Culture

ExplainerFrom Freedom to Forced Veiling: The Broken Destiny of Iranian Women

Bélinda Ibrahim 20/06 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Tehran Mahsa Amini Iran Women Freedom Rights

During the 1960s and 1970s, Iran underwent sweeping transformations. In a bid to modernize the nation, the Shah launched a series of reforms under the banner of the “White Revolution.” Women stood at the forefront of this societal shift: they gained the right to vote in 1963, entered universities, joined the civil service and were gradually ...

Before the Olympic Cauldron, a Balloon in the Tuileries: A Flight Through History

This is Beirut 20/06 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Olympic cauldron Tuileries History Paris Culture

Before the Olympic cauldron—suspended from a helium balloon 60 meters above the ground—returns this Saturday to the Tuileries Gardens in Paris for the entire summer, the iconic location had already played host to one of the very first hydrogen balloon flights, dating back to 1783. On December 1 of that year, over 200 years ago, scientist ...

PortraitPhilippine Leroy-Beaulieu: A French Icon of Poise and Grace

Marie-Christine Tayah 19/06 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu Actress Series Emily in Paris Cinema Culture

Born on April 25, 1963, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Leroy-Beaulieu was raised in a creative environment. The daughter of actor-director Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu and model Françoise Laurent, it felt natural for her to turn toward acting. Trained in Italy, she began her career on stage before stepping into French cinema. Her breakout role came in 1985 ...

How the Seine River Secretly Cools the Louvre and Paris

This is Beirut 19/06 12:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Louvre Seine Paris France Museum

As Paris braces for a heatwave this weekend, a little-known network of underground pipes will be cooling the Louvre Museum and other storied landmarks using water from the River Seine. Since 1991, the river water has been cooling more than 800 buildings via a humble but hard-working system that is still relatively underutilized worldwide. Paris ...

'Animaj' Raises €75 Million to Expand Ai-Driven Animation for Kids

This is Beirut 19/06 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Animation IA Animaj Cartoons Investments Streaming Culture

French startup Animaj, which acquired the popular Spanish children’s animation brand Pocoyo in 2023 and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce kids’ content, announced on Wednesday that it has raised €75 million to accelerate its growth. The fundraising round was led by Bpifrance, France’s public investment bank, and HarbourView ...

Spotlight#SkinnyTok: Anorexia Reflected in a Wordless Screen

David Sahyoun 18/06 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Tik Tok Psychoanalysis Anorexia Silent Scream SkinnyTok

Beneath TikTok’s dance videos and colorful filters lies a darker reality, a world where adolescents are drawn into a dangerous ideal. Under the hashtag #SkinnyTok, anorexia is not just present, it is glorified. The app gives young people the tools to expose themselves, compare and become captivated by an ideal of thinness that has quietly become ...

Paul Marshall’s Rise as Britain’s New Anti-Woke Media Tycoon

This is Beirut 18/06 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Culture London Media Art

Unlike Rupert Murdoch, he is barely known, but the UK has a new right-wing media mogul: Paul Marshall, who has quietly built a powerful empire that reaches millions of Britons. The 65-year-old added to his impressive stable last autumn when he purchased The Spectator magazine, viewed as the bible of Britain's Conservative Party, for £100 million ...

Hellfest 2025 Opens Thursday with Korn, Muse and Linkin Park Headlining

This is Beirut 18/06 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

France Hellfest Festival Music Culture

Rock giants Muse, Scorpions and Linkin Park, the nu metal of Korn, punk legends the Sex Pistols... The 18th edition of Hellfest, one of Europe’s biggest extreme music festivals, kicks off Thursday in Clisson, western France. The headliner on opening day will be the iconic California-based band Korn, considered one of the pioneers of nu metal ...

Story‘Frankenstein’: A Creature of Paper and Screen Born from a Stormy Night Among Friends

Bélinda Ibrahim 17/06 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Frankeinstein Mary Shelley Horror Film Book

Summer of 1816 was not actually a summer. Across Europe, skies remained dark, veiled by the ash of Mount Tambora, which had erupted the year before. In Geneva, it rained relentlessly, lightning flashing over the shores of Lake Leman. It was in this strange atmosphere that a small group of English literary exiles found themselves confined indoors. ...

'Spectacular' Viking Burial Site Found in Denmark, Filled With Rare Treasures

This is Beirut 17/06 14:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Denmark Archaeology Viking Burial Sites Discovery Culture

In an accidental find, a 10th -century burial site believed to have belonged to a Viking noble family has been discovered in northern Denmark, packed with a "spectacular" trove of ancient objects, a museum announced Tuesday. The discovery came when pearls, coins, ceramics, and a box containing a gold thread were unearthed during ...

Matthew Perry’s Doctor to Plead Guilty in Overdose Case

This is Beirut 17/06 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Matthew Perry Actor Series Culture Art US

The main doctor charged in connection with the drug overdose of Friends star Matthew Perry is expected to enter a guilty plea in the coming weeks, the US Justice Department said Monday. Salvador Plasencia "has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal ...

First-Ever Retrospective Honors Amsterdam’s Baroque Sculptor Artus Quellinus

This is Beirut 17/06 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Netherlands Art Sculpture Artus Quellinus Retrospective

Imposing but delicate marble sculptures of Graeco-Roman-style figures grace the vaulted corridors of a huge palace. But this isn't Florence or Rome. This is Amsterdam. As part of celebrations to mark 750 years since the founding of the Dutch capital, the city is unveiling from Wednesday an exhibition dedicated to Artus Quellinus, the 17th century ...