Art and entertainment

A picture shows a section of the external wall and towers of the Saladin Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Syria's Latakia province on March 7, 2023.

Culture

Syria advances cultural revival with nine new heritage listings

Nine heritage sites have been added to list of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which restored Syria’s membership last year after a 14-year suspension.

Vehicles move past a giant mural on the side of a building showing an image of the late Lebanese actress and singer Sabah (1927-2014) along Beirut's Hamra street on June 20, 2024.

Culture

Despite war, Lebanon reopens film archive celebrating cinematic history

The reopening marks a major effort to preserve Lebanon’s rich cinematic history.

A person walks past the closed Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center on Jan. 7, 2021, in New York City.

Why did the Met Opera lose its Saudi funding deal?

The deal, announced as a nonbinding memorandum of understanding last September, would have seen the PIF inject up to $200 million into the opera institution over the next eight years.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Culture

The weight of war: Erdal Duman’s sculptures probe politics of violence

Artist Erdal Duman's work titled "Whoever Owns the Tank Is Soleiman" takes a dig at power.

Culture

'Gesture of resistance': Gaza war and Iran repression in Oscars spotlight

An Oscar statue at the red carpet at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, March 9, 2024.

Culture

Turkish museums celebrate banner year for history, architecture, art

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Morocco’s next generation of writers fights for a place on the shelf

A customer browses books at a bookshop in the Moroccan capital Rabat on August 9, 2018. On the main arteries of old Rabat, dozens of itinerant booksellers offer books in French, Arabic, and sometimes in English, up to ten times cheaper than their originals. Despite being prohibited, the pirated-books market is largely tolerated in cities across the North African kingdom. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

A general view during the Red Sea International Film Festival 2024 on December 12, 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)

Culture

Saudi Arabia dreams of Hollywood as $150M epic 'Desert Warrior' debuts

Backed by government funding, the kingdom aims to become a global filmmaking hub with the $150 million epic 'Desert Warrior' and other high-profile productions.

A supporter of Sudanese football team al-Hilal Omdurman watches on a phone a stream of his team's CAF Champions League group stage match.

World's largest illegal sports streaming site shut down after Egypt arrests

Streameast, believed to be the world’s largest illegal sports streaming network, was taken down in August during a sting operation conducted by Egyptian authorities in collaboration with a US anti-piracy group.

Nadeen Ayoub

Culture

Meet Nadeen Ayoub, first Palestinian woman to compete for Miss Universe

The 27-year-old beauty queen, crowned Miss Palestine in 2022, will take the stage in Thailand this November, marking the first time Palestine is represented at the global competition since its founding in 1952.

Visitors at the first night of the International Falcon Breeders Auction 2025 in Malham city on Aug. 5, 2025.

Culture

Saudi Arabia’s falcon auction aims to spin tradition into tourism gold

Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify its economy and cultural tourism.

Analysis

Netflix teams up with MBC’s Shahid in Saudi Arabia: An end to streaming wars?

A new agreement between MBC Group and the US industry giant appears to signal a shift in the Middle East's streaming market, with top players opting for collaboration over competition.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Fayruz

Culture

In rare appearance, Fairuz mourns son Ziad Rahbani as Lebanon bids farewell

Legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz attended the funeral of her son, renowned composer and playwright, Ziad Rahbani, at a church in a town north of Beirut, in her first public appearance in years.

Protesters hold placards as they demonstrate against cartoonists of a satirical magazine following allegations that it had published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, outside Taksim mosque in Istanbul on July 1, 2025.

Turkey's Erdogan vows justice amid rage over alleged Prophet Muhammad cartoon

A controversial cartoon has sparked mass protests, arrests and threats against a leading Turkish satire magazine.

Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Oscar-winning Palestinian director freed from Israeli detention after night in custody

Hamdan Ballal, a co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land," was assaulted by Israeli settlers and later detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank as the Israeli army continues its raids in the Palestinian territory.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 02: (L-R) Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham accept the Documentary Feature Film award "No Other Land" onstage during the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 02, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Culture

Palestinian-Israeli documentary, Iranian film win at Oscars: What to know

Two films from the Middle East won Oscars at Sunday's Academy Awards, highlighting the growing reputation of the region's film industry at a time of ongoing tensions and crises.

A visitor looks at portraits of late Franco-Lebanese film director Maroun Baghdadi and pictures from his movies at the venue of an exhibition dedicated to his memory in Beirut on December 12, 2023, as Lebanon commemorates the 30th annivesary of his death in an accident at the age of 43. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Lebanon's resistance through culture: Return of Beirut’s Metropolis Cinema

As Beirut continues to navigate its path toward recovery, Metropolis Cinema stands as a symbol of the enduring power of art and culture to resist, unite and inspire.

(From L) Saudi actor Yaqoub Alfarhan, Saudi actress Maria Bahrawi and Saudi director and screenwriter Tawfik Alzaidi pose during a photocall for the film "Norah" at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 24, 2024.

Analysis

How Saudiwood’s power play is reshaping Middle East film industry

While the country's first entry at Cannes didn’t win, its inclusion in the festival was another step toward Saudi ambitions to become a film industry powerhouse.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Tabatha Fireman/Getty Images for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

UK music festival rocked by boycotts as artists shun Israel

The artists are refusing to play at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton, a seaside resort in South England, over one of the sponsors' ties to Israel.