RT @timourazhari: "They are not Fidel Castro. Much more Machiavelli." . Seven months in the works, our Reuters investigation into how Syri….

Lebanon's public procurement law is facing a major test — an expensive and complex reconstruction process that is very slowly kicking into action despite ongoing Israeli strikes. In my first piece for Al Jazeera, I look at what's at stake.

RT @AbuJamajem: .@ThePublicSource's @rjsalame on a decades-long, UNDP-administered program to graft expert consultants onto Lebanon's post-….

RT @samizog: This story is a cautionary tale for Lebanon’s new ‘technocratic’ government. Without real institutional reform, technocracy ca….

RT @ThePublicSource: Everyone knows that Lebanon’s bureaucracy needs a major overhaul. But knowing that and actually fixing it are two diff….

I want to thank @annia for her incredible editing, @cavalcantich for editorial support and @LaraJBitar and @ThePublicSource for the opportunity to work on this project for an extended period of time. PS is the only publication in 🇱🇧 that lets reporters commit to a story like this.

The shadow of Lebanon's elite political settlement weighs heavy on this history, with all its ups and downs, good and bad intentions, and realized and frustrated ambitions.

This investigation — based on countless pages of documents and interviews with 19 insiders, outsiders, and observers — tells the history of the longest, most in-depth attempt to achieve technocratic reforms between the end of the civil war and the start of the economic crisis.

New: It's been clear for decades that Lebanon’s state bureaucracy has serious problems. Many have wondered whether technocracy can't just set things right. In a multi-month investigation, I asked that question—here are the results:.

RT @alihashem_tv: The Israeli occupation army to keep five positions inside South Lebanon covering the area from Naqoura to Khiyam. The fiv….

RT @Bassam_Khawaja: The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon went into effect November 27. Since then, UN Experts found Israel h….

RT @malaika_tapper: “Hi everyone. you can come and collect [your checks] tomorrow morning—so no one complains, these are just the checks….

Lebanon has a new cabinet.

"Rotation should happen, but not under the current political and institutional conditions. A functional government cannot be created simply by shuffling ministers while leaving the underlying system intact.".

"The dominant narrative suggests that Hezbollah is the primary obstacle to reform, implying that removing it from government would resolve Lebanon’s crisis. This is a convenient fiction that benefits both Hezbollah’s opponents and Hezbollah itself.".

"The notion that technocrats or experts alone will solve Lebanon’s crisis is an illusion," write @samizog and @samiatallah1.

The funeral for former Hezbollah secretaries general Hassan Nasrallah and Hachem Safieddine will be held on Feb 23, current Sec. Gen. Naim Qassem says. He says Safieddine was elected sec. gen. 3-4 days after Nasrallah's Sep 27 assassination but was killed before it was announced.

22 killed and 124 wounded in Israeli attacks on unarmed civilians returning to their villages under Israeli occupation.

Return marches of southern residents have been fired upon, causing civilian casualties, in. Adaisseh.Aitaroun.Bani Hayyan.Blida.Chaqra.Deir Mimas.Dhaiyra.Houla.Kfar kila.Markaba.Maroun el-Ras.Meis el-Jabal.Rab el Tlatine.Taybeh.Yaroun.

Israel has killed 11 Lebanese attempting to return to their Israeli-occupied border villages and wounded 83 more, according to the latest data from the MoPH, as their forces plan to remain past the 60-day limit for their withdrawal under the ceasefire agreement.