Middle East & Africa | Power politics

The tangled diplomacy of Lebanon’s energy crisis

Friends and neighbours have offered to help, but mostly to help themselves

|DUBAI

THE CELEBRATIONS seemed fit for a conquering hero returning home. As the trucks crossed the border, women showered them with flower petals and rice. Banners hailed the mastermind of the operation for “breaking the siege” imposed on his country by malevolent foreign powers. A few men fired bullets and rocket-propelled grenades in the air—a particularly ill-advised form of salute given that the trucks were carrying 4m litres of diesel.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Power politics”

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