On November 4, Egypt’s former president Mohamed Morsi is set to go on trial for inciting violence against protesters during an uprising in 2012, six months after he came to power -- and six months before he was removed from his presidency by the army. The Foreign Ministry said that Morsi will be brought to trial for criminal -- not political -- charges. The charges levelled against the ousted Islamist president include “ deliberate and premeditated murder” as well as inciting the “use of violence, thuggery, coercion, possession of firearms ...

So you, like every other strategic career planner, want to be become an expert on the Middle East? You’ve exhausted your net-learning -- Wikipedia is just not giving you that idiosyncratic edge you need to master the ME and conquer the hotbed of the world’s news diet. Have you considered turning back the pages of time to explore books? 2013 it may be, but sometimes you can come a cropper on the internet with all its red herrings and garden path treacherous tangents-- there’s no telling how far afield you ...

Halloween in the Middle East should really be a non-event. With Islam being the religious choice of all Arab countries, (not forgetting the minorities that co-exist within this official narrative), Halloween’s pagan palaver should, in theory, be rejected by Muslims. And for the most part it is -- although there are parties and events riding high on the Halloween trend train, this spooky holiday (so loved by the US and all its copycat following) just doesn’t have the same traction in the Arab world it does elsewhere. Arabs don’t need ...

Beauty in the eye of the beholder or beauty-seeker can be achieved in many ways. But for our grandparents or tradition-keeping folk, the recipe for prettier hair or smoother skin often resulted from methods that today's generation may find a bit bizarre or downright gross, to say the least. While most day to day beauty efforts go on without the overt use of live animals, these old wives tales take us back to a time before L'Oreal (when Nivea had the monopoly!) and when products derived from your caravanning camel ...

Israelis call him the "messiah" for the rich and have accused him of "betting against" US President Barack Obama in the 2012 elections by funnelling money into Mitt Romney’s campaign, via a billionaire buddy and business magnate Sheldon Adelson . He "amazed" the UN assembly with his bomb-inspired "artwork" (or cartoon-work) and left Bill Clinton cursing. He had toed the hardline in Israeli politics so fervently that Madeline Albright called him a Jewish Newt Gingrich (and it wasn't a compliment!). After seventeen years on the Israeli political scene, right wing ...

Every year, before the new season of Arabs Got Talent hijacks our screens and takes over our lives again, we think: “How can the acts get any wackier than the year before?” Judging by Season 3, the bar for wacky is always being raised! And we say, hell, the wackier the better! It’s all about entertainment and lol-ing at the delusional acts taking on the AGT stage, after all. #awkward! Now that we are deep into Season 3 mode, we’ve discovered the answer! Full disclosure? We don’t really mind all ...

A very famous man once memorably said, “ We didn’t start the fire .”. Maybe it was Billy Joel. Or maybe it was Ayatollah Khomeini, when asked about the relations between his country and America. However, to quote the words of another famous man, “the times, they are a-changing.” Iran has just come off a round of meetings with the European Union chaired P5 + 1 Group, which is comprised of the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany. The meetings mark the latest in a series of diplomatic ...

With Halloween around the corner, the hot topic of conversations across the global party scene is “what are you going to dress up as”. It’s no different in the Middle East quarters for disciples of this pagan festival and indiscriminate party people!- expats and denizens of the Arab world - alike. But the potential for getting it wrong is rife as the growing catalogue of creative costumes can be a minefield for political and fashion faux pas -- Prince Harry’s Gestapo gaffe only reminded us that it’s never going to ...

Move aside, sheeps -- the real stars of the Eid Al Adha show are the celebrities performing across the Middle East this holiday season! There’s a massive line-up of star-studded acts worth ditching family time for this Eid, and here’s Al Bawaba’s gallery of the must-see music moguls on the map this holy week. Put your party hats on as Arab and Western stars join forces this Eid for your eyes only -- amazing firework shows, music extravaganzas, stand-up comedy gigs and other fun family activities prove that it is ...

Muslims around the world - it’s OK. You can say it. No need to look sheepish -- at times, Eid can be trying. Yes, Eid Al Adha is that wonderful occasion where family and friends can come together and celebrate, eat and catch up...but this Feast of Sacrifice is also a time when you must surrender your right to a carefree break...the time of year when all of your nosey relatives ask unwanted prying questions about all things personal and drive you up the proverbial wall. When traffic overlaps curiously ...

It is hard to say what is higher these days: Dubai’s massive skyscrapers or the Gulf city's property prices that have soared to new heights over the past few months. Now considered one of the most expensive property markets in the world, economists, policymakers and buyers themselves are in a frenzied debate on what this means for current and future property investments in UAE's biggest city. Some argue that new high prices show that Dubai has emerged sucessfully from the massive 2009 crash that enveloped its property economy, while others ...