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Lebanon Heritage Site Damaged by Israeli Bombardment

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
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Lebanon Heritage Site Damaged by Israeli Bombardment

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)

Israeli bombardment has damaged a World Heritage site in Lebanon's southern city of Tyre, a culture ministry official told AFP on Monday, as correspondents there saw debris and damage.

One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tyre lies around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Israeli border, and its UNESCO World Heritage listed ruins are located in two main areas of the city.

Israel's military has heavily bombed Tyre since the latest war erupted with Hezbollah, and on Sunday it issued a further evacuation warning that covered districts including one of the archaeological areas, known as the city site, which is home to Roman ruins.

AFP correspondents on Monday saw dust and debris close to ancient columns after the previous day's bombardment, as well as twisted metal and broken tree branches near several stone artefacts.

Concrete and metal debris also appeared to have been strewn onto a stone stairway.

Ali Badawi, regional director of archaeological sites for south Lebanon in the culture ministry, said Sunday's bombardment had had "the worst impact" on Tyre's ancient areas since the war began.

"The amount of debris and damage at the site is high," he said, noting both the direct impact, with the site's administrative office struck, and the indirect impact of debris strewn from nearby bombardment.

"Some archaeological artefacts were damaged when rubble fell on them, as debris fell over a large area, impacting a large number of elements at the site -- columns, capitals, column bases, mosaics," he said.

He said a preliminary damage assessment was underway but noted experts were not at the site due to the danger, adding that UNESCO had been notified.

Since a previous round of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah which erupted in 2023, UNESCO has granted more than 70 heritage sites in Lebanon, including Tyre, "provisional enhanced protection," the organisation's highest level of legal protection.

"This is a civilian site, a World Heritage site, it's not a military site at all, and there are no military activities there," Badawi said.

He noted the other part of the site in Tyre, Al-Bass, had been damaged earlier in the conflict.

Late last month, Lebanon's Culture Minister Ghassan Salame told AFP that Israeli strikes on the country's south were putting heritage sites in "serious danger".

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Culture

Heat Forces Yodelers at Annual Swiss Festival to Sing in Fountains

Yodelers prepare for TV broadcast on the main festival stage at Petersplatz in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP)
Yodelers prepare for TV broadcast on the main festival stage at Petersplatz in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP)
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Heat Forces Yodelers at Annual Swiss Festival to Sing in Fountains

Yodelers prepare for TV broadcast on the main festival stage at Petersplatz in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP)
Yodelers prepare for TV broadcast on the main festival stage at Petersplatz in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP)

City fountains became impromptu rehearsal spaces this weekend as yodelers at a festival in Basel, Switzerland, squeezed in last-minute practice while cooling off during Europe’s June heat wave.

At one fountain, a folk band dipped their toes in the water on Saturday, as festivalgoers clapped along or cooled their hands under the flowing stream.

From Friday to Sunday, singers and alphorn players filled the streets and spontaneous bursts of yodeling echoed through restaurants, where diners initially reacted with surprise before joining in.

In Petersplatz, in central Basel, seamstresses remained on call throughout the festival to repair the traditional Alpine folk costumes worn by participants in case of emergency.

This year, however, it was the fountain rehearsals that became the festival’s defining image, as the city battled record temperatures of around 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit).

Around 12,000 performers and nearly 200,000 visitors traveled to Basel for the Eidgenössisches Jodlerfest, Switzerland’s national yodeling festival. It was the first time the northwestern Swiss city hosted the event since 1924.

Swiss yodeling was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2025, making this the first national festival since the tradition received international recognition. It is a distinction many Swiss take great pride in.

Unlike the brighter, more melodic style often associated with Austria and the Tyrol region, Swiss yodeling is slower and more melancholic — an emotionally nuanced tradition rooted in distinct regional dialects.

"I’ve always loved music, and I left here as a child. When I moved back to New Zealand, I wanted to stay connected to Swiss culture, so I joined a New Zealand-Swiss-Kiwi yodeling club,” said Freddie Conquer, a member of Jodlerclub Echo Basel, one of the clubs hosting the festival.

The participants competed in three disciplines: yodeling, alphorn playing and flag-throwing.

The alphorn is a long wooden instrument traditionally used by herdsmen in the Alps. It can stretch to more than 3 meters (10 feet) in length, with its sound carrying across valleys — or, during the festival, through Basel’s streets. It produces all of its pitches using natural harmonics alone, with no valves or keys.

“Everything is down to the mouthpiece, hearing the note in your head, and then using your lips to shape the pitch. The higher the note, the harder you have to blow,” said Pierre-André Karlen, who was rehearsing on a school lawn.

On Sunday morning, participants gathered outside the town hall, eagerly awaiting the competition results. Members of Jodlerklub Balfrin, from the town of Visp in the canton of Valais, were nervously examining the lists and later celebrated loudly after receiving a perfect score of one, one of several such teams.

As flags were carried through the old town during the festival’s closing parade, members of Jodlerklub Muttenz rode past on a tractor to cheers from the crowd. Alphorn players followed — their instruments and costumes almost certainly a burden in the heavy heat, but the smiles remained.

Culture

GASTAT: 75.3% of Saudi Arabia's Population Visited Cultural Event Venues in 2025

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) logo
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) logo
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GASTAT: 75.3% of Saudi Arabia's Population Visited Cultural Event Venues in 2025

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) logo
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) logo

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said that 75.3% of Saudi Arabia's population visited venues hosting cultural events or activities in 2025. The figure highlights growing cultural momentum and increasing public participation in cultural events across the Kingdom.

The data was released as part of an initiative identified by the Arabic phrase, transliterated as "Raqam Saudi" ("Saudi Number"). The initiative aims to showcase national achievements, promote national pride and citizenship values, and demonstrate the role of official statistics in tracking progress toward the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and sustainable development.

Under the initiative, the authority publishes a range of statistics each month through its social media platforms. The initiative highlights the Kingdom's economic, social, and developmental transformation while reinforcing the role of official statistics in raising public awareness.

The initiative targets government entities and their clients, media professionals and outlets, social media users, opinion writers, and the international community. It aims to promote the dissemination of statistical content and expand the use of official data.

GASTAT said the initiative highlights national collaboration in achieving development goals by tracking and measuring progress through statistical indicators. It also raises public awareness of the role of statistics and data in monitoring the country's development.

Culture

12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation

12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation
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12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation

12th Saudi Film Festival Opens at Ithra with Broad International Participation

The 12th edition of the Saudi Film Festival has opened at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), an initiative of Saudi Aramco, bringing together prominent figures from the local, regional, and international film communities, as well as filmmakers, film critics, and cinema enthusiasts from across the industry.

Organized by the Cinema Association in partnership with Ithra and supported by the Film Commission, the festival runs from June 26 to July 2, 2026, under the theme “Every Story is a Journey.” The theme celebrates filmmaking as a creative journey that begins with the spark of an idea and scriptwriting, moves through the challenges of production, and culminates in screening, where stories meet their audiences, SPA reported.

This year’s edition received 314 submissions, including 249 films and 65 production market projects. A total of 27 films were selected for the official competitions, while six films will be presented in parallel screenings, bringing the festival lineup to 50 films from more than 15 countries.

Participating films will compete for nine Golden Palm Awards across feature-length fiction, short fiction, and documentary categories, highlighting Saudi, Gulf, Arab, and international cinematic talent.

The festival program also features specialized panel discussions, masterclasses, training workshops, book-signing sessions for publications from the Saudi Cinema Encyclopedia, and the “Meet the Experts” program, which offers one-on-one mentoring sessions with professionals in production, directing, editing, film criticism, festival programming, and project development.