9 things that happened in the 2,300 days since Lebanon had an election

While the current protests in Beirut's street may have stemmed from the inability of politicians to resolve the issue of trash, which could send Lebanon into a health crisis come winter, the demands of the people have extended to battling corruption by ousting all those in power.

Lebanon has not had parliamentary elections since June 2009 after Parliament illegally extended its tenure twice, once for 18 months in 2013, and a second time for two years and seven months in 2014. The excuse? Parliamentarians really couldn't allow a political vacuum as they remain deadlocked over a new electoral law and the election of a new president.

Oh, yeah - Lebanese haven't had a president since then – President Michel Sleiman's tenure expired in May 2014. Parliament has been unable to meet quorum since to vote on a president. Why? Everyone wants to be president.

Since 2009, a lot of things have transpired in the Arab world, but we've reduced the list to nine of the most important events.

The tallest building in the world debuted in Dubai in 2010. Then, it was introduced as Burj Dubai, but was later renamed Burj Khalifa to honor the contributions made by Abu Dhabi ruler and president of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa, to the tower.

The death of Mohammed Bouazzizi, a university graduate who turned to selling vegetables, in December of 2010 sparked year-long protests, leading to the resignation of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, in Jan 2011.

In Egypt, a historic turn out on Jan 25 at Tahrir Square demanding for the removal of Hosni Mubarak, who had been president for 30 years, soon spread out throughout the nation. Mubarak first ordered the violent crackdown of protesters, which added to the anger of the rioters, until finally resigning in Feb 2011. His eventually successor, Mohammed Morsi, was then ousted by current-President Abdel-Fatah Al Sisi.

At the same time as Egypt was left reeling from Mubarak's resignation, Libyans protested en masse against dictator Muammar Gaddafi (or was it Kaddafi? Ghaddafi? Qaddafi?), who had governed the country for 41 years. On Feb 22, the Libyan leader delivered a ranting TV address urging loyalists to fight "greasy rats." The televised address was soon ridiculed, with the song "Zenga Zenga" especially going viral around the world.

After a referendum in September 2010 showed a smashing majority in favor of a separation between North and South Sudan, the latter declared itself an independent country.

During Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mursi's short tenure as president, Mubarak was tried and found guilty of being indirectly responsible of the death of 239 protesters during the 2011 uprising against him. When military chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi took over as Egypt's ruler after a military coup in 2013 that deposed Mursi, charges levelled against Mubarak were dropped .

Two offensives launched in 2012 and 2014 saw 2,363 Palestinians killed in total, and thousands injured as well as whole neighborhoods levelled, while 76 Israelis died.

Peaceful protests turned bloody when Syrian President Bashar Al Assad used violence against his people. Today, Syria is a ravaged country torn between regime airstrikes and an Islamist threat.

Who could forget that ridiculous moment in our modern history when the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq declared itself a caliphate, with Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi as its leader?

Sworn enemies partially reconcile their differences and sign a deal that would prevent Iran going from building a nuclear weapon while ensuring that the country's nuclear program will be peaceful going forward.