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Middle East/Culture

 2 min read

Culture
Nadim Cherfan (C) poses with performance group Mayyas at "America's Got Talent" Season 17 Live Show at Sheraton Pasadena Hotel in Pasadena, California, September 13, 2022.

Lebanese rejoice after Mayyas win 'America's Got Talent'

All-women group's win brings joy and pride to crisis-hit Mediterranean country

 2 min read

Culture
Members of a Saudi Bedouin tribe herd their camels, a tradition upheld for generations, despite scorching temperatures in northern Saudi Arabia's Al Nufud Al Kabir desert, on July 27, 2021.

Hundreds of ‘desert kites’ discovered in Saudi desert

The oldest are dating back to 8,000 BC

 3 min read

Culture
US actress Julianne Moore (C) behind a poster showing jailed Iranian director Jafar Panahi during the 79th Venice International Film Festival at Lido di Venezia in Venice, Italy, on September 9, 2022.

Jailed Iranian filmmaker, Jafar Panahi, competes in Venice Film Festival

Panahi and two other filmmakers were imprisoned in July as part of Iran's latest crackdown on civil society

 3 min read

Culture
Tunisian calligrapher Mohamed Kilani Tbib, also known as Inkman, shows the sketches that he drew for the creation of the new dressing of the Guerlain perfume, at his studio in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, on August 25, 2022.

Tunisian artist blends inspirations into calligraffiti

Mohamed Kilani Tbib, known as Inkman, was inspired to drop out of business school and study graphic design

 2 min read

Culture
The Netflix logo is displayed at Netflix's Los Angeles headquarters on October 7, 2021 in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Gulf states warn Netflix over content that 'contradicts' Islam

'The platform was contacted to remove this content, including content directed to children'

 3 min read

Culture
Silos in the north block of the Beirut Port, days after a smaller part fell following a weekslong fire of fermented gain ignited by the scorching summer heat in Beirut, Lebanon, Augusts 3, 2022.

Beirut blast documentary premieres in the UAE Metaverse

'The people affected by the blast are still the same. They only painted and restored their houses'

 2 min read

Culture
An Emirati woman uses her phone to take a picture as women in bathing suits walk past along a beach in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai, UAE, on June 25, 2020.

Dubai: More Emiratis turning to cosmetic procedures

Lip fillers, Liposuction, micro-needling and Botox the most popular options this year

 3 min read

Culture
A visitor looks at artworks of the American artist Frank Stella, 'Sinjerli Variations No. 1-5- 1977,' at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran, Iran, on August 2, 2022.

Tehran unveils Western art masterpieces hidden for decades

'Even in the West, these works are at the heart of discussions and dialogue'

 2 min read

Culture
Boys enjoy riding camels at the Arabian Desert Camel Riding Centre during World Camel Day, at Marmoom suberb of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

Emirati camel riding school preserving Arab heritage

The first licensed camel riding school in the Emirates aims to introduce the sport to locals and tourists

 3 min read

Culture
A painting by the British graffiti artist Banksy that was mysteriously transferred from the West Bank is revealed in the Urban Gallery in Tel Aviv, Israel, on August 4, 2022.

Banksy painting made in West Bank resurfaces in Tel Aviv

'This is theft... These were paintings by an international artist for Bethlehem, for Palestine'

 3 min read

Culture
Camels are showcased in a parade during the sixth edition of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in the Rumah region, Saudi Arabia, on January 8, 2022.

Saudi Arabia hosts meeting on camel protection

'We don’t want somebody to… compromise the animal’s health but also the integrity of the competition'

 3 min read

Culture
Mashael al-Shuwaihan, who sits on the board of Kuwait's Women's Cultural Society, at a protest outside of the National Assembly in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on February 7, 2022.

Divorce rate rising in the Arab world, study finds

'Women now are independent. They are educated, they have some power, they have some demands'

 3 min read

Culture
Actors are pictured in the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, on July 14, 2022, during the filming of 'Home Operation.'

Former IS stronghold in Syria hosts new Jackie Chan film

'Home Operation' is inspired by China's 2015 evacuation of Chinese and other foreign citizens from Yemen

 2 min read

Culture
Muslims offer Eid al-Adha prayers in Mumbai, India, on July 10, 2022.

Ukraine war leaves some celebrating Eid al-Adha empty-handed

'God only knows if I will be celebrating Eid or not,' says one Tunisian citizen shopping for the holiday

 3 min read

Culture
A man walks through one of the huge doors during a visit to the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul, on July 10, 2020.

Heavy machinery cracks marble floors in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia - report

Concerns have been raised about the preservation of UNESCO site since it was turned back into a mosque

 3 min read

Culture
Palestinian workers excavate a newly discovered Roman cemetery containing ornately decorated graves, in Beit Lahia of the northern Gaza Strip, on February 20, 2022.

Gaza construction site findings unveil rich archaeological heritage

The first excavations permitted the identification of about 40 tombs dating from the ancient Roman period

 4 min read

Culture
A host holds a Michelin star during a ceremony revealing the 2022 selection of the Michelin Guide Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on June 21, 2022.

Dubai restaurants earn Middle East's first Michelin stars

Dubai's 90 percent expat population created an 'epicurean kaleidoscope' in the desert city

 2 min read

Culture
A Nineveh Plain Protection Units, or NPU, fighter checks items left in a shooting range used by Islamic State militants in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, east of Mosul, Iraq, November 12, 2016.

Iraq rebuilds heritage after destruction by Islamic State

Ancient biblical city of Nineveh being restored after two decades of war

 2 min read

Culture
Statue in Israel commemorating the Farhud massacre of Iraqi Jews.

Remembering Farhud pogrom against Iraqi Jews 81 years ago

More than 100 Jews were killed during two days of mob violence in Baghdad

 2 min read

Culture
President-Director of the Louvre Jean-Luc Martinez delivering a speech in Paris on March 10, 2016.

Former Louvre director charged with trafficking Egyptian antiques

Investigators suspect Egypt’s artifacts were pillaged during the Arab Spring

 2 min read

Culture
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman stand next to the dedication plaque at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Wednesday, March 21, 2019. Jim Young/ AP

Mike Pompeo and David Friedman film Bible documentary in Israel

Upcoming film is titled Route 60: The biblical highway

 3 min read

Culture
TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office on in Culver City, California, on August 27, 2020.

Egypt releases three detained over satirical TikTok song

Rights groups estimate that some 60,000 political prisoners are being held in Egypt

 3 min read

Culture
In this July 16, 2019 photo, a visitor looks at antiquities displayed at the historical Pasha Palace, run by Gaza's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in Gaza City.

Ancient 4,500-year-old stone statuette found in Gaza

Reda says that 'The statue represents the Canaanite goddess Anat'

 3 min read

Culture
An Afghan youth plays the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds mobile game on his phone at a park in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 21, 2022.

Taliban orders TikTok, PUBG ban in entertainment crackdown

Taliban claims that the apps 'made the young generation go astray'