DUBAI: A crown prince in the United Arab Emirates is offering free housing and other aid to the impoverished parents of newborn sextuplets. The pledge by Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al-Nuaimi from the Ajman emirate is part of an outpouring of support for the Egyptian couple living in Abu Dhabi after they said they cannot …

Domestic box-office revenues for 2010 won’t quite hit last year’s record-setting haul, but they’ll be awfully close. Total movie-ticket sales will reach $10.556 billion, the tracking agency Hollywood.com said this week. That’s a slight decrease from the $10.6 billion total from 2009, but it’s also only the second time that the annual box office has …

NEW YORK: Scientists have recovered the DNA code of a human relative recently discovered in Siberia, and it delivered a surprise: This relative roamed far from the cave that holds its only known remains. By comparing the DNA to that of modern populations, scientists found evidence that these "Denisovans" from more than 30,000 years ago …

CAIRO: Egypt’s Ministry of Health confiscated the Methotrexate drug from the market in the country due to defects found its manufacturing. “The ministry confiscated all the Methotrexate drugs available in its different concentrations,” said Abdel Rahman Shahin, official spokesperson to the Ministry of Health. “The drug is used for cancer treatments and we are recalling …

India’s animators are hoping that a film starring two of Bollywood’s biggest stars will revive the sector’s fortunes, after earlier efforts to popularize the cartoon genre fell flat. Ajay Devgn and his wife Kajol appear in "Toonpur Ka Superrhero" (Toontown Superhero), whose combination of real-life actors and cartoon characters recalls the Oscar-winning film "Who Framed …

By Heba Elkayal In one of the most novel collaborations of the year, the fashion illustrations of Hassan Hassan, a writer at eniGma magazine, have been translated into rugs for Egyptian design firm Zimmer. Daily News Egypt caught up with the artist to see how this interesting project came to be. What’s your beginning in all …

By Heba Elkayal In a city where upstart brands are a dime a dozen, and many young designers are trying to carve out a niche in the local market, there is a solid handful of designers who may be on to something. Some more than others. Dina Said is the designer behind Nana’s Closet, a brand …

By Heba Elkayal The nightlife and restaurant scene in Egypt has in recent years evolved as people’s expectations of local restaurants and bars have increased to match their experiences in restaurants and bars abroad. Well-traveled and cultured foodies have demanded that restaurants and bars in Cairo raise standards of service and taste, but also, keep a …

By Daily News Egypt & Cairo360 It has been a good year for food in Egypt. With several new restaurants opening and established ones revamping menus, gastronomes and oenophiles have had a considerable list of venues to spend evenings enjoying dinner in the city. Our friends at Cairo 360 have done a thorough job this year …

CAIRO: The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Cairo University has been able to produce the first Egyptian vaccine against avian flu, in collaboration with the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, a subordinate of the Chinese Academy for Agricultural Sciences. “After thorough testing to find the cause of the spread of avian influenza locally during the past …

Edrak for Edutainment Projects Development Company acquired exclusive franchise rights for Egypt to launch Africa’s first KidZania, which will open in the fall of 2012, according to a statement. Tarek Zidan, Edrak’s CEO and KidZania’s Cairo governor, said that phase one will see investments of around $20 million, with plans to open branches in Giza …

Don Van Vliet, an avant-garde rocker who performed under the name "Captain Beefheart" and whose artistic influence dwarfed his popular appeal, has died at the age of 69. Van Vliet died early Friday in northern California following a long battle with multiple sclerosis, according to the Michael Werner Art Gallery, which exhibited his abstract paintings …

Just a couple of meters away from the famous Zamalek café area of Om Kalthoum Hotel is Orange Square, a formal men’s wear shop best known for their tuxedos and tailor-made suits. Underneath a hard-to-miss orange sign and a window display showing off some normal and off-the-wall suits are a few steps leading down into …

Many in Cairo have strong feelings when it comes to good Chinese cuisine, or rather its lack thereof in Cairo. We bear good news worth rejoicing. A new Chinese restaurant has opened on Mohamed Mazhar Street in Zamalek to cure your craving for Chinese; and cure it they do. Sharing the ground floor with the …

CAIRO: The Goethe Institute Cairo hosted a regional conference as part of the German government’s initiative “Schools: Partners for the Future,” bringing together directors of 37 partner schools. The conference aimed at consolidating networking between partner schools in the region and ensuring the sustainability of the program. The “Schools: Partners for the Future” initiative was …

It may be gray outside when the calendar flips to 2011, but a bright red-pink hue will be in fashion. "Honeysuckle" is the color of 2011 chosen by Pantone Color Institute, the research arm of Pantone Inc., the company that largely sets color standards for the fashion and home industries. The reddish pink shade lights …

It’s hard to miss this new store as one walks in Zamalek by the Faculty of Fine Arts. Bright and inviting, the storefront is currently decorated for the Christmas season with tinsel and foliage, two large plastic armchairs and a side table resting inside the window display. L’oiseau du Nil is the moniker of this …

By Heba Elkayal In a large studio space in a Heliopolis apartment is En Vogue, Shirley Shalaby’s finishing and modeling institute, set up 20 years ago by the former model. Today, she teaches dance lessons and catwalk modeling, in addition to providing image consultation and etiquette training services for both young and mature students. Not only …

American ballet lovers had their tutus in a twist Tuesday after a New York Times critic accused the Sugarplum Fairy in a new "The Nutcracker" production of being fat. The row started when Alastair Macaulay, a high-profile ballet critic, wrote that New York City Ballet’s principal dancer, Jenifer Ringer, had eaten too much to be …

WASHINGTON: Soon after NASA-funded researchers announced this month they had found a new life form that thrives on arsenic, critics took to the blogosphere with skeptical views and downright insults. "I don’t know whether the authors are just bad scientists or whether they’re unscrupulously pushing NASA’s ‘There’s life in outer space!’ agenda," wrote Canadian microbiologist …

PARIS: Climate change is pushing Arctic mammals to mate with cousin species, in a trend that could be pushing the polar bear and other iconic animals towards extinction, biologists said. "Rapidly melting Arctic sea ice imperils species through interbreeding as well as through habitat loss," they said in a commentary appearing in the British science …

WASHINGTON: An American man is still HIV-free more than three years after receiving a stem cell transplant, suggesting the first-ever cure of the virus that causes AIDS, German doctors said Wednesday. But while the highly risky technique used on the man known as the "Berlin Patient" would not work for most of the 33 million …

NEW YORK: Time magazine named Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg "person of the year" Wednesday, ignoring a push by readers of the magazine for WikiLeaks maestro Julian Assange to take the honor. Zuckerberg, only 26, is the second youngest person named to the cover of Time’s ritual annual. Managing editor Richard Stengel said Zuckerberg’s social networking …

A collection of photo portraits of Michael Jackson, taken in Paris in 1999 as part of an image makeover for the legend, went under the hammer here along with hundreds of snaps from the photo shoot. The 90 lots brought in €196,000 ($265,000) at the sale late Monday, with a large format shot showing the …

Neil Diamond had been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for several years but never got a nomination to join music’s prestigious club. But he was never really worried about it. "I thought about it occasionally, but I kind of figured they’d get around to me at some point," he said in …

Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame Monday, as her latest director praised her as a "strange acting alien" who can turn on a performance at will. "This city is so much a part of my heart and soul, and the idea that my grandchildren can one day …

Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Bullock and Halle Berry will be among presenters handing out the awards at next year’s Oscars show in February, organizer said Monday. The 2010 best actor Oscar winner Jeff Bridges and 1993 best supporting actress winner Marisa Tomei will also be presenting at the 83rd Academy Awards show on February 27. Actor …

British actor Colin Firth won Variety Magazine’s "International Star of the Year" award at the Dubai International Film Festival which opened with his film "The King’s Speech." Actress Carey Mulligan presented Firth with the prize from the prestigious US movie industry magazine on Monday evening at a public "In Conversation" session at the festival. The …