Called Sense, the label took to Instagram to promote the new perfume. “Sense, femininity in a bottle. The new fragrance by Laverne x Georgina is now for only 175 riyals,” read a post.
On the official website, the label goes on to say that Sense is the result of a collaboration between Dalia Eisem and Rodriguez that lasted more than a year and included the creation of more than 740 samples.
“Finally, Georgina chose the perfect combination that embodies all her feelings in a perfume bottle,” it said, noting that the fragrance included notes of blackcurrant, mandarin, jasmine, cashmere and orange blossom.
In March 2023, Rodriguez – the longtime partner of legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo – collaborated with Laverne to become the face of their new fragrance, Blue Laverne.
Gazan twins in Cannes warn 'nothing left' of homeland
Updated 1 min 5 sec ago
CANNES: Twin Gazan filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser said they never thought the title of their new film “Once Upon A Time In Gaza” would have such heartbreaking resonance. “Right now there is nothing left of Gaza,” said Tarzan when it premiered on Monday at the Cannes film festival. Since militants from Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, more than 18 months of Israeli bombardment has ravaged large swathes of the Palestinian territory and killed tens of thousands of people. Israel has vowed to “take control of all” the besieged territory of more than two million inhabitants, where United Nations agencies have warned of famine following Israel’s two-month total blockade. Israel allowed in several aid trucks on Monday but the UN said it was only “a drop in the ocean” of needs. The Nasser brothers, who left Gaza in 2012, said their new film set in 2007, when Hamas Islamists seized control of the strip, explains the lead-up to today’s catastrophic war. “Once Upon A Time In Gaza,” which screened in the festival’s Un Certain Regard section, follows friends Yahia and Osama as they try to make a little extra cash by selling drugs stuffed into falafel sandwiches. Using a manual meat grinder that does not rely on rare electricity, student Yahia blends up fava beans and fresh herbs to make the patty-shaped fritters in the back of Osama’s small run-down eatery, while dreaming of being able to leave the Israeli-blockaded coastal strip. Charismatic hustler Osama meanwhile visits pharmacy after pharmacy to amass as many pills as he can with stolen prescriptions, pursued by a corrupt cop.
Israel first imposed a blockade on Gaza in June 2006 after militants there took one of its soldiers, and reinforced it in September 2007 several months after Hamas took power. “The blockade was gradually tightened, tightened until reaching the genocide we see today,” said Tarzan. “Until today they are counting the calories that enter,” he added. An Israeli NGO said in 2012 that documents showed Israeli authorities had calculated that 2,279 calories per person per day was deemed sufficient to prevent malnutrition in Gaza. The defense ministry however claimed it had “never counted calories” when allowing aid in. Despite all this, Gazans have always shown a love of life and been incredibly resilient, the directors said. “My father is until now in northern Gaza,” Tarzan said, explaining the family’s two homes had been destroyed. But before then, “every time a missile hit, damaging a wall or window, he’d fix it up the next day,” he said. In films, “the last thing I want to do is talk about Israel and what it’s doing,” he added. “Human beings are more important — who they are, how they’re living and adapting to this really tough reality.” In their previous films, the Nasser twins followed an elderly fisherman enamoured with his neighbor in the market in “Gaza Mon Amour” and filmed women trapped at the hairdresser’s in their 2015’s “Degrade.” Like “Once Upon A Time in Gaza,” they were all shot in Jordan.
As the siege takes its toll in “Once Upon A Time In Gaza,” a desolate Yahia is recruited to star in a Hamas propaganda film. In Gaza, “we don’t have special effects but we do have live bullets,” the producer says in one scene. Arab said, long before Gazan tap water became salty and US President Donald Trump sparked controversy by saying he wanted to turn their land into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” the coastal strip was a happy place. “I remember when I was little, Gaza actually was a riviera. It was the most beautiful place. I can still taste the fresh water on my tongue,” he said. “Now Trump comes up with this great invention that he wants to turn it into a riviera after Israel completely destroyed it?“ Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 53,486 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health authorities, whose figures the United Nations deems reliable. Gaza health authorities said at least 44 people were killed there in the early hours of Tuesday.
Met returns looted Mesopotamian artifacts to Iraq after investigation
Updated 12 min 42 sec ago
Arab News
DUBAI: Three ancient Mesopotamian artifacts once housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have been returned to Iraq after an investigation into art trafficking linked to the late British antiquities dealer Robin Symes, authorities announced on Monday.
The return was confirmed in statements by the Met and the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which led the criminal investigation. The artifacts — a Sumerian gypsum vessel from about 2600-2500 BC and two Babylonian ceramic heads dated about 2000-1600 BC — were among 135 looted antiquities linked to Symes and seized earlier this year.
According to The New York Times, the male head sculpture was sold to the Met by Symes in 1972, while the female head and the Sumerian vessel were gifts from a private collection in 1989. All three are believed to have originated from ancient Mesopotamian sites, including Isin and Ur, now in modern-day Iraq.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. said the seizure and return are part of broader efforts to undo the “significant damage traffickers have caused to our worldwide cultural heritage.”
The repatriation was formalized in a ceremony in Lower Manhattan attended by Iraqi officials and Met representatives. The museum said that it had acted upon “new information” received through the DA’s investigation that clarified the artifacts’ illicit provenance.
Authorities estimate the value of the 135 items trafficked through Symes and recovered in New York at $58 million.
Lyna Khoudri-starring film ‘Eagles of the Republic’ premieres at Cannes
Updated 22 min 5 sec ago
Arab News
DUBAI: French Algerian actress Lyna Khoudri’s film “Eagles of the Republic” premiered this week at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, and it received a coveted standing ovation following the screening.
Directed by Swedish Egyptian filmmaker Tarik Saleh, the film is the final chapter in his acclaimed “Cairo Trilogy,” which includes “The Nile Hilton Incident” (2017) and “Boy From Heaven” (2022), the latter earning him the Best Screenplay award at Cannes.
Set in Cairo, “Eagles of the Republic” follows George El-Nabawi, a fading movie star who reluctantly agrees to play a role in a political biopic.
(L-R) Alexandre Desplat, Lyna Khoudri, Amr Waked, Sherwan Haji and Tarik Saleh at the premiere. (Getty Images)
Khoudri portrays Donya, a journalist who becomes entangled in the political intrigue surrounding the film’s protagonist, Fahmy.
The movie also features Swedish Lebanese actor Fares Fares — a longtime collaborator of Saleh — in the lead role, alongside French Moroccan actress Zineb Triki as Suzanne, the Western-educated wife of Egypt’s defence minister, and Egyptian actor Amr Waked as presidential adviser Dr. Mansour.
For the premiere, Khoudri wore a sculptural strapless Chanel dress featuring a voluminous skirt, a structured bodice, and folded detailing along the neckline. The gown was cinched at the waist and flared into pleats. She completed the look with white open-toe heels and a sleek bun.
She attended the premiere alongside Saleh, Waked, French film composer and conductor Alexandre Desplat, and Kurdish Finnish actor, filmmaker and writer Sherwan Haji, who also stars in the film.
Khoudri, 32, first rose to prominence in her role as Nedjma in Mounia Meddour’s critically acclaimed drama “Papicha.” For her work in the film, she won the Orizzonti Award for best actress at the 74th Venice Film Festival, and she was nominated in the Cesar Awards’ most promising actress category.
Khoudri also starred in the 2019 mini-series “Les Sauvages” and in 2016’s “Blood on the Docks.”
She was also cast in Wes Anderson’s 2021 comedy “The French Dispatch” alongside Timothee Chalamet, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Owen Wilson.
The actress also stars in Martin Bourboulon’s Afghanistan evacuation drama “In The Hell Of Kabul: 13 Days, 13 Nights,” alongside Danish Bafta-winning “Borgen” star Sidse Babett Knudsen, Roschdy Zem (“Chocolat,” “Oh Mercy!”), and theater actor Christophe Montenez.
DUBAI: Dubai Fashion Week (DFW) is set to make its return this autumn with its series of Spring/Summer 2026 shows, running from Sept. 1 to 6 at its longtime home in Dubai Design District (d3).
As the first event on the international fashion calendar — ahead of New York, London, Milan, and Paris —DFW’s upcoming edition builds on the momentum of February’s Autumn/Winter 2025/26 showcase, which drew widespread attention with headline-grabbing appearances by international models and a grand finale by iconic Indian designer Manish Malhotra.
The season also spotlighted emerging regional voices, such as Les Benjamins, a correspondent member of the Arab Fashion Council, alongside global names like Paolo Sebastian.
DUBAI: US rapper Post Malone – known for tracks like “Rockstar,” “I Had Some Help” and “Sunflower” – will perform at the 2025 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday Dec. 5, organizers have announced.
“Beautiful Things” singer Benson Boone was previously announced as the opening act of the series on Thursday Dec. 4. Heavy metal band Metallica are set to perform on Saturday Dec. 6. And finally, US singer-songwriter Katy Perry will perform on Sunday Dec. 7.
Malone previously performed at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He then returned in 2022, taking to the stage at Etihad Park.
