The World Bank has approved a $30 million soft loan aimed at supporting a government initiative to improve access to basic services in impoverishedparts of the country.

It’s a rare enough sight to see a teenager happily awake on a Saturday morning, let alone cheering and clapping for what essentially amounts to a history lesson.

An outdoor festival in Ashrafieh over the weekend aimed at encouraging children to engage in sports and eschew violence offered up military commandos in mock combat, boxers duking it out and one performer losing his nose.

Fighting only ends when residents form human chain between rival sides.