What We Are Watching Today: ‘The King: Eternal Monarch’

Author:  Sat, 2020-08-01 00:44 In a world of mainstream K-dramas filled with cliches and reoccurring themes, “The King: Eternal Monarch” stands unique and absolutely mind-blowing. The romantic-fantasy series has the Korean megastar Lee Min-Ho as the king, Lee Gon, and Kim Go-eun as strong and fierce Jeong Tae Eul, the main love interest and a detective in Korea. The theme of the show is parallel universes crossing paths. The countries...

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THE ROUNDUP – Regional pop-culture highlights

Author:  Fri, 2020-07-31 11:53 Rasha Nahas ‘Tea Song’ The Palestinian artist’s latest single — an elegiac slow-burner with a killer guitar line — has attracted plenty of attention since its release on July 10, with Nahas being featured as Apple Music’s New Artist of the Month and seeing her track listed in Spotify’s global Fresh Finds playlist. Abir ‘Inferno’ The Moroccan-American singer brings both sides of her heritage to this...

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Islamic artist Siddiqa Juma’s optimistic, inclusive art

Author:  Fri, 2020-07-31 11:06 LONDON: Award-winning contemporary Islamic artist Siddiqa Juma’s path to success was not straightforward. Juma worked for many years as a graphic designer — a compromise between her creative urges and financial stability. Her parents, she says, wanted her to be a pharmacist, but that was never for her. But the idea of her studying art was never up for discussion. Juma spent her childhood in Tanzania,...

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Middle Eastern millennials, social media and the ‘evil eye’

Author:  Fri, 2020-07-31 10:49 DUBAI: In season two of Hulu’s hit television series “Ramy,” viewers get a glimpse into the widely-held, yet rarely publicly explored belief that publicizing your good news puts you at risk of attracting the ‘evil eye’ — a concept known as hasad in Arabic and nazar in Urdu. “Ramy,” written by and starring Egyptian-American actor Ramy Youssef, explores the fictional life of an Egyptian Muslim living...

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Muslim families keeping Eid Al-Adha traditions alive in the US

Thu, 2020-07-30 23:48 LOS ANGELES: For Arabs and Muslims living in the United States, this Eid Al-Adha marks another holy day that must be celebrated at home.  But for some families, this gives parents the opportunity to use crafts and activities to keep their children entertained and teach them about their cultural heritage. Arab News spoke with Nour Tonbakji to find out how her family held on to Eid Al-Adha traditions while living in...

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No money, no mutton: Lebanon crisis upends Eid tradition

Author:  AFP ID:  1596122488439124100 Thu, 2020-07-30 10:03 TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Tradition dictates that Muslims donate cuts of mutton during Friday’s Eid Al-Adha festival, which would spell brisk business for butcher Abdulrazak Darwish but Lebanon’s economic crisis has cast a pall over his trade. “This year has been the worst for us because of soaring inflation,” said the 54-year-old resident of the northern city of Tripoli. “There...

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The Goodness Podcast: A window on women’s struggles

Author:  Thu, 2020-07-30 13:40 DUBAI: For years, women in the Middle East have struggled to speak up on issues that have only been whispered about in the region, said co-founder of The Goodness Podcast Noor Tehini.  To give women a chance to openly discuss these taboo topics, Tehini, who is Lebanese and who grew up in the UAE, decided to start the online platform and community Goodness two years ago, dedicated to tackling matters...

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Arab International Women’s Forum highlights pandemic challenges, race for vaccine

Author:  Thu, 2020-07-30 13:19 LONDON: The Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) has drawn together experts from the Middle East and internationally to examine some of the key challenges raised by the coronavirus pandemic.  In her introduction to the virtual event, held in cooperation with global partner Pfizer, AIWF founder and Chairwoman Haifa Al-Kaylani paid tribute to “the women at the frontline of the coronavirus crisis...

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Italian vibes and cuisine at Dubai’s Larte

Thu, 2020-07-30 13:18 DUBAI: If you are yearning to experience a different culture or cuisine but are still hesitant about traveling, Larte can satisfy your Italian craving from inside Dubai. Located in the emirate’s Studio City, the restaurant has a youthful vibrancy to it. The muted grey walls are adorned with colorful art and accent shelves, with Italian music playing in the background. Larte offers five varieties of bruschetta, a traditional...

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Kuwaiti artist +Aziz preps new record with his US-based band

Author:  Thu, 2020-07-30 10:18 MANAMA: Traversing cultural boundaries, social commentary and musical exploration, a Kuwaiti artist is creating a new vision of Arab and Khaleeji music can be seen. Plus Aziz (stylized as +Aziz) formed Kuwaisiana four years ago when he decided to leave his brand strategy job in New York (where he had been based since 2009) and relocate to New Orleans to focus on his music career.         View...

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