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Dive deeper into the week’s biggest stories from the Middle East and around the world with The National’s foreign desk. Nuances are often missed in day-to-day headlines. We go Beyond the Headlines by bringing together the voices of experts and those living the news to provide a clearer picture of the region’s shifting political and social landscape.
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Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
On October 14, another protest began on the streets of Beirut. An angry crowd marched with purpose, blocking traffic and yelling slogans. It is a city where such demonstrations have become an almost daily occurrence – but this one would be different. All of a sudden, shots rang out. Chaos ensued. And in the violent exchanges, seven people were killed and dozens more injured.
Unlike the popular protests in 2019, these demonstrations were not against political corruption, unemployment, taxes or the economic crisis. The anger here was against a high-profile judge, who is, so far, refusing to be intimidated.
Tarek Bitar is rocking the status quo in Lebanon. His job is to investigate the Beirut port blast. Over a year after it happened, still nobody has been held to account. Bitar has boldly called some of Lebanon’s biggest political players in for questioning. And the people out marching that day want him removed.
In this week's Beyond the Headlines host Gareth Browne looks at how the investigation into the Beirut port explosion is opening up wounds - both old and new.
Hosted by Gareth Browne
Produced by Ayesha Khan, Arthur Eddyson and James Haines-Young