Tens of thousands of Mexicans heading to Qatar have been warned to leave the tequila at home as authorities seek to avoid a World Cup culture clash in the Muslim Gulf state.
Fans from the Latin American nation are expected to make up one of the largest -- and most exuberant -- contingents of foreign supporters.
Full StoryIranian competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi received a hero's welcome on her return to Tehran early Wednesday, after competing in South Korea without wearing a mandatory headscarf required of female athletes from the Islamic Republic.
Rekabi's decision not to wear the hijab while competing Sunday came as protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death in custody of a 22-year-old woman have entered a fifth week. Mahsa Amini was detained by the country's morality police over her clothing — and her death has seen women removing their mandatory hijabs in public.
Full StoryFIFA wants to help workers in Qatar get compensation for being injured while building projects for the World Cup, one of the soccer body's top officials told European lawmakers on Thursday.
Soccer federations in Europe have supported calls for a fund since Amnesty International said FIFA should contribute $440 million toward reparations — matching the total prize money FIFA will pay to the 32 national teams playing in Qatar next month.
Full StoryA major exhibition of impressionist art opened Wednesday at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, featuring works from masters such as Cezanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Pissarro and Renoir.
Billed as one of the most significant exhibitions on the 19th century art movement ever held outside France, it features more than 150 works on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
Full StorySyria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era, describing it Wednesday as the most important archaeological discovery since the country's conflict began 11 years ago.
Journalists were shown the mosaic in the central town of Rastan near Homs, Syria's third largest city.
Full StoryAs anti-government protests roil cities and towns in Iran for a fourth week, tens of thousands of Iranians living abroad have marched on the streets of Europe, North America and beyond in support of what many believe to be a watershed moment for their home country.
From those who fled in the 1980s after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution to a younger generation of Iranians born and raised in Western capitals, many in the diaspora community say they feel an unprecedented unity of purpose and affinity with the demonstrations at home sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by Iran's morality police.
Full StoryEngland is prepared to face FIFA punishment by wearing the "OneLove" anti-discrimination armband at the World Cup.
Ten European nations have committed to promote inclusion and campaign against discrimination this season.
Full StoryPope Francis is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the landmark meetings that brought the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church into the modern era, amid continued disagreement about what the council taught that divides the faithful today.
Francis is celebrating a Mass on Tuesday in honor of St. John XXIII, who convened the council and presided over its opening sessions. Tuesday's commemoration opens with a reading of John's inaugural speech and ends with a re-enactment of the candle-lit procession that lit up St. Peter's Square on the night of Oct. 11, 1962.
Full StoryThe severed head and decapitated torso of a 25-year-old Palestinian were discovered on the side of a road in the occupied West Bank, police said Friday, confirming gruesome details of a killing that shocked Palestinian society.
But accounts that the victim, Ahmad Abu Murkhiyeh, was a gay man who feared persecution for his sexuality and had sought asylum in Israel two years ago turned the terrible crime into a socially and politically explosive case.
Full StoryARAB ART FAIR, the First Affordable Art Fair in the region, has announced its dates for 2022. The fair will return from November 2nd to 6th, 2022 in the Yacht Club Beirut, Zaitunay Bay.
ARAB ART FAIR offers an opportunity for Art galleries and independent Artists in the region to showcase their artworks to thousands of enthusiastic art lovers.
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