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Culture

Neymar

After Ronaldo, Neymar scores $54 million penthouse in Dubai

The Brazilian soccer player is the latest athlete to acquire property in the UAE’s largest city.

United Arab Emirates

Head coach Robert Saleh of the New York Jets looks on against the Denver Broncos during the first half at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 29, 2024, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

What’s behind firing of Robert Saleh, NFL’s first Muslim, Lebanese head coach?

The New York Jets were performing poorly under the Lebanese American Saleh amid rumors of tensions with outspoken quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur drops out of 2024 tennis circuit

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, currently ranked 22nd in the Women's Tennis Association, will step away from tennis until 2025 as she recovers from a shoulder injury.

Bassem Youssef attends the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Cinema Cafe on January 31, 2020, in Park City, Utah.

Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef no longer on X: What we know

The exiled comic has been a vocal critic of Israel, highlighting the plight of the Palestinians during the Gaza war but has recently been accused of antisemitism.

Latest News

CT scans reveal mysteries of ancient Egypt's 'Screaming Woman' mummy

Visitors tour the site in the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo, where archaeologists unearthed two human and animal embalming workshops, as well as two tombs, on May 27, 2023. The head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters the embalming workshops, where humans and animals were mummified, "date back to the 30th dynasty" which reigned around 2,400 years ago. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Middle East athletes rack up 44 medals at Paris Olympics

Imane Khelif

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From Egypt to Saudi: Meet Middle East's athletes at Paris Olympics

This photograph shows Paris 2024 Olympics Games banner in front of the National Assembly, in Paris, on July 18, 2024.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Analysis

Saudi Arabia's soccer dreams tested as Vision 2030 goal posts move

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - MAY 4: Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr celebrates after scoring the 2nd goal during the Saudi Pro League match between Al-Nassr and Al Wehda at Al Awwal Park on May 4, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.(Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Nazlan Ertan

In Izmir, reporting on culture

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Rebecca Anne Proctor

In Dubai, reporting on culture

A list of the top restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa.

Restaurants in Dubai, Tel Aviv, Amman among top 50 in region

Dubai’s Orfali Bros Bistro is No. 1. on The World's 50 Best Restaurants in the Middle East. It was founded by three Syrian brothers from Aleppo.

A Yemeni man looks up at pillars at the Awam, or Moon Temple, near the recently restored Arsh, or Throne of Balquis, the site of the legendary kingdom of Sheba, Marib province, Yemen, Dec. 21, 2000.

UNESCO lists two locations in Lebanon, Yemen as heritage sites in danger

In an urgent session on Wednesday, UNESCO named two sites from Lebanon and Yemen to its List of World Heritage in Danger, calling for their immediate preservation.

Sally Azar is seen during the ordination ceremony at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem, Jan. 22, 2023.

Sally Azar becomes first Palestinian woman pastor ordained in Jerusalem

A graduate of theology, Sally Azar was ordained as the first female Palestinian pastor in Jerusalem by the Lutheran church.

Official yellow taxis and van vehicles wait for their customers at the Eminonu district in Istanbul, on March 30, 2018. (Photo credit OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Istanbul taxi problem pits Gulf tourists against Turkey's locals

Turkish people have long blamed Arab tourists’ generous tips for the city’s cab shortage, but this may not be the case anymore.

LIV golf

Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf gets TV deal; Norman says kingdom ‘learned from its mistakes’

The deal with CW could enable the Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed league to finally secure sizable advertising revenue.

Messi

Report: Messi not signing with Saudis, but kingdom wants him

The Argentine soccer star recently visited Saudi Arabia to play in an exhibition against Cristiano Ronaldo’s new Saudi club, Al Nassr. Messi also met an influential Muslim cleric during the trip.

Iraq's midfielder Ibrahim Bayesh (L) reacts after scoring during the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup final football match between Iraq and Oman at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq's southern city on January 19, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: January 19, 2023, 5:05 pm

Iraq wins 'Arabian Gulf' Cup championship defeating Oman in Basra

Iraq defeated Oman 3-2 in the historic match in Basra, leading to celebrations throughout the country.

Visitors look at paintings by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso displayed at the Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 27, 2019.

Lebanon’s cultural scene roars back, defying the economic meltdown

After years of dramatic political events and economic struggles, the Lebanese cultural scene is regaining its local footing, reopening museums and launching new ones.

A Yemeni woman shops at a market in Yemen's third city of Taiz, on December 15, 2022. - Yemeni society, although deeply conservative, has traditionally allowed space for individual freedoms. But this is changing under the Huthi movement, which was founded with the aim of pushing for a theocracy. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Women's campaign in Yemen protests Houthi dress code rules

Houthi forces require women to wear a black abaya that covers their entire bodies.

Young Lebanese girls disguised as brides hold a placard as they participate in a march against marriage before the age of 18, in the capital Beirut on March 2, 2019. The placard in Arabic reads "The end of child marriage begins by educating them". (ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Child marriage raises controversy once again in Egypt

Child marriage is in the public spotlight again in Egypt, after two children were engaged in Sharqia governorate in northern Egypt.

Former Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo leaves with his Spanish girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez after attending a court hearing for tax evasion in Madrid on Jan. 22, 2019.

Can Ronaldo live with girlfriend in conservative Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia does not allow non-married couples to live together, though laws and customs have relaxed in some respects.

Local Jewish residents and tourists pray during Purim at the Address Dubai Marina Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 26, 2021.

UAE schools will now teach Holocaust in national curriculum

More than two years following the signing of the Abraham Accords, the UAE confirms that it will include the Holocaust in the curriculum of its primary and secondary schools.