Culture

Iconic Paris hotel Lutetia Taken over by Mandarin Oriental

This is Beirut 04/04 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

France Hotel History Heritage Culture Art

Situated in the center of the Left Bank area of the French capital, the Art Deco institution was opened in 1910 and owes its existence to its neighbor Bon Marche, one of the first department stores in the world. Real estate group Alrov, controlled by Alfred Akirov and his family, will retain ownership of the building. Originally baptized with the ...

Tom Cruise Bids Emotional Farewell to Val Kilmer

This is Beirut 04/04 09:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Movie Cinema Heritage Culture Tom Cruise Val Kilmer

During the annual CinemaCon industry summit held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Tom Cruise paid heartfelt tribute to his late Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer, who passed away earlier this week. Before unveiling exclusive footage from his forthcoming film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise led theater owners in a solemn moment of ...

Avignon 2025 Celebrates Arabic through Theater, Dance and Music

This is Beirut 03/04 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Theater Festival France Avignon Culture Art

Cape Verdean choreographer Marlene Monteiro Freitas will open the 79th edition of the Festival d’Avignon next July in southeastern France, in a program that gives prominence to Arabic, described as a "language of light" and "knowledge" — one that organizers intend to celebrate in response to the "merchants of hate." This major international ...

Spielberg & Nolan Tease New Blockbusters at CinemaCon!

This is Beirut 03/04 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA Film CinemaCon Entertainment

Spielberg "is currently shooting a film that promises to be a return to form, in the spirit of his monumental classics," said Universal executive Jim Orr, at the movie theater industry summit in Las Vegas. The untitled film, out June 2026, is widely rumored to be a blockbuster sci-fi. Orr promised it would contain "a propulsive, modern, ...

AI Grows in Anime, but Miyazaki Stays Untouchable

This is Beirut 03/04 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Art AI Culture Animation Miyazaki

Artificial intelligence might take over some of the work done by Japanese animation artists, but it will never match the brilliance of Hayao Miyazaki — the creative soul of Studio Ghibli — according to his son Goro, speaking to AFP. After the release of the latest ChatGPT version (GPT-4o), the internet was flooded with AI-generated images and ...

SpotlightEducation in Lebanon: The Struggle of Anxious Parents

David Sahyoun 02/04 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Psychoanalysis Trauma Parents Teachers Culture

Lebanon has been entrenched in a protracted, multifaceted structural crisis, compounded by prolonged security instability, regional conflicts, political tensions and sporadic outbreaks of violence. These factors have fostered an environment of uncertainty and anxiety. The war that erupted in 2023 has layered additional trauma and disruption, ...

Val Kilmer, Charismatic Star of 'Top Gun' and 'Batman,' Passed Away

Marie-Christine Tayah 02/04 14:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Cinema Val Kilmer Culture Art Actor

American actor Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65 from complications of pneumonia, as confirmed by his daughter Mercedes Kilmer to The New York Times. The actor, whose career saw soaring highs and difficult lows, had been battling the long-term effects of throat cancer since 2014, which left him without his voice but never without his artistic ...

'Image Whisperers' bring Vision to the Blind at Red Cross Museum

This is Beirut 02/04 10:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Red Cross Red Crescent Museum Blind

"They are our eyes," said Karin happily after releasing the arm of one of the specialised "image whisperers" guiding her and other blind people around Geneva's Red Cross museum. The museum has been offering its new image prompter service to the visually impaired since late last year. Karin, who did not want to give her ...

Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Ticket Scalping

This is Beirut 02/04 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA Music Entertainment Tickets Price

The directive seeks to prevent "unscrupulous middlemen" from profiting off reselling tickets for concerts and other events at an "enormous markup". It orders the US attorney general and the Treasury secretary to use "all legal means" to stamp out soaring price gouging and calls on the Federal Trade Commission to "ensure price transparency at all ...

Chronicle'A Sign of Faith:' Annaya, Charbel and the Breath of the Miracle

Bélinda Ibrahim 01/04 18:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Annaya Saint Charbel Miracle Lebanon Film

Just a few hours earlier, an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut had once again reminded everyone of Lebanon’s wounds, a land both sacred and divided. And yet, it is from this very country that Saint Charbel emerges, the silent hermit who became a saint of miracles, transcending all boundaries of color, race, religion and ...

Joan of Arc Reborn Through Sacred Songs and Theater

Marie-Christine Tayah 01/04 16:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Theater Paris France Culture Art

Joan of Arc died at the stake after being convicted of heresy. At just 13, she claimed to hear divine voices that gave her the mission to drive the English out of France. She went on to liberate the city of Orléans and paved the way for Charles VII to be recognized as the legitimate King of France. Nearly six centuries after her death, Joan’s ...

Sam Mendes Plans Four Beatles Biopics for April 2028

This is Beirut 01/04 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Cinema Movie Film Beatles Culture Art

Sam Mendes will release four movies about The Beatles in the same month, the director announced Monday, with Paul Mescal playing Paul McCartney and Barry Keoghan portraying Ringo Starr in "the first bingeable theatrical experience." The "four-film cinematic event," hitting theaters in April 2028, will each focus on a different member of the ...