Committee chief mulls Egypt election suspension (Reuters) | 19:22
Iran devises new technique for avoiding sanctions (Al-Akhbar) | 18:31
Bomb kills three in Pakistan (AFP) | 18:00
Jordan reverses Arab Spring concessions, hikes petrol (Reuters) | 16:17
Palestinian Authority news agency hacked over human rights (Al-Akhbar) | 16:02
Kurdish separatists claim Turkey bomb (Reuters) | 15:47
Six Bahrainis sentenced for 'terrorism' (AFP) | 15:27
Syrian government blames rebels for Houla killings (AFP) | 15:26
Mubarak stooge sentenced to seven years in jail (AFP) | 14:50
Palestinians to begin updating electoral register ahead of poll (AFP) | 14:45
NATO airstrike kills six Afghan children (AFP) | 14:38

Solidere: The Modern Ruins of Beirut

Photo Blog by Marwan Tahtah

Most who visit Beirut’s commercial downtown area will say that the area seems rather “dead” to be the center of the Eastern Mediterranean’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan port city. The district cannot truly be dead however, because the dead are silent, and there is a great noise coming from downtown Beirut.

■ Article: Downtown Beirut: A City of Ghosts? by Ahmed Mohsen

The muffled sound of construction can be heard behind its walls. The place is surrounded by yellow police tape and reinforced concrete blocks with “Beirut” written on them. The concrete blocks embody this part of the city, which seems designed to prohibit any form of urban interaction. They call this place Solidere, after the the name of the company — founded by former prime minister Rafiq Hariri — that rebuilt central Beirut after the war.