This is Beirut

Tradition, Temperature, and the Parisian Home: The A/C Dilemma

This is Beirut, 09/08 10:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Climate A/C Health Climate Change France Culture

As summer temperatures rise, many Parisians are warming to the idea of installing air conditioning in their apartments, ending a longstanding resistance to what is considered a basic comfort in many capitals elsewhere. Although commonplace in the French capital's modern office buildings and large stores, air conditioning has never been the norm ...

Marchand Wins Dominant 400m Medley World Title

This is Beirut, 03/08 15:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

France

France's Leon Marchand cruised to a dominant world 400m individual medley world title on Sunday to claim his second gold of the competition in Singapore. Marchand touched the wall in 4min 04.73sec, more than three seconds ahead of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita (4:08.32), with Russian Ilia Borodin (4:09.16) third. The French superstar put his ...

UK Launches New Facility in Hamat to Support Lebanese Army

This is Beirut, 01/08 17:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Kingdom Hamat Lebanese Army Lebanese Army Day Lebanon France

British Chargé d’Affaires Victoria Dunne inaugurated a new accommodation facility in Hamat on Friday, marking the 80th Lebanese Army Day. According to a statement issued by the British Embassy, “the project, funded by the UK Ministry of Defense, supports ongoing British training for various units of the Lebanese Armed Forces, including ...

Pop Memorabilia: Glittery Michael Jackson Sock Fetches $8,822 at French Auction

This is Beirut, 30/07 22:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Music Michael Jackson Auction Legend France Culture

A single glittery sock that late pop superstar Michael Jackson wore during a concert in France in the 1990s sold for more than $8,000 on Wednesday, a French auctioneer said. A technician found the used sock discarded near Jackson's dressing room after the concert in the southern city of Nimes in July 1997, auctioneer Aurore Illy told AFP. The ...

Overtaxed, Ryanair Pulls Out of Three French Cities

This is Beirut, 30/07 15:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Ryanair France Taxes Airline

Following a sharp rise in France’s airline ticket tax – from €2.63 to €7.40 – Ryanair is cancelling 25 routes this winter, including from Brive, Bergerac and Strasbourg. The airline warns that the tax hike threatens regional airports’ competitiveness, 750,000 seats, tourism and local jobs. Unless Paris reverses what Ryanair calls a ...

Germany, France, Britain Considering Sending FMs to Israel

This is Beirut, 29/07 16:17 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Gaza France Berlin Germany

Germany, France and Britain are considering sending their foreign ministers to Israel next week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday, as international pressure mounts over Gaza's dire humanitarian crisis. "We will probably ask the three foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom and Germany to travel to Israel together ...

UNIFIL Mandate Shift Could Ignite Region: Will the US Push Back on Israeli Demands?

Philippe Abi-Akl, 29/07 08:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

United Nations Israel UNIFIL USA France

One month separates Lebanon from a critical juncture, one of the most sensitive in its modern history. At the end of August, the United Nations Security Council will decide whether to renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. The decision could either reaffirm the mission’s role or mark its ...

US Dismisses UN Israel-Palestinian Conference as 'Publicity Stunt'

This is Beirut, 28/07 21:06 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

France Palestinian Statehood Two-State Solution Israel United Nations Saudi Arabia

The United States on Monday dismissed a French-Saudi-sponsored conference at the United Nations on promoting a two-state solution to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis as a "stunt." The US State Department labeled the three-day event "unproductive and ill-timed," as well as a "publicity stunt" that would ...

Telegram's Durov Questioned in France over Alleged Illegal Content on App

This is Beirut, 28/07 18:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Telegram Pavel Durov France

Telegram founder Pavel Durov faced questioning by investigating magistrates in Paris on Monday about the platform's alleged complicity in criminal activity, sources close to the case said. Durov, 40, was sensationally detained in Paris in 2024 and is under formal investigation by French authorities over illegal content on his popular messaging ...

French Prosecutors Seek New Assad Arrest Warrant

This is Beirut, 28/07 14:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Syria Confict France

French prosecutors said Monday they have requested a new arrest warrant against Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad over a deadly 2013 chemical attacks after a previous one was cancelled. It is now up to investigating magistrates to decide whether to issue the new warrant. French investigators have since 2021 been looking into a suspected ...

US Criticizes French Release of Jailed Georges Abdallah

This is Beirut, 26/07 19:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United States Georges Abdallah France

The United States on Saturday criticized the release from a French prison of pro-Palestinian Lebanese Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who spent more than 40 years behind bars for the killings of two diplomats, one of them American. Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military ...

Macron Calls for Preventing Renewed Violence after Talks with Syria's al-Sharaa

This is Beirut, 26/07 18:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Emmanuel Macron Ahmad al-Sharaa France Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday it was “imperative to prevent a recurrence of violence” in Syria, calling for those responsible for recent unrest to be held accountable, following talks with Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa. “The recent violence in Syria highlights the extreme fragility of the transition. Civilian ...