Easter eggs and other chocolate may be good for the heart and lower blood pressure, provided you eat a tiny amount each day and prefer dark rather than milk or white chocolate, a medical journal reported on Wednesday. Nutritionists in Germany monitored 19,357 adults aged between 35 and 65 for at least a decade, comparing …

Dr Abbas Al-Sahan s patient wasn t a war victim. She didn t have a scar that needed cosmetic surgery. All she wanted was a cute nose. And she got it. Speaking after the surgery, bandages and swelling gone, 23-year-old Sarah Saad Abdul-Hameed was ecstatic. Friends who visited were surprised with the change in my …

With thick brush strokes of red paint, Lai An Khanh writes a Chinese character on yellow cloth. Happiness, it reads. Khanh and other Lunar New Year calligraphers in Vietnam sell the characters to passing homeowners who believe the uplifting words will help bring them good luck in the Year of the Tiger, which began Sunday. …

A soft focus floral print like an Impressionist painting, perhaps by Claude Monet of his water garden at Giverny, set the mood at Elie Saab s summer couture show on Wednesday. The Lebanese designer s fresh-faced models with flowing blonde hair looked like ingenues in their romantic ballgowns and babydoll cocktail frocks. Slender bodices hugged …

Is it possible to have too much ABBA? Knowing me, knowing you, the answer is no. The spangly Swedish quartet that gave the world Waterloo and Dancing Queen has sold 400 million records since its 1970s heyday and spawned the hugely successful stage and film musical Mamma Mia! And now there s ABBAWORLD – a …

Diego Maradona s diamond earring sold for ?25,000 ($36,400) at an auction Thursday to help pay off his ?37 million Italian tax bill, organizers said. An unidentified woman purchased the earring, which was valued at ?5,500, at the auction in a Bolzano hotel, said Giovanni Lombardo of the Equitalia agency which organized the sale. Tax …

Ancient Egypt’s stunning eye make-up not only shielded wearers from the dark deeds of the evil eye but also protected them against eye disease, French scientists said Thursday. Ancient Egyptians some 4,000 years ago produced the make-up used to darken and adorn eyes with lead and lead salts in mixtures that sometimes took a month …

Tavern on the Green, once America s highest-grossing restaurant, is singing its culinary swan song. The former sheepfold at the edge of Central Park, now ringed by twinkling lights and fake topiary animals, is preparing for New Year s Eve, when it will serve its last meal. Just three years ago, it was plating more …

LONDON- A London restaurant has asked diners to sign a legal waiver before tucking in to their traditional Christmas pudding in case they hurt themselves on the silver charms inside, it emerged Thursday. The owners of High Timber, located on the River Thames in the City of London financial district, said they were advised to …

Whether it’s the Bold, Curve or Storm, there is one gadget Egyptians have been endlessly buzzing about all year: the BlackBerry, or the ‘BB’ as it is endearingly called. The BlackBerry is a line of wireless mobile device developed by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM). Vodafone Egypt was the first operator to launch …

Two weeks since its opening and people can’t seem to stop talking about Aperitivo, Bodega’s latest offering to Cairo. It’s a reinterpretation of Italian dining traditions of the 1930s; and the dining room itself too is a reminder of the grand opulence that once was Cairo. It didn’t take too long for La Bodega to …

While driving down Maraashly Street in Zamalek, I spotted a regally dressed mannequin in a shop window, its black dress patterned with orbs of silver hardware. The mannequin was standing in Azza Fahmy’s Zamalek branch, a relatively new outlet but one that nevertheless, always warrants a peek through the windows and a few minutes inside …

I’ve had my share of relaxing massages, but rarely one as thorough as what I was treated to at the InterContinental CityStar’s Lifestyles spa. I chose the Balinese massage hoping it would work out all the kinks in my back, but it was much more, and Daisy, my masseuse, left no muscle unturned. Never have …

I do quite a bit of eating for my job and never have I come across a small independently run establishment in Cairo that can compete with the big boys running the hotel restaurants most popular with Cairenes. But a chance introduction to Cellar Door Bistro in Maadi has proven me wrong. Ayman Ezzat is …

With Salma Hayek and Lucy Liu in town for the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival, fashion comparisons would be absurd between them and anyone else. It seems whatever these lovely ladies wear, they manage to steal all the lights and photographers’ attentions. Hayek wore a very modest and demure wrap dress with a sophisticated blue …

This holiday season, the Cairo Marriott Hotel is organizing a number of festivities to help guests celebrate. On Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve the hotel will host lunch and dinner buffets at Roy’s Country Kitchen as well as Omar’s Café. Meanwhile, Ristorante Tuscany and the JW’s Steakhouse will serve set menus in …

Bare shoulders, backless gowns and pouting models are wowing Pakistan s glitterati as Karachi fashion week shows the world a different side of the Taliban-troubled nation. While women in much of Muslim, conservative Pakistan opt for headscarves over baggy shalwar khamis or even burkas, on the catwalks of financial capital Karachi, designers are exposing midriffs …

Turning 50 with grace and style, yet not looking a day over 17, the iconic Barbie doll strutted her stuff on the runways of Dubai Fashion Week. Celebrations for Barbie’s big five-zero started taking place in March, during which big name designers in New York including Diana von Furstenberg and Michael Kors had designed outfits …

It’s a strange, recent phenomenon: Egyptians with perfect white smiles. Now, not to be cynical, but genetically speaking, perfect pearls are not part of Egypt’s general gene pool. Just like the English, our teeth are not our strongest asset. So what’s the cause of this all? Simply put, it s veneers, a dental procedure that …

Hend Sabry, the darling of Arab cinema, is currently in Abu Dhabi showing the world that talent in Egypt extends to more than just cinema. From the opening night gala screening to her morning duties (Sabry is a jury member at the Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi) she has been spotted decked …

It is an exercise in careful fashion ponderings and considerations when fashion weeks in Europe and the US start setting the trends for the seasons to come. With women, one considers whether hemlines can be lengthened or shortened? Last season’s clutch with this season’s prints? But with menswear, especially with regards to the latest offerings …

Cairo’s best franchise coffee shop, in my opinion, is located on 10 Al Ahram Street in Heliopolis. Gloria Jean’s Coffees is, literally, the neighborhood’s coffee shop where regular patrons have been coming since it quietly opened its doors last spring. They take their books and newspapers, quietly nod hello to other regulars, and get down …

The little black dress is the most prevalent item in every woman’s wardrobe. Whether you’re a fashonista or exercise mild interest in the world of what’s vogue, you will most probably own a simple black dress. Fashion is an art, and just as an artist translates ordinary objects into captivating creations, you should be able …

CAIRO: The eoldest son in an Egyptian family is groomed from childhood to take over the family business one day. But Waleed Abdel-Rahman didn’t want to simply follow in the footsteps of his father, but carve his own path in the same field his family leads. His first project was Delicatesse du Monde, a premium …

Kurt Cobain s appearance in the latest Guitar Hero video game is not hitting the right notes with the surviving members of Nirvana. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl said in a joint statement Thursday that they were dismayed and very disappointed that an avatar of the late Nirvana frontman could be used to play songs …

When you think of a conservative clothing line, abayas and long, loose dresses come to mind, as do burqas and bell-shaped sleeves. But two young American-Muslim designers are changing the idea of conservative dress. A new clothing line from designers Nyla Hashmi, 23, and Fatima Monkush, 25, combines fashion and modesty with style. Eva Khurshid …

France-based women’s mags Elle and Marie-Claire, are continuing a push into the Arab market but say having to adapt content to local sensitivities without contradicting their own ideals is no piece of cake. Marie-Claire has editions in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and last week launched a monthly in Saudi Arabia, where competitor Elle …

Obese, but worried that surgery for it might kill you? The risk of that has dropped dramatically, and now is no greater than for having a gall bladder out, a hip replaced or most other major operations, new research shows. The study looked at safety results for gastric bands and stomach stapling at 10 US …

Jean-Paul Gaultier paid a personal homage to French actress Micheline Presle who inspired him to become a fashion designer at his haute couture show for next winter on Wednesday, the last day of the collections. He said he remembered seeing her when he was a child in the film Falbalas which describes the world of …