Simba returns to the zoo after leaving his kingdom in Qatar
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Simba, a 4-year-old male lion once owned by the royal family of Qatar, has made the Detroit Zoo his new home. The Detroit Zoo said on Thursday that the royal family received Simba as a gift, but decided later that the lion would be better off in a different environment, the Associated Press reported. “The owners ... Read More
Famed Mali artists compose song for peace
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Some of Mali’s biggest artists have composed a song for peace in a country where the army, backed by French troops, is battling to drive out Islamist extremists occupying the vast desert north. The seven-minute song is titled “Mali Ko” (‘For Mali’ in the local Bambara language). It features about 40 artists, ... Read More
‘Jew’ is the new ‘cool’ for Dutch youths
Friday, 18 January 2013
“Cool,” “awesome,” and even “sick” are words that have been used by teenagers to define what is “cool.” But recently, a new word, “Jew,” has been added by young Dutch teenagers to mean “cool.” The word ‘Jew’ has long been used for anti-Semitic invective that implied a negative connotation or associated with avarice, ... Read More
Wishing upon a star: Syrians turn to astrology for hope
Friday, 18 January 2013
Tired of failed forecasts about their country’s bitter conflict that has left more than 60,000 people dead, some Syrians have turned to fortune tellers and astrology to try to predict what lies ahead. Nearly two years into the fighting, many have lost faith in political analysts and claims by parties on both ... Read More
Palestinians object to Israeli exhibition on historical King Herod
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Israel’s national museum said Tuesday it will open what it calls the world’s first exhibition devoted to the architectural legacy of King Herod, the Jewish proxy monarch who ruled Jerusalem and the Holy Land during the life of Zachariah, father of John the Baptist, or Yahyah as he is known in the Quran. The period in ... Read More
Ramallah Theatre Company performs Shakespeare in Arabic
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
The Ashtar Theatre Company will perform a version of Shakespeare’s iconic Richard II as part of Dubai’s annual shopping festival, reported the National on Wednesday. The theatre group, established in 1991 as a youth theatre, branched out in the West Bank and Gaza and eventually built a base in Ramallah in 1995. Richard II ... Read More
Malaysia rated top Muslim-friendly holiday destination
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Malaysia has been rated the world’s top Muslim-friendly holiday destination in a survey released Wednesday that listed Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Singapore as runners-up. The study by Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy Crescentrating ranked countries on how well they cater to ... Read More
Egyptian bank grants loans to young farmers to marry more than one wife
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
In an attempt to fight “spinsterhood,” the Egyptian Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit decided to grant loans to new farmers to encourage polygamy. The Bank’s chairman, Mohsen Batran, announced in a press conference held with the Minister of Agriculture on Tuesday, that the bank will be granting loans to young ... Read More
America’s Got Talent finalist to perform in UAE
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Season seven’s America’s Got Talent finalist, William Close will be performing for several nights at the Al Majaz Waterfront in the UAE’s city of Sharjah this week. He plans to play “the Earth Harp,” described on Al Majaz’s website as “a musical instrument unlike any other, it uses the surrounding architecture and landscape ... Read More
Quincy Jones launches Dubai Music Week in 2013
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Music producer Quincy Jones, famous for producing Michael Jackson’s hugely-successful album Thriller, has teamed up with UAE based entrepreneur Badr Jafar to launch Dubai Music Week (DMW). The event will consist of an industry tradeshow followed by two music festivals. Jafar, also the president of Crescent Petroleum, set ... Read More
‘Stop the pigeon’: Egypt police sends bird to criminal investigation department
Monday, 14 January 2013
In an incident that brings back old mailing tools, a pigeon was found Sunday in Egypt’s northeastern city of Qalyubia with a written message tied to one of its feet and a microfilm attached to the other, a local newspaper reported. The Qalyubia Security Directorate said that a security guard called Saber Ibrahim filed a ... Read More
Lean and mean? Arab belly dancers ignore politics at Israeli festival
Sunday, 13 January 2013
While Arab politicians might avoid visiting Israel at any cost given its hostile status and disputes over the still unresolved occupation of Palestinian land; Arab belly dancers are reportedly having a much leaner approach. Arab belly dancers and oriental dance teachers from Egypt, Jordan and Morocco will head to Israel to ... Read More
Court rejects Islamist lawsuit to shut down show ‘insulting’ Mursi
Saturday, 12 January 2013
An Egyptian court Saturday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Muslim Brotherhood lawyer against a comedian, nicknamed Egypt’s Jon Stewart, to shut down his show and CBC television channel that is broadcasting it. The comedian, Bassem Yousef, was accused of insulting Islamist President Mohammed Mursi in one of his Read More
Egypt suspends Islamic TV show over libel
Saturday, 12 January 2013
An Egyptian court has ordered that a program hosted by a fiery preacher be suspended for libeling and defaming a well-known actress. The court on Saturday decided to suspend the program "In The Scale" for 30 days. A widely circulated video clip shows its host, Abdullah Badr, accusing well-known actress Elham ... Read More
“High-Flier”: Rolls-Royce honors for Arab inventor grabs media attention
Friday, 11 January 2013
Rolls-Royce names a special-edition model after Arab inventor Abbas Ibn Firnas. The Rolls-Royce Ghost is honoring Ibn Firnas, “who is most famous for being the first man in history to make scientific attempts at flying,” according to a report by Drive Arabia News & Read More
Counter-strike: Iran plans film to ‘correct’ Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’
Friday, 11 January 2013
Tehran is to fund a movie that will “correct” the distorted historical context of the recently released Hollywood movie, “Argo,” directed by the American actor, Ben Read More
Archeologists in Egypt unearth 3000-year-old tombs
Friday, 11 January 2013
Egypt’s Antiquities Minister says Italian archaeologists have unearthed tombs over 3000 years old in the ancient city of Luxor. Mohammed Ibrahim says the discovery was made beneath the mortuary temple of King Amenhotep II, seventh Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty who reigned from 1427 to 1401 B.C. The temple is ... Read More
“Afghan Girl” photographer exhibits in Dubai
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Her haunting deep sea-green eyes have become iconic, the “Afghan girl” displays the hope of a refugee whose image is now recognizable the world over. She was photographed by American Steve McCurry who recently traveled to Dubai to unveil his “unguarded moments” exhibition. The show wraps on Thursday, after a successful ... Read More
Saudis escape pressures of city life with desert jaunts
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Saudi men - claiming they are exhausted by the pressures of city living - are taking to the desert in their droves for a slice of fresh air, open spaces and male company. The ad-Dahna desert is the central region of the Arabian Desert, a sandy mass that extends for 800 miles from the northeast edge of the al-Nafud desert to ... Read More
‘Hard Luck’ Cafe? Cairo’s debut Islamic coffee-shop allows no gender-mixing
Thursday, 10 January 2013
When the D. Cappucino café opened its doors last May it attracted little attention outside of Cairo’s upscale Nasser City neighborhood. But a political crisis that has polarized Egypt and set liberals and Islamists at loggerheads has suddenly focused nationwide attention on the café, which caters to conservative ... Read More