In February, 'Inside the Middle East' travels to Beirut, the cosmopolitan, multi-lingual capital of Lebanon.  Beirut's popularity among expatriate residents has not waned, despite the recent instability caused by the bitter conflict in neighboring Syria. Hosted by CNN’s Senior International Correspondent, Arwa Damon, the programme discovers why the 'Paris of the Middle East' is so appealing to immigrants.

Expats may be flocking to Beirut, but not everyone is always welcome.  Many economic migrants in Beirut struggle with prejudice on a daily basis.  The country has implemented a zero-tolerance policy towards racism – but Damon finds out why it’s going to take more than a legislation to change the local attitudes.

The program also explores the rights of women in Lebanon – a nation known for its tolerant stance on gender issues. With few laws on domestic abuse and little female representation in government however, activists say the sense of freedom among women in the country is a false one. ‘Inside the Middle East’ meets women now demanding change.

Also, the program meets the alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila, a group who have become hugely popular in Lebanon by taking on traditionally taboo topics, such as politics and homosexuality, in their music.

You can find all of the February showtimes here.

Want to see more?  Follow the show on Facebook for all the latest from 'Inside the Middle East' – including a bloopers video featuring Arwa Damon snowboarding – or trying to snowboard – on the slopes just above Beirut.

Posted by: Jon Jensen
Filed under: Lebanon

A look back at the highlights of 2012 covered on Inside the Middle East.

Want to see more?  Follow the show on Facebook for all the latest from 'Inside the Middle East.'

Posted by: Jon Jensen
Filed under: Culture •Egypt •Inside The Middle East •Israel •Jerusalem •Lebanon •Morocco •Palestinians •Pictures •Religion •UAE •Video •Women

A look back at the highlights of 2012 covered on Inside the Middle East.

Want to see more?  Follow the show on Facebook for all the latest from 'Inside the Middle East.'

Posted by: Jon Jensen
Filed under: Abu Dhabi •Algeria •Bahrain •Culture •Dubai •Egypt •Inside The Middle East •Iran •Iraq •Israel •Jordan •Kuwait •Lebanon •Morocco •Oman •Saudi Arabia •Sports •Tunisia •Turkey •UAE •Women •Yemen

The 'Inside the Middle East' team is filming in Jordan this week, preparing for our 101st episode which airs on July 4th.

Here's what our colleagues at the CNN Press Room had to say about our upcoming episode:

This month, ‘Inside the Middle East’ explores the stories of women throughout the region, highlighting Jordan in particular as a country whose constitution doesn't codify equal gender rights.

Host Rima Maktabi heads north of Amman, to a small village along Jordan's border with Syria, to explore the Hashemite Kingdom's notorious 'honour killings'. In the past decade, over 100 Jordanian women have been murdered by their own families. Their crimes? Bringing shame and dishonour on the community, typically for mingling with young men or committing adultery. The programme meets with one woman who fled nine years ago to a shelter, far from her family, to escape threats of death.

Maktabi also visits the United Arab Emirates Ewa'a Shelter for Women and Children, where victims are given medical and psychological care. She meets Sara Suhail, an Emirati social worker who has devoted her life to helping victims of sexual violence.

The programme also returns to Saudi Arabia to chart the progress of Jeddah United, an all-female basketball team that the programme first met in 2008, as they struggled in a conservative society where women are not allowed to play sports in public.

Want to see more?  Become a fan of the show on Facebook and follow host Rima Maktabi on Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: Jon Jensen
Filed under: Culture •Jordan •Lebanon •Saudi Arabia •UAE

This month, 'Inside the Middle East', celebrates its 100th episode with a special look at education, focusing on the ways Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates are developing their future generations.  Our first airing is Wednesday June 6 (click here for showtimes in your area).

Here's a look at what's coming up this month on 'Inside the Middle East':

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: Jon Jensen
Filed under: Abu Dhabi •Egypt •Lebanon •UAE

Rima Maktabi with renowned Iraqi oud aficionado Naseer Shamma at his music school in Cairo.

Inside the Middle East team is in Cairo this week as the show celebrates its 100th episode with a special look at education, focusing on the ways Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates are developing their future generation of leaders.

Check out these behind-the-scenes photos on our Facebook page.

From Egypt's bustling capital, Cairo, to the coastal city of Alexandria, Rima Maktabi meets several young Egyptians who explain the challenges of studying – or simply learning how to read – in a nation currently undergoing a rocky transition to democracy.

The program then travels to Beirut, and learns why most Lebanese students are not taught some of the basic history of their nation's 15-year civil war.

In Cairo and Abu Dhabi we meet up with the world famous Iraqi musician Naseer Shama, a man devoting his life to teaching young people the history and melodies of the oud, a traditional Middle Eastern guitar heard in most songs across the region.

Posted by: Schams Elwazer
Filed under: Egypt •Iraq •Lebanon •UAE

Experience the sights and sounds of Lebanon's "Little Armenia" with filmmaker Nigol Bezijian.

Posted by: Jon Jensen
Filed under: Lebanon

Lebanon's prime minister has said his government will support the United Nations-backed tribunal that is investigating the killing of a previous Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"Whatever we can do from our side," Najib Mikati told CNN’s Richard Quest, "we are going to do it fully."

Hariri, a wealthy entrepreneur turned politician, died when his motorcade passed a bomb that exploded in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

Supporters say he was killed because of his opposition to Syrian influence in Lebanon. His death prompted mass protests that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops who had been in Lebanon for nearly 30 years.

Read the full interview on CNN Arabic here.

Filed under: General •Hezbollah •Lebanon •Syria

Palestinian protesters infiltrate the Israel-Syria border on May 15 near the Druze village of Majdal Shams. Reportedly at least twelve were killed and several injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire on protesters AFP/ Getty Images.

Clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces erupted along Israel's borders and occupied territories Sunday, leaving at least 12 dead on a Palestinian mourning day marking the birth of the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried what he called "violent demonstrations" aimed at undermining Israel's existence.

"We hope for the peace and restfulness to return quickly, but no one should be mistaken - we are determined to defend our borders and our sovereignty," Netanyahu said.

The conflicts broke out on "Nakba Day." Nakba - Arabic for "catastrophe" - marks the period when more than 700,000 Arabs were displaced from their homes during fighting that followed the creation of Israel in 1948.

Two protesters were killed and 170 were wounded Sunday when fighting broke out in the Golan Heights area, the Syrian Arab News Agency said. And at least 10 were killed and 112 others were injured in clashes along the line of demarcation with Lebanon, Lebanon's state news agency reported. Read more...

Posted by: IME Producer
Filed under: Israel •Lebanon •Netanyahu •Palestinians •Syria

Walid Jumblatt speaks to reporters in Lebanon (CNN/Todd Baxter)

Despite his height, as he sits down he almost disappears behind the pyramid of microphones piled up on the tiny desk in front of him. It would almost be comical but for the importance of the moment.

He's been here before. Forced to pick sides in the interests of national unity. He wears the patience of a man all too familiar with what he must do.

CNN's Nic Robertson was one of more than 100 journalists in Beirut who found that waiting for Walid Jumblatt was more than just another moment in the rich mosaic of Middle East politics.

Full story

Posted by: CNN Senior International Correspondent, Nic Robertson
Filed under: General •Lebanon