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Beirut: Beirut’s Hippodrome has survived wars and relentless upheaval but the iconic racetrack, where rival fighters once gathered to bet on their days off, approaches its centenary facing an uncertain future.

The Hippodrome was built in 1916 by the Ottoman Turks. During the civil war it was used as a neutral site where enemy combattants could meet.

One of the city’s last remaining green spaces, it is now suffering financial difficulties and a dearth of investment.

Should the racecourse close for good, the land could fall into the hands of property developers who have already turned Beirut into a concrete jungle.

By Serene Assir

Beirut (AFP) – Workers began at the weekend removing tonnes of rubbish that have piled up around Lebanon’s capital under a government plan to end an eight-month crisis that has sparked repeated protests.

Civil society activists and environmental experts once again lashed out at the plan, warning that it does nothing to allay the ecological concerns that took them to the streets in the first place.

Beirut’s suburbs have been awash in trash for months following the closure in July of the country’s largest landfill at Naameh, just south of the Lebanese capital.

english.ahram.org.eg

Famed Lebanese singer Majida El-Roumi is scheduled to give a concert 20 May at the Sound and Light Theatre of the Giza Pyramids to benefit victims of burn injuries.

The concert is organised by Ahl Masr Foundation and all ticket revenues will go towards the construction of Ahl Masr Burns Hospital, the first non-profit hospital across the Middle East and North Africa specialised in the treatment of burn injuries.

The hospital is planned on a total area of 12,200 square metres and will be located in New Cairo’s First District.

Piles of rubbish have become a common sight all over Beirut in recent months

Sanitation workers began removing mountains of trash from the suburbs of Beirut on Saturday in what residents hoped would mark the end of Lebanon’s eight-month garbage crisis.

Early in the day, dozens of trucks started carrying trash to the Naameh landfill just south of the capital, one of three landfills opened as part of a temporary solution announced by the government a week ago. As garbage began piling up in Beirut last year, protesters formed the "You Stink" movement, demanding sweeping reform in Lebanon’s government.

Thair Abbas

The Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam admitted that Lebanon committed an error and has wronged Arab Gulf countries and the Arabs. He also stressed that it would make amends by adhering to Arab consensus in all forthcoming matters.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Salam criticised the roles of Iran and Hezbollah and their interference in some Arab countries, and added that Arab countries have the right to confront this expansion.

He believed that the only solution to confront Hezbollah’s influence is the country’s refusal to be a platform for the organisation to fight Arab countries. He added “With regards to the security and stability of the Arab Gulf states and Arab countries in general, we have no uncertainty” indicating his support for actions taken by GCC authorities against any Lebanese person “who insults his country of residence or compromises its security”.

by Pamela Engel

Many experts weren’t surprised when Islamic terrorists targeted France in attacks that killed at least 130 people and injured hundreds more in Paris in November.

John Schindler, the national-security columnist for The New York Observer, tweeted after the attacks: "Jihadists with Balkan small arms were shooting up France in 1995 … got no idea why anybody is surprised."

Attackers used guns and bombs at several sites across Paris in November, including the Stade de France and the Bataclan concert hall, where a shooting rampage and hostage situation left about 89 people dead.

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Magda Abu-Fadil Director of Media Unlimited in Lebanon

The ax is falling fast on Lebanese journalists as word of newspapers going fully online or facing shutdown spread this week amid a sea of political, financial and social turmoil in the country.

"Some colleagues were issued warnings through the Labor Ministry to ease their ouster," said a staffer at the one-time paper of record Annahar (The Day), adding that the ploy would save the daily from paying any compensation to those laid off.

Beirut (AFP) – Lebanese protesters slowed rush hour traffic on several highways leading towards Beirut on Monday after authorities said they would reopen a landfill to ease an eight-month rubbish crisis.

One activist braved rain and laid down on the highway leading north from the capital, an activist from the "You Stink" movement told AFP, adding that she was then detained.

The AFP journalist saw dozens of activists on a highway southeast of Beirut, standing in the middle of the thoroughfare to block traffic for several minutes before being pushed back by security forces.

"Today we are sending a message to the government, these were symbolic actions," said activist Assad Thebian.

By  Samya Kullab

On Feb. 19, Saudi Arabia announced it was canceling $4 billion in aid earmarked for Lebanon since 2013 and imposed a travel ban for Saudi citizens to the Mediterranean country. The moves represented an unequivocal shift in Saudi foreign policy toward Lebanon, where for years the kingdom has competed with Iran for influence by backing the Sunni-led March 14 coalition, headed by the Future Movement of Saad Hariri, against Hezbollah and the rival March 8 coalition that it leads.

Saudi allies swiftly followed suit: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates called on their citizens to leave Lebanon. Less than two weeks later, the Saudi-led six-member Gulf Cooperation Council formally branded Hezbollah a terrorist organization, blacklisting companies with any ties to the Shiite group, which is both Lebanon’s strongest political party and militia. The GCC cited security concerns that cells of Hezbollah were operating in their countries.