BEIRUT: A year ago in these pages I wrote of the necessity for the Al-Bustan Festival of Music and Arts to go ahead despite the murder of Rafik Hariri and the...
BEIRUT: She studied at the American University of Beirut and now Pritzker Prize-winning Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid is to build an institute on her old alma...
BEIRUT: Nearly all of us who live in Lebanon have our favorite man'oushe joint and a tale to tell about it. Mine happens to be the Nazareth bakery on the...
Book Review BEIRUT: If it is true to say that Lebanon by vocation is a merchant republic, then the nation's merchant prince was undoubtedly the late Rafiq...
BEIRUT: Rabih Abou Khalil has been making music for a long time now. With 13 albums to his name on the European free jazz label Enja of not just jazz, but...
BEIRUT: It was the late, great Nigerian king of afro-beat Fela Kuti who said famously before his death that music is the weapon of the future. He meant...
BEIRUT: If you're one of those people who haven't already boo-ked your place for Thursday night's concert at Beirut's Music Hall you had better move quickly....
Book review BEIRUT: Mark LeVine is nothing if not persuasive. In his new book "Why They Don't Hate Us: Lifting The Veil On The Axis Of Evil" published by One...
BEIRUT: The position of Culture Minister in Lebanon is not the most sought out of Cabinet posts. With one of the smallest budgets of all government...
PARIS: There is a common myth widely held in the Western world that says the Arabs are a desert people. It is a myth as false now as it was in the seventh...
LONDON: When it comes to music 2005 will most likely be remembered for Bob Geldof's Live 8 series of global concerts last July, which, for all their posturing...
MUSIC NOTEBOOK BEIRUT: Music festivals can be many things: powerful genre events like jazz, pop or rock-music shows such as the London Jazz Festival,...
BEIRUT: The 2nd Dubai International Film Festival, which ones from December 11 to17 cannot be accused of solely promoting new Hollywood movies. Though there...
BEIRUT: It may just be one of the worst films in Lebanese history. Mohammad Salman's 1973 kitsch cult classic, "Guitar El Hob," represents the end of an era...
BEIRUT: Phillip Aractingi makes no bones about it: "Bosta is a journey into the memory of Lebanon." Featuring a plethora of mainly unknown Lebanese actors...
BEIRUT: As Hollywood sets up to release its Christmas blockbusters featuring magic and fantasy and lots of cute kids - see Harry Potter and the Chronicles of...
BEIRUT: The controversial Syrian director Mohammad Malas won the Jury Prize for his film "Bab El Makan" and Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami won the "Prix...
BEIRUT: Perhaps it was not his night or perhaps it was the Beirut audience which was lacking. The French multi-instrumentalist Yann Tiersen live in concert...
BEIRUT: The next two days in Beirut see the launching of the latest of the capital's cultural forums and, thankfully, one not overloaded with too much...
Obituary BEIRUT: Moustafa Akkad, the Syrian-born American film director who helped spread understanding of Islam in the West through his films, died from a...
BEIRUT: "I want to make you come. I want to grab you and put you inside," says Lebanese contemporary artist Marya Kazoun in her new book "Personal Living...
BEIRUT: Most of those who attended Saturday night's Phil Collins gig at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure center had been waiting 25 years to...
BEIRUT: "You should know, my son, that in life, it is impossible to please everyone. So do not spend time worrying about what people think." So ancient Middle...
BEIRUT: In the end the Ormuz Festival of itinerant music at Beirut's Art Lounge on Tuesday night was a bit of a let down. Promoted as a concert featuring...
BEIRUT: In the Lebanon of today the city of Sidon is not often thought of as a cultural powerhouse. Despite its ancient fort on the sea front, the old souks,...