Culture – War Watch

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Marwan Barghouti, ‘Palestine’s Mandela’, to publish book from prison
ByEmma Loffhagen February 3, 2026

Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine is a collection of writings by the Palestinian political leader, who has been held in Israeli prisons since 2002A collection of writings by the imprisoned Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti will …

Read More Marwan Barghouti, ‘Palestine’s Mandela’, to publish book from prison
Archaeology | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Gaza | Heritage | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | West Bank | World news

‘A violation of our history’: Palestinian uproar over Israel’s plan to seize historic West Bank site
ByJason Burke and Sufian Taha in Sebastia February 2, 2026

Residents of Sebastia say heritage project is pretext for massive land grab and expansion of Jewish settlementsThe Byzantine-era church lies half hidden in the shade. Roman columns rise from among the olive trees, even older ruins linked to Israelite k…

Read More ‘A violation of our history’: Palestinian uproar over Israel’s plan to seize historic West Bank site
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Belgium | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Documentary films | Donald Trump | Europe | Film | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Kurds | Middle East and north Africa | Migration | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

Hold on to Her review – horrific death of a two-year-old puts immigration crackdown in spotlight
ByPhil Hoad February 2, 2026

Robin Vanbiesen’s documentary uses the killing of Mawda Shawri in Belgium as the starting point to explore the dehumanising machinery of border policyHere is an insightful but perhaps over oblique Belgian documentary that sets itself an ambitious goal:…

Read More Hold on to Her review – horrific death of a two-year-old puts immigration crackdown in spotlight
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Film | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Iraq | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

‘Yes, they would execute a child’: the film about a girl who has to bake a birthday cake for Saddam Hussein
ByCath Clarke February 2, 2026

Warm, funny and heartbreaking, The President’s Cake tells the story of a brutal ruler and a girl forced to make him a present in a time of sanctions-induced hardship. Its Iraqi director Hasan Hadi remembers his own fearful childhoodThere were no cinema…

Read More ‘Yes, they would execute a child’: the film about a girl who has to bake a birthday cake for Saddam Hussein
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Documentary films | Donald Trump | Film | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Lebanon | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

Do You Love Me review – exhilarating documentary is ode to the collective courage of Lebanese people
ByPhuong Le February 2, 2026

In this freewheeling film Lana Daher draws from more than 20,000 hours of archival footage to channel the resilient spirit of BeirutAs freewheeling as a travelogue, Lana Daher’s mercurial documentary eschews talking heads and voiceover, drawing instead…

Read More Do You Love Me review – exhilarating documentary is ode to the collective courage of Lebanese people
Art and design | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Europe | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Photography | World news

The week around the world in 20 pictures
ByJim Powell January 30, 2026

ICE in Minneapolis, Russian airstrikes in Kyiv, Alex Honnold climbing a Taipei skyscraper and Sabalenka at the Australian Open – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures
Afghanistan | Africa | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Cate Blanchett | Culture | Donald Trump | Drama films | Europe | Festivals | Film | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Migration | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Rotterdam film festival | Short films | Somalia | South and central Asia | Syria | Ukraine | World news

Displacement Film Fund review – Cate Blanchett masterminds short film collection that brims with life and intensity
ByPeter Bradshaw January 30, 2026

Rotterdam film festivalA set of shorts by film-makers from Afghanistan, Iran, Ukraine, Syria and Somalia are shocking, funny and mysterious in equal measureWith considerable chutzpah and elan, and in her capacity as producer and UNHCR Goodwill ambassad…

Read More Displacement Film Fund review – Cate Blanchett masterminds short film collection that brims with life and intensity
Art and design | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Europe | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Photography | World news

The week around the world in 20 pictures
ByJim Powell and Hannah Cauhépé January 23, 2026

ICE in Minneapolis, Russian airstrikes in Kyiv, protests in Greenland and the Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalistsWarning: this gallery contains images some readers may find dist…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Film | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Jafar Panahi | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

Khamenei regime will not be able to keep control of Iran, says dissenting film-maker
ByPhilip Oltermann European culture editor January 16, 2026

Jafar Panahi, director of Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident, says Iranian leaders want to destroy countryThe Khamenei regime will not be able to maintain control over Iranian society after the violent suppression of the latest wave of protests,…

Read More Khamenei regime will not be able to keep control of Iran, says dissenting film-maker
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Film | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza war | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

‘It felt like she was asking me to save her’: the film based on a five-year-old Palestinian girl’s dying pleas
ByJulian Borger January 7, 2026

The Voice of Hind Rajab has stunned audiences with its use of the real-life audio of a girl’s call for help after her family’s car was attacked by an Israeli tank in Gaza. Its director explains why she had to tell Hind’s tragic storyWhen Kaouther Ben H…

Read More ‘It felt like she was asking me to save her’: the film based on a five-year-old Palestinian girl’s dying pleas