Let’s face it, most of our favorite stars in the Arab celebosphere are getting on a bit: Lebanon’s golden girl Haifa Wehbe is now a Grandma and Egyptian heartthrob, Amr Diab, celebrated his 51st birthday last year. Sadly for these old-hands, no amount of plastic surgery can stand in the way of fame-hungry youngsters with ambitious plans to take over the celebrity world. The new kids on the block are prepared to do whatever it takes to make it big in the fame game. From stirring scandal, to taking on ...

It's been a year of highs and lows for the Muslim faithful . Followers of Islam found the old disagreements over what is acceptable and what is not resurfacing in contemporary arguments. Here we present some of the best, worst and downright unusual, Islam had to offer in 2012. Last year saw the opening of the first “gay mosque” in France to cheers and jeers. Some thought this was fabulous, saying that Islam is open to personal interpretation, a religion for the post-modern 21st Century, where each follower can choose ...

For celebs the world over there is no better way to see in a New Year than to be center-stage with all eyes on them. So it came as no surprise to see star-studded celebrations popping up across the Middle East on 31 December. Dressed to impress, microphone in hand and voices at the ready, Arab stars showed their wrinkle-free faces at only the biggest and most glamorous of the region’s events. Using the night as an opportunity to entertain, flash some flesh and fill their wallets, the stars revelled ...

"Happy New Year" felt like a hollow greeting if not a wise-crack on December 31, 2012 , for many members of the Arab hemisphere, entering their third year of Arab Spring. The New Year’s celebrations were muted to a minimum in the Arab capitals, as the region let its upheaval roll into another year. While Lebanese, Iraqis and Jordanians were among those who had ducked the outright 'change' of some of their neighbors in-revolution, they could not avoid the same old problems with plenty of new issues to add to ...

After the highs and idealism of 2011, this year felt more like the morning after. In 2012, the "Arab Spring" morphed into the "Syrian Winter". And the gritty reality of the struggles consuming the region became apparent. In Egypt, Tunisia and Libya Islamists came to power and the struggles of post-revolution and counter-revolutionary forces took hold. In Syria, Bashar al-Assad's forces continue to commit atrocities, and an increasingly powerful armed opposition joined the dirty war. Celebrations of those newly in power were met with protests by those wary of new ...

Nothing is more demanding than keeping up with the celebrity’s love life. Unlike ordinary types who settle down with one person, the celebrity moves from one marriage to another, often with only months to separate them . But when they do split up, the news is bigger than Gaza rockets or Syrian civil war. For the celebrity, a love lost must be splashed all over the headlines, preferably following a series of candid interviews about their own pain, the dreaded mother-in-law and some suggestion of government interference. A celebrity divorce ...

Christmas Day celebrations in the Middle East are a reminder that the region is home to some of Christianity’s oldest denominations , including speakers of the language of Jesus, Aramaic. A time to feast with family and loved ones, it is also a time of reflection during political crises and turmoil. Millions of Arab Christians have been displaced or fled the region because of wars and internal strife. It has not been an easy year for many Christians in the region, and a muted Yuletide was often the order of ...

At the conclusion of a tumultuous year in Middle Eastern politics, Al Bawaba brings you the leading political stories of the year. From Egypt’s struggle with what it means to be a democracy, and the death throes of the Arab Spring to the increasing regional impact of Syria’s civil war and Palestine’s continued to struggle towards freedom. These are the stories that shaped the region in 2012. Share your two cents on the year that launched more Arab revolutions and saw others deliberate, hesitate and hold off the fire for ...

Their movies and albums might have held our attention for a moment but the real thing keeping us entertained this year was the personal lives - or rather star-quality scandal- brought to us by our favorite celebs . For people who thought the rich and famous couldn't get any more outrageous, 2012 came as quite a shock. Embarrassing moments and celebrity slip-ups might be part of the parcel of fame but this year stars across the Arab world seemed to up the ante on controversy, bringing it to us left ...

The Arab world has traditionally looked to Egypt as a leading light in politics and culture for the region. In the time since Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi came to power in Egypt , he looked for a while like he was doing the Arabs proud again, and as he stridently called for Israel to back off the Palestinians in Gaza, it was a throwback to the era of Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1950s. So then how did Egypt plunge into its latest round of protest mayhem? Soon after his ...

When MBC's The Voice hit TV screens across the region earlier this year, no one knew quite what to expect. The Middle East already has its fair share of talent shows with 'Idol' and 'Got Talent' raking in the ratings but makers of The Voice promised that this competition would bring something new to the table. Aimed at people with genuine musical talent, MBC promised that this was more than just your average Friday night singing competition. But with three phases to the show, from blind auditions to the battle ...