This is Beirut - Culture

Painting the Heat Away: Vienna Museum Uses Art to Cool Urban Spaces

This is Beirut, 15/08 14:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Art Climate Vienna Museum Austria Culture

Equipped with an infrared thermometer, Austrian artist Jonas Griessler measures the sweltering heat in an inner courtyard in the center of Vienna. Thanks to his collective's art work covering the black asphalt with a multitude of bright colors, the ground temperature has dropped from 31C to 20C. Initiated by the museum showing the private ...

YouTube Turns to AI to Guess Users' Age and Protect Minors

This is Beirut, 15/08 10:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Internet Technology Children AI USA Culture

YouTube has started testing an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to identify the age of its users in the United States, in an effort to better protect minors from content and online habits considered inappropriate for them. "This technology will allow us to infer a user’s age and use that signal independently of the date of birth listed on the ...

When Fashion Moves: Style, Sport, and Freedom in Motion at the Palais Galliera

Marie-Christine Tayah, 15/08 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Fashion Palais Galliera Paris Culture Art Exhibition

From the 18th century to today’s sneakers, the Palais Galliera throws open its doors to a choreography of fabrics and bodies in motion. The exhibition La Mode en mouvement #3 sweeps visitors into an unlikely ballet where garments follow the gesture, the freedom, and the breath of sport—this edition with a distinctive focus on winter ...

From Kyoto to the UN: Tea Ambassador Sen Genshitsu Dies at the Age of 102

This is Beirut, 14/08 18:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Obituary Sen Genshitsu Tea Gastronomy Tradition Culture

Sen Genshitsu, who was originally destined to serve as a kamikaze pilot but eventually became a grand master of the Japanese tea ceremony, preparing bowls of matcha for royalty and world leaders died on Thursday at the age of 102, Japanese media reported. With the motto "Peace through a bowl of tea," the grand master of the ancient Urasenke ...

Renowned Egyptian Novelist Sonallah Ibrahim Dies at the Age of 88

This is Beirut, 14/08 18:07 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Writer Obituary Sonallah Ibrahim Egypt Culture

Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim, famed for his critiques of political repression, neoliberalism and Western hegemony, has died at the age of 88, the culture ministry announced on Wednesday. Ibrahim "passed away today, leaving behind an immortal literary and humanitarian legacy," Culture Minister Ahmed Fouad Hanno said in a tribute, calling the ...

Expo 2025 Visitors Endure Sweltering Night After Osaka Train Shutdown

This is Beirut, 14/08 13:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Expo 2025 Osaka Art Visitors Japan Culture

A sudden suspension of the sole train to Japan's Expo 2025 stranded more than 30,000 visitors, with some forced to spend a sweltering night near the station and more than 30 people sent to hospitals by Thursday morning. A power outage abruptly shut the metro line in Osaka on Wednesday night while a crowd was packed into the Expo site's ...

'I Love Peru': Raphaël Quenard’s Biting yet Poetic Mockumentary

Marie-Christine Tayah, 14/08 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Raphaël Quenard Film Cinema Cannes Culture Art

Balancing fiction and reality, I Love Peru, the feature debut co-directed by Raphaël Quenard and Hugo David, dives with humor and excess into the rise of an improbable leading man. From improvised shoots in hotel rooms to surreal sequences in Peru, the film reveals a character both grotesque and fragile. Premiering at the most recent Cannes Film ...

Trump Names Stallone, Strait, Gaynor Among 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees

This is Beirut, 14/08 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Arts Donald Trump Kennedy Center Nominees USA Culture

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday named Rocky star Sylvester Stallone and country music great George Strait among the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, as he pursues a controversial overhaul of the storied arts venue. Since returning to office in January, the Republican leader has declared war on what he calls "woke" viewpoints ...

In Tripoli, One Man Keeps the Tarbouche Tradition Alive

This is Beirut, 13/08 20:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Clothing Tradition Tarboosh Tripoli Lebanon Culture

Nestled among shops in a bustling market in north Lebanon's Tripoli, Mohammed al-Shaar is at his workshop making traditional tarboosh hats, keeping up a family craft despite dwindling demand. With a thimble on one finger, Shaar, 38, cuts, sews and carefully assembles the pieces of the conical, flat-topped felt hat also known as a fez, attaching a ...

In Heatwave, Romans Turn to Vintage Snow Cones to Stay Cool

This is Beirut, 13/08 18:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Heat Summer Ice Italy Tradition Culture

Forget ice cream, sorbet or even the beloved Italian gelato, when Roman’s swelter in a heatwave, they turn to the traditional "Grattachecca". It may be difficult for non-Italians to pronounce think -"gratta-kekka" - but the Roman-style shaved ice is colorful, cheap and refreshing like no other. In a turn-of-the-century kiosk near the Tiber ...

‘In Women’s Words:’ The Unheard Voices of Iranian Art

Marie-Christine Tayah, 13/08 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Women Iran Exhibition Culture Art Freedom

In the hushed galleries of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA), colors, forms and textures speak with a force that eclipses any speech or manifesto. The exhibition In Women’s Words is more than an artistic retrospective – it is a collective voice that defies decades of silence, bringing to light stories that could not always be ...

Danielle Spencer, the 'What’s Happening!!' Star, Dies After Battle with Breast Cancer

This is Beirut, 13/08 13:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Actress Heritage Culture Art Death Danielle Spencer

Danielle Spencer, best known for her role as the sassy pre-teen Dee Thomas on the groundbreaking sitcom What’s Happening!!, has died at the age of 60. Spencer passed away on August 11, 2025, at a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, her former co-star Haywood Nelson confirmed. Nelson shared the news on Instagram, remembering her as “brilliant” ...

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