This is Beirut - culture

Tragic Promise Drove World's first Michelin-Starred Woman Sushi Chef

This is Beirut, 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

France Sushi Chizuko Kimura Michelin Star Japan Culture

Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband Shunei Kimura won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei, the star was a ...

Jonathan Anderson takes helm at Dior Men

This is Beirut, 17:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Fashion LVMH Dior Men Jonathan Anderson France Culture

French fashion giant Dior named the highly-rated designer Jonathan Anderson as creative director of Dior Men on Thursday. Anderson, 40, quit Loewe last month after more than a decade in which he turned around the fortunes of the heritage Spanish brand. The Northern Irish designer -- an influential tastemaker with many A-list fans -- made the ...

Nate Bargatze to Host 2025 Emmy Awards

This is Beirut, 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Entertainment Nate Bargatze Emmy Awards Ceremony USA Culture

Comedian Nate Bargatze, one of the United States' most successful stand-ups, will host this year's Emmy Awards, organizers said Wednesday. The funnyman is being handed the reins of television's most prestigious prize show for its 77th edition, which takes place in Los Angeles in September and will be broadcast on US network CBS. "It's a huge ...

Star Dancer Jean-Pierre Bonnefous Dies at the Age of 82

This is Beirut, 16/04 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States Ballet Star Dancer Jean-Pierre Bonnefous Death Culture

Renowned star dancer Jean-Pierre Bonnefous, celebrated for his performances in major neoclassical ballets, has died in the United States, where he spent most of his career, his family and the Paris Opera announced on Wednesday. “He passed away peacefully at the age of 82 in Charlottesville, Virginia,” his nephew Jérémy Bouhy told AFP. Born ...

When AI Meets Therapy: The Promise and Pitfalls of Digital Healing

David Sahyoun, 16/04 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Therapy Artificial Intelligence AI Culture

AI (artificial intelligence) is a computer system designed to replicate human thought and behavior. It can reason, process information, and search for answers across vast pools of relevant content available online. A chatbot, by contrast, is a conversational tool designed to simulate human interaction. It runs on pre-scripted responses, ...

Hala Schoukair on her Mother’s Legacy and Her New Solo Show, Nadey Hakim’s Sculpture Praised by Donald Trump

Lea Mehanna, 16/04 17:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Culture Arts Lebanon

Artist Hala Schoukair opens up about growing up as the daughter of legendary modernist Saloua Raouda Choucair, and how she continues to honor her mother’s legacy through the foundation in Ras El Matn. She also unveils her own creative path with her solo exhibition, “The Affirmative Happiness of a Green Dot,” at Saleh Barakat Gallery. Also ...

The Freida McFadden Phenomenon Confuses French Literary Critics

This is Beirut, 16/04 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Movie Literature US France Thriller Culture

Why are American author Freida McFadden’s psychological thrillers selling so well in France? French literary critics are trying to understand the craze but remain doubtful about the true merit of her work. The Housemaid was the best-selling book in France in 2024, with over 600,000 copies sold. By the end of February 2025, it had crossed the ...

When Vargas Llosa Punched García Márquez: A Journalist Witness Recalls

This is Beirut, 16/04 09:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Peru Literature Llosa Mexico Marquez Culture

When journalist and novelist Elena Poniatowska headed to a film premiere in Mexico City, she had no idea she was about to witness the literary feud of the century as two future Nobel laureates came to blows. It was February 12, 1976, and Poniatowska wound up seated next to Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his wife Mercedes to watch the ...

Peru Pays Final Tribute to Literary Giant Vargas Llosa

This is Beirut, 15/04 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Culture Art Peru Mario Vargas Llosa Writer

The Peruvian flag flew at half-staff Monday as the South American country marked the passing of literary great Mario Vargas Llosa with a day of national mourning. Tributes poured in from around the world as President Dina Boluarte attended a private wake at the Vargas Llosa family home for the novelist and Nobel laureate, who died there Sunday ...

American Singer Katy Perry Roared into First All-Woman Spaceflight

This is Beirut, 15/04 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA Singer Katy Perry Space Culture

Pop star Katy Perry became the biggest name in an all-woman group to safely blast off into space Monday, roaring into the cosmos on one of billionaire Jeff Bezos's rockets. The Firework and California Girls singer was lofted more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth's surface in a vessel from Blue Origin, the space company owned by ...

Pope Recognizes 'God's Architect' Gaudi as 'Venerable'

This is Beirut, 14/04 17:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Vatican Architecture Gaudi God's architect Pope Culture

The Catholic Church has put Antoni Gaudi, the designer of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica nicknamed "God's architect", on the path to sainthood, the Vatican said Monday. Pope Francis recognized the Catalan architect's "heroic virtues" and authorized a decree declaring him "venerable", the Vatican said in a statement. This acknowledgement ...

'A Minecraft Movie' Breaks Records, Tops Box Office Again

This is Beirut, 14/04 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Movies Cinema Culture Art US

A Minecraft Movie easily held on to the top spot in North American theaters this weekend with estimated ticket sales of a solid $80.6 million, analysts said Sunday. That was roughly half the total of its huge opening last weekend. But with $281 million in domestic ticket sales to date, along with $269 million internationally, Minecraft has set ...

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