WRITTEN BY KALAHAN DENG Many of us do not know who is Angelique Kidjo, she is an African artist and Gram-my Award-Winning Musician. Universally, she is regarded as one of the most influential African artist. In 2002, she was appointed as the UNICEF GOODWILL AMBASSADOR and in five years later she founded BATONGA FOUNDATION , a non-profit organization that aims ...

You may not have seen Sunday night’s Miss Universe pageant to have heard about host Steve Harvey’s major gaffe in naming, then crowning, the wrong contestant as the winner. The embarrassing blunder has been making the rounds on social media for the last 18 hours, sending #MissUniverse2015 skyrocketing to the top of the list of topics trending on Twitter. Of ...

When Shaima Qasim was crowned Miss Iraq this weekend, she not only triumphed over the other women in the competition but over threats against her life. The pageant was the first to be held in Baghdad in 43 years. “Iraq needed this,” pageant director Ahmed Leith said. “The situation is weak here, and we wanted to celebrate this the same ...

Satellite images have confirmed another famous temple in the Syrian city of Palmyra has been destroyed, according to the United Nations. The UN training and research agency (UNITAR) released images today showing before and after the explosion on 30 August at Palmyra’s ancient temple of Bel by Islamic State. The image shows almost nothing remains according to UN satellite analysts Unosat. Last ...

An ancient temple of Baalshamin in the Syrian city of Palmyra was blown up by Islamic State (IS) militants according to Syrian officials and activists. The blast caused devastating damage to the temple and killed a prominent Syrian archaeologist, Khaled al-Asaad while he was working at the site. The temple is Unesco-listed and believe to be nearly 2,000 years old and one of the city’s best-known buildings. It was “an immense ...

As India’s cities struggle to turn the tables on rape and sexual assault, a new app allows women to share their stories of harassment and actively address abusive behaviour in their neighbourhoods I was touched at rush hour at the busy Andheri Station. A person passing my rickshaw simply touched my breast and ran away while I sat disgusted and ...

App will give Virgin Media customers access to independent films. Curzon has struck a deal that will bring its VOD service to TiVo in the UK. The launch of the Curzon Home Cinema app on TiVo will give Virgin Media customers access to a range of independent films at the same time they are released into UK and Ireland cinemas, ...

Despite a raging four-year civil war, rebel factions and Syrian officials are working together to protect the country’s rich heritage sites from each other’s bombs — and the Islamic State. Across the country, irreplaceable artifacts have been under siege since 2011, when fighting erupted between the Syrian government and rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad. “Archaeologists from the two ...

Sama El-Masry was accused of ‘offending’ Zamalek club president and lawyer Mortada Mansour An Egyptian misdemeanour court has acquitted belly dancer Sam El-Masry of “offending Zamalek club president and lawyer Mortada Mansour” following a reconciliation between them, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. The initial verdict handed to El-Masry was six months in jail and a fine of LE10,000. El-Masry’s lawyer ...

The iconic mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be staged twice, at Bibliotheca Alexandrina and All Saints’ Cathedral in Cairo. “Death is man’s best friend,” Mozart wrote in a letter to his father. When Mozart died over 200 years ago, he left behind hundreds of works: operas, concerti, symphonies, chamber works and more. Ironically, he died during his first assignment ...