Lebanese anti-government protesters raise their hands as Lebanese riot policemen stand guard and block a road leading to the parliament building, during a protest against the on-going trash crisis and government corruption, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. Hundreds of Lebanese protesters pushed through a security cordon as they marched toward parliament on Sunday, the latest in a series of demonstrations that began with a trash crisis but has since expanded to target the country’s political class. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese anti-government protesters shout slogans as they hold Lebanese flags during a protest against the on-going trash crisis and government corruption, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. Hundreds of Lebanese protesters pushed through a security cordon as they marched toward parliament on Sunday, the latest in a series of demonstrations that began with a trash crisis but has since expanded to target the country’s political class. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

XWH05. Beirut (Lebanon), 20/09/2015.- Lebanese anti-riot policemen block a road leading to the parliament building, during a protest at downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 20 September 2015. Lebanese activists from ‘You Stink’ movement gathered to protest against the ongoing garbage crisis, calling for the resignation of the government. Heaps of garbage have been piling up around Beirut and other parts of the country after the government was unable to replace the contractors who collect rubbish. Many Lebanese see this as a manifestation of a dysfunctional government that is unable to carry out basic functions. (Protestas, Líbano) EFE/EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

XWH05. Beirut (Lebanon), 20/09/2015.- Lebanese anti-riot policemen block a road leading to the parliament building, during a protest at downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 20 September 2015. Lebanese activists from ‘You Stink’ movement gathered to protest against the ongoing garbage crisis, calling for the resignation of the government. Heaps of garbage have been piling up around Beirut and other parts of the country after the government was unable to replace the contractors who collect rubbish. Many Lebanese see this as a manifestation of a dysfunctional government that is unable to carry out basic functions. (Protestas, Líbano) EFE/EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of Lebanese protesters pushed through a security cordon as they marched toward parliament on Sunday, the latest in a series of demonstrations that began with a trash crisis but has since expanded to target the country’s political class.

Thousands marched through the streets of Beirut earlier in the day to press their demands for holding government officials accountable and new parliamentary elections. They also called for a sustainable solution to the trash piling in the streets of Beirut.

Security forces blocked off streets leading to the parliament building, the final destination of the rally. The protesters raised their hands in the air to show they were unarmed, chanting "peaceful."

"The people are the source of authority," protest organizer Ajwad Ayyash told the crowd, which was thinning by evening. "This is the square of the people. And we insist we must enter it so that we can have elections."

Washington D.C., Sep 18, 2015 / 04:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The presence of LGBT activists and other controversial guests at the White House welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis has reportedly drawn concern at the Vatican.

A senior Vatican official has said the Holy See is concerned that any photos of the Pope with the controversial guests could be interpreted as an endorsement, Wall Street Journal writer Francis X. Rocca reported Sept. 17.

The White House directly invited some guests to the Sept. 23 South Lawn ceremony, including retired Episcopal Bishop V.Gene Robinson. His election as the first openly gay Episcopalian bishop helped split the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

By Matt Hadro

Washington D.C., Sep 18, 2015 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Syrian natives who have ministered to refugees from the civil war there are trusting in God to protect their fellow Christians.

There are many “satans” in the world, but “there’s a lot right now in Syria and Iraq,” Christian minister Joseph Sleman told an audience Sept. 18 at a religious freedom summit co-sponsored by Baylor University and hosted by the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C.

Sleman and his wife Hannah described a list of horrors perpetrated by the Islamic State against Christians in Syria amid a years-long civil war. “The blood is shouting from this land,” Hannah said.

By Nora Stel and Rola el-Husseini

Heaps of garbage that rot in the summer heat pockmarking crowded residential areas—poisoning the air and polluting the soil, causing respiratory diseases and fueling fears of cholera. A woman unable to ventilate her tiny, sweltering apartment, angrily lamenting that the waste now piling up to the veranda brings pests, smells and infections.

Beirut, 2015? No: south Lebanon, 2012.

While the scale of the current garbage crisis scourging Beirut is unprecedented, the phenomenon of protracted waste management problems is certainly not—a fact that seems to have escaped the abundant commentaries on the present crisis. Yet, commentators and protesters alike have much to learn from the lessons of previous crises. In particular, the demonstrators that now rightfully link Beirut’s trash management problems to the erosion of state and citizenship would do well to take into account the experiences of non-citizens dealing with the governance dynamics of waste predicaments.

Karma Khayat deputy head of news for Lebanese TV AL Jadeed

By  Theguardian.com

The UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of the Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri has cleared a journalist of identifying witnesses but found her guilty of contempt of court.

The judgment is the first handed down by the special tribunal for Lebanon, based in The Hague, and has raised questions about media freedom and the priorities of international courts in pursuit of justice.

Judge Nicola Lettieri ruled that Karma Khayat, deputy head of news at Lebanon’s al-Jadeed TV station, had not undermined public confidence in the tribunal but had committed contempt of court by ignoring a court order to remove the broadcasts made in 2012 from the station’s website. The TV station was acquitted of corporate liability on both counts.

Three hours and 11 candidates later, here’s our quick take on the winners and losers of CNN’s Republican debate Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Winners:

Jeb Bush

Bush stood out with several key moments during the debate that reassured his supporters after recently dipping in the polls and grappling with how to handle Trump’s staying power in the race.

Bush appeared to come out of the shell of the tortoise he has so heartily embraced as his symbol to give voters a taste of the passion he has struggled to showcase.

"You know what? As it relates to my brother, there’s one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe," Bush told Trump to one of his strongest applause moments of the night. "You remember the fire fighter with his arms around it? He sent a clear signal that the United States would be strong and fight Islamic terrorism, and he did keep us safe."

Cork Gaines

Michael Jordan became a billionaire this year, thanks mostly to the image he created on the court and the business decisions he made off of it. That combination was so powerful that he is still one of the world’s highest-paid athletes more than a decade after playing in his last NBA game.

With his income from endorsement deals and royalties from his namesake Jordan brand, a subsidiary of Nike, Jordan made $100 million in 2014, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.

That is more than any other athlete, active or retired, makes in endorsements. It is also enough to rank Jordan as the third-highest-paid athlete in the world, behind only Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

By Catherine Shakdam 

A Lebanese anti-government protester faces off with a riot policeman on a road leading to the parliament building before a scheduled meeting of political leaders to try to solve the on-going trash crisis and government dysfunction, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar

BEIRUT — Lebanon has been described as “the next domino to have fallen to the grand anti-establishment movement currently playing out in the Middle East” by Jawad Fairouz, a former Bahrain MP for Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s main opposition bloc and the largest political party in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

All eyes are yet again locked on the Middle East, with politicians and experts assessing whether the Levant will be swept up in a fresh revolutionary wave, an awakening reminiscent of protests that kicked off in 2011, or another aborted attempt at democratization.

The Lebanese government’s failure to resolve a garbage disposal crisis and address chronic electricity and water shortages, sparked the You Stink campaign in the capital Beirut in July.

By Dana Ballout

BEIRUT—Nearly 40 protesters were arrested Wednesday as antigovernment demonstrators calling for a solution to Lebanon’s garbage crisis and an end to corruption clashed with police in Beirut, even as organizers said the protests would continue.

The clashes broke out as demonstrations attempted to block officials from entering Beirut’s central parliament building, where a second national dialogue to discuss a new election law and resolve the country’s presidential vacuum was being held. Members from all political parties were invited to join the dialogue.