Culture – Page 3 – War Watch

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I’m a Eurovision superfan, but this year’s contest brings only sadness. I won’t be tuning in
ByDave Keating May 16, 2026

Mismanagement and political campaigning have sucked the joy out of an event meant to bring people togetherFor the past two years, amid intensifying controversy over Israel’s participation in Eurovision, I and most other Eurovision superfans have stuck …

Read More I’m a Eurovision superfan, but this year’s contest brings only sadness. I won’t be tuning in
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The week around the world in 20 pictures
ByJim Powell May 15, 2026

Russian drone attacks on Kyiv, Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Trump in Beijing and a mural of Lamine Yamal – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures
Asghar Farhadi | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Cannes film festival | Culture | Donald Trump | Festivals | Film | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel–Iran War | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices | US-Israel war on Iran

‘Extremely cruel and tragic’: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi speaks out against state violence and the war
ByNadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent May 15, 2026

The film-maker, who won the Grand Prix for A Hero in 2021, condemned both the killing of protestors and the conflict’s bombing campaigns during a Cannes press conferenceOscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has described the deaths of civilians…

Read More ‘Extremely cruel and tragic’: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi speaks out against state violence and the war
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Zineb Sedira review: A chic ode to revolutionary cinema, brainy boozers – and exceptional berets
ByBen Eastham May 13, 2026

Tate Britain, LondonThe Franco-Algerian artist’s exploration of radical film-making in the 1960s and 70s is so seductive it makes you wish the crowd was livelier and the wine was flowing‘WHEN WORDS FALL SILENT, CINEMA SPEAKS …” announces a giant sign. …

Read More Zineb Sedira review: A chic ode to revolutionary cinema, brainy boozers – and exceptional berets
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In the 1979 hostage crisis, why did Iran free 10 Black Americans before the others?
ByAndrew Lawrence May 12, 2026

Sgt James Hughes was one of the hostages released early. With US-Iran relations once again in the spotlight, he talks about being ‘handcuffed, under armed guard’Since the United States launched a joint military campaign with Israel on Iran in February,…

Read More In the 1979 hostage crisis, why did Iran free 10 Black Americans before the others?
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 May 8, 2026

Femen and Pussy Riot protest in Venice, Israeli strikes in Gaza, the hantavirus outbreak and Emma Chamberlain at the Met Gala – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | Benjamin Netanyahu | Books | Culture | Donald Trump | Gaza | Iran | Iran's nuclear programme | Israel | Israel-Gaza war | Israel–Iran War | JM Coetzee | Middle East and north Africa | Nuclear weapons | Palestine | Palestinian territories | Petrol prices

JM Coetzee declines to attend Jerusalem writers festival over Israel’s ‘genocidal campaign in Gaza’
BySian Cain May 7, 2026

Nobel laureate says he previously considered himself a supporter of Israel, but ‘the campaign of annihilation in Gaza has changed all that’Nobel laureate JM Coetzee has declined to attend an upcoming literature festival in Israel, writing a excoriating…

Read More JM Coetzee declines to attend Jerusalem writers festival over Israel’s ‘genocidal campaign in Gaza’
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Australian director Phillip Noyce shoots feature film for Saudi Arabia celebrating ‘heroism of security men in combating drugs’
ByAmanda Meade May 7, 2026

Exclusive: Regime, which executed 243 people last year for drug offences, accused of investing in entertainment to whitewash its human rights recordThe acclaimed Australian film-maker Phillip Noyce is being paid by the Saudi regime to make a feature fi…

Read More Australian director Phillip Noyce shoots feature film for Saudi Arabia celebrating ‘heroism of security men in combating drugs’
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Palestinian ambassador protests to Foreign Office over ’erasure’ by British Museum
ByJulian Borger in Jerusalem May 6, 2026

Objection after museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from list of countries of ancient Levant and Egypt and from some explanatory panelsThe Palestinian ambassador to the UK has called for Foreign Office intervention after the British Museum removed referenc…

Read More Palestinian ambassador protests to Foreign Office over ’erasure’ by British Museum
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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