets, save for clusters of soldiers on almost every corner, checking credentials of passers by. With representatives from every conceivable branch of Lebanon's armed forces gearing up for a parade just 10 minutes away it was understandable that security was tight. Anyway, press cards are a wonderful thing, so here are some pics for everyone who a) couldn't be arsed to get up, and b) probably wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the action anyway.