Culture – War Watch

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Galilee String Quartet review – Palestinian ensemble improvise their signature east-west blend
ByAlexandra Coghlan May 4, 2026

Milton Court, LondonThe four siblings start with Webern before ditching traditional instruments for mics, voices, percussion and oud‘We’ve done many concerts, but this is the first time I’m stressed,” the first violin confesses with a grin, lowering hi…

Read More Galilee String Quartet review – Palestinian ensemble improvise their signature east-west blend
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 | UK news | US news | World news

The week around the world in 20 pictures
ByJim Powell April 24, 2026

Crisis in the Middle East, Russian strikes in Dnipro, blackouts in Karachi and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures
Art and design | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Europe | Gaza | Human rights | International Criminal Court | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Italy | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Russia | Ukraine | Venice Biennale | World news

Venice Biennale jury ‘will not award artists from countries facing war crimes charges’
ByAngela Giuffrida in Rome April 24, 2026April 24, 2026

Statement, apparently aimed at Russia and Israel, makes clear it is committed to the defence of human rightsThe jury of the Venice Biennale has said it would not give awards to artists from countries whose leaders are facing charges of crimes against h…

Read More Venice Biennale jury ‘will not award artists from countries facing war crimes charges’
Art | Art and design | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Exhibitions | Gaza | Installation | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Lebanon | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | Photography | World news

‘We’re attached to this land like a tree is rooted in soil’: unexpectedly timely exhibition speaks up for the people of south Lebanon
ByYassin El-Moudden April 23, 2026

While the population of southern Lebanon have sometimes felt abandoned by their own state, a show in London told their stories and celebrated their resistanceIn one room of London’s Palestine House, a large screen plays looped news footage from souther…

Read More ‘We’re attached to this land like a tree is rooted in soil’: unexpectedly timely exhibition speaks up for the people of south Lebanon
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Gaza | Holocaust | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza war | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices

What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’
ByAaron Gell April 21, 2026

In his new book, Omer Bartov tracks how a liberatory strand of Zionism transformed into an extremist ideology that he sees as responsible for genocide in GazaFormer Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, when asked to explain the apparent about-face that…

Read More What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | CIA | Culture | Documentary films | Donald Trump | Espionage | Film | Gaza | Germany | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | US news | Wine | World news

‘We wasted a lot of lives’: CIA spymaster’s caution over past Iran intervention resurfaces from beyond the grave
ByPhilip Oltermann European culture editor April 20, 2026

A documentary about Peter Sichel – the ‘Jewish James Bond’ who died in 2025 – includes striking mea culpas about the cost and efficacy of US involvement in the Middle EastIn New York social circles, he was known as the “Jewish James Bond”: a refugee fr…

Read More ‘We wasted a lot of lives’: CIA spymaster’s caution over past Iran intervention resurfaces from beyond the grave
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Culture | Donald Trump | Environment | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Japan | Lena Dunham | Marine life | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | US-Israel war on Iran | Whales | World news

Six great reads: Iran’s social media memes, an abandoned department store and a 1,200-year-old record of cherry blossoms
ByGuardian staff April 18, 2026

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days Continue reading…

Read More Six great reads: Iran’s social media memes, an abandoned department store and a 1,200-year-old record of cherry blossoms
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 | UK news | US news | World news

The week around the world in 20 pictures
ByJim Powell April 17, 2026

Crisis in the Middle East, Russian strikes in Kyiv, Orthodox Easter and Karol G at Coachella – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures
Africa | Albert Camus | Algeria | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Crime films | Culture | Donald Trump | Drama films | Europe | Film | Film adaptations | France | François Ozon | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | World news

The Stranger review – lustrously beautiful and superbly realised modern take on the Camus classic
ByPeter Bradshaw April 7, 2026

François Ozon’s adaptation of the 1942 novella L’Etranger passionately honours the original text while bringing a contemporary perspective to its themes of empire and raceA heatstricken reverie of violence and mystery unfolds in this film, a numb ecsta…

Read More The Stranger review – lustrously beautiful and superbly realised modern take on the Camus classic
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 | US news | World news

The week around the world in 20 pictures
ByJim Powell April 3, 2026

Crisis in the Middle East, a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv, a Saharan dust storm in Crete and the launch of Artemis II – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalistsWarning: this gallery contains images some readers may fin…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures