On the pretext of leaving Hezbollah out of play, Israel has attacked Lebanon, which has been rejected. As a result, small Switzerland in the Middle East has been placed in the media spotlight, but remains an unknown country. In ancient times it was the origin of an important Phoenician civilization, as well as Christianity. Throughout the centuries, it was also the calvary of many empires and cultures: Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and the Ottomans.
Since the First World War, the United Kingdom and France established the colonial command over the Middle East in the Sykes-Picot Convention. The French separated the conquered territories into two mandates: the mandate of Syria in the territories with a Muslim majority; and the mandate of Lebanon in the territories where there was a Christian majority. This is the origin of contemporary Lebanon.
Although the majority of its inhabitants are Arabs, Lebanon has historically had a difficult ethnic and religious balance. Thus, since independence (1943), they have a rule of division of office in the Government: The President of the Republic must always be a Christian Maronite, the Prime Minister is a Sunni Muslim and the President of the Parliament is a Shia Muslim. In total there are 18 ethnic and religious groups in the country, including several branches of Christianity, since the expulsion of Sunni and Shia Muslims, Druze and Turks (1915-23), as well as Armenians.
The birth of Israel upset the fragile balance of Lebanon. The Palestinian refugee camps and the fact that they became the backdrop of the resistance led to clashes between different factions. On the one hand, most Christians and right-wing parties wanted to expel the Palestinians with the help of Israel; on the other hand, Muslims, leftist parties and pan-Arab nationalists wanted to support resistance. During the long civil war (1975-1990), Israel and Syria intervened directly.
Currently, two of the political coalitions are the most important in the country: Alliance of 8 March (anti-Zionist, supported by Syria and Iran) and Alliance of 14 March (supported by Israel and Saudi Arabia). However, these two alliances do not follow the logic of the different sides of the civil war, as the events of recent years have ended the old ties. Many of the Christians have in recent years supported the Alliance of 8 March, although historically they have positioned themselves in favour of the West and Israel. They have realised that Israel may be more of a threat than support for Lebanese Christians, who in recent decades have invaded Lebanon four times (1978, 1982, 2006 and 2024) and also supported the Islamists who slaughtered Christians during the Syrian Civil War.
Washington, D.C., June 17, 1930. The U.S. Congress passed the Tariff Act. It is also known as the Smoot-Hawley Act because it was promoted by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis Hawley.
The law raised import tax limits for about 900 products by 40% to 60% in order to... [+]
During the renovation of a sports field in the Simmering district of Vienna, a mass grave with 150 bodies was discovered in October 2024. They conclude that they were Roman legionnaires and A.D. They died around 100 years ago. Or rather, they were killed.
The bodies were buried... [+]
My mother always says: “I never understood why World War I happened. It doesn't make any sense to him. He does not understand why the old European powers were involved in such barbarism and does not get into his head how they were persuaded to kill these young men from Europe,... [+]
Until now we have believed that those in charge of copying books during the Middle Ages and before the printing press was opened were men, specifically monks of monasteries.
But a group of researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway, concludes that women also worked as... [+]
Florentzia, 1886. Carlo Collodi Le avventure de Pinocchio eleberri ezagunaren egileak zera idatzi zuen pizzari buruz: “Labean txigortutako ogi orea, gainean eskura dagoen edozer gauzaz egindako saltsa duena”. Pizza hark “zikinkeria konplexu tankera” zuela... [+]
Ereserkiek, kanta-modalitate zehatz, eder eta arriskutsu horiek, komunitate bati zuzentzea izan ohi dute helburu. “Ene aberri eta sasoiko lagunok”, hasten da Sarrionandiaren poema ezaguna. Ereserki bat da, jakina: horra nori zuzentzen zaion tonu solemnean, handitxo... [+]
Linear A is a Minoan script used 4,800-4,500 years ago. Recently, in the famous Knossos Palace in Crete, a special ivory object has been discovered, which was probably used as a ceremonial scepter. The object has two inscriptions; one on the handle is shorter and, like most of... [+]
Londres, 1944. Dorothy izeneko emakume bati argazkiak atera zizkioten Waterloo zubian soldatze lanak egiten ari zela. Dorothyri buruz izena beste daturik ez daukagu, baina duela hamar urte arte hori ere ez genekien. Argazki sorta 2015ean topatu zuen Christine Wall... [+]