Dubai rang in 2015 with a splendiferous fireworks display ; the spectacular photos from New Year’s Eve made noise among social media users across the web. The best images were captured by Daniel Cheong, a photography “hobbyist” (a telecom worker by day) based in Dubai. Al Bawaba caught up with Cheong to find out more about the man behind the lense. How does someone who only recently got serious about cameras produce such consistently knock-out portraits of the UAE’s most populous/ photographed/photogenic city? The man behind the lense Cheong’s journey ...

On the surface, world leaders linking arms in unity after three days of terrorist attacks in France gave a cosy picture of peace and defiance against those daring to obstruct freedom of speech. Their faces were plastered across television screens and newspapers as they linked up with three million people who lined the streets in Paris in solidarity against the fatal shootings of ten Charlie Hebdo staff members, two police officers and four supermarket hostages. But of all the faces, it was Benjamin Netanyahu’s that stood out most - for ...

Each country serves its own selection of traditional drinks, some being seasonally rotating, and the Middle East is no different. But when it comes to frosty winters in the otherwise sunny strongholds - did someone say “Huda”? - Arabs have just the right winter-warmers to get your temperatures and moods soaring. Comfort zone hot drink cosy classics The entire Levant and much of the Middle East has been cooped up at home with the arrival of snow storm “Huda,” which, as well as sending temperatures plunging well below seasonal averages ...

What’s tall, blonde, and athletic? Well, camels might not be the first thing that springs to mind, but this humped animal is pretty much the face of desert life across the Arab world. Camels have been hard at work sustaining the Bedouin lifestyle for thousands of years. As a mode of transportation, a source of food, and a sign of status and wealth, camels have some serious responsibilities. But they’re good for more than just the practical stuff. Actually, they've got some wild tricks up their hoofs! Can you knock ...

Snow (and Mia Khalifa ) have been keeping the Middle East busy - in two radically different ways - while one is logging record cold temperatures the other is raising the heat - as storms wreaked havoc across the region this week. Nonetheless, kids and adults alike are somewhat enjoying being snowed-in, as shops, schools and roads have shut down in most areas, effectively paralyzing much of the sleepy region. Still, while many are singing “Let it snow” while cosied up in their warm robes with chestnuts roasting on the ...

Lebanon has no king, and for now no president either, but today it boasts a queen - and we’re not talking Amal Clooney (despite those irresistible rumors that her hubby may run for US President ). Lebanese-born Mia Khalifa (not her real name) is the newly crowned Queen of Porn thanks to her popular performances on the world’s most-visited adult video site, PornHub. The Miami-based star made her debut in October 2014 and quickly become a favorite among adult film fans, but now she’s being bombarded with death threats and ...

Garcia backs calls for goal-line technology