On a dreary winter day in a car showroom on the road to the airport, a side of the Arab world you rarely see was strutting its stuff. Hijabs and Lady Gaga shoes were all over the front row of the Amman Fashion Week, sponsored by Mercedes Benz, this weekend. In fact, it was all about the shoes for the fashionable set of the Jordanian capital. Not a flat sole in sight, the ladies of Amman wore a slick of red lipstick to compliment their skyscrapers. WoMan of the moment ...

In the first round of revolutions, the Arabian Gulf avoided, for the most part, a change in their regimes, placating opponents with money handouts and increasing welfare safety nets . The drama in Egypt or Tunisia was sidelined in this oil rich region and with good reason. In North Africa, the initial lot of Springs were started by economic hardship. Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest terrible financial conditions in Sidi Bouzid, while shocking unemployment in Cairo left young people the time and motivation to demonstrate against their ...

Now that the blind auditions and the battle rounds are out of the way, viewers of MBC's The Voice are looking forward to this weekend's first live show when the power will finally be put in their hands. But, although the vocal competition might be heating up, that's not the only reason viewers are tuning in. In the dramatic opening rounds pop politics - even regional affiliations- outrageous flirting, teary tantrums and spotlight grabbing antics stole the show from the competition itself. As the coaches' final teams of five get ...

In the final 48 hours before the presidential campaign transfers to the people-meter - or the vote - we ask the incumbent President Barack Obama to be held to account on behalf of the Middle East. Did he honor his promises and pledges to a region troubled and disappointed by his predecessor's work? What’s left on his Middle East tab worth of debt, should the man enter a second term, or else should he depart, owing? Did he keep the region secured from hostile threats - militant and nuclear? Did ...

Prospects for peace in the Middle East may have eluded previous US presidents for years, but the topic still makes it to the Democratic-Republican scoreboard. After the third and final presidential debate got mired in the Mideast (leaving us tempted to believe that US foreign policy was all about the Middle East, with a dash of China, leaving the Monroe Doctrine and with it the Mexico borders consigned to the Wild Wild past), we were forced to accept that the Middle East still mattered for the superpower’s all-American election. As ...

It was a moveable feast for some who had to make other plans when certain celebs crashed and burned on them with concert cancellations. For some down-faced revelers in Lebanon and Egypt it felt more famine than feast, as they looked to top up their holiday spirits for Eid Al Adha 2012 elsewhere. Generally the Gulf's entertainment line-up was all a-go with fireworks and smiles all round. This Eid Al-Kabeer (Big Feast)'s entertainment world was a bittersweet brew of shows and no-shows -- entertainment buzzes and blues, as concerts went ...

When we think of the most coveted and for many, once-in-a-life-time journey, to the 'Hajj', we often consider only the honor and the perks that go with the experience. Many of us only see the benefits, like the dates and holy water (zam-zam) that smiling pilgrims proudly carry home to share. The Eid that directly follows the Hajj time , known as Eid al Adha (or Feast of Sacrifice), brings to mind only the sacrificed sheep and the cheery celebrations. But there is another side to the pilgrimage and the ...

Hajji - the honorific title given to a devout Muslim who has completed the once-in-a-life-time pilgramage to Mecca - carries the kudos of the knighthood in the Commonwealth world. Like turning 'Sir' one who has completed Hajj is vaunted with the proud pre-fix 'Hajj' before their name, and so joins the ranks of the global faithful and most typically grandparents everywhere. Celebrities with their eye on the glory, more than any other starry eyed members of society, love the chance to be piled with more titles and honors, especially if ...

The destruction of people is ever present in modern day Syria where lives are lost at the rate of hundreds per day. But on top of the loss of human life there is another assault happening, this time on the heritage of this ancient country. Although the two do not bear comparison, both catastrophes are irreversible. Syria is lucky to be the scene of multiple world heritage sites, including the entirety of old city in Aleppo . These are sites that have left stunned tourists staring in wonder at the ...

Two months ago the ramshackle brigades that make up the opposition fighters in Syria were told: ‘join the Syrian National Army (SNA) or disband.’ The disjointed divisions were causing chaos internally and undermining the credibility of a post-Assad government. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, SNA commander-in-chief, Major General Muhammad al-Haj Ali, said; “… the Free Syrian Army (FSA) reached a stage where it could no longer absorb all the opposition elements and brigades within its structure.” He added that uniting the opposition under one banner would help avoid further bloodshed once ...

The weather forecast was set – testosterone clouds teeming over Dubai signaled it would be raining men. Petty picture politics, Emirati hitches and all manner of stumbling blocks notwithstanding, the postponed date arrived and with it the man-parade that the ladies awaited. On Saturday 13 October, 23 strapping lads thrashed it out for the glory of being crowned 'Mr. World International 2012 Middle East'. And it was survival of the 'fittest' in the man-on-man battle at Dubai's luxury H Hotel. There was nowhere to hide as the judges cast their ...