A preview of what the new year of 2012 holds in store for you, according to your star signs. Our Zodiac run-down, charts the rise or falls in the forecast for the year ahead, showing unanimous acknowledgement of a turbulent year gone by. Will this year be more promising on the personal or public level than the last? This year, more than others, people are increasingly looking to the stars for answers, as political forecasts fail to predict the surprises afflicting the natural and political world. Al Bawaba includes the ...

Spectacular displays of an international assortment of firework displays welcoming in the New Year of 2012.

Angry Year As the year comes to a close, many are relieved that a year of stormy clouds and unabated anger is behind us. Things can only get better, or is there still worse to come? In 2011, it turned out that we could not forecast the range of violent weather, nor could we predict the rage of people. From Joplin Missouri's tornado to Hurricane Irene that had NYC evacuated (the feared but softer touch to predecessor Katrina), even the super-power was not above being invaded by mad storms. Unemployment ...

A reminder in brief of the tumultuous news schedule of the year passed. 2011 saw news churned out globally at such a rate that had viewers transfixed to their TV screens, computers and phones for constant updates. In no order of importance or calendar chronology, Al Bawaba offers you its very own review in montage of the year in two parts: one slideshow can only go so far in a premium period that saw news editors doubling their efforts to keep abreast of the regional output alone, not neglecting the ...

Wishing for a Merry Christmas period and a safe, if not Happy, New Year, the Arab world celebrates Christmas 2011-2012, in its own distinct way. On Christmas Day, we remind ourselves that the Arab Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity and home to the world's most ancient Christian denominations. Here's a scan of Christmas around the Middle East, as marked by the minority Christian Arab communities distributed around the region to varying degrees of concentration, from Lebanon to Egypt and even some of the Gulf states. Christmas in 2011 ...

Christians in Egypt are complaining of the after-effects of the Arab Spring. What exactly is their gripe with Egypt's crusade for change? Has their protest been lost or drowned out by global protests among the world's protest fever? In amongst all the cacophony of revolution, uprising and protest and the vying for change in the Arab world, there is another story that has at times been neglected. The predicament of the Coptic Christians of Egypt has perhaps been overlooked leading up to Christmas for the Eastern Church. It could be ...

2011 was a bad year for Arabic celebrities. Arab Revolutions stole the thunder – and made a lot of noise - as revolution news merged with entertainment, as it were. Notably entertainment-worthy, were flamboyant leaders astonishing us with their theatrical speeches and spoofed speech-songs like the unforgettable, ‘Zenga-Zenga’. Gaddafi’s superstar hit, courtesy of inventive Israeli DJ who didn’t miss an opportunity to spread the Revolution on YouTube, captured the Arab and Western world’s attention, and moved the real entertainers – musical artists and actors of the region- to the side-line ...

The relationship between Arabia and Persia can be summarized as one of stop-starting antagonism, the pair lurching between states of 'best of friends' and 'worst of neighbors'! A clash of cultures, religious sects and long-standing stigma of the other. Arabs regard Persians with a long-standing suspicion and mistrust. They harbor the fear of possible Iranian hegemony in the Persian Gulf. This appalls them more so as they view their Persian neighbors as 'knowingly' devient. (or mis-led) Persians see Arabs as inferior and regard them with an equally matched distaste. Each ...

Islamic guide to vegetable shopping - what's in and what's in the bin! On the back of the mockery that has already not surprisingly arisen concerning the Muslim cleric who spoke out on his distaste for women handling phallic or ' penis-resembling' fruit and vegetables , Al Bawaba has thought to make light of the situation at hand. Forgive us if we've squeezed the lemon. According to the unnamed, possibly Egyptian, Muslim cleric living in Europe, some fruits and vegetables, specfically those most penis-like to the female imagination, should be ...

For Shia Muslims, 'Ashura' is a solemn day of mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in 680 AD at Karbala in modern-day Iraq. Who is Hussein and why is his death significant to Islam? Imam Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib At a scan : Father: Imam Ali Amir Mu'minin Mother: Fatimah az-Zahra - the daughter of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH) Kunniyat (Patronymic): Abu Abdullah Laqab (Title): Saiyd-ush-Shohada Birth: He was born in Medina on a Thursday, 3rd of Shaban 4 A.H (year of Hijrah) ...

Is the celebrity voice of Egypt unanimously anit-Islamist? Who did the Egyptian celebrities and film stars vote for in the first round of parliamentary elections consuming Egypt last week? With word on Egyptian-Hollywood-street abuzz with the anti-Islamist sentiment held by the acting and artistic community, Al Bawaba wanted to separate reality from conjecture and gossip. According to various sources including the esteemed ‘Al Ahram’ newspaper, candidness and transparency were not easily found among most voting celebs, who for one thing have their popularity to consider when committing to their political ...