This is Beirut

Global markets rode AI, interest rate roller coaster in 2024

This is Beirut, 01/01 10:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

France Emmanuel Macron Ukraine Paris Donald Trump

Despite political upheavals, stock markets and bitcoin smashed records in 2024, fuelled by investor enthusiasm for Artificial Intelligence (AI), falling interest rates, and hopes of tax cuts. Here are five of the most remarkable aspects of 2024 for financial markets: Stock records fall like dominoes Wall Street's three main stock indices blew ...

Ivory Coast President Says French Forces to Withdraw in January

This is Beirut, 01/01 09:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Africa France Senegal Ivory Coast

The reorganization of France's military presence in Africa continues, marking a new era in relations between several African countries and the erstwhile colonial power. Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara announced on Tuesday evening that the French military base in Abidjan, home to the 43rd BIMA (marine infantry battalion) in Port-Bouet, ...

French Air Strikes Target IS Positions in Syria

This is Beirut, 2024-12-31 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA France Syria

French aircraft have bombed Islamic State positions in Syria, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Tuesday, in its first such strike on the country's soil since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. "Our armed forces remain engaged in battling terrorism in the Levant," Lecornu wrote on X while on a New Year visit to French UN peacekeepers in ...

Masked Captain, Failed Year: Mbappé’s 2024 Review

Makram Haddad, 2024-12-31 13:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Kylian Mbappé France Mask Real Madrid

2024 will likely be remembered as one of the most challenging years of Kylian Mbappé's career. Between thwarted ambitions at the Euro, debilitating injuries, and media pressures, the French captain endured a mixed season. Here's a look back at a year filled with ups and downs for the star forward of Real Madrid. A Euro to Forget Before the ...

Camille Claudel and Rodin: Artistic Genius in 'The Mature Age'

Marie-Christine Tayah, 2024-12-28 18:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Culture Art France Sculpture Artist Museum

A collaborator and muse of sculptor Auguste Rodin, as well as the sister of poet, writer and diplomat Paul Claudel, Camille Claudel made her mark on the Art Nouveau movement with a style that blended realism and impressionism. Her life was later brought to light in the book A Woman, Camille Claudel by Anne Delbée and the film Camille Claudel, ...

Céline Dion to Shine Bright in Grand Paris Comeback

Madeleine Cadoux, 2024-12-27 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Culture Art Paris France Concert Music

On Tuesday, July 23, Céline Dion’s jet landed at Le Bourget, marking more than just a return to France. After two years of waiting and cancellations due to her fragile health, the Canadian star finally reconnected with her audience during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Performing from the Eiffel Tower in Dior Haute ...

Russia Accuses France of Excluding Kyiv in Ukraine Talks

This is Beirut, 2024-12-26 15:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Russia France Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said France had tried to establish "dialogue" with Moscow on Ukraine but without Kyiv's participation -- a claim that was dismissed by Paris as "intemperate". Western countries have called for a united front in support for Ukraine and have constantly said that no decisions could be taken without ...

France's Macron Announces Fourth Government Of The Year

This is Beirut, 2024-12-23 20:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

France Emmanuel Macron Francois Bayrou

French President Emmanuel Macron named a new government Monday evening, putting together a team under Francois Bayrou, his fourth prime minister of the year, to drag the second-largest EU economy out of political crisis. Macron named former prime minister Elisabeth Borne education minister in a new cabinet under centrist Bayrou, the presidency ...

Théo Fouchenneret: The Soul of the Piano

Alain E. Andrea, 2024-12-23 19:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Beirut Festival Music Art France

On Sunday, December 22, nature wept over Beirut. On the way to Saint-Elie Church in Kantari, our thoughts wandered through the ruins of the capital, those gaping wounds that will bleed and ooze the horrors of war for years to come. Alas. That evening, a fine rain caressed these scars, soft and soothing, like saving kisses from angels during this ...

Sweet Smell of Success for Niche Perfumes

This is Beirut, 2024-12-22 12:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Paris France Marly perfumes

This photograph shows "Parfums de Marly" boutique, a luxury and niche perfume brand, in Paris on December 12, 2024. ©Grégoire CAMPIONE / AFP Produced in small batches with high-quality, natural or rare ingredients, niche perfumes are becoming big business even while retaining their exclusive nature. "We've had absolutely incredible ...

Cyclone Chido Ravages Mayotte, Rescue Efforts Intensify

This is Beirut, 2024-12-18 10:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron France

Rescuers searched desperately for survivors as they sought to assess the full scale of devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido on the French overseas territory of Mayotte, which emerged on Wednesday from a first night spent under curfew. French President Emmanuel Macron "will be in Mayotte on Thursday", his office announced late on Tuesday, as ...

Algeria: Imprisoned Author Boualem Sansal Transferred to Medical Care

This is Beirut, 2024-12-17 16:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Culture Algeria France

Boualem Sansal, who has been detained since mid-November for "threatening state security," was transferred to a medical care unit, his publisher and lawyer in France reported on Monday. Speaking at a solidarity event held in a Paris theater, publisher Antoine Gallimard and lawyer François Zimeray addressed several hundred attendees. “We ...

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