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Arts & Culture

Empower okays $119.1m H2 2025 dividend

The dividend is equivalent to 43.75% of paid-up capital.

Alujain widens 2025 loss

The increase in loss is due to impairment charges, weaker prices.

Masar 2025 net profit $262m

Higher land plot sales boost revenue and operating income.

Tasnee’s 2025 losses deepen

The petrochemicals' company's revenue also fell 17.7 percent.

DP World 2025 revenue $24.4bn

The profit for the year up 32.2% to reach $1.96bn.

‘Culture and arts bridge global understanding’

"They help to build and fortify important bridges between countries and peoples. Culture and the arts allow us to celebrate...

Top film bodies part of Saudi contingent at Cannes Festival

Saudi Arabia will participate in the 75th Cannes International Film Festival, which will be held during the period from 17...
  • A national pavilion supervised by the Film Commission will be part of the Saudi delegation.
  • The Saudi pavilion will host a session “The Reality of Arab Cinema” in the “Souk Cannes” region, organized by the Film Authority.

Jewish pilgrims back in Tunisia after Covid absence

Djerba is home to one of the last Jewish communities in the Arab world, and the synagogue is believed to...
  • Jewish pilgrims lit candles, prayed, and handed each other sweets and nuts at synagogue annual celebrations in Tunisia.
  • 8,000 pilgrims used to travel to Djerba for the annual celebration but the number decreased as the pandemic spread across the world.

Egypt composer’s star rises with ‘Moon Knight’ fame

In 2019, Nazih scored "Al-Fil al-Azraq 2" ("The Blue Elephant 2"), Egyptian cinema's highest ever grossing film, earning 100 million...
  • In 2019, Nazih scored "Al-Fil al-Azraq 2" ("The Blue Elephant 2"), Egyptian cinema's highest ever grossing film, earning 100 million pounds
  • In 2018, Nazih was the first musician to receive the Faten Hamama prize at the Cairo International Film Festival

Cartoon alien aims to ease World Cup culture shock

Kawkabani, star of the series, has to learn Arabic pronunciation, how to drink coffee -- and to discover that Qataris...
  • Kawkabani was part-financed by Qatar's World Cup organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, as well as the Doha Film Institute and telecoms giant Vodafone.
  • Creators Hossein Heydar and Amal al-Shammari want Qataris to get the message that they will have to make cultural concessions to the beer-drinking and good-time-seeking masses.

Dare to be different to make positive change: Joumana

Lebanese writer, journalist, and human rights activist Joumana Haddad tells TRENDS why she is unperturbed despite being one of the...
  • Joumana Haddad pays a price for her strong voice advocating for the rights of people, addressing otherwise taboo subjects
  • A big believer of self-expression, she uses her publication Jasad to tackle issues related to art, literature, and politics of the body

World’s biggest YouTuber PewDiePie moves to Japan

The 32-year-old has a huge online following, with 111 million subscribers on YouTube, but has faced controversy over offensive jokes...
  • PewDiePie has landed himself in hot water several times, including for videos containing anti-Semitic remarks and racial slurs
  • In 2016, the YouTuber was temporarily blocked from Twitter after he joked that he had joined the Islamic State group

Iran archeologists stand against antiquities trade bill

46 out of 290 MPs in Iran proposed the draft law earlier this week, dubbed the "optimal utilization of ancient...
  • Iranian lawmakers said they hope to turn Iran into a "regional center" for antiquities trade
  • Local media regularly report arrests of individuals accused of smuggling artefacts out of the country

Egypt’s ‘zar’ ritual puts exorcism on stage

Zar is one of the ceremonies among the few cultural practices in which women take center stage. Traditionally, the zar...
  • The music and dance ritual known as "zar", with centuries-old roots in Ethiopia and Sudan, is traditionally performed to ward off or exorcise jinn or evil spirits.
  • At Cairo's Makan Cultural Centre, a group of singers and Sufi practitioners performs to the delight of foreign and local guests.

Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe fetches $195m

The painting beat the previous record for a 20th-century work, Pablo Picasso's Women of Algiers, which sold for $179.4 million...
  • Shot Sage Blue Marilyn was produced in 1964, two years after the death of the glamourous Hollywood star
  • It sold for exactly $195.04 million in just four minutes in a crowded room at Christie's headquarters in Manhattan

Egypt’s ancient ‘zar’ ritual puts exorcism on stage

"The singing is spiritual and brings out negative energies," said the lead singer of the Mazaher ensemble, adding that they...
  • "We're not quacks or witches," Umm Sameh, singer in 'zar' ritual said, she learned it in her childhood from her mother and grandmother
  • The zar ritual would last several days and include animal sacrifices as per their tradition and no blood is spilled at Cairo's Makan Cultural Centre

‘Culture and arts bridge global understanding’

"They help to build and fortify important bridges between countries and peoples. Culture and the arts allow us to celebrate...

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First Saudi horror movie ‘Cello’ screened at cinemas across the Kingdom

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA -  Saudi cinemas began the screening of the horror and thriller movie Cello, with global participation of...

Saudi Arabia’s natural reserve makes it to UNESCO heritage list

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve in Saudi Arabia has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage...

Sports shift economic goalposts for Middle East

In a bid to diversify their economies, Middle Eastern nations are turning to the sports industry, marked by significant investments...

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Picasso’s ‘Woman With a Watch’ to be exhibited in Dubai on Sept 25-26

This would be for the first time that the painting has been exhibited outside of the United States in over...
  • This would be for the first time that the painting has been exhibited outside of the United States in over 50 years.
  • The painting depicts Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso’s “golden muse” and the subject of many of his most iconic works.

UNESCO adds 15 new sites to world heritage list during Riyadh session

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, during its 45th session held in Riyadh, unveiled fifteen new additions...
  • Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, an integral part of the renowned Silk Roads connecting Central Asia's Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, now graces the list
  • Approximately 50 sites are queued for potential inclusion to the World Heritage List, segmented into 37 cultural, 12 natural, and two of mixed significance

Palestine’s pre-historic Tell al-Sultan site on world heritage list, says UNESCO

The United Nations' cultural organization inscribed the "pre-historic site of Tell al-Sultan" located near the occupied West Bank city of...
  • The site was inscribed following a three-year candidacy “during which no state party raised any objections”, a UNESCO official said.
  • Tell al-Sultan, which predates Egypt's pyramids, is an oval-shaped tell, or mound, located in the Jordan Valley.