Florence Massena is a freelance journalist based in Norway after six years spent in Lebanon. She reports on the environment, women's issues, human rights and refugees in the Middle East, Africa and Europe
An embrace of queer identity and intimacy, the newly installed exhibition 'Habibi, the revolutions of love' showcases and questions the ideas surrounding queer love in the Arab world and beyond, countering orthodox perceptions through creativity.
A Beirut institution, Bardo, has closed its door after being in operation for 15 years. A safe space for the city's queer community, Bardo's closure leaves a vacuum unlikely to be filled and poses questions about the community's long-term future.
Amid further societal capitulation, Lebanon now faces the resurfacing of a water crisis that has placed families under renewed stress. The New Arab speaks with activists about their attempts to shed light on the issue.
With the first anniversary of the Beirut Port tragedy and Lebanon's myriad of problems continuing to deteriorate, the reopening of art galleries in Beirut's Mark Mikhael district offers a flickering hope of normality in Lebanon.
One group uniquely burdening the toll of Lebanon's issues are animals. Often left behind by their owners as they seek safe refuge, the once sheltered pets are roaming the streets unaccounted for. Now, concerned NGOs fear the results.
As a draconic Muslim-targeted legislation is passed in France on the eve of Ramadan, Florence Massena finds out the sentiments of French Muslims and what may lie ahead.
