BEIRUT: Award-winning Syrian photographer Anas Alkharboutli, who worked for German press agency DPA, was killed Wednesday in an air strike near the Syrian city of Hama, his employer said.
“Our photographer Anas Alkharboutli, who documented the civil war in Syria in a unique visual language, has been killed in an air strike near the Syrian city of Hama. Anas was just 32 years old,” DPA said in a statement.
“All of us at DPA are in shock and deeply saddened by the death of Anas Alkharboutli,” editor-in-chief Sven Goesmann said in the statement.
“With his pictures, he not only documented the horrors of war, but always worked for the truth. Anas remains a role model for our work,” he added.
Islamist-led rebels last week launched a massive offensive in northern Syria, taking second city Aleppo from government control and advancing on the central city of Hama, with fierce clashes reported between the fighters and the army.
Ali Hajj Sleiman, a journalist who was with Alkharboutli, told AFP that they had seen aircraft overhead in the Morek area near Hama, where they and other colleagues had regrouped.
“We heard a very loud noise and started running, then the blast threw me to the ground,” he said.
After the strike, “I found Anas lying in his own blood... He had lost both his legs... He died in the ambulance before arriving at the hospital.”
Alkharboutli began working as a photojournalist in 2015 and joined DPA two years later, the agency said.
He received the Young Reporter Trophy of France’s prestigious Bayeux Award for war reporting in 2020, and won the sports category for the 2021 Sony World Photography Awards.
He was laid to rest in the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib.
Authorities in the rebel enclave say three other journalists from the area have been killed since the offensive began last week.
War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday the death toll in eight days of fighting had risen to 704, including 110 civilians.
Syrian photographer for German news agency DPA killed near Syria’s Hama
https://arab.news/2hsjw
Syrian photographer for German news agency DPA killed near Syria’s Hama
- Anas Alkharboutli, who worked for German press agency DPA, was killed in an air strike near Hama
Gems of Arabia magazine launched to spotlight talents shaping Saudi Arabia’s evolving cultural landscape
- The publication features established and emerging talents elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media
- Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel seeks to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences
DUBAI: When Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel interviewed Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud before her appointment as Saudi ambassador to the US, the longtime advocate of women’s empowerment made a powerful prediction: “I look forward to the day that the Saudi woman is no longer the story but rather a phenomenal achievement.”
That moment would become the foundation for Gems of Arabia, an arts and culture audio-visual podcast that spotlights the creative talents shaping the landscape of Saudi Arabia and the broader region.
Over six years, Gems of Arabia has documented the sweeping transformation of the Kingdom’s art and culture scene, and is now evolving into a full-fledged magazine.
“It started off as a column I used to write, and from there, it turned into a podcast. Now it is growing into a magazine,” Dubai-based Alakeel, the magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief, told Arab News ahead of the launch of the digital publication on Thursday.
Besides spotlighting celebrated regional artists, Alakeel said Gems of Arabia is in search of the “hidden gems” elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media.
The magazine serves as a platform for talented, authentic creatives and tech entrepreneurs unable to articulate their work “because they don’t have the public relations or capacity to promote themselves even through social media.”
Alakeel added: “Our job is to identify all these authentic people; you don’t have to be famous, you just have to be authentic, and have a great story to tell.”
The digital publication offers a dynamic blend of short-form podcasts, coverage of regional cultural events, in-depth features and editorials, long-form interviews and artist profiles — spotlighting both celebrated and emerging talents. This is complemented by social media vox pops and bite-sized coverage of art events across the region.
Alakeel, who also runs Authenticite, a consulting and creative production agency connecting creators and brands who want to understand Saudi culture, said the magazine content is “carefully curated” to feature topics and personalities that resonate in the region.
What differentiates Gems of Arabia, he said, is its story of continuity and substance amassed over the years that has captured the evolution of the wider regional landscape.
“The website represents an archive of nearly 150 articles compiled through years of podcasts and long-form conversations that show continuity and depth changes,” he said.
“So, it’s an evolution and it’s another home for all our content and our community.”
Growing up in France, Alakeel said his mission started early on when he felt the need to represent his Saudi culture “in a way where it can hold its own internationally.”
Through his first brand, Toby, he sought to bring the traditional thobe into modern designs and introduce it to the luxury fashion world. This mission was accomplished when his thobe designs were placed alongside global labels such as Harvey Nichols, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada.
What began as a personal design mission would soon expand into a broader platform to champion Saudi talent.
“I was articulating my culture through fashion and it just felt natural to do that through the incredible people that the region has,” Alakeel said, adding that the magazine aims to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences.
“Art is such a great way of learning about a culture and a country,” he said.
On the ground in Saudi Arabia, the publication hosts GEMS Forum, a series of live cultural gatherings that bring together prominent artistic figures for in-depth conversations later transformed into podcast episodes recorded with a live audience.
Alakeel said the print edition of Gems of Arabia will debut in March, designed as a collectible coffee-table quarterly distributed across the Gulf.
He envisions the platform growing into a long-term cultural record.
“It's a Saudi-centric magazine, but the idea is to make it inclusive to the region and everyone authentic has a seat at the table,” said Alakeel.
