Entertainment

Lebanon hopes UNESCO danger listing could save Trpoli’s modernist fairground

Its arch is cracking and its vast pavilions lie empty, but the crubling Rachid Karami International Fair in Lebanon’s port city Tripoli now has hope of revival, having been added to the United Nations’ list of world heritage sites in danger.
Designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, the collection of structures on the 70-hectare plot is considered one of the key works of 20th century modernism in the Middle East.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
But the fair park has slowly decayed due to repeated rounds of fighting over the last 60 years, poor maintenance and most recent-ly Lebanon’s crippling, three-year-old financial crisis.
“It was placed on the World Heritage List exceptionally, quickly and urgently –- and on the list of heritage in danger because it’s in a critical situation,” said Joseph Kreidi, UNESCO’s national pro-gram officer for culture in Beirut.
Its elegant arch is missing concrete in some parts, exposing the rebar underneath. Rainwater has pooled at the locked
entrances. One section is sealed off by a sign that reads, “Unsafe building entry.”
“Placing it on the World Heritage Danger List is an appeal to all countries of the world, as if to say: this site needs some care,” said Kreidi.
He said it was up to the Lebanese authorities to draw together a plan for the site’s protection and rehabilitation but that UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural agency, could help search for funding and provide technical expertise.
Lebanon has five other sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, most of them citadels and ancient temples.
Niemeyer is recognized as one of the fathers of modern architeture and the site in Tripoli was an early foray into the Middle East.
Construction of the fairground began in the 1960s but was delayed when civil war erupted in Lebanon in 1975. Fighters used the site to stage operations and stored weapons underneath its concrete dome.
Mira Minkara, a freelance tour guide from Tripoli and a member of the Oscar Niemeyer Foundation’s Tripoli chapter, has fond — but rare –- memories of the fairground as a child.
For the most part, it was off-limits to Tripoli’s residents given safety concerns. But Minkara remembered her first visit during a festival of pan-African culture and crafts.
She hopes that UNESCO’s recognition could bring new festivals, exhibitions, and economic benefits to Tripoli –- already one of the poorest cities on the Mediterranean before Lebanon’s financial meltdown began.
Lebanon’s cultural heritage has been hit hard in recent years. The 2020 Beirut port blast tore through 19th-century homes in historic neighborhoods and power outages caused by the financial crisis have cut supplies to the national museum.
“We hope things change a little,” Minkara said. “It’s high time for this fairground to emerge from this long sleep, this almost-death.”

Read more:

Entertainment

Reese Witherspoon, husband Jim Toth make ‘difficult decision to divorce’

Oscar-winning actor and producer Reese Witherspoon and her talent agent husband Jim Toth said on Friday they had made the “difficult decision to divorce.”

The pair tied the knot in March 2011 at Witherspoon’s ranch in Ojai, California, northwest of Los Angeles. In September 2012, the couple welcomed a baby boy named Tennessee James.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness, and mutual respect for everything we have created together,” the couple said in a joint statement posted on Witherspoon’s Instagram account.

“Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter.”

Witherspoon has two older children – daughter Ava and son Deacon with first husband Ryan Phillippe. The couple divorced in 2007.

Witherspoon, 47, who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, won an best actress Oscar for her work on 2005 country music film “Walk the Line.” She has also produced several films and television shows including “Big Little Lies” and “The Morning Show.”

BBC halts ‘Top Gear’ filming after presenter Flintoff’s December crash

Domestic abuse charges against 'Rick and Morty' creator dropped

Entertainment

Gwyneth Paltrow testifies she was struck from behind in ski collision

Oscar-winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow took the stand on Friday to testify that she was not at fault for a 2016 ski slope collision in Utah that left a man with a concussion and broken ribs, contradicting testimony from the lone witness to the incident.

Paltrow, 50, said during cross examination that she was skiing with her two children, and said that in fact she was struck by Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist who filed a lawsuit seeking more than $300,000 in damages over the incident at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

In court papers, Sanderson said he suffered “permanent traumatic brain injury” as a result of the collision. He initially had sought $3.1 million in damages.

“I was skiing and two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart, and then there was a body pressing against me and there was a very strange grunting noise,” Paltrow said.

Paltrow said that is when they both fell to the ground with Paltrow on top of Sanderson, in a heap of skis and limbs.

Paltrow has filed a counter claim in Summit County District Court seeking a symbolic $1 in damages and lawyer fees.

Paltrow, who is also known for her Goop lifestyle brand, called into question prior testimony from Craig Ramon, a friend of Sanderson’s who said he heard a scream before he saw Paltrow crash into the retired optometrist.

Paltrow denied the accusation, claiming that Ramon was 40 feet away and unable to discern who was at fault.

Paltrow also refuted claims by Sanderson that she had skied off and ignored rules to share contact information with another party after an accident.

A Deer Valley Resort staff member, who was providing Paltrow and her family lessons and did not see the collision, stayed behind to provide contact information to Sanderson, she said.

The instructor, Eric Christiansen, is expected to testify next week.

Paltrow, who said she was upset and cursed at Sanderson after the collision, said she did not ski off until after Sanderson told Christiansen that he was fine.

“I did not cause the accident, so I cannot be at fault for anything that subsequently happened to him,” Paltrow said.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow to stand trial for ski crash in upscale Utah resort

Entertainment

Cambodian man lands ‘airplane’ house in rice field

A Cambodian airplane fanatic has built his house shaped like a private jet – despite never having been up in the air himself.

Construction worker Chrach Peou spent his $20,000 life savings building the concrete “plane” – complete with wings, tailfin, landing gear and engines – near the town of Siem Reap, gateway to the famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The 43-year-old widowed father of three said it took him almost a year to build, using money he had saved over 30 years.

“This is my dream since I was young, so I am happy I could achieve my goal,” Peou said.

The house, which has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, stands elevated on pillars six meters above a rice field.

“We can live here, sleep here, use bathrooms here, and have meals here like on a plane. It is my own, I am so happy,” Peou told AFP.

He said he designed the house after watching countless videos of private jets on the internet.

He charges people 50 cents to $1 to visit and take selfies by the house.

“It is beautiful, attractive, there are palm trees nearby,” Kim Muoy, 28, told AFP during a visit to the airplane house with her family.

But Peou dreams of flying for real one day.

“When I have money and know where I want to go to, I will take a plane to go there,” he said.