Arab and Muslim celebs attract lots of ink in fan magazines and entertainment news, but increasingly, the stars themselves are inking up! A bumper crop of new tattoos adorn our singers and sportsmen, and tattoo parlors - once impossible to find in the Middle East - are sprouting up in Amman and Cairo. (Previously, gypsies or jailmates did all the local skin art). Most Muslims consider permanent tattoos to be haram, based on an oral tradition ( hadith ) of the Prophet Muhammad (PBOH) which cursed both the one who ...

Pablo Picasso declared, “The purpose of art is washing dust off our daily lives.” Pithy words from the painter - just imagine his views on the cleansing power of art against the fallout of war. Artworks created by young men from Za’atari Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan were recently shown in a quiet two-week exhibit in Amman sponsored by NGO International Relief & Development (IRD) and the ubiquitous UNRWA. Za'atari is the world's second largest refugee camp , and was designed to house only a fraction of the approximately 150,000 ...

Manchester City loan Negredo to Valencia

Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC) - the first and largest pop culture festival in the region - wrapped up its third year in Dubai last week. Held at the cavernous Dubai World Trade Centre, the three-day event showcased the latest in sci-fi, animation, manga, and comic culture across film, television, and printed books. (Don’t get us started on the merchandise!) Even American screenwriter, Max Landis, was excited: "This is the best Comic Con in the world. They invited me again, and I was honestly desperate to come back.” ...

Real Madrid join Reus race

Beards are the backbone of recent men’s fashion, a fad many attribute to furry Hollywood film stars George Clooney, Ben Affleck, and Joaquin Phoenix. But trendspotters now warn of a bust in the beard boom - caused in part by a human phenomenon picked up as our species evolved. It’s known as " negative frequency-dependent sexual selection ", where we tend to want what we don’t see much of. Ergo - in a sea of stubble - cleanshaven faces become more appealing. Beard-fans, are you bristling? Researchers in Australia looked ...

Mario Balotelli In his Liverpool FC gear and training for the 1st time

Unless you’ve had your head under a bucket, you’ve seen the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge - now making a splash across the Middle East! It’s the charity stunt that dumps freezing water and ice on billionaires and beauty queens, pop stars and presidents (and everyone in between!) aiming to raise awareness and money to cure amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) . This horrific illness affects the brain and the spinal cord - knocking out your ability to walk, chew and breathe, eventually leading to total paralysis. It’s progressive and fatal, and ...

It's on, it's off, it's on again, it's off again. The Arturo Vidal transfer saga this morning has taken another twist, with various major news outlets reporting that Mancheste United have launched a new bid for the Chilean, offering Juventus money and an undisclosed player.