The reins of power in Qatar have been transferred from father to son. Unlike the last transition, this was a peaceful shift in the region. Now, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani has taken over from his father . It has been reported that he’s suffering from a health condition. Read more: See our previous Slide Shows Tamim inherits his place at the top of a rising Gulf giant. However, his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is expected to remain influential from behind the scenes. Propped up by ...

The reins of power in Qatar have been transferred from father to son. In a rare demonstration of a peaceful power transition in the region, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani takes over from his father , who's thought to be suffering from a health condition. Like father like son Tamim inherits his place at the top of a rising Gulf giant, however his father Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is expected to remain influential from behind the scenes. Propped up by abundant natural gas reserves and an international ...

Forget Superman, Super Walmart, the Super Bowl and even the Super Nintendo. For this Slide Show , it's all about the supermoon. And what exactly is a supermoon? It's a rare celestial occurrence that happens once every 14 full moons that makes the moon look 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than it usually is. Last Saturday, the moon was approximately 2 percent closer to us Earthlings - the closest in 20 years. Meanwhile, there's been wild speculation – mainly on the Internet – linking the supermoon to natural ...

In Gaza, where daily life is marred by far-reaching economic challenges and the banality of occupation politics, Mohammad Assaf gives Palestinians something to cheer about. Having grown up in the Khan Younis refugee camp, Assaf’s story is your classic rags to riches. Earning his keep by singing at weddings across the West Bank, the 23-year-old nearly didn’t make it into the Arab Idol competition. After having trouble with Hamas at the Rafah border, Assaf reached the Cairo Arab Idol auditions late. With no registration number, Assaf sang for those in ...

World Refugee Day 2013 comes at a time when the number of refugees is at its highest globally in almost 20 years. According to a UN report, 7.6 million people were displaced in 2012. A report issued from the office of the UN High commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) said that the Syrian crisis has been a “major new factor” in driving up refugee numbers. Read more: See our previous Slide Shows “These truly are alarming numbers. They reflect individual suffering on a huge scale and they and they reflect the difficulties ...

I n light of the G8 summit, which brings together the top officials from the US, Russia, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, we have sought to unplug the most colorful rhetoric used by the participating countries over Syria. A merciful change from when the Syrian crisis was being swept under the rug by the international community, with the escalating brutality of the conflict and the perceived gains of the Assad regime, the ongoing civil war is now a hot topic. As the rest of the world condemns ...

It’s almost the final countdown. Throughout the region, Arabs are holding their breath in anticipation. But the collective suspense has nothing to do with F-16s. There’s no talk of no-fly zones. The only tears here will be shed after a perfect power ballad, rather than a run-in with the Turkish police. Arab Idol’s into the final week and the three remaining contestants will clash this weekend, carrying the hopes of nations on their shoulders. Even political leaders are tuning in. Red hot favorite Mohammad Assaf has not only won the ...

After weeks of debates, drama and outrage, the Islamic Republic is finally going to the polls. Whilst reformists may be disillusioned at the lack of options, the buzz surrounding Hassan Rouhani is palpable in the streets of Tehran. The cleric’s closely aligned with the former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and leads the polls going into election day. At the opposite end of the political spectrum, the conservatives have a number of candidates to choose from. At this stage, however, they are yet to unite behind a single name, which could ...

Some may have predicted that former president Hosni Mubarak's downfall would lead to greater riches for Egypt. A time of relative darkness under dictatorship by rights would give way to illumination and progress. At the time, people were living in poor conditions and many questioned why life was so harsh when the country generated so much revenue. But ever since Mubarak was usurped in 2011, Egypt has seen an increase in violence - from vigilantes hanging thieves, to sprees of kidnappings, murder and also rape. Yet the mayhem under Mohammad ...

What started as a local outcry against a governmental move to build a shopping mall in an Istanbul park, has transformed into a national crisis for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , and a personality crisis for Turkey itself . The creeping authoritarianism of the ruling party , its open-armed embrace of neoliberal capitalism and a feeling that secular groups are being marginalised at the expense of Islamist interests, are recurring themes of conversation, and chanting, on Turkish streets. Riding out the protests must be the Turkish government’s short-term goal. But in ...

We all know they can prance around on stage, and we can see that they all love to show a bit of skin, but it seems that our Arab stars have more in common with Western superstars than you think! It could be their looks or their stage presence, but we've been getting some twinny vibes off some of the biggest stars in the Middle East. Is this a coincidence? Or are they trying to look like some of the biggest stars in the US? Check out nine of the ...