BEIRUT, Oct 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Lebanese psychologist Bernard Sousse started offering online therapy sessions when patients said surging fuel prices meant they could no longer drive in to see him – but then the power cuts began.
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‘Doxxing’ activists dole out virtual justice for Lebanon collapse
[Produced with my colleague Timour Azhari and published here on October 5, 2021]
Livestreams of politicians being harangued at restaurants and screenshots of bankers’ addresses: frustrated by the lack of accountability for their country’s collapse, Lebanon’s digital activists are doling out their own form of virtual justice.
Continue readingAs Lebanon’s economy unravels, dollar bills and connections pay off
[Published here September 7, 2021]
Ibrahim al-Masri wipes sweat from his brow as he queues behind two dozen other cars outside a Beirut gas station. It could take hours to replenish his depleted tank – but with no spare cash to bribe the pump attendant, all he can do is wait.
As Lebanon’s deepening economic crisis causes shortages of basic goods including fuel, medicine and even bread, a privileged few are finding ways to beat the queues and rationing by wielding personal connections, or wads of banknotes.
Continue reading‘They told us they hate Africans’: Hundreds detained, deported from Abu Dhabi
[Published here September 2, 2021]
Kabirat Olokunde, a Nigerian migrant worker, planned to spend her birthday with friends in the city of Abu Dhabi. Instead, she turned 28 in a frigid prison cell, one of about 700 Africans imprisoned by Emirati authorities without charge.
Continue readingAmid Lebanon blackouts, dark comedy offers glimmer of light
[Published here August 26, 2021]
Without electricity for air conditioning or fuel to reach the beach, two comedians are keeping cool in crisis-hit Lebanon by splashing around in an inflatable pool – in their living room.
“When the generator comes on, we’ll crank up the light to get a tan,” one of the women quips, part of a new wave of Lebanese opting to laugh in the face of disaster.
Continue readingClimate science struggles with ‘blind spots’ in developing nations
[Published here August 20, 2021]
This month’s hard-hitting report from the U.N. climate science panel sounded the alarm on the surging impacts of global warming – but its authors and independent researchers said it did not provide enough insight on threats in poorer parts of the world.
Continue readingWhy are power outages paralyzing Lebanon?
[Published here August 20, 2021]
Frequent power outages in Lebanon caused by a shortage of fuel are spilling into every aspect of life: empty bakeries; hospitals pushed to crisis point; family businesses struggling to survive.
With both government power grids and privately-run generators faltering, here’s what you need to know about the power crisis hitting Lebanon amid a financial meltdown.
Continue readingFrom Middle East to India, women ‘violated’ in Pegasus hack
[Produced with colleague Rina Chandran and published here August 11, 2021]
BANGKOK/BEIRUT, Aug 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Dozens of women across India, the Middle East and North Africa who were likely targeted for surveillance by governments using Pegasus spyware are now at a heightened risk of being blackmailed or harassed, tech experts and victims said.
Continue readingTumult in Tunisia: the inequalities that fueled protest
[Produced with Tunis-based journalist Layli Foroudi and published here July 30]
TUNIS/BEIRUT, July 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Uprising on the street, parliament suspended and an economy in tatters – Tunisia is in turmoil after protests erupted over a new wave of COVID-19 and an age-old way of doing politics.
Continue readingHaj pilgrims face growing heat stroke risks with global warming
[Published here July 20, 2021]
BEIRUT, July 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As thousands of devout Muslims flock to Islam’s holiest sites in Saudi Arabia for the annual haj pilgrimage this week, scientists warn the sacred rite is under threat due to deadly rising heat.
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