From Saint-Moritz to Paris: The Tumultuous Journey of Lebanon to the Olympic Games

Makram Haddad 2024-07-20 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Saint-Moritz is undoubtedly a significant milestone for Lebanese sports, as it was in this small Swiss town that the Olympic adventure for athletes from the Land of Cedars began in 1948. It was at the Winter Games of 1948 in Saint-Moritz that the first Lebanese delegation, comprising two athletes, Ibrahim Geagea and Mounir Itani, embarked on ...

The Moment of Decision: Will Lebanon Choose Peace?

Marwan El Amine 04/03 09:50 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Lebanon Nawaf Salam Hezbollah Israel Joseph Aoun

The return of war to Lebanon was neither sudden nor unexpected. On the contrary, it appeared almost inevitable, a consequence of Hezbollah’s rigidity and denial on one hand, and the Lebanese state’s hesitation and accommodation on the other. It followed the trajectory of the political and security developments since the ceasefire that ended ...

Canada PM Carney Avoids French Blunder as He Faces Attack in Key Debate

This is Beirut 2025-04-17 05:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Canada Politics Debate Elections

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney avoided major errors in a French debate Wednesday that tested his occasionally shaky language skills, as the election front-runner sought to parry attacks from his conservative opponent. Carney, who leads Canada's Liberal Party, has at times struggled to articulate his positions in French while campaigning ...

Reusable Water Bottles: Breeding Grounds for Bacteria?

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-04-09 17:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Water Bottles Disposable Health Bacteria

Proper hydration, eco-awareness and sleek design – in many parts of the world, reusable water bottles are everywhere. Whether made of stainless steel, glass or durable plastic, they’ve become a fixture in backpacks, on desks and in gyms. Since the rise of zero-waste movements and growing environmental consciousness – still, unfortunately, ...

‘Always Be Drunk:’ Remedy or Illusion in the Face of Existential Emptiness?

David Sahyoun 2025-04-09 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Drunkness Baudelaire Culture Emptiness

In The Spleen of Paris, Baudelaire advises the reader to “always be drunk. That’s it: the only question. In order not to feel the horrible burden of Time, breaking your shoulders and bending you toward the earth, you must get drunk without ceasing. But on what? On wine, on poetry, or on virtue, as you wish. But get drunk.” This work ...

Author of Explosive Meta Memoir Stars at US Senate Hearing

This is Beirut 2025-04-10 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump New York US Congress

The former Facebook employee behind a scathing book about parent company Meta on Wednesday alleged that the social networking giant collaborated with the Chinese government on artificial intelligence, censorship and more, then lied to Congress about what it was doing. Former global policy director Sarah Wynn-Williams, who worked at the company ...

April 13, 1975: "A Day Engraved in Our Memory"

Elie Valluy - correspondant à Paris 2025-04-13 11:28 - Reading : 10 minute(s)

Lebanon France Civil War Expatriates

François Boustani remembers Sunday, April 13, 1975 — the day the Lebanese civil war began — with vivid clarity. “That day is etched in our memory,” recalls the cardiologist, who was in Zahleh, eastern Lebanon, at the time. “The phone rang that afternoon. My parents had friends over for lunch. It was my uncle, calling to warn my father ...

Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian Novelist Who Became a Writer in France

Madeleine Cadoux 2025-04-14 13:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nobel Prize Mario Vargas Llosa literature France Peru

Born in 1936 in Arequipa, Peru, Vargas Llosa left his homeland in the 1950s, believing that true literary ambition could only flourish elsewhere. He arrived in Paris in 1959 at the age of 23 with his first wife, Julia Urquidi, who would later inspire Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. He found a city pulsing with intellectual energy—where Sartre ...

From Firepower to Billboards: The Evolution of "May 7"

Johnny Kortbawi 2025-04-15 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Hassan Nasrallah Hezbollah billboards airport road

It’s striking how much Hezbollah’s projection of power has changed over the years. Once firmly gripping Lebanon’s state institutions, the party sought to assert dominance over the entire political spectrum—often by force. There was a time when Hezbollah stormed Beirut with weapons and fire, burned down the TV studios of its political ...

Calisthenics, the Art of the Free Body Gains Ground in Lebanon

Makram Haddad 2025-04-15 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Dimitrios Yaacoub Calisthenics National champion

No, it is neither a rare disease nor a new fashionable treatment. Behind this slightly barbaric name–which could evoke an antique medicine or a forgotten pathology–calisthenics is indeed a sport. And not just any sport, it is an art of movement, a cult of the free body, a spectacular mix of strength, flexibility and control. Also called ...

Canada Party Leaders Hold High-Stakes Debate two Weeks From Vote

This is Beirut 2025-04-16 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Canada Mark Carney Pierre Poilievre Donald Trump

Canada's main party leaders face off Wednesday in a debate that could prove pivotal ahead of this month's election, with Prime Minister Mark Carney's French language skills set to be tested. Carney's main rival on the stage in Montreal will be Pierre Poilievre, whose Conservative Party is trailing the Carney-led Liberals in most opinion polls ...

Christian Lacroix Reveals His True Calling in Costumes

This is Beirut 2025-04-17 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Fashion France Christian Lacroix Paris Luxury Art

He describes himself as an “impostor” in haute couture: at 73, Christian Lacroix is now fully dedicated to what he calls his “real profession”—that of a costume designer. His flamboyant style, shaped by fashion history, folklore, and painting, now finds its true expression on the stage. “As a child, I thought in terms of costumes, of ...

Alpine Skiing: Sara Zeidan Carves Her Bronze Trail on the Greek Slopes

Makram Haddad 2025-04-05 20:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Ski Sara Zeidan Faraya Mzaar

She planted her poles, cut the turns, swallowed the gates… and, above all, raised the Lebanese flag high on a European podium. Lebanese skier Sara Zeidan, a pure product of the legendary Club Faraya Mzaar, struck hard on the international scene by offering herself a superb bronze medal during the International Alpine Skiing Championships ...

Einstein, 70 Years On: The Man Who Redefined the Universe and Human Consciousness

Karl Hajj Moussa 2025-04-18 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States Albert Einstein Science Germany Nazis physics

In 1905, a young and relatively unknown physicist was quietly working in a patent office in Bern, unaware that he would forever alter the course of science. That year, Albert Einstein, born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany, without prestigious titles or academic acclaim, published a series of scientific papers that would gradually challenge everything ...

American and European Rivalry Serves China and Its Axis

Pierre Nahas 2025-04-20 11:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

USA China United States Europe

It is in no way simplistic to say that the 20th century has been the American century. Our modern world was and is still being shaped by innovations made in America. The nuclear bomb, the Apollo mission to the moon and the internet. Indeed, America can draw from a long list, but one overlooked American achievement is Europe. It would not be an ...

Arsenal Lacked ‘Energy’ in Palace Draw as Liverpool Prepare to Seal Title

This is Beirut 2025-04-24 10:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Football Arsenal Premier League Liverpool

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal have to get their "energy" back for the Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain after a lacklustre 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace left Liverpool on the brink of winning the Premier League. Arteta's side were hoping to warm up for their first Champions League semi-final appearance since 2009 with a victory ...

Why Is Intermittent Fasting So Appealing Today?

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-04-27 18:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Intermittent Fasting Wellbeing Health Diet

Once primarily associated with religious practices, fasting has reemerged in a more flexible, accessible form—intermittent fasting—becoming a popular lifestyle choice. The principle is simple: alternate between fasting and eating periods within the same day or week. Among the most common methods is the 16/8 approach—16 hours of fasting ...

Two-Time Oscar Winner Alexander Payne to Preside Over Venice Jury

This is Beirut 2025-04-28 14:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA VeniceFilm Festival Alexander Payne Film Entertainment Culture

Venice Film Festival organizers announced on Monday that US film director Alexander Payne would be president of the competition's jury this year. Payne, 64, has won two Oscars and two Golden Globes for his screenplays and is best known for films such as Sideways, The Descendants and About Schmidt. "It's an enormous honor and joy to serve on the ...

Human Rights Attacks Accelerated by Trump Second Term: Amnesty

This is Beirut 2025-04-29 05:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Amnesty International Human Rights

The global system of law and human rights is under threat from a "multiplicity of assaults" which have accelerated since US President Donald Trump's return to power, Amnesty International said Tuesday in its annual report. "Unprecedented forces are hunting down the ideals of human rights for all, seeking to destroy an ...

‘To Exist Is to Be Different:’ The Birth of Individuality

David Sahyoun 2025-04-30 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Psychonalysis Culture Exist Difference Child Appearance

“To exist is to not be confused with the surrounding environment, it is to be heterogeneous, it is to be different. Each color is only itself through the contrast with the color that faces it. It only has value in opposition.” This quote from biologist Albert Jacquard illustrates how a subject’s true identity is formed through otherness, ...

Trump Says Canada's Carney to Visit 'in Next Week'

This is Beirut 2025-04-30 21:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA White House Canada Mark Carney

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would visit Washington in the coming week, hailing him as "very nice" despite tensions over Trump's tariffs and annexation threats. "He's a very nice gentleman, and he's going to come to the White House very shortly, within the next week or less," Trump said after ...

Morgan Ortagus' Mission Amid Rising Frustration

Michel Touma 2025-04-07 09:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon United States Morgan Ortagus

Let’s be clear—no more avoiding the issue or making compromises. The time for indulgence and indecisiveness has passed, and it must never return. Complacency and weakness are no longer acceptable, nor should they ever be again. For the past 20 years—since 2005, when Hezbollah seized control of the local political scene—and more broadly ...

Three Types of Pain that Resist Even the Most Powerful Painkillers!

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-04-02 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Pain Headaches Childbirth

Pain is universal, yet some forms defy description. Among the most excruciating conditions known to medicine, three stand out – consistently cited by both patients and healthcare professionals: cluster headaches, childbirth and acute pancreatitis. Their intensity, duration and the sense of helplessness they induce raise profound questions about ...

Trump Says “I Don’t Know” if He Must Uphold the U.S. Constitution

This is Beirut 2025-05-04 18:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump US Congress USA

US President Donald Trump said in a television interview airing Sunday that he does not know whether he must uphold the US Constitution. He also said he is not seriously considering running for a third White House term, after musing publicly over an idea clearly barred by the nation's founding legal document. "I don't know," Trump responded when ...

Leggings in 2025: A Wardrobe Essential for Every Occasion

Marie-Christine Tayah 2025-03-16 19:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Fashion Leggings Trends Art Culture

Leggings first gained popularity in the 1960s as a sleeker alternative to capri pants. By the 1970s, they had become a fashion staple, embraced for their comfort and figure-hugging fit. Their prominence only grew in the decades that followed, with the 2010s bringing trends such as pairing leggings with long tunics and layering them under skirts or ...

Redemptive Art Beyond Human Fallibility

This is Beirut 2025-03-03 21:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Art Music Culture Philosophy

The link between an artist's morality and the legitimacy of their art is a question that transcends the ages, fueling sometimes fierce debates about the role and place of art in our modern societies. At a time when artists' statements are scrutinized through the lens of morality, it is legitimate to wonder whether art should dissociate itself from ...

The Fragmented Self: When Social Media and AI Redefine the Psyche

David Sahyoun 2025-03-05 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Culture Social Media Artificial Intelligence

The virtual world, driven by artificial intelligence and social media, is profoundly reshaping the human psyche. Through this digital lens, identity fractures, narcissism intensifies, subjective truth falters, and the way we connect with others is redefined. Identity formation depends on a balance between internal psychological reality and the ...

Syria, Such a Troublesome Neighbor

Marc Saikali 2025-03-06 08:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa Turkey

Since its independence, Lebanon has served as a mirror reflecting the events unfolding in its much larger neighboring country. Damascus has long cast a covetous eye on Lebanon, disturbed by its freedoms and economic achievements. Despite all the challenges, Lebanon has managed to preserve a semblance of political democracy, even in its darkest ...

Growing Up Masked: The Psychological Challenges of a Confined Childhood

David Sahyoun 2025-03-11 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Covid-19 Psychoanalysis Children Traumatism Culture World

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted societies on an unprecedented scale, deeply altering ingrained customs and daily social interactions. Children, navigating crucial phases of their psychological and identity development, were confronted with a world of masked faces, limited social interactions and new anxieties. For infants, the human face is the ...

'Anora': The Anti-'Pretty Woman' That Divides Despite Its Oscar Win

Bélinda Ibrahim 2025-03-11 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Oscars Film Analysis Culture Anora Pretty Woman

With Anora, Sean Baker delivers a film that blends drama and social satire. Crowned at Cannes and later at the 2025 Academy Awards—where it won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison—this feature has nonetheless divided critics. Through the story of Ani, a stripper who marries a Russian oligarch, Baker revisits ...