Culture

Spotlight'Michael' Sparks Jackson Fever Ahead of Release

Bélinda Ibrahim 15/11 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Michael Jackson Michael Biopic Movie Culture Music

At dawn on November 7, the numbers made headlines. Less than 24 hours after its release, the trailer for the biopic Michael had already racked up 116 million views worldwide. The figure is more than a digital milestone. It underscores Michael Jackson’s enduring presence in popular memory, fifteen years after his death, and places the King of Pop ...

US Museums Reopen as Tourists Celebrate Washington’s Cultural Revival

This is Beirut 15/11 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Museum Culture Art US Washington

Nick Adams couldn't help but smile as he showed his son the planes hanging in Washington's Air and Space Museum, which reopened Friday after a month closed due to the US government shutdown. "We had been planning this trip for a little while and were nervous with everything shut down, but were excited to see everything open up again," said the ...

Michelle Yeoh to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor at 2026 Berlin Film Festival

This is Beirut 15/11 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Film Berlinale Festival Michelle Yeoh Award Germany Culture

Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at next year's Berlinale film festival, organizers said Friday. Yeoh, 63, will receive the Honorary Golden Bear in recognition of her "outstanding achievements in film and cinema," the festival said in a statement. "Michelle Yeoh is a visionary artist and performer ...

SpotlightThe Epigraphs of Our Lady of Ilige

Amine Jules Iskandar 15/11 10:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Europe USA

Following Saint John Maron of Kfar-Hay (685–770) and Saint George of Yanouh (770–1120), Patriarch Peter I established his seat at Our Lady of Ilige in 1121. Ilige lies in a valley of the Mayfouq region, high above Byblos, annually cloaked in a thick mantle of snow. The monastery of Our Lady was built upon the remains of a Phoenician temple, ...

SpotlightAlcohol at School: The Untouchable Taboo in Anglo-Saxon Countries

Bélinda Ibrahim 14/11 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Kingdom United States Alcohol School Culture

Some contrasts say everything about a nation. While France long poured wine into schoolchildren’s glasses, Anglo-Saxon societies have always firmly and unequivocally banned any form of alcohol at school. This difference is not merely legal: it reflects distinct national histories, collective beliefs, and radically different views of childhood ...

YouTube Star MrBeast Brings 'Beast Land' to Riyadh Season Festival

This is Beirut 14/11 17:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

YouTuber Superstar MrBeast Entertainment Saudi Culture

MrBeast, the world's most followed YouTuber with over 450 million subscribers, opened a temporary amusement park in Riyadh on Thursday, the latest celebrity drawn to Saudi Arabia as it aspires to become a major entertainment hub. Eager for a chance to meet the social media star, families and teenagers gathered at "Beast Land," a venue featuring ...

StoryI Sing to The God of Israel

This is Beirut 14/11 13:25 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Peace

Like many Lebanese of her generation, Carine Bassili was traumatized by civil war, loss, and a patriarchal culture, hardships that forged her personality and shaped her journey from Lebanon to the U.S., where she would come to form a religious bond with Israel. Bassili’s journey—a spiritual one based on her faith and reading of the Bible—led ...

How Embracing ‘Ickiness’ Helped Writer Szalay Win Booker Prize

This is Beirut 14/11 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Literature David Szalay Booker Prize Winner Hungary Britain Culture

Writer David Szalay deliberately dared his readers to face up to the "ickiness" of an affair between a 15-year-old boy and his much older married neighbor in the first chapter of his new book, Flesh. And it worked, winning him Britain's top literary award, the Booker Prize, this week with his "extraordinary" story of a Hungarian immigrant who ...

The LAP Turns Back Time: Lebanon’s First International Stamp Exhibition

Makram Haddad 14/11 11:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Exhibition Stamps

A Century of Stamps, a Memory on Gummed Paper The Lebanese postage stamp appeared for the first time in 1924–1925, with the issue of a series featuring the eternal cedar of Lebanon, but inscribed with the words “Grand Liban” (“Greater Lebanon”). Until 1918, the year the Ottoman armies withdrew, the territory used Ottoman stamps or ...

Bad Bunny Dominates Latin Grammys With Landmark Wins

This is Beirut 14/11 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music Culture Art Bad Bunny Prize Grammy Latino

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny enjoyed a victory lap Thursday night at the Latin Grammys, the biggest celebration of Spanish- and Portuguese-language music. The reggaeton star won five awards from 12 nominations, including the coveted Best Album prize — a category in which he is also competing at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in February. Bad ...

Spotify to Launch Music Videos in North America for Premium Members

This is Beirut 13/11 17:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Music Spotify Streaming Videos USA Canada Culture

Audio streaming platform Spotify will be adding music videos "in the coming weeks" for paying subscribers in the United States and Canada, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The development marks a significant expansion by the Sweden-based audio platform into video, which until now has primarily been limited to video podcasts. The Spotify ...

Nintendo Marks 40 Years of Mario with New Movie Trailer

This is Beirut 13/11 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Entertainment Games Film Nintendo Japan Culture

Super Mario fans got a first look on Wednesday at the sequel to the megahit movie based on Nintendo's top video game franchise that turned 40 this year. US star Brie Larson joins Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black in the voice cast of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a CGI animation set for release in April 2026. It follows the huge ...