News

Global Watchdog Flags Multiple Safety Issues At Beirut Airport

Concerns raised relating to air-traffic control must be urgently addressed, says the report.

Published

3 years ago

August 18, 2023

global watchdog flags multiple safety issues at beirut airport

An inspection of the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut has revealed inadequate safety measures, many of which require urgent action.

The report, carried out by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), highlights issues concerning in-air navigation services (ANS) that must be addressed with “utmost urgency”. The problem areas include air-traffic control, navigation, communication, and meteorological services.

ICAO conducts regular audits on the air infrastructure of member states to assess their capability to maintain adequate safety systems.

As a signatory to the Chicago Convention, Lebanon must comply with any prescribed ICAO standards and recommended best practices.

In the event of an immediate safety concern, ICAO can “red flag” a country over any breach of international aviation regulations. Bhutan, Russia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are examples of such states.

While the governments of red-flagged countries are not legally obliged to make changes after a negative audit, the results serve as a warning to inbound airlines and travelers from other nations. In extreme cases, authorities may ban flights originating from offending countries from entering their airspace.

According to the audit, “ATC staff shortage is a serious safety issue for the Beirut Airport, which could have critical repercussions for aviation in Lebanon”.

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The report stressed it was of “crucial importance” for Lebanon’s civil aviation authorities to begin the “recruitment and retention of appropriately qualified and experienced ATS staff” as “a matter of utmost urgency”.

Another major concern related to an absence of procedures to keep obstacle registries up to date and to verify the functionality of navigation systems. “Lebanon shall ensure that identified safety issues are resolved in a timely manner,” the report demanded.

The lack of air-traffic controllers has long been an issue for Lebanon but has intensified due to the country’s severe economic crisis. The national currency has now lost 97% of its value, pushing 80% of the population below the poverty line.

News

Instagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”

Instagram’s first wordmark refresh in a decade arrives with new fonts, a restrained gradient — and a Reddit verdict of sidegrade.

Published

4 days ago

August 14, 2026

Nour Nasir

Instagram

Although Instagram’s famous camera icon hasn’t changed, the company has refreshed the handwritten wordmark at the top of its app. This is the first redesign we’ve seen in ten years, and one the internet promptly set about renaming.

“The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, so it was time for a refresh,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote in a post on August 13, describing the new version as “cleaner and more modern” while keeping references to the original design.

Instagram says its team explored hundreds of options — all-caps lettering, camera-inspired concepts, even literal handwriting — before returning to script. “Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right,” Instagram director of product design Jasmine Probst said in Meta’s announcement. “The new wordmark is bolder and simpler, with touches of unexpectedness. It cues individual expression, a personal voice, both of which have always been core to Instagram”.

The wordmark is part of a broader brand overhaul: an updated Instagram Sans typeface, two new fonts — the hand-drawn Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono — plus refreshed motion and layouts, and more restrained use of the signature gradient. The wordmark is rolling out globally now, with the rest arriving throughout 2026 and beyond.

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The design mixes cursive and print lettering, some characters connected and others floating free. That hybrid approach, combined with unusually shaped “s” and “r” characters, led some users to conclude the logo actually reads “Instagzam”. On the r/logodesign subreddit, one user said the wordmark looked “fan-made,” like something built in Canva; another called it “an unsettling mix of manuscript and cursive”; a third summarized it as a “sidegrade” — or, inevitably, a “zidegrade”.

Not everyone was hostile to the new look. Some found the half-cursive design stylish and surprisingly readable, while others called it an improvement on its predecessor, and one commenter argued Instagram was simply adopting minimalist branding later than everyone else. Either way, the platform now has a refreshed identity, three updated fonts, and an unofficial new pronunciation.