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UNESCO Finds ISIS Group-era Bombs in Mosul Historic Mosque Walls

Iraqi authorities have requested that UNESCO halt all reconstruction operations at al-Nouri mosque and evacuate the entire complex until the devices are disarmed -The AP 
Iraqi authorities have requested that UNESCO halt all reconstruction operations at al-Nouri mosque and evacuate the entire complex until the devices are disarmed -The AP 
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UNESCO Finds ISIS Group-era Bombs in Mosul Historic Mosque Walls

Iraqi authorities have requested that UNESCO halt all reconstruction operations at al-Nouri mosque and evacuate the entire complex until the devices are disarmed -The AP 
Iraqi authorities have requested that UNESCO halt all reconstruction operations at al-Nouri mosque and evacuate the entire complex until the devices are disarmed -The AP 

The UN cultural agency has discovered five bombs hidden within the walls of the historic al-Nouri Mosque in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, a remnant of the ISIS militant group’s rule over the area, UNESCO said in a statement Saturday.

The mosque, famous for its 12th-century leaning minaret, was destroyed by ISIS in 2017 and has been a focal point of UNESCO’s restoration efforts since 2020.

The UN agency said that five large-scale explosive devices, designed for significant destruction, were found inside the southern wall of the Prayer Hall on Tuesday.

“These explosive devices were concealed within a specially rebuilt section of the wall,” the statement said. “Iraqi authorities were promptly notified, secured the area, and the situation is now fully under control.”

It added that “one bomb has been defused and removed, while the remaining four are interconnected and will be safely disposed of in the coming days.”

Iraqi authorities have requested that UNESCO halt all reconstruction operations at al-Nouri mosque and evacuate the entire complex until the devices are disarmed, The AP reported.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the so-called caliphate from the mosque a decade ago on June 29, 2014, leading to its destruction when extremists blew it up during the battle to liberate Mosul in 2017.

The discovery of these bombs underscores ongoing challenges in clearing Mosul of explosives and revitalizing its devastated urban areas.

International efforts, supported by the United Nations, focus on mine clearance and aiding in the city’s recovery. Despite progress, much of Mosul’s old city remains in ruins, marked by minefield warning signs, highlighting the complexity of post-conflict reconstruction.

UNESCO aims to complete the full reconstruction of al-Nouri Mosque by December.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Culture

A Rare First Edition of ‘Wuthering Heights’ Complete with Spelling Mistakes Is up for Auction

A first edition of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", is on display for sale at Christie's auction house in London, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP)
A first edition of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", is on display for sale at Christie's auction house in London, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP)
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A Rare First Edition of ‘Wuthering Heights’ Complete with Spelling Mistakes Is up for Auction

A first edition of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", is on display for sale at Christie's auction house in London, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP)
A first edition of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", is on display for sale at Christie's auction house in London, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP)

A rare first-edition copy of “Wuthering Heights,” complete with spelling mistakes, is up for auction for the first time in more than a century, as Emily Brontë’s tragic, tempestuous romance gains new fans through a big-screen adaptation.

Christie’s auction house said Monday that it's the first copy of the novel in the publisher’s original cloth binding to be auctioned since 1908. Only about 250 copies of the first edition were printed, and this one has been in a private library since shortly after its publication in 1847.

“The vast majority of surviving copies were rebound for collectors or libraries, meaning original cloth examples are now extremely scarce,” said Christie’s books and manuscripts specialist Mark Wiltshire.

Being sold along with a copy of sister Anne Brontë’s “Agnes Grey,” it’s expected to sell for between 400,000 pounds and 600,000 pounds ($540,000 and $800,000) at a June 30 auction in London. Both books carry the male pen names the sisters adopted to get published: Ellis Bell for Emily and Acton Bell for Anne.

“Wuthering Heights” was rushed to publication after the success of Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre,” and the first edition is notorious for its typographical errors including, Wiltshire noted, the occasional misspelling of the word “heights.”

Emerald Fennell ’s recent movie with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as mismatched pair Cathy and Heathcliff is the latest work to be inspired by — and take liberties with — Brontë’s brooding, Gothic tale.

The novel shocked some critics when it was published, with one in 1848 decrying its “vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors.”

Since then, Wiltshire said, it has “moved beyond literature to become a cultural touchstone,” inspiring art, music — notably Kate Bush’s pop-operatic 1978 song — and multiple film adaptations.

“It remains a work that artists return to again and again because of its emotional force, its atmosphere, and its psychological intensity, ensuring its place not only in literary history but in wider cultural imagination,” Wiltshire said.

Culture

Red Sea Film Foundation Extends 48-Hour Film Challenge Deadline to July 4

Red Sea Film Foundation Extends 48-Hour Film Challenge Deadline to July 4
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Red Sea Film Foundation Extends 48-Hour Film Challenge Deadline to July 4

Red Sea Film Foundation Extends 48-Hour Film Challenge Deadline to July 4

The Red Sea Film Foundation has extended the application deadline for the sixth edition of the 48-Hour Film Challenge to July 4, 2026, allowing more young Saudi citizens and residents the opportunity to take part in the initiative aimed at discovering and supporting emerging filmmakers, SPA reported.

Organized in partnership with the Red Sea International Film Festival, the French Consulate General in Jeddah, and Alliance Française, the challenge is open to aspiring filmmakers aged 18 to 25, SPA reported.

Participants will form creative teams and compete to produce a short film within 48 hours after completing specialized mentorship workshops.

The two winning teams will receive awards, while their team leaders will earn an artistic residency in France in 2027. The winning films will also be screened at the next edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Culture

The 91-Year-Old Weaving Venezuelan Ancestral Tradition into Art

Venezuelan weaver Margarita Mora. (The New York Times)
Venezuelan weaver Margarita Mora. (The New York Times)
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The 91-Year-Old Weaving Venezuelan Ancestral Tradition into Art

Venezuelan weaver Margarita Mora. (The New York Times)
Venezuelan weaver Margarita Mora. (The New York Times)

Though electric machines are now standard, the Venezuelan weaver Margarita Mora has clung to a mix of ancestral Indigenous and Spanish practices to create surprisingly modern work, reported the New York Times.

As she sat at her loom on the rooftop of her home in Mucuchies, a town high in the Venezuelan Andes, Margarita Mora, recalled the morning when, at 5, she delivered some wool her mother had spun to a local weaver in nearby Mitivivó. It was her first encounter with the very loom she would use for decades to come.

“This loom has made me very happy,” she said during an interview at her home in 2024. “When I learned to weave, I was able to buy my own clothes and shoes.”

It was also how she discovered the craft that she has dedicated her life to. All those decades ago, Mitivivó was a remote settlement with just a few families, set where the mountains met the sky. It was here that she began selling her weavings.

In most parts of the world, electric machines have replaced ancient weaving techniques, but Mora, who is 91 and tiny, wearing head scarves around her weathered face, has clung to a mix of ancestral Indigenous and Spanish traditions.

Her weavings have gained her a modest level of fame in Venezuela. For years, she was an instructor at the Moconoque School of Trade, Arts and Crafts, a nonprofit with the mission of preserving and promoting traditional crafts.

In 2008, her face adorned a huge billboard on the facade of a convention center hosting an art exposition in the city of Mérida, southwest of Mucuchies, along with two other weavers and former president Hugo Chávez. She has also received multiple honorary degrees.

*Silvia Benedetti for the New York Times