The tensions of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation exploded onto the screen at Cannes on Monday, where a tale of love and betrayal won a five-minute standing ovation. “Omar” is the new work by Hany Abu-Assad, who shot to prominence in 2006 with “Paradise Now,” which won a Golden Globe and, in the race for best foreign-language film, became the first-ever Palestinian film to be tipped for an Oscar. Abu-Assad dips into the conceptual source of Palestinians who take u ... More

Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has taken his strongman personality cult to a new dimension with headlines in the state-run media trumpeting his victory in a horse race with an $11 million prize. A professional dentist also known for his passion for glitzy racing cars, Berdymukhamedov has run the post-Soviet republic with an iron hand since 2006 when his flamboyant autocratic predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, died of a heart attack. Widely referred to as “Arkadag” (The ... More

A British illustrator has raised some $80,000 to fund medical supplies and equipment for hospitals in Syria after his recent visit to the conflict-ravaged country. “Everybody we speak to has not questioned for a second donating or buying a ticket. We sold 450 tickets in a month, and we have got 40 different lots all donated,” the illustrator, George Butler, told Al Arabiya during the fund-raising event in London. Butler’s illustrations are not just about the suffering of civili ... More

A hospital says a Turkish woman who became the first person to successfully receive a donor womb is six weeks into a “healthy” pregnancy. Derya Sert was born without a womb and had one transplanted in August 2011. Using one of her own eggs, doctors placed an embryo into the 22 year old’s womb in March. A statement from Akdeniz University Hospital on Monday said doctors have monitored a fetal heartbeat and that the pregnancy is going well. A successful birth would provide hope f ... More

Egyptian tweeps on Sunday reacted to their country’s opening of the first alcohol-free inn, Le Roi Hotel, in the Red Sea area of Hurghada, a major tourist hub. “What is this commotion about a hotel without alcohol in Hurghada, what is worrying them [Islamists] is alcohol only? What happened to [sexual] harassments? Or those who accuse others of being blasphemous for not following their way? You have no other problems?” ‏@noranor posted in Arabic on Twitter. “A hotel w ... More

A turtle considered to be the world’s second-oldest animal has died in Egypt’s Giza Zoo aged 270, a local newspaper reported Thursday. King Farouk, who became ruler of Egypt in 1936, dedicated the ancient turtle to the zoo, reported Youm 7. Its death has stirred reactions from Twitter users, who have added a political twist. The turtle survived the eras of “Farouk, [Gamal Abdel] Nasser, [Anwar] Sadat and [Hosni] Mubarak, but couldn’t stand [Mohamed] Mursi’s reign,&r ... More

The party was just getting started at a plush club in this teeming Nigerian city, hip-hop blaring, the bar bathed in blue light -- and champagne bottles on ice already adorning tables. “Too much oil money,” said a 40-year-old man at Rhapsody’s in the high-end Victoria Island district of Lagos, when asked about Nigerian spending on champagne. Two bottles of Laurent-Perrier chilled in ice buckets on the table in front of him. His company was picking up the tab, like others here ... More

Watching the solemn parade of Special Forces soldiers climb into their trucks, blessed by a priest, and drive into the grey Afghan night, Australian artist Ben Quilty wondered if they would ever return. Quilty, winner of Australia’s prestigious Archibald portrait prize, spent 24 days embedded with troops in Kandahar and Tarinkot as the nation's official war artist, sketching, photographing and filming life as a modern soldier. It is an “often very mundane existence, spiked with the ... More

An Arab Idol judge stressed her staunch disapproval of a Kurdish participant denoting her country of origin as Kurdistan, not Iraq, during the show on Saturday. For the first time in the pan-Arab talent show, Barwas Hussein, from Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan sung in Kurdish. The on-screen title showed Hussein’s country of origin as “Kurdistan Iraq,” while another two Iraqi participants had their country title as “Iraq.” “I want to welcome, ... More

The UAE is in search for its next top model to participate in the global Elite Model Look Competition, with more than 270 young hopefuls dreaming to win the title, Gulf News reported on Saturday. The contestants, who have to be over 172cm tall, lined up at a Dubai mall on Friday for the country’s first participation in the global competition. The second casting will take place in Abu Dhabi on May 3. Elite Model Look Competition has produced world renowned models the likes of Cindy Crawford ... More

Abu Dhabi’s new branch of the Louvre considers no artistic subject to be off limits but will not “shock for the sake of shocking,” a top overseer said Tuesday. She spoke as the museum prepared to open a sample of its growing collection to public view, shedding light on the choices the city makes as it expands its international profile while testing how far to open its conservative culture. Objects including a medieval nude sculpture and Christian icons suggest the Abu Dhabi Lo ... More

Ayad Akhtar’s “Disgraced,” a play about a successful Pakistani-American lawyer whose dinner party goes out of control, has won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The Columbia University’s prize board on Monday said it beat out “Rapture, Blister, Burn,” by Gina Gionfriddo and “4000 Miles” by Amy Herzog. “Disgraced” had its world premiere at Chicago’s American Theater Company in 2012 and then ran at Lincoln Center Theater’s Cl ... More

South Korean entertainer PSY unveiled his long-awaited new single on Saturday, after changing its name from “AssArabia” to “Gentleman,” following concern that it might offend the Arab world. The 35-year-old singer, of “Gangnam” fame, debuted his new song in the South Korean capital with an audience of around 50,000, most of whom were dressed in white. Although “AssArabia,” or “Assaravia,” is a term used in South Korea to express excitem ... More

A Taiwanese television has apologized for airing footage of Queen Elizabeth II as they announced the news of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s death. While CTI Cable’s headline “Margaret Thatcher Dies Of Stroke” was correct, the footage rolling with it of the Queen Elizabeth was wrong. CTI Cable learned of its TV blooper after it received complaints from its viewership, it then apologized for its error. It is not the only channel that has reportedly mistak ... More

Former Playboy model and Baywatch actress, Carmen Electra, was scheduled to make a special appearance at a Dubai night club on Sunday night. The 41-year-old American glamour girl was a guest at Dubai's Cavalli Club, Restaurant and Lounge. In a greeting statement on its Twitter account, the club said: “The stunning @carmenelectra is in the house!!! Welcome to Cavalli Club.” Earlier, the club said: “Carmen Electra joining us tonight for the very special Just Sundays, with DJ Kate ... More

Angelina Jolie paid glowing tribute to the Pakistani teenager who was shot by the Taliban for advocating for girls’ education, introducing Malala Yousafzai to the Women in the World summit via a new video from Britain. “Today I’m going to announce the happiest moment of my life,” the 15-year-old said, at one point shyly covering her face with her hands. She said a new school in Pakistan would be built for 40 girls. “Let us turn the education of 40 girls into 40 mil ... More

 The United Arab Emirates will be offering a new attraction for its tourists as it opens its first hunting resort next September. The ‘Barari Hunting Resort’ which will open near Al-Ain, the second largest city in the capital Abu Dhabi, will offer visitors the chance to “hunt oryx, gazelle and deer,” reported the UAE-based newspaper, The National. The resort is managed by the Abu-Dhabi based Mourouj Hotels and Resorts and can possibly feature bird hunting too. &ldquo ... More

Catering to House, Techno, Hip Hop, RnB and Arabic music fans, My Music X is the UAE's newest music festival, reported Gulf News. The daily said that the three-day event will feature performances by Ragheb Alama, Sandy and violin player Divanessa on Friday March 29 at the My Music X Village at Dubai International Marine Club, Mina Siyahi. Lebanese singer Alama – who is the head of the judging panel for MBC’s Arab Idol – and his brother and manager, Khodr Alama, will take part i ... More

Human beings can be made invisible, a Yemeni scientist recently suggested after unveiling award-winning research pointing to a theory on the invisibility of objects, according to a news report on Sunday. Dr. Akram al-Omainey has delivered his research over the past 18 months through a series of talks delivered to large audiences, including well-known scientists in the United Kingdom. He now says he can make objects, and even humans, invisible. Thinking beyond the normal boundaries of science ... More

The word “Jew” when said in Egypt still causes paranoia, said Egyptian film director Amir Ramses, speaking after the ban on his film “Jews of Egypt” was lifted this week. Venting his fury at Egypt’s national security for barring the film earlier this month, Ramses told Al Arabiya English on Saturday of his ironic journey towards obtaining his permit. “Whenever anything is mentioned about an Egyptian Jew, (Egypt’s) national security has to get involved,&r ... More