Life & Style

Donna Karan

New York well-known fashion designer Donna Karan was born to a family that was involved in fashion: Her mother was a fashion model and her stepfather was a tailor. This made her get involved in fashion at a young age. When she was 14, she started selling clothing on Cedarhurst, New York’s Central Avenue.

Neon Edge: Fresh, fun & funky designs

Egyptian/German fashion designer Mona Fares' fashion line, Neon Edge, is brightening up the Arabian fashion scene with bright, colorful and funky designs. Neon Edge designs push the edge of every creative boundary — it is all about over the top eccentricity and giving fashion a whole new dimension, which is dynamic as well as shocking.

Flaunt your personality with Nihal Basha handbags

In these difficult times, customers are shopping more intelligently: There is much greater value put on bags that will stand the test of time and a return to a well-made product. This is the case with Hermes. This iconic high-end brand, known for its timeless bags, is thriving. Demand for its famous Kelly and Birkin is so strong that waiting lists can stretch up to several years and the average annual growth is 14.7 percent.

Young Saudi Artists II: A chaotic flurry of young art

The second edition of the Young Saudi Artists (Y.S.A.) exhibition opened Feb. 21 at ATHR gallery, presenting works of 23 artists across mediums of photography, graphic design, collage, illustrations and conceptual art.

New music band to promote creative talent among expats

A group of Indian artists and music enthusiasts in Riyadh have launched a new music band named the “G5 Orchestra,” with the noble vision to promote classical and melodious music and to encourage creative talents among Indian expatriates in the Kingdom.

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Saudi students explore missing link of diabetes, cerebral hemorrhage

RIYADH: The Hofuf-based King Faisal University has made a major scientific achievement toward discovering the missing link between diabetes and cerebral hemorrhage.

Social media being used to sell drugs to youth

VIENNA: Illegal “Internet pharmacies” are using social media to market drugs to young people, an international report said yesterday. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which monitors the implementation of UN drug control conventions, said illicit drugs as well as prescription medicines were being ordered online from such unscrupulous operations.

Celine Dion cancels more Vegas shows on doctor’s orders

LAS VEGAS: Singer Celine Dion has canceled more shows at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace, citing a virus causing an inflammation of her vocal cords.

Cold snap likely in parts of Kingdom

JEDDAH: A cold spell has hit different parts of Saudi Arabia on Sunday increasing demand for sweaters and heaters at shops. The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) predicted the cold weather would continue on Monday especially in the northern cities of Gurayat, Turaif, Arar, Rafha and Hail.

KSU grabs 24 awards at technology exhibition

JEDDAH: King Saud University in Riyadh has won 24 awards during the 11th Malaysia Technology Expo 2012, which was held in Kuala Lumpur from Feb. 16-18.

Gritty Swede survives for months in snowed-in car

STOCKHOLM: A Swedish man was dug out alive after being snowed in to his car on a forest track for two months with no food, police and local media reported late Saturday.

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Museum spotlights American Indian art

NEW YORK: An exhibit of American Indian art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art throws the connection between art and collector into unusually sharp relief.

Rushdie furor risks clouding India’s literary gala

MUMBAI: An outcry over Salman Rushdie’s participation in Asia’s largest literary festival has threatened to overshadow an event to showcase the best of Indian, South Asian and international writing that is rapidly growing in global cultural clout.

Research: South Africans most active tweeters

JOHANNESBURG: Young people tweeting from Blackberries and iPhones are driving the growth of Twitter in Africa, with South Africans by far the most vociferous, according to new research published Thursday.

WikiLeaks founder to host Kremlin-funded TV show

MOSCOW: Kremlin-funded English-language channel Russia Today has given WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange his own TV talk show, the station said this week.

Bill Gates pledges $750m to troubled AIDS fund

DAVOS, Switzerland: Microsoft chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates pledged a further $750 million to the troubled global AIDS fund on Thursday and urged governments to continue their support to save lives.

Aussie lawmaker accused of lifting movie speech

CANBERRA, Australia: An Australian lawmaker is getting bad reviews for a speech that seemed to mirror a Hollywood movie. Government minister Anthony Albanese told the National Press Club that Australia had serious challenges and that opposition leader Tony Abbott was uninterested in solving them.

Sundance doc traces Simon’s ‘Graceland’ hit album

PARK CITY, Utah: Paul Simon recalls his return to South Africa like a family reunion — musical brothers getting back together after decades apart.

Pakistani deaths from bad heart drugs rise to 69

ISLAMABAD: A senior health official says the number of people in eastern Pakistan suspected to have died in the last month from taking bad heart medicine has risen to 69.

Azeri company plans world's tallest building

BAKU, Azerbaijan: A property developer in oil-rich Azerbaijan says the company is aiming to construct the world's tallest building on a chain of artificial islands in the Caspian Sea.

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Potter star looks to life without wands or wizards

LONDON: For Daniel Radcliffe, it’s time to forget Harry Potter.

Obama to ‘hang out’ in live chat on Google Plus

NEW YORK: President Barack Obama plans to “hang out” in a video chat room to answer questions about his upcoming annual State of the Union address, part of a White House effort to test new social networking tools and the latest evidence of the growing intersection of social media and politics.

Woman skier sets solo Antarctic trek record

BUENOS AIRES: British adventurer Felicity Aston completed her crossing of Antarctica Monday, becoming the first woman to ski across the icy continent alone.

France returns 20 Maori heads to New Zealand

PARIS: Preparing the biggest homecoming yet of its kind, authorities in New Zealand on Monday received 20 ancestral heads of Maori ethnic people once held in several French museums as a cultural curiosity.

Brothers reunited in Japan after 6 decades apart

KYOTO, Japan: They no longer speak the same language, but two brothers separated nearly 60 years each think the other hasn’t changed a bit.

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Major Tokyo quake more likely than govt says: academics

TOKYO: A major earthquake is far more likely to hit Tokyo in the next few years than the government predicts, researchers at the University of Tokyo said on Monday, warning companies and individuals to be prepared for such an event.

Poll shows majority support for Tokyo’s 2020 bid

TOKYO: A nationwide poll has shown that 65.7 percent of respondents support Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Obama visits Golden Caviar during his 2009 Kingdom tour

THE CAVIAR is considered the food of the rich people only because of its imaginary high prices that may reach SR1 million per kilogram. This is the diamond caviar that is found in the Caspian Sea. A single kilogram of it takes at least four months to collect.

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Subway plans to open 120 outlets by 2017

ALKHOBAR, Saudi Arabia: Shamel Food Company, the master franchisee of Subway Restaurants for the Kingdom of  Saudi Arabia, held its second annual Franchisee Meeting in Alkhobar. The meeting was headed by Mohsen Adeeb, CEO of Shamel Food Company, and was attended by all sub-franchisees of Subway in the Kingdom. The event dubbed as “Moving Forward” has capitalized in its Global Strategic Plan of achieving 120 stores by the end of 2017 along with stabilizing its Kingdomwide operations and supply chain.

‘Viva Espana at Marriott Riyadh’

RIYADH: On the occasion of Riyadh Food Festival in Association with Spanish Embassy in Riyadh & Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities, Riyadh, Marriott Hotel is hosting a two-week Spanish Seafood Food Festival called ‘Viva España’ at its Mosaic Mediterranean Restaurant from Jan. 18 — Feb 3 in cooperation with Renaissance Barcelona Airport Hotel.

Youths plan online peace conference

JERUSALEM: A former Israeli peace negotiator says thousands of young Jewish and Arab activists from across the Middle East plan to hold an online peace conference this week on Facebook.

Oprah confident Obama will win re-election

JAIPUR, India: Oprah Winfrey says she is confident that President Barack Obama will win another four-year term in this year’s US election.

'Get back on board...!' T-shirts a hit

ROME: A coast guard officer's "Get back on board damn it!" order to the fleeing captain of the capsized Costa Concordia liner is being printed on T-shirts by a company hoping to inspire Italians to rescue their country from economic crisis.

Hollywood treatment for tiny baby

LOS ANGELES: One of the world's smallest surviving babies has been discharged from the hospital where she spent nearly five months in an incubator — but not before getting the Hollywood treatment.

Indonesian charged with blasphemy for atheist post

PADANG, Indonesia: Indonesian police say a civil servant who posted “God does not exist” on Facebook faces a maximum penalty of five years behind bars for blasphemy.

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Indonesian girl eaten by crocodile

MAUMERE, Indonesia: Officials say a crocodile swallowed a girl in Indonesia as her father looked on helplessly.

Turkey hospital performs world's first triple limb transplant

ANKARA: A hospital in southern Turkey on Saturday was attempting the world’s first triple limb transplant, attaching two arms and one leg to a 34-year-old man, the country’s state-run news agency reported.

Head found in Hollywood park ID’d, killer unclear

LOS ANGELES: Authorities have determined that a dismembered head and other body parts found in a rugged hillside park near the famed “Hollywood” sign are the remains of a man who lived in an a nearby apartment.

New Zealand police cut way into mansion in Internet fraud case

WELLINGTON: New Zealand police broke through electronic locks and cut their way into a mansion safe room to arrest the alleged kingpin of an international Internet copyright theft case and seize millions of dollars worth of cars, artwork and other goods.

Dogs’ feet give Japan scientists paws for thought

TOKYO: Ever wonder how dogs can walk barefoot in the snow? Now a Japanese scientist may have the answer — an internal central heating system.

Al Ducharme: The incredible entertainer

American stand-up comedian Al Ducharme has been making people laugh for nearly two decades with his unique stand-up act that includes mind-blowing sound effects. Name something — ANYTHING — and  he can mimic it, from sounds (bullets and vacuum cleaners), soundtracks and movies (“Star Wars” and Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns) to little kids speaking on the phone — all with fantastic acting, even in slow motion!

A journey with purpose

Today’s opening of “Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam” marks in the most spectacular way one journey completed and another beginning. It is the culmination of years of work to bring to fruition in an appropriately sensitive way, and with a spread of artifacts supporting the central “journey” theme, the largest exhibition anywhere or in any time devoted to the subject of Haj.

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Kingdom offers variety to tickle all types of palates

One of the activities that Saudi Arabia offers its locals and other residents is a great variety of restaurants and coffee shops that matches all kinds of tastes and styles. Saudi Arabia is a hub of different cuisines from both eastern and western parts of the world. One can find restaurants that offer Japanese, Italian, Lebanese, Greek, or Chinese cuisine as well as places that offer all of it under one roof. Restaurants in the Kingdom often specialize in certain types of food or present a specific kind of meal.

Arabian flavors for Baresi

Seeing one of the finest Italian defenders of all times, who lives in the unreachable world of legends, whilst trying to climb a camel, hold a Jambiyah, participate in traditional Arab dances and eat kabsa with his hands sitting on the floor was a surreal and amusing scene for those who had the chance to accompany him in a tour of Najran on the occasion of the recent AC Milan Park inauguration.

Symphonic Ensemble Munich captivates Jeddah audience

Exclusive interview with Conductor Felix Mayer

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Couture is here

Juicy Couture wowed Dubai’s elite on Jan. 11 when it showcased its Spring 2012 collection. The exclusive event took place on the vast grounds of the Magnolia Restaurant at Al Qasr Hotel and was attended by some 100 VIP guests and media persons who had gathered to view a collection that takes a starkly different direction for the popular brand.

Sitara to the door of Kaaba at British Museum

LONDON: The British Museum and the King Abdul Aziz Public Library, who are jointly preparing for the major exhibition, "Haj: Journey to the heart of Islam" that opens to the public on Jan. 26, displayed Wednesday a splendid sitara textile at the British Museum here.

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Carolina Herrera: The Middle East is an inspiration

From my observations, Saudi women are a lot like Latin Americans; they love makeup and colors,” said the Venezuelan fashion designer, Carolina Herrera, after her visit to Jeddah to support breast cancer awareness with Zahra Breast Cancer Association.

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Liam Fahy on shoes, psychology and craftsmanship

London’s famous shoe designer Liam Fahy was born to an Irish father and a British mother who both decided to move to Africa and start a family. Fahy was born on a snake farm in Zimbabwe and studied at the Harare International School.

Nigerian authors look West to gain their fame

LAGOS: The chaos of Nigeria’s largest city of Lagos gets boiled down to prose as a narrator notes “how unpretty” its sprawl looks, with “its unplanned houses sprouting like weeds.” Another author describes the madness of the commute, how six roads meet and “there is no traffic light.”

Edutainment on YouTube

JEDDAH: The new YouTube channel Fallimha teaches viewers the English language through watching movies. With 50,000 views of the first episode in less than four days, the channel reached an unexpected success almost overnight.

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Israel urges end to Syria bloodshed, offers aid

Hey Ron, Israel is offering aid to Syrians. Please be clear so as not to generalize this move a

DON IN AUSTRALIA at Mar 6, 2012 16:34

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Syria — where are the Americans?

Mr. Abdulateef Al-Mulhim. You are the best public relation man in Saudi Arabia. This article co

Javeed at Mar 6, 2012 16:33

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Replicas of Two Holy Mosques added to Makkah exhibition

Divine. Finest places on Earth. Alhamdullillah. May Allah gives us ability to visit these Two H

Khandaker Taufiq Ahmed at Mar 6, 2012 16:31

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Israel urges end to Syria bloodshed, offers aid

Oh! Look how merciful and kind hearted Israel is? Ready to help its enemies?????????? This coun

ramanujam at Mar 6, 2012 16:31

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Syria — where are the Americans?

you wrote "America, or anyone else for that matter, needs a mandate from the UN. Otherwise it i

@ Robert Lajoie at Mar 6, 2012 16:30

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