Renowned Iranian painter Mansoureh killed in Israeli airstrike
Renowned Iranian artist Mansoureh Alikhani was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Known for her paintings, which reflected Iranian religious and cultural identity, Alikhani's death shocked cultural and artistic circles inside and outside Iran.
In the hours that followed her death news, Mansoureh Alikhani's name topped search engines and social media, as artists, activists, and academics mourned her, considering her death a huge loss to Iranian culture and art.
The airstrike, which targeted military and civilian sites, inflicted extensive human and material losses and sparked widespread international condemnation.
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Gulf Today
5 days ago
- Gulf Today
Renowned Iranian painter Mansoureh killed in Israeli airstrike
Renowned Iranian artist Mansoureh Alikhani was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Known for her paintings, which reflected Iranian religious and cultural identity, Alikhani's death shocked cultural and artistic circles inside and outside Iran. In the hours that followed her death news, Mansoureh Alikhani's name topped search engines and social media, as artists, activists, and academics mourned her, considering her death a huge loss to Iranian culture and art. The airstrike, which targeted military and civilian sites, inflicted extensive human and material losses and sparked widespread international condemnation.
Gulf Today
6 days ago
- Gulf Today
Art of harmony: Beta Golchin's art weaves balance into life's tapestry
Beta Golchin is a Dubai born and raised Iranian artist; she discovered her artistic talent at the age of 14, after winning recognition in global art competitions. She specialises in mixed media artwork using acrylic, fluid paint, oil paint, colour pencil and gouache as mediums. Her themes include antique doors, landscapes and textured abstracts, and her style sees her using unconventional techniques to create artwork. She uses materials such as stucco putty, wood shavings, foil, sand, fruit net, bandages, eggshells with modelling paste and even emergency blankets, for elevation. 'It brings depth and story to my art,' she says. She is also a successful international makeup artist and has worked with many luxury brands and celebrities, from 2016. In 2023, she came full circle when she decided to pursue a career in art and created her brand, Art By Beta. Beta's art explores human experience through a spiritual lens: it weaves together themes of transformation, resilience, and connection. 'Landscapes capture the vastness of existence, reflecting the soul's journey through Nature's ever-changing beauty,' she says. Artwork with vital colours. Antique doors symbolise passage, mystery, and the unseen opportunities that life presents, reminding us that each threshold holds a lesson, while the collection's textured abstract pieces crafted from recycled materials, breathe fresh life into forgotten elements. 'It emphasises renewal and the interconnectedness of all things,' Beta emphasises. Her works also include pictures on koi fish, mandalas, and textured abstracts. Through them, viewers are invited to contemplate their own paths, embrace change, 'and find harmony in the unfolding tapestry of life.' Looking back on her art journey, Beta says she re-discovered her passion for art when, like most businesses during COVID-19, her makeup artistry business got hit badly. Jobs were unavailable and she had to do much soul searching, figuring out her next move. 'I had a Master's in project management and IT, but I wasn't passionate about either of them,' she says. 'I wanted to do something that spoke to my soul, and I knew deep down that art would be the answer to that.' After experimenting with various styles, she found her own artistic signature. 'My art expresses who I am deep down and speaks directly from my soul,' she says. She began her new innings in her art voyage with textured abstracts and landscapes. Doors with Souls expresses her passion for history and cultural roots, while Koi Fish Harmony is about her constant attempts to find balance and consonance 'amidst the chaos and confusion in times of uncertainty.' Composition titled Paradise in Stillness of Mind. Her obsession with antique doors, their historical significance and weathered rustic appearance, led her to create this collection, where she uses various mediums to produce the special, antique texture. The doors are located in various cities around the world, each carrying its own heritage and history. The collection includes colour pencil drawings, oil paintings, acrylic paint on cotton canvases and acid free Strathmore 400 series artist paper, in various dimensions. The Koi Fish Harmony collection highlights the symbolism of Koi in Japanese philosophy and colour harmony, which have a deep meaning and significance for Beta. Using colour theory as the basis of her palette along with acrylic gloss gel, thickening paste and flow mediums, excitement and calmness are juxtaposed in the artworks. They signify the importance of balance amidst the trials and tribulations of everyday life. The paintings are created on cotton canvas and high-quality acid free paper in various dimensions. Colour theory is combination of art and science that provides a framework for understanding, harmony, contrast, and the emotional impact of colours. Landscape study. Mandala Magic is a homage to her spiritual journey and awakening to authenticity within herself, while colour gradients are a reflection of the specific chakras within her that needed healing as a piece was being painted. 'These pieces are made with so much care and mindfulness, I am proud to share them with the world!' Beta says. According to Jungian psychology, a mandala is a symbol of a dream representing the dreamer's search for completeness and self-unity, says Beta. By connecting to oneself, one is able to achieve dreams and desires with confidence, courage and self-belief. The colour gradients used are connected to each chakra of the human body, to cleanse and energise particular chakras that are blocked, preventing dreams from being achieved. Chakra means 'wheel' and refers to an energy point in the body. 'Whether you are an art collector or an artist, I think we can all agree that art has a real profound way of touching people's heart and soul,' Beta concludes. 'It takes you beyond dimension and time and heals you in ways you could never imagine. My fascination with this form of expression brought with it a level of freedom, courage and ease I had not experienced since I was 14. Whether you're buying or learning, I hope my art reminds you of your own passion and resilience and emboldens you to pursue your dreams as fearlessly as I have.' Beta Golchin is based in Dubai. Her latest work was exhibited at World Art Dubai 2025, and two of her paintings are on display at the new More Cafe in Barsha South. She has also exhibited at ISOAG's Annual Art Exhibition in 2023, in the Ethereal Abstractions Group Art Exhibition by Reem Gallery and at Artezaar's show in 2023, besides in an International Youth Art Competition in 1987. Her artwork can be viewed and bought from her website and beta-golchin on Artezaar.
Gulf Today
12-06-2025
- Gulf Today
Unjust retaliation
The Trump administration could declare a US travel ban on widely acclaimed rights lawyer Amal Clooney for her role in advising the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who issued arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. The warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant were made public in November 2024 after the US imposed sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. Donald Trump warned at that time he could instigate measures against 'those responsible' for building the case. In a May 2024 statement published on the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) website, Clooney said she served on the panel recommending the warrants 'because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives.' She added, 'As a human rights lawyer, I will never accept that one child's life has less value than another's.' In 2016, she and her husband, US actor George Clooney, co-founded the CFJ which provides legal support for victims of abuse and injustice and 'fight systematic injustice against vulnerable communities,' such as journalists, women and girls, democracy defenders, individual dissenters and monitories. Since its establishment, the CFJ has expanded its reach to 40 countries, representing victims in court cases, getting journalists out of prison, triggering trials of genocide perpetrators, and helping girls to access school and jobs when under pressure to marry. The potential threat against Amal Clooney coincided with George Clooney's Broadway production of 'Good Night and Good Luck.' The play is a historical drama about CBS television journalist Edward R. Murrow who, in the 1950's, battled Senator Joseph McCarthy's campaign against people he accused of being Communists or Communist sympathisers. By compelling accused persons to defend themselves in Senate hearings, McCarthy caused many to lose their jobs and others to flee the US. When Murrow exposed his terror tactics and lies, McCarthy accused Murrow of being a Communist. After Murrow denied the charge and one of the accused committed suicide, the tide turned against McCarthy. The Broadway play, an adaptation of a 2005 film written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, coincides with Trump's crusade against liberal media and educational institutions, especially Harvard University, the oldest and most prestigious in the US. Amal Alamuddin Clooney is a British citizen of Lebanese descent. Her father is a Druze businessman from the village of Baakleen in the Chouf mountains overlooking Beirut and her mother a Sunni rights activist from Tripoli. The family emigrated to London during the Lebanese civil war (1975-90) when Amal was two. She attended St. Hugh's College, Oxford, and graduated in 2000 with a degree in jurisprudence. She proceeded to the New York School of Law where she received a Master of Laws degree. She is qualified to practice law in England, Wales, and the US. After clerking for high profile US judges and engaging in key cases, she became involved in prosecutions for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon trying suspects for the 2005 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. As well as Khan, Trump has imposed sanctions on four ICC female judges investigating possible war crimes committed by the US in Afghanistan and Israel in occupied Palestine. ICC Second Vice-President Reine Alapini-Gansou (Benin), Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda), Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza (Peru) and Beti Hohler (Slovenia) have been targeted. The European Union promptly extended bloc support for the ICC, calling it 'a cornerstone of international justice whose independence and integrity must be protected.' In a post on X, European Council President Antonio Costa wrote: 'The ICC does not stand against nations, it stands against impunity. The rule of law most prevail over the rule of power.' The governments of the Netherlands, Belgium and Slovenia have denounced the sanctions as an effort to halt the work of the ICC. Neither the US nor Israel are signatories of the 2002 Rome Statute which established the ICC which has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. As non-signatories, the US and Israel argue they cannot be compelled to submit to ICC jurisdiction. However, their citizens can be prosecuted of they commit crimes in countries – such as Afghanistan and Palestine – which have joined the Rome Statute. While the International Court of Justice deals with crimes committed by states, the ICC investigates and prosecutes war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by individuals if their home countries fail to deal with accountability. The US argues that joining the ICC would undermine US sovereignty, infringe on national security and the independent of the government and target US personnel for political reasons. The latest round of sanctions is nothing new. In April 2019, the US revoked the US visa of ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a prominent Gambian lawyer, who prepared to investigate possible war crimes committed by US servicemen during the war in Afghanistan. After the investigation began, Trump authorised the imposition of sanctions against her and Phakiso Mochochoko who served as head of the court's jurisdiction division. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged the ICC with being a 'kangaroo court.' Shortly after taking office in 2021, US President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions against ICC personnel although Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed Washington's objection to ICC efforts to assert jurisdiction of citizens of non-ICC members such as the US and Israel. As usual, 'double standards' have come into play. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Biden welcomed the ICC arrest warrant issued for President Vladimir Putin on charges of transporting Russian children into Russia from Ukraine. However, once the ICC began considering warrants over Gaza for Netanyahu and Gallant, Biden – a fervent Zionist – denounced the ICC's action as 'outrageous' and vowed 'ironclad' backing for Israel. Photo: TNS
