Protests in Iraq and Lebanon

Eighteen people are reported to have been shot on Monday night in the shiite residential area of Karbala, Iraq. Protests and civil unrest in Iraq and Lebanon have been blamed on corruption and western influences. Shiite leaders have complained of excessive use of force and have advised protesters to seek changes legally.
Hundreds are reported to have ransacked protester’s tents and stalls in Beirut this week and amid the chaos the Lebanese prime minister has threatened to resign.
The prime minister of Iraq since October last year is Adil Abdul Mahdi who was a critic of the 2010 election. The newly elected council of representatives of Iraq, previously the united Iraqi alliance, once the largest Shia party, won elections in 2005 but fell apart when factions who were said to be seeking reform, left.
The council of representatives of Iraq, the unicarmel legislature have been meeting in the as called Baghdad international zone. The Iraqi national movement was formed to contest the 2010 elections and is said to consist of both shia and sunni leaders. The government was said to be under pressure to pass legislation concerning oil and gas; and supposed pressure to vote against the nationalisation of the oil industry but despite opposition from the Kurds, new legislation concerning oil was passed in 2009.