عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Culture

Saudi Arabia Registers 'Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area' on UNESCO World Heritage List

The Kingdom successfully inscribed the Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area in the Riyadh Region on the UNESCO World Heritage List. SPA
The Kingdom successfully inscribed the Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area in the Riyadh Region on the UNESCO World Heritage List. SPA
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia Registers 'Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area' on UNESCO World Heritage List

The Kingdom successfully inscribed the Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area in the Riyadh Region on the UNESCO World Heritage List. SPA
The Kingdom successfully inscribed the Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area in the Riyadh Region on the UNESCO World Heritage List. SPA

The Saudi Minister of Culture, Chairman of the Heritage Commission, and Chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture, and Science, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, has announced that the Kingdom successfully inscribed the Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area in the Riyadh Region on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural site of outstanding universal value to humanity.

The announcement was made during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India, from July 22 to 31.

The Al-Faw Archaeological Area is located in Wadi Al-Dawasir Governorate, south of the Riyadh Region. It spans a protected area of 50 square kilometers, surrounded by a buffer zone covering 275 square kilometers. The site lies at the intersection of Rub' al-Khali (Empty Quarter) desert and the terrain of the Tuwaiq Mountain, forming a narrow corridor known as "Al-Faw."

Prince Badr said that the inscription of the Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw reflects the strong support and attention given to Saudi heritage by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

He explained that the registration of cultural heritage elements, both tangible and intangible, with UNESCO is a testimony to the deep historical roots of the Kingdom and its pioneering role in serving the shared global human heritage under the framework of Saudi Vision 2030, which emphasizes the importance of celebrating the national identity, with tangible and intangible cultural heritage being one of its major components.

"The Kingdom recognizes the importance of heritage, its preservation, and its promotion worldwide in order to establish a solid foundation for the present, chart a roadmap for future endeavors, and support the Heritage Commission in developing national heritage assets," the Prince said.

With the registration of the Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area, the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Saudi Arabia includes: Al-Ahsa Oasis, an Evolving Cultural Landscape (2018), At-Turaif District in ad-Diriyah (2010), Hegra Archaeological Site (2008), Ḥima Cultural Area (2021), Historic Jeddah (2014), and the Rock Art in the Hail Region (2015).

Most Viewed

 
 
Culture

Italian Police Recover Stolen Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse Worth 9 mn Euros

Carabinieri officers pose with three paintings by Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse and Pierre-Auguste Renoir recovered after they were stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Mamiano, Italy, in this handout image released on August 14, 2026. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERS
Carabinieri officers pose with three paintings by Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse and Pierre-Auguste Renoir recovered after they were stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Mamiano, Italy, in this handout image released on August 14, 2026. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERS
TT
TT

Italian Police Recover Stolen Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse Worth 9 mn Euros

Carabinieri officers pose with three paintings by Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse and Pierre-Auguste Renoir recovered after they were stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Mamiano, Italy, in this handout image released on August 14, 2026. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERS
Carabinieri officers pose with three paintings by Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse and Pierre-Auguste Renoir recovered after they were stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Mamiano, Italy, in this handout image released on August 14, 2026. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERS

Paintings by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse worth over nine million euros which were stolen from a museum in Italy in March have been recovered, Italian police said Friday.

The paintings were taken by masked thieves from the villa of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, near Parma in northern Italy, in a heist that lasted under three minutes.

Video footage released by the police showed two thieves wearing headlamps and with their faces covered entering the villa by breaking through a window, Reuters reported.

They headed straight into the room where the three paintings hung and took them off the wall, before heading back to the window and passing them through to an accomplice waiting outside.

They made off with "Fish" by Auguste Renoir, "Still Life with Cherries" by Paul Cezanne, and "Odalisque on the Terrace" by Henri Matisse.

The Renoir is worth six million euros, the Cezanne three million and the Matisse some 20,000 euros, police said.

The Magnani Rocca Foundation -- 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Parma -- houses the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani, which also includes works by Durer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet.

The theft is the latest in a series of robberies targeting major museums in Europe.

Last October, thieves broke into the Louvre in Paris -- the most visited museum in the world -- in broad daylight, escaping in less than eight minutes with jewellery worth $102 million.

 

 

 

 

Culture

Brazilian Police Recover Matisse Works Stolen in 2025

This handout picture released on August 13, 2026, by the Sao Paulo police press office shows eight recovered works by French artist Henri Matisse that had been stolen in December 2025 in Sao Paulo. (Photo by Handout / SAO PAULO'S POLICE PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
This handout picture released on August 13, 2026, by the Sao Paulo police press office shows eight recovered works by French artist Henri Matisse that had been stolen in December 2025 in Sao Paulo. (Photo by Handout / SAO PAULO'S POLICE PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
TT
TT

Brazilian Police Recover Matisse Works Stolen in 2025

This handout picture released on August 13, 2026, by the Sao Paulo police press office shows eight recovered works by French artist Henri Matisse that had been stolen in December 2025 in Sao Paulo. (Photo by Handout / SAO PAULO'S POLICE PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
This handout picture released on August 13, 2026, by the Sao Paulo police press office shows eight recovered works by French artist Henri Matisse that had been stolen in December 2025 in Sao Paulo. (Photo by Handout / SAO PAULO'S POLICE PRESS OFFICE / AFP)

Police in Brazil have recovered eight engravings by French artist Henri Matisse that were stolen from a Sao Paulo library last year by an organized gang of thieves, officials said on Thursday.

Vividly colored artwork from Matisse's limited-edition art book "Jazz" were laid out on a table alongside a handgun, in an image released by police.

The works, estimated to be worth $200,000, were found at a home in the town of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo.

Officers arrested a man who was keeping the works for the mastermind of the heist, police said, adding that he will face charges of receiving stolen goods and illegal weapon possession.

The alleged mastermind was apprehended in April and a woman has also been arrested in the case.

According to AFP, police said the gang behind the robbery was highly organized and structured, with specific tasks assigned to members as it stole artworks in Brazil and sold them on the black market.

In the Matisse robbery last year, police say thieves overpowered a security guard and an elderly couple visiting the Mario de Andrade Library, grabbed the engravings and other items from a glass dome where they were kept, and fled.

They also stole five works by the Brazilian artist Candido Portinari, but these have not been recovered and may have already been sold.

One of the suspects was arrested the day after the theft via the use of the city's facial recognition system.

As part of the investigation, police conducted operations targeting "establishments related to the auction market and the sale of artworks" in municipalities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The Matisse engravings were part of a modern art exhibition highlighting a collaboration between the library and the Museum of Modern Art of Sao Paulo.

"Jazz" was published in France in 1947 and there are 250 copies signed by the artist, according to auction house Christie's.

Culture

Spain Removes Remains of 11th Century Kings from Monastery as Wildfire Rages

This screen grab of a handout video taken and released by Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows firefighters taking away a painting amid a wildfire threatening San Juan de la Pena Monastery in Penas de Riglos in the Spanish southwestern province of Aragon, on August 13, 2026. (Photo by Handout / UME / AFP)
This screen grab of a handout video taken and released by Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows firefighters taking away a painting amid a wildfire threatening San Juan de la Pena Monastery in Penas de Riglos in the Spanish southwestern province of Aragon, on August 13, 2026. (Photo by Handout / UME / AFP)
TT
TT

Spain Removes Remains of 11th Century Kings from Monastery as Wildfire Rages

This screen grab of a handout video taken and released by Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows firefighters taking away a painting amid a wildfire threatening San Juan de la Pena Monastery in Penas de Riglos in the Spanish southwestern province of Aragon, on August 13, 2026. (Photo by Handout / UME / AFP)
This screen grab of a handout video taken and released by Spain's Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows firefighters taking away a painting amid a wildfire threatening San Juan de la Pena Monastery in Penas de Riglos in the Spanish southwestern province of Aragon, on August 13, 2026. (Photo by Handout / UME / AFP)

Spanish authorities on Thursday removed the remains of three kings who ruled the Aragón region in the 11th century from a monastery threatened by a wildfire.

Their remains were taken to the provincial museum of Huesca, located 80 km (50 miles) south of the monastery, for their protection until conditions improve, said the northeastern region's vice-president Mar Vaquero.

After the wildfire that had been raging since Monday began moving toward the 10th century San Juan ⁠de la Peña ⁠monastery late on Thursday, concern that it could be engulfed by flames prompted authorities to launch a rescue operation, Vaquero told reporters.

An emergency military unit team managed to enter the monastery, located in a mountain range, and ⁠take ceremonial clothing belonging to an 18th century count buried there, before the proximity of the flames forced them to flee.

A Spanish firefighter and local officials carry boxes containing remains of the first kings of Aragon after their removal from a monastery that is being threatened by a wildfire in San Juan de la Pena, Spain, August 13, 2026. Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via REUTERS

The team returned a second time, accompanied by police officers and heritage officials, and removed the remains of the first three kings of Aragón — who ruled between 1035 and 1104 — from a pantheon within the monastery, as well as some historical paintings.

Vaquero praised ⁠the bravery ⁠of the rescue team, Reuters reported.

The wildfire had intensified earlier on Thursday, fueled by higher temperatures and strong winds. It has burned more than 9,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of 16 towns, although the monastery remained unharmed on Friday morning.

In southern Spain, a much larger wildfire also worsened on Thursday. It has so far burned 31,000 hectares in the province of Huelva and forced the evacuation of around 700 people.