Who needs basic political rights like voting, amiright? So here’s what’s going on in the Middle East this week…
Members of Lebanese Parliament Push for World Record
Once you’re elected to Lebanon’s parliament, you’re elected for life… or at least that’s what it seems the country’s politicians are going for these days. Earlier in the week, its members voted to extend their own terms into 2017, citing the need to maintain stability amid all the cahos. This is the second time parliament has voted to ignore elections and extend its own term. Parliament extended its term for 17 months in May 2013 over the lack of an agreement on a new electoral law and due to deteriorating security.
According to LBC, we have people who have held their position for 52 years!
Sound-Art Installation at Ramlet el Baida Beach (Image via Daily Star)
This bizarre radiant arch you see in the picture above is actually a speaker that plays whatever you play on your phone via bluetooth. The “Open Channel” art installation by architect and artist Ahmad Khouja is always listening. Whenever a device gets within a two meter range of it, the speaker will play whatever the phone is playing (whether that’s a song, or a speech that’s urging citizens to throw down the government ).
Ahmad Mikati’s Arrest Foils Plan Against LAF (Image via Daily Star)
Members of the Islamic State were planning to invade the north and paralyze Lebanese Army Forces across Lebanon. This information was reportedly gathered from a confession this week by ISIS figurehead Ahmad Mikati who was arrested in October during a raid in the Dinnieh town of Asoun.
Train Bomb Kills Four in Egypt (Image via Daily Star)
A bomb on a train in Egypt killed four people including two policemen. The policemen were reportedly killed instantly, while two passengers were wounded and died later at the hospital. Another bomb later went off in a Cairo metro station, wounding three people.
Jabhat al-Nusra Teams Up With ISIS (Image via Al Monitor)
Just when the US and Turkey were about to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, Jabhat Al-Nusra, a mid point between moderate rebels and extremists, deflated that hope. Jabhat Al-Nusra fought along side the Free Syrian Army in some battles and fought against them in others, but one thing is for sure: if Jabhat Al-Nusra goes to the dark side, then the idea of arming moderate Syrian rebels becomes significantly harder.
While Jabhat Al-Nusra is officially against ISIS, many of its members swore allegiance to the new “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leading the group to cede its positions in Deir ez-Zor to IS.
Doctors and Wounded Patients Stuck on Palestine-Egypt border (Image via Daily Star)
The Rafah border crossing, Gaza’s only gateway to the world which is not controlled by Israel, has been closed since October 25. Dozens of Palestinian doctors and patients held a sit-in at the crossing in southern Gaza Thursday, demanding Egypt reopen the frontier to allow people out for medical treatment.
