Arabic Allure

Busy as a bee
Nawal Al Zoghbi has been keeping very busy this Ramadan. She flew to Cairo last week to add the finishing touches to her latest album. Untitled as of now, the album features Lebanese, Egyptian and Khaliji songs. The singer has also been appearing on various TV programmes during Ramadan, including Enta Meen (Who Are You?) and Five Stars.

Madonna's fashion mishap
Lebanese singer Madonna drew a lot of flak from the Jordanian press for wearing the country's traditional dress on the NTV programme Al Fursa (Chance). She wore the outfit when she appeared with host Tony Khalifa on September 20 – apparently – as a sign of respect to the country. But her gesture annoyed some writers although they failed to explain why wearing the national costume would be insulting.

A publicity Stunt?
Lebanese singer Marwa, who will launch her latest album on Eid Al Fitr later this month, has been accused of using her recent harassment incident in Alexandria to gain publicity for the album. The singer has been trying to stay in the spotlight by giving interviews and statements to various Arabic magazines about the incident. Public opinion is still divided on who is to be blamed for the episode; whether it was the singer's fault for dressing and behaving too provocatively, or the people who attacked her.

Shireen's pregnant pause
Shireen, who got married in August, has apologised for not being able to perform religious songs with Egyptian singer Ali El Haggar during Ramadan as she is pregnant. The star's husband, musician Mohammad Mustafa, said that Shireen wasn't in a condition to perform at the moment. This is Shireen's first pregnancy.

Crying on camera
Assala Nassri made Hala Sarhan, hostess of the TV show Five Star, sad when she mentioned losing her dear friend Moroccan singer Raja Bil Malih this summer. She went on to sing one of Malih's songs, moving Sarhan to tears.

Touring twosome
Lebanese stars Ragheb Alameh and Haifa Wehbe will tour Canada this month. The tour begins on October 28 and will include three concerts in Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton. After their Canadian tour the duo will head to the United States of America.