Contract to Kill: A movie about stopping terrorism before time runs out
When Islamic terrorists plot to enter the United States through Mexican cartels’ tunnels, only a man who has worked for both the CIA and DEA can keep Americans safe. That man is Harmon, who could only be played by Steven Seagal. ...
‘A Dog’s Journey’ is weapons-grade tearjerker material for dog lovers
No one likes to see a dog die. In fact, most people are so averse to even fictional depictions of canine mortality that there’s an entire website devoted to warning viewers away from movies where the dog doesn’t make it. Se...
Mesaharati: An ancient career fights extinction in digital age
A mesaharati is a person who wakes others up before dawn in order to eat before their fast during Ramadan. The job has been around for generations, and despite the technological revolution, it is an honoured tradition that continues to...
In Jerusalem’s Old City, lantern maker lights up Ramadan
At his shop in Jerusalem’s Old City, Palestinian craftsman Issam Zughair makes traditional lanterns for Muslims marking the holy month of Ramadan, battling competition from cheap Chinese imports. Zughair’s shop is decked ou...
First Man: Ryan Gosling shoots for the moon in Neil Armstrong biopic
First Man is a 2018 American biographical drama film directed by Damien Chazelle and written by Josh Singer. Based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, ...
We need an urgent global response to the plague of plastic
Today, it has become clear that plastic is having a devastating effect not only on wildlife but on ourselves. It is now polluting every corner of our planet. I have seen first-hand, how it is choking our oceans and rivers. It entangles...
Washington’s dirty little secret: No one is running the show
One of the hardest lessons for young, idealistic and educated people to learn when they come to Washington -- and some never learn it -- is that nobody is running things. Sure, they know how to hold a press conference or write a law or...
A world without the wonders of nature can affect our happiness
Against the spectacular backdrop of the UAE’s Hajar Mountains, I once saw an osprey. The bird of prey was gliding on a warm wind, a snake clenched in its talons – lunch for a hungry brood of hatchlings, I suspected. The sce...
Rejuvenating cultural heritage in the wake of catastrophe
When one of the oldest and most famous structures of religious significance in Europe went up in flames last month, the world was watching, and many wept. Social media platforms were also ablaze with pictures and comments, with people ...
US sanctions are strangling the effort to rebuild Old Aleppo
In the middle of Aleppo, at the top of a tall hill, the ancient Citadel looms over half-destroyed buildings along narrow cobblestone roads. People bustle around the castle’s majestic entrance and fill reopened cafes, but most of ...
Trump feels a chill wind from the East
Donald Trump is facing significant foreign policy challenges from Venezuela to Iran, but it is Asia-Pacific that may loom largest after setbacks in trade talks with China and the impasse in nuclear diplomacy with North Korea underscore...
Student of the Year 2: a fun film with a weak script
Student of the Year 2 is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language teen drama film written by Arshad Sayed and directed by Punit Malhotra. A sequel to the 2012 film Student of the Year, it stars Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria and Ananya Panday. The fil...
As the world tiptoes towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Dubai is embracing AI
The world is racing towards the future. Technologies that once seemed futuristic or even exaggerated are now real and increasingly commonplace. Experts have begun referring to our present era as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which ...
The Senate is as much of a problem as Trump
The Senate is a problem for Democrats. Well, it’s two problems. The first is short term. The odds that the Democratic Party will win a Senate majority in 2020 are slim. To get to 50 seats — which is enough only if they win ...
‘Age is no obstacle’ - Egyptian swimmer still a champion at 76
Several times when Africans cross the age of 65 they tend to stay less active intentionally so as not to weaken their bones further but Nagwa Yousef Ghorab, a 76-year-old Egyptian swimmer doesnt believe in that idea. Nagwa is stretchin...
Photographers in Iraq’s Mosul snap dark days, bright futures
Ashraf Al-Atraqji carefully stepped around tufts of weeds sprouting in a mountain of rubble in Iraq’s Mosul, found a seat on a sun-soaked rock, and struck a pose for the photographer. Behind him stretched the ruins of the Prophet...
Red Sea security dialogue takes shape in Washington
An important conference on Red Sea security was convened in Washington last month. Over two days (April 15 and 16), scores of participants from some 20 countries and organizations discussed the security threats facing the two shores of...
Palestinians can use Trump’s peace plan as a launchpad
Sometime after Ramadan, US President Donald Trump will unveil his “deal of the century” plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. It is clear from the rhetoric from Trump’s advisers that the plan will pander to Israel&rsquo...
Syria’s fuel crisis is hurting civilians, not the regime
The extent of Syria’s crippling fuel crisis can be seen now on a daily basis, in the seemingly endless queues of cars snarled in traffic as far as the eye can see, inching slowly forwards into petrol stations. This is the latest ...
Crowded out: Wildlife the biggest loser in real estate war with humans
Every day there are fewer places left on Earth for wildlife. Expanding cities and farmland, degrading ecosystems and changing climate are driving wildlife from their natural habitats into ever smaller, fragmented areas. Habitat loss, w...
Sudanese protesters must present a united front
The grief on Umm Babikir’s face is raw, angry, and deep. In her elegant and spacious home in Khartoum, she gestures at a large photograph of her son, Dr Babikir Abdul Hameed. “Look at that beautiful smile on his face, he wa...
