- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
Lebanon crisis mutes national music conservatory
At Lebanon's national music conservatory, pianos collect dust and classrooms sit empty, making the institution another casualty of an economic collapse that has crippled the public sector and hampered education.
Toufic Kerbage, 65, watched the value of his pay packet and pension evaporate after the Lebanese economy began melting down in 2019, taking the local currency and people's savings with it.
Without family support "I would have starved," said the music teacher, who began working at the conservatory in the late 1980s.
"It's difficult at my age to ask for money", he said from the silence of the conservatory's branch in Sin al-Fil, a suburb of the capital Beirut.
Once on a comfortable income, Kerbage now earns around $70 a month, in a country the World Bank says suffers the highest food price inflation globally.
He has been teaching his classes online, battling Lebanon's "disastrous" internet and spending more than he earns on a generator subscription to get through hours-long daily power cuts.
The state-run conservatory, with several thousand mostly school-aged students and 17 branches around the country, counts prestigious musicians like the composer and oud player Marcel Khalife among its alumni.
But as the economic crisis grinds on, some teachers have quit. Many others have turned to online classes to save on travel costs or teach private lessons on the side to make ends meet.
Kerbage said he was "worried" about colleagues without a support network.
- 'Musical revolution' -
Taking matters into their own hands, a group of teachers and students have been holding independent concerts to highlight their plight and give musicians a chance to support each other and perform.
"I am here today to stand with my colleagues who are not happy with the way we are treated," said concert organiser Ghada Ghanem, who is also a teacher and soprano.
Some teachers have moved house or "sold their cars" to survive, added Ghanem, herself a conservatory student during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
The shows' proceeds will be invested into creating further performance opportunities or distributed among those involved, she said, calling the initiative a "musical revolution".
"Let's fix our problems with our own talent," Ghanem said recently from a darkened Beirut theatre before a recent show -- the second in a planned series.
"Depression will attack us if we sit and do nothing."
Matthew Ata, 10, said he was "a bit nervous" about his debut concert performance.
Despite starting with the conservatory two years ago, he only met his guitar teacher for the first time at the show.
"We really hope that things will get better" and in-person classes will resume, said Matthew's mother, Rita Jabbour.
Some students said the protracted online teaching and disruptions had left them feeling discouraged.
Software engineer Aline Chalvarjian, 33, who studies oud and lyric singing, said she had "lost motivation".
The conservatory used to be "like a second home", she said. Now, "we feel that we are left behind".
- 'First' pay boost -
Like other public sector workers throughout the crisis, conservatory staff have taken strike action to demand their rights are respected, with the head of the conservatory teachers' league sacked in January after organising protests.
In recent months, teacher strikes at Lebanon's public schools have paralysed the education sector.
Soprano Hiba al-Kawas, who last year became the first woman to head the conservatory, said she had worked day and night to improve the situation, but political deadlock has stymied progress.
Lebanon's entrenched political elite, widely blamed for the country's crisis, has failed to take action to stem the three-year economic collapse.
As sectarian barons bicker over who should be the country's next leader, the presidency has remained vacant since October 31, while a caretaker government with limited powers has been at the helm of the bankrupt state for almost a year.
Despite the obstacles, Kawas said she had managed to secure pay increases that should allow a return to in-person teaching.
A teacher who was paid 30,000 Lebanese pounds per hour -- $0.50 based on an exchange rate used for public sector salaries -- would earn 300,000 once the wage hike takes effect, she said.
It is "just a first step", Kawas added. Teacher Kerbage expressed optimism at the new regime, which he said should push his monthly earnings into the hundreds of dollars.
"Anything" would be welcome, he said.
"I would be able to pay for my fuel, for my electricity, and for some food -- that's a lot."
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN