This is Beirut

Mumbai’s Art Deco Heritage Faces Threats from Urban Modernization

This is Beirut, 22/12 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

A towering cinema with a roofline reminiscent of an ocean liner stands out in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, a testament to the city’s remarkable Art Deco heritage, which campaigners warn is in urgent need of protection. Just a short walk away lies a state-run insurance office adorned with Egyptian-style carvings, alongside a palm-lined ...

Pharrell Williams Becomes UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Education

This is Beirut, 18/12 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Culture Art UNESCO Singer Goodwill Paris

Pharrell Williams, global pop and fashion icon, was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for arts, education, and entrepreneurship during a ceremony held Tuesday at the United Nations organization’s headquarters in Paris. In an official statement, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's Director-General, praised Williams as a "complete artist" and a "humanist ...

Artists Abandon Abidjan for Ivory Coast’s Beachside Haven

This is Beirut, 09/12 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Art Culture UNESCO

Far from the hustle and chaos of Ivory Coast’s largest city, the tropical climate, sea air, and rich history of Grand-Bassam have made this sleepy, UNESCO-listed town a magnet for artists seeking inspiration and tranquility. Ibrahim Ketoure, an artist in his 30s, has opened his studio and gallery to fellow creatives, many of whom, like him, ...

UNESCO 'enhanced protection' for 34 Lebanon heritage sites

This is Beirut, 18/11 19:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Baalbeck Hezbollah Israel Unesco Tyre

Dozens of heritage sites in Lebanon were granted "provisional enhanced protection" by UNESCO on Monday, offering a higher level of legal shielding as fighting continues between Israel and Hezbollah militants. The 34 cultural properties affected "now benefit from the highest level of immunity against attack and use for military purposes", the ...

300 Experts Urge UNESCO to Protect Lebanon's Heritage

This is Beirut, 17/11 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Baalbeck Hezbollah Israel UNESCO

In a petition addressed to UNESCO, 300 cultural professionals, including archaeologists and academics, called on Sunday for the protection of Lebanon's heritage, particularly Baalbeck. Since September 23, Israel has been engaged in open warfare against Hezbollah, with strikes targeting the cities of Baalbeck (east) and Tyre (south), both of which ...

Moustapha Adib: “Lebanon’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites Are a Legacy for All Mankind”

Elie Valluy - Paris Correspondent, 14/11 19:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Baalbeck UNESCO Tyre Heritage Hezbollah Israel\

Lebanon's ambassador to UNESCO and Berlin, Moustapha Adib, spoke with This is Beirut about the upcoming special session organized by the UN on November 18 in Paris. The session will focus on enhancing protection for Lebanon's historic sites, which are being threatened by Israeli airstrikes. UNESCO announced on Thursday, November 7, that its ...

Another Historic Site Destroyed, UNESCO to Convene on November 18

This is Beirut, 09/11 12:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Baalbeck Nabatieh UNESCO

Another historic building was bombarded on Saturday in Nabatiyeh. The Israeli Army targeted a historic home, one of the oldest in the city, which belonged to the late MP Rafic Chahine. While the Israeli Army insists on launching raids against or close to historical sites, and following the Lebanese MP’s appeal to the international community ...

Parliamentarians Appeal to UNESCO to Protect Heritage Amid War

This is Beirut, 07/11 14:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Baalbeck UNESCO Tyre Saida heritage

In an urgent appeal to the international community, a group of Lebanese parliamentarians has called on UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to intervene and protect Lebanon’s cultural heritage sites, which are facing mounting threats due to the ongoing Israeli attacks and destruction. The MPs, led by Najat Saliba, delivered a message to ...

UNESCO Reports Surge in Killings of Journalists

This is Beirut, 02/11 15:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Journalism UNESCO Latin America

Worldwide killings of journalists jumped in 2022-23 compared with the previous two years, UN cultural body UNESCO said in a report Saturday, with almost all cases going unpunished. At 162 deaths, the number of journalists killed while working leaped 38 percent, the report found, calling the increase “alarming.” “In 2022 and ...

Archaeological Heritage: Open Letter from the Baalbeck International Festival

This is Beirut, 01/11 10:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Baalbeck Heritage Lebanon Culture Unesco

We urgently appeal to the heads of diplomatic missions, international organizations, heritage specialists, and all influential stakeholders to intervene and halt the relentless assaults on the city of Baalbeck and its archaeological complex, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. Recent aggressions near the Acropolis have inflicted ...

The Ancient City of Baalbeck Under Israeli Fire

This is Beirut, 30/10 15:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Baalbeck israel heritage UNESCO

Israeli warplanes carried out more than 20 raids targeting the ancient city of Baalbeck within a period of half an hour on Monday afternoon, coinciding with Naim Qassem’s first address as Hezbollah’s new secretary general, succeeding the group’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. Ahead of the raids, an evacuation order issued by ...

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