A fearless campaigner for democratic openness? Or a criminal trying to avoid justice? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a highly polarising figure.

A month after Beirut's devastating explosion, Ghassan Toubaji still sits under a gaping hole in his ceiling -- he can look up through the dangling plaster, wires and metal struts and the broken brick roof and see a bit of sky.

The 74-year-old survived the Aug. 4 blast with bruises, but his fall from its impact worsened his heart and blood circulation diseases. Between that and Lebanon's crumbled economy, he can't go back to work.

Under pressure from its citizens and Western powers, the leaders of multi-confessional Lebanon have vowed to abandon a power-sharing system that is widely seen to plague political life.

A century ago France created Greater Lebanon, the foundation for the modern-day state of Lebanon which is now mired in a deep political and economic crisis.

Mourning the Beirut blast disaster, ruined by economic meltdown and hostage to a dysfunctional political system, Lebanon marks its centenary Tuesday unsure whether it will survive as a state.

There will be no ceremony to commemorate 100 years since French mandate authorities on September 1, 1920 proclaimed the creation of Greater Lebanon incorporating mainly Muslim former Ottoman regions.

The arrival five years ago of more than a million migrants in Europe caused widespread chaos and, despite a significant decline in arrivals, tensions and divisions have continued between EU countries over migration.

Sara Jaafar joined a group of political activists gathered on Aug. 4 to discuss strategies to challenge Lebanon's entrenched rulers when their building was shaken and the windows blasted out by the giant explosion that rocked Beirut.

She took cover from the flying debris, thoughts rushing through her head of past political assassinations in Lebanon. Her immediate reaction was that Hizbullah was targeting the dissidents' meeting.

Amidst all the diplomatic back-slapping, the Israel-UAE accord faces its first hiccup: the possible sale of American F-35s to Abu Dhabi that could challenge the Israeli technological edge in the Middle East.

The UAE's decision to normalise ties with Israel has been welcomed by some Arab countries, but despite cheerleading from the US, others have rejected the idea and many approach it with caution.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is on a Middle East tour that takes in Israel, Sudan, Bahrain and the UAE, expressed optimism Monday that more Arab nations will sign up.

A surprise ceasefire announcement by Libya's rival administrations offers a glimmer of hope for peace, but analysts caution skepticism after years of violence and as multiple foreign forces back opposing sides.