The buildings of Beirut may have been reduced to rubble, but the spirit of its people cannot be broken, one of the city's most renowned designers has vowed.
Elie Saab shared an optimistic message as he revealed the damage caused to his atelier in the Lebanese capital by the August 4 explosion.
The blast at Beirut's port, which has claimed more than 170 lives and left thousands more injured and homeless, ravaged the couturier's offices and personal home.
"I saw my son covered in blood; I could not believe it. I said OK, he is wounded, but it was OK, it was just cuts to his head and arms," Saab told Reuters this week, recalling the moment a vast stock of ammonium nitrate detonated.
"But it was 15 minutes that felt like two days long. It was not just because it is a father and son thing, it was because we all work together like one family under one roof."
Saab, who has dressed the likes of Halle Berry, Beyonce and Angelina Jolie in his ethereal creations, has 200 staff members working at his headquarters.
His home, a few hundred metres from the city's port, was completely destroyed.
The designer, 56, told Reuters the blast brought back memories of Lebanon's civil war.
"It was the same smell, the same dust, the broken glass. Honestly, we did not want to relive this and it was not necessary," he said.
"This is a huge setback but we have to be like Beirut – every time dusting itself off and returning to the way it was."
Saab, who founded his eponymous label in 1982, said his team hope to resume work at the brand's office this week, but his home will have to be rebuilt.
"We must go on ... It does not become us as Lebanese to give up. That is the doable part. But the biggest loss is the people you can't bring back."
The designer is one of a number of Beiruti couturiers whose ateliers were destroyed by the explosion.
Zuhair Murad's 11-storey office was devastated, claiming the designer's archives and collections.
The eponymous label, founded in 1997, was located on Charles Helou Avenue. Murad shared a look inside the devastated premises on his personal Instagram account, as he revealed his "heart is broken".
"Can’t stop crying ... the efforts of years went in a moment. Thank God for everything."
Design duo Azzi & Osta's atelier was ripped open by the blast, leaving the building's facade with gaping holes.
Couturier Rabih Kayrouz, meanwhile, suffered a small brain haemorrhage and two clots as a result of the blast, as well as needing 22 stitches.
Kayrouz's atelier was fewer than 900 metres from the site of the blast.
"Words are not enough. We will not forget. We will judge. We will rebuild ... And we will dance," the designer wrote in a poignant social media post following the disaster.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
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Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7
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