Play depicts Lebanon as building at risk of collapse

Author:  Reuters ID:  1543494143920480800 Thu, 2018-11-29 12:09 BEIRUT: The squabbling residents of a dilapidated building at risk of collapse serve as an allegory for Lebanon's political and religious divisions in a new drama by satirical playwright Georges Khabbaz. The play "Only If" is intended to portray the country's problems while urging its people to love each other, said Khabbaz, who wrote and directed it as well...

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Move over mainstream: How Sole DXB and Beirut and Beyond are pushing the alternative scene

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The Jeweler of the Nile: Azza Fahmy brings Middle Eastern style to London

Author:  roya almously ID:  1543470851969435100 Thu, 2018-11-29 08:53 LONDON: To enter the London store of celebrated Egyptian jeweler Azza Fahmy is to pass into a world of opulence, glamor and, lets face it, wealth. The glitter of the gems, the gleam of the gold… This is a whole other level of bling. Azza Fahmy has been showcasing Middle Eastern style to the world for almost 50 years. Fans of her creations include Middle...

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Hit series ‘Vikings’ returns for fifth season in MENA

Wed, 2018-11-28 22:30 JEDDAH: The wait is finally over. Hit TV series “Vikings” returns to Starz Play, a major regional on-demand service, this week. The show’s latest season will be available to view on Starz Play across the Middle East and North Africa as the episodes air in the US.  The latest season offers fans a chance to catch up on the trials and tribulations of the family of Ragnar Lothbrok, the show’s protagonist until his...

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What We Are Reading Today: Data Visualization by Kieran Healy

Author:  Wed, 2018-11-28 21:47 This book provides students and researchers a hands-on introduction to the principles and practice of data visualization.  It explains what makes some graphs succeed while others fail, how to make high-quality figures from data using powerful and reproducible methods, and how to think about data visualization in an honest and effective way. Data Visualization builds the reader’s expertise in ggplot2,...

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Alicia Keys to return to UAE for Dubai Jazz Festival

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The Six: How to celebrate UAE National Day

Author:  Wed, 2018-11-28 14:36 The UAE will mark National Day on Dec. 2, but the entire country begins celebrations on Nov. 28. Here are ways to join in the fun. The big ticket “This Is Zayed. This Is the UAE,” billed as this year’s main event on Dec. 2, is a visual show with performances by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and traditional musicians at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.  Firework displays The...

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All verse, no chorus: Rocker-turned-poet Nader Mansour releases debut collection

Author:  roya almously ID:  1543386708171377400 Wed, 2018-11-28 09:31 BEIRUT: Just over five years ago, the Beirut-based Wanton Bishops — a musical vessel for the creative vision of charismatic frontman Nader Mansour — took the region by storm with their Sixties-Psychedelia-tinged, visceral variety of blues-rock and their critically acclaimed debut album “Sleep With The Lights On.” After a trip to America to explore the roots...

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The Breakdown: Faissal El-Malak — “Hallowed Threads”

Author:  roya almously ID:  1543385291041348200 Wed, 2018-11-28 09:05 DUBAI: The Dubai-based Palestinian designer talks us through the piece he created for the exhibition “From RAK to DRAK” as part of Dubai Design Week. Design Ras Al Khor invited three designers to investigate the community of Ras Al Khor. My task was to look at an advertising and calligraphy shop as a theme to respond to. I found a tiny shop — Al Arif Advertising...

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The Six: Looks from Michael Cinco’s Dubai show

Author:  roya almously ID:  1543384263731310100 Wed, 2018-11-28 08:50 DUBAI: The Filipino designer closed Dubai Design Days fashion week on Monday night with a show full of glamorous gowns. Lady in red Canadian Miss Universe 2018 contestant Marta Magdalena Stepien took part in the show wearing a strawberry-red dress with feathered accents on one shoulder and a daring, hip-high slit. Pretty pastels This gorgeous gown is ever...

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What We Are Reading Today: Evolution’s Bite by Peter S. Ungar

Tue, 2018-11-27 23:41 Whether we realize it or not, we carry in our mouths the legacy of our evolution. Our teeth are like living fossils that can be studied and compared to those of our ancestors to teach us how we became human.  In Evolution’s Bite, noted paleoanthropologist Peter Ungar brings together for the first time cutting-edge advances in understanding human evolution and climate change with new approaches to uncovering dietary...

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Karen Wazen supports Louis Vuitton charity drive

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Regional pop art prints to go on sale at Sole DXB

Author:  roya almously ID:  1543306164014131000 Tue, 2018-11-27 11:08 DUBAI: Dubai-based urban festival Sole DXB is set to return on Dec. 6 with an exciting line-up of musicians set to perform at the celebration of all things hip-hop, fashion, art and basketball. This year, Dubai-based The Third Line art gallery will set up a shop at the event, selling limited-edition prints by regional artists Amir H. Fallah, Farah Al-Qasimi,...

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Beautiful Belfast: 48 hours in Northern Ireland’s capital city

Author:  roya almously ID:  1543303968424088700 Tue, 2018-11-27 10:32 DUBAI: Welcome to one of Europe’s most underrated cities. Since the turbulent days of ‘The Troubles,’ Belfast has transformed itself into an exciting holiday destination, full of character, with the kind of raw, vibrant energy not experienced in regular tourist traps. There’s plenty to see and do, particularly if you’re a fan of “Game of Thrones.” The city...

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‘Journeys Drawn’ reveals the reality of life as a refugee

Author:  roya almously ID:  1543301462074050000 Tue, 2018-11-27 09:50 LONDON: A woman cradling a baby, a child’s drawing of his friends playing football surrounded by tanks, weary men sitting hunched in a tent with a faraway look in their eyes — these are some of the closely observed scenes captured by 12 artists who ventured into war zones and refugee centers to record the lives of men, women and children fleeing bombs,...

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The Six: Who is performing at Dubai’s EDM music festival

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Megapixel: Expressing one’s creativity using beads

Author:  Tue, 2018-11-27 03:58 Art has always been about creativity and novelty, and Sarah Abulaynain is no exception. The mother of three recently turned heads by attaching plastic beads to different background drawings, resulting in figures that look like they are pixelated. “I’ve always been into art, but I wanted to add my own touch by making my own backgrounds to enhance the work itself,” she said. “Every background has a theme...

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NASA spacecraft lands on red planet after six-month journey

Author:  By MARCIA DUNN | AP ID:  1543267405450536600 Mon, 2018-11-26 (All day) CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: A NASA spacecraft designed to burrow beneath the surface of Mars landed on the red planet Monday after a six-month, 300 million-mile (482 million-kilometer) journey and a perilous, six-minute descent through the rose-hued atmosphere. Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, leaped...

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‘Creed’ breaks US box office records

Author:  Tue, 2018-11-27 00:20 LOS ANGELES: Movie sequels are having their own Thanksgiving feast at the box office and fueling record industry-wide grosses for the long weekend. “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Creed II” took the top two spots on the North American charts, beat the openings for the original films and helped the five-day Thanksgiving box office totals cross the $300 million mark for the first time ever. Studios on...

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What We Are Reading Today: In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin

Author:  Tue, 2018-11-27 00:02 Written by fellow foreign correspondent Lindsey Hilsum, In Extremis is the story of the most daring war reporter of her age.  “Drawing on unpublished diaries and notebooks, and interviews with Marie’s friends, family and colleagues, In Extremis is the story of our turbulent age, and the life of a woman who defied convention,” stated a review in goodreads.com. Hilsum is also the author of Sandstorm:...

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Gene-edited baby claim by Chinese scientist sparks outrage

Author:  By MARILYNN MARCHIONE | AP ID:  1543263829950343700 Mon, 2018-11-26 (All day) HONG KONG: Scientists and bioethics experts reacted with shock, anger and alarm Monday to a Chinese researcher’s claim that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies. He Jiankui of Southern University of Science and Technology of China said he altered the DNA of twin girls born earlier this month to try to help them resist...

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Julia Roberts backs London store selling presents for refugees

Author:  Reuters ID:  1543241730538509900 Mon, 2018-11-26 13:59 LONDON: A pop-up charity shop backed by Julia Roberts has opened in London, letting shoppers buy food, clothing and even schooling for refugees around the world. The ‘Choose Love’ store, run by the Help Refugees charity, opened just off the capital’s Carnaby Street — with a second one due to follow on West Broadway, New York on Tuesday. “You come in and you buy...

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