Spring break offers first lady refuge from affair headlines

Author:  AP Sat, 2018-03-31 03:00 ID:  1522498918465024700 WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: Spring break couldn’t have come at a better time for Melania Trump. With fresh details spilling into the headlines daily about how Donald Trump allegedly cheated on her early in their marriage, the former model escaped the intense glare by spending the past week at the family’s estate in Palm Beach, Florida, with their 12-year-old son, Barron. But...

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Filmfare honors Fawad Khan with an icon award

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Denver Zoo celebrates birth of Sumatran orangutan

Author:  AP Sat, 2018-03-31 03:00 ID:  1522494702004514100 DENVER: The Denver Zoo is welcoming a baby Sumatran orangutan who is named after an Indonesian word that means “bright” and is often used to refer to sunshine. The female primate named Cerah (Che-rah) was born Sunday to parents Nias and Berani, and the family is bonding away from public view. Cerah should make her debut within the next two weeks in the Great Apes...

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Nour Arida opens Hussein Bazaza fashion show in Beirut

Author:  ARAB NEWS Sat, 2018-03-31 15:50 ID:  1522489900504140200 DUBAI: American-Lebanese style icon Nour Arida opened the Hussein Bazaza FW18 runway show this week, showing off the up-and-coming designer’s creations to a packed out crowd in Beirut. Arida, who is the hugely successful fashion blogger behind the brand N For Nour, took to the catwalk in a monochrome, sporty ensemble, complete with white ankle-length boots. The...

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Low-caste Indian Dalit killed for owning horse

Author:  AFP Sat, 2018-03-31 11:22 ID:  1522486074633954600 AHMEDABAD, India: A young farmer from India’s lowest Dalit community has been beaten to death for owning a horse, which is seen as a symbol of power and wealth, police said Saturday. Police have detained three upper caste men for questioning after the body of 21-year-old Pradeep Rathod was found in a pool of blood near Timbi village in Gujarat state late Thursday...

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6 quick getaways from the Gulf

Author:  ARAB NEWS Sat, 2018-03-31 14:58 ID:  1522486719213984500 We’ve all relished a quick getaway that’s both affordable and close. For those living in the Gulf, the options are limitless, so to make things easier here are the six top places to go that are a mere stone’s throw away. India India has so much to offer in terms of culinary experiences, culture, history and traditions. From a delightfully-diverse range of food...

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Preview: 9th Arab Film Festival Berlin

Author:  Rob Garratt London Sat, 2018-03-31 14:50 ID:  1522486303683963700 The Arab Film Festival Berlin (ALFILM) strides into its ninth edition this month with a line-up that leans heavily on hard-hitting documentaries, alongside gritty social dramas and short films. The festival opens on April 11 with drama “Beauty and the Dogs,” from Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania — one of two Arab auteurs represented in the 2017 Cannes...

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Palestinian-origin stars Simi and Haze backtrack over political post

Author:  ARAB NEWS Sat, 2018-03-31 14:32 ID:  1522485314443929600 DUBAI: Born in Saudi Arabia and raised partly in Dubai, the Khadra sisters, known around the world by their moniker “SimiHaze,” are famous for their high-flying lifestyle and superstar friends. The Palestinian-origin sisters, who count Kylie and Kendall Jenner among their friends and regularly DJ at luxury events around the world, are not afraid to get political,...

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He’ll be back: Action hero Arnie resting after heart surgery

Author:  AFP Fri, 2018-03-30 22:46 ID:  1522480406133808900 LOS ANGELES: Hollywood tough guy Arnold Schwarzenegger has conquered terrorists, mercenaries, aliens and futuristic robots on the silver screen but finds himself in a real-life fight for health after emergency heart surgery. The former bodybuilder turned action star, politician and climate activist was in a stable condition Friday, according to his spokesman, following...

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Long-maligned Mary Magdalene now seen as stalwart disciple

Author:  AP Fri, 2018-03-30 03:00 ID:  1522415319796884400 MAGDALA, Israel: If there’s a feminist figure from the Bible for the #MeToo era, it could very well be Mary Magdalene. The major character in the life of Jesus was long maligned in the West and portrayed as a reformed former prostitute. But scholars have adopted a different approach more recently, viewing her as a strong, independent woman who supported Jesus financially...

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Rare Picasso self-portrait expected to fetch $70 million

Author:  AFP Fri, 2018-03-30 16:02 ID:  1522415489796895600 HONG KONG: A rare Picasso believed to be a self-portrait created when he was under threat of deportation to a Nazi concentration camp is expected to fetch $70 million at auction, Christie’s said Friday as the work went on view in Hong Kong. The oil painting “Le Marin” depicts a sad-looking man dressed in a blue and white striped sailor’s shirt sitting on a chair. “You...

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Lebanon’s Maritta Hallani promises ‘a year full of surprises’

Author:  ARAB NEWS Fri, 2018-03-30 03:00 ID:  1522353047350044400 JEDDAH: Rising Lebanese pop singer Maritta Hallani has thanked her fans after bagging the Favorite Arab Music Artist Award at this year’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (KCA). “Thank you so much for voting for me,” she said in a video on Instagram. “This would not have been possible without your love and support... I have a year full of surprises for you.” The...

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Ribbit, ribbit go the Panama frogs after years of silence

Author:  AP Fri, 2018-03-30 03:00 ID:  1522347570059439800 WASHINGTON: After years of silence, the rhythmic “dee, dee, deep” of frogs and toads are returning in parts of Panama. A deadly fungal disease devastated amphibians in Central America more than a decade ago, quieting some mountain streams. But new research shows evolution may have saved the day — and the frogs. In El Cope, Panama, at least four species disappeared...

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Textile Asia expo generates $245m in business deals

Author:  KHURSHID AHMED Thu, 2018-03-29 23:41 ID:  1522345400249172000 KARACHI: A total of $245 million worth of business deals with Pakistani textile and apparel companies was sealed at the 19th international Textile Asia exhibition that ended on Thursday, organizers told Arab News. Most of the business deals were done by Chinese companies. “Chinese companies participated in large numbers and they made deals worth $200 million,”...

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NASA astronauts go spacewalking days after reaching orbit

Author:  AP Thu, 2018-03-29 03:00 ID:  1522336601298295900 CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: Two new arrivals at the International Space Station went spacewalking Thursday less than a week after moving in. NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold quickly set about installing new wireless antennas, replacing a failed camera and removing jumper hoses from a leaky radiator. Mission Control said the spacewalkers would complete the...

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Labor of love: Vintage Vespa fans cling to the past in Pakistan

Author:  REUTERS Thu, 2018-03-29 17:48 ID:  1522324155256851900 ISLAMABAD: As cheap Chinese-made motorbikes flood Pakistan's roads, fans of vintage Vespa scooters are scrambling to find spare parts and preserve models that hark back to a bygone era. Piaggio's Italian two-wheeler was the ultimate status symbol for Pakistani bike aficionados in the 1960s and 70s, when bicycles outstripped motorbikes on the roads and only a...

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Modest fashion revolution in Dubai is set to change the clothes game

Author:  SUDESHNA GHOSH Disruptive is a loosely used and oft-misused term these days. Everyone likes the label as it is almost a badge of honor in this digital age, but not all those who use it necessarily qualify for it. But the very first Pret-A-Cover Buyers Lane event isn’t one of the pretenders. The six-day celebration of modest fashion taking place at City Walk Dubai from March 28 to April 2 is turning the traditional format of fashion...

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Indian film ‘Baahubali’ to be screened at Pakistan International Film Festival

Author:  SABAH BANO MALIK Thu, 2018-03-29 16:18 ID:  1522318772566416500 ISLAMABAD: The four-day Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF), featuring prominent filmmakers from across the globe — including India — opens in Karachi on Thursday. At a time when Pakistani artists are banned from working in India, most recently affecting singers Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistan has extended an olive branch with PIFF. S.S....

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Thai beach from DiCaprio movie gets breather from tourists

Author:  AP Thu, 2018-03-29 03:00 ID:  1522299593105631600 BANGKOK: The daily hordes of tourists have exhausted the Thai beach made famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio movie. Authorities have announced Maya Bay, on Phi Phi Leh island in the Andaman Sea, will be closed to all visitors for four months annually starting this June to allow for the recovery of the battered coral reefs and sea life. The decision to keep visitors away...

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First Van Gogh in 20 years to go under hammer in Paris auction

Author:  AFP Wed, 2018-03-28 17:31 ID:  1522248095249523700 PARIS: The first Van Gogh painting to go under the hammer in France in more than two decades was unveiled Wednesday. “Women Mending Nets in the Dunes,” which the Dutch artist painted early in his career at Scheveningen near The Hague, is expected to go for around five million euros ($6 million) when it is auctioned in June. But with the art market booming, and prices...

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Marvels of Chaukhandi tombs attract tourists from around the world

Author:  NAIMAT KHAN Wed, 2018-03-28 18:58 ID:  1522241920268934800 Some 29 kilometers east of Karachi, more than 600 graves of yellow sandstone, popularly known as Chaukhandi tombs, tell a story of Jokhio and Baloch tribes whose men were fond of horse riding and animal hunting, and whose women would wear beautiful jewelry. The tombs also reveal how skillful the architects of that time were. “Chaukhandi tombs are generally...

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