Culture – Page 8 – War Watch

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‘I felt betrayed, naked’: did a prize-winning novelist steal a woman’s life story?
ByMadeleine Schwartz February 17, 2026

His novel was praised for giving a voice to the victims of Algeria’s brutal civil war. But one woman has accused Kamel Daoud of having stolen her story – and the ensuing legal battle has become about much more than literary ethicsEvery November, leadin…

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British Museum removes word ‘Palestine’ from some displays
ByNadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent February 16, 2026

Museum revises labelling on maps and panels, saying term used inaccurately and no longer historically neutralThe British Museum has removed the word “Palestine” from some of its displays, saying the term was used inaccurately and is no longer historica…

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The week around the world in 20 pictures
ByJim Powell February 13, 2026

Protests in Buenos Aires, Lindsey Vonn crashes at the Winter Olympics and Bad Bunny performs at Super Bowl LX – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

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The President’s Cake review – sweet portrait of life in wartime Iraq builds to an explosive climax
ByPeter Bradshaw February 11, 2026

Nine-year-old Lamia is obliged by her school to bake a birthday cake for Saddam Hussein, and meets a series of vivid characters as she shops for sanctioned ingredientsThere’s a terrific charm and sweetness in this debut from Iraqi film-maker Hasan Hadi…

Read More The President’s Cake review – sweet portrait of life in wartime Iraq builds to an explosive climax
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 February 6, 2026

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, ICE protests in Los Angeles, Snoop Dogg at the Winter Olympics and Storm Leonardo – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

Read More The week around the world in 20 pictures
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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
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‘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…

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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
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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