Kim Kardashian on Cover of Arabian Women's Magazine

EFT Report, Los Angeles: American reality-show star Kim Kardashian has done a cover shoot for Arabian luxury women's magazine ‘Hia’ wrapping herself in a series of veils in a daring plunging gown by grand couturier Stephane Rolland.

The 32-year-old, who is pregnant with boyfriend rapper Kanye West child, recently visited Kuwait and Bahrain to promote the ‘Millions Of Milkshakes’ chain.


'I’m excited to share my cover of Hia Magazine!' Kim tweeted on social networking site Twitter.

Kim Kardashian on Cover of "Hia"

Kim Kardashian on Cover of Arabian Women's Magazine Hia

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Dilip Kumar Heads to Saudi Arabia for Umrah at 90

Veteran Indian actor Dilip Kumar, who turned 90 last month, head to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening (Jan. 2, 2013) to perform Umrah with wife Saira Banu. The couple will be accompanied by a few relatives. He will stay there for 10 to 15 days.

"Allah has been kind that he's given me the strength to go on Umrah (pilgrimage) with Saira, Asif, Faisal... My doctor friends, few relatives are also accompanying me to Umrah. Keep me in your prayers," the thespian tweeted.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is performed by Muslims and can be undertaken at any time of the year. In Arabic, Umrah means "to visit a populated place."

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Aamir Khan Leaves for Hajj With Mother

Regarded as a perfectionist in Indian film industry, actor Aamir Khan leaves for Meccah in Saudi Arabia on Friday (Oct. 19, 2012) to perform Hajj along with his mother Zeenat Hussain.

Returning from Chicago, from his Dhoom 3 shooting, Aamir at Talaash's music launch said, that he will be off to Haj on Friday and will return back on the first week of November.

Apparently, overprotective Aamir had recently asked his mother what gift she wanted and in turn she asked him to take her to on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Extremely close to his mother, Aamir kept up to his promise!

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Arab-South American Summit Begins in Peru

The third summit of the Arab and South American nations opened in Lima, Peru on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala said both sides should explore economic cooperation. The two-day summit aims to promote business and tackle political issues.

"South America is the world's most dynamic and emerging region, with high rates of growth," Humala said at the opening session.

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Air Arabia to Start Flights to Erbil, Iraq From Oct. 14

Air Arabia will launch flights to Erbil city in Iraq, its second destination in the country. The service will start on Oct. 14, marking Air Arabia's 76th destination worldwide.

The carrier will offer four weekly services between Sharjah and Erbil.

Erbil is the fourth largest city in Iraq and has a population of 1.3 million.

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Wipro to Provide IT Solutions to Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has inked a long-term partnership with leading Indian IT company Wipro to develop new technological solutions.

The agreement was signed in Doha by Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker and Wipro chairman Azim Premji.

Under the new arrangement, a lot of the software development will be carried out by Wipro in South India.

Qatar Airways will be able to tap into Wipro's pool of technical resources, as well as research and development centers to explore and take advantage of new technological solutions.

The airline is currently operating a fleet of 111 aircraft to 118 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

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Australia to Play an ODI Against Afghanistan in August

Australia will play a one-day international against Afghanistan in the Middle East in August 2012 as a warm-up for the series against Pakistan. The game will be the first meeting between the sides, although the venue is yet to be confirmed.

The game will serve as a warm-up for Australia's series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, which immediately precedes the ICC World T20 tournament in Sri Lanka in September-October.

"As an ICC member, CA strongly supports world cricket's ambition for cricket to continue to develop as a global sport and that, combined with the strong relationships between our two countries, encouraged us to look at how we might recognize and encourage Afghanistan by playing them on the field," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said.

Afghanistan failed to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, but have ODI status until 2013 and have also qualified for this year's ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. Afghanistan became an ICC affiliate member in 2001.

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Etihad Starts New Cargo Service to Saudi Arabia

The UAE's Etihad Airways has launched a weekly cargo service to the Saudi Arabian city of Dammam.

The service, provided by an Airbus A300-600F freighter and with a capacity of 42 metric tons, will be available every Tuesday.

Etihad Airways already operates 16 weekly passenger services between the two cities.

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Emirates Airlines to Start Portugal Flights From July 9

Middle East’s largest airline, Emirates Airlines will start a daily non-stop service to Lisbon in July, the only Middle East carrier to serve Portugal. The service will start from July 9, 2012.

Portugal will be the airline's 10th new route this year.

"I have only been in Lisbon for a short time, but I am really feeling a buzz about Emirates' new flight, which will start in just over six weeks' time," said Thierry Antinori, Emirates' executive vice president.

Emirates will deploy a Boeing 777-200ER on the Lisbon route. Passengers can sit back, eat the finest airline cuisine and immerse themselves in hundreds of channels of in-flight entertainment, while being served by cabin crew from across the globe.

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Saudi Offers Over $3 Billion in Aid to Yemen

Saudi Arabia has announced to give over $3 billion aid to its unrest-ridden neighbor Yemen for developmental works.

During "the Friends of Yemen" meet held on May 23, 2012 in Riyadh city, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the kingdom of Saudi Arabia "pledges $3.25 billion to aid Yemen in its development process."

In the meeting, attended by representatives of 42 donor countries, another $ 1 billion aid was expected to be announced to help Yemen overcome political, security and economic challenges.

The meeting, the third of its kind in three years, aimed to help maintain the stability of Yemen and support its government to fight the resurgent Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Yemen witnessed a year of popular protests, forcing the long-time leader Ali Abdullah Saleh out of power.

Under a Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) deal backed by the UN, Saleh's deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was later elected as the new president in February for a two-year transitional term.

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Talat Aziz to Perform in Riyadh on May 15

Renowned Indian Ghazal singer Talat Aziz and his troupe will perform at a musical concert organized by the Indian Embassy at the International Indian School, Riyadh (Boys Section), Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

“This musical program, the first of its kind in which a living legend like Aziz will enthrall the audience, is open to Indian nationals only,” said embassy spokesman Surinder Bhagat.

Bhagat urged those who have applied for entry passes to collect them from the embassy if their names appear on the guest list published on the embassy’s website (www.indianembassy.org.sa).

They can collect their entry cards from 10 am to 5 pm, informed Bhagat, adding huge crowds are expected to attend the event and hear the celebrated ghazal and playback singer of India.

Aziz has composed music for TV serials and also acted in several TV programs. He is credited with singing ghazals in films like “Umrao Jaan” and “Bazaar,” which were super-hits. Aziz has been performing in concerts all over the world and has mesmerized the audience with his melodious voice through the years. Aziz, whose versatility is evident from the sufi number “Damadam Mast Kalandar,” has many albums to his credit.

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Two-day Arab Summit Begins in Baghdad

Baghdad will host an Arab summit from March 27-29, 2012. Such a gathering has been held in Iraq for the first time in more than 20 years.

The two-day summit will discuss the key issues faced by the Arab world like: The Syria crisis, Consequences of the Arab Spring, Iran's nuclear program, Arab League reforms and the economy in the Arab world.

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Saudi Youth Delegation to Visit Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad From March 22

Promoting youth relations between India and Saudi Arabia, a 45-member delegation of Saudi youth will be visiting India for the first time for a 10-day forum that will engage people from both countries on the Indian experience in technical education.

A delegation of over 45 people from Saudi Arabia will be visiting universities and technology and communication centers in Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi. The forum, organized by the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs, starts March 22.

"The objective is to promote growing Saudi, Indian relations and benefit from the Indian experience in the field of communication and information technology. The forum hopes to enable the youth to learn from other cultures as well as foster friendly relations between Saudi and the Indian youth," said Badr Algarni from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in New Delhi.

Among the institutes listed for visit are the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Narayana Hrudyalaya for telemedicine project in Bangalore, the Google Microsoft office and Dr Reddy's laboratories in Hyderabad as well as the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and the Indian Institute of Technology in the national capital.

The Saudi delegation will also be meeting Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot.

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BankDhofar to Launch Islamic Banking

BankDhofar, one of the fastest growing Banks in Oman, has appointed Deloitte and Touche for a market assessment and feasibility study into launching of Islamic window services at the bank. The bank has also appointed a new head of Islamic banking to prepare it to handle the new service.

BankDhofar is planning to implement Islamic financial services and has already invested in training programs for executives, providing them with insights into planning and executing Islamic banking products and services.

“At BankDhofar we are planning to offer customers Sharia compliant products and services through dedicated service channels,” said Mohamed Redha Jawad, general manager, Wholesale Banking.

With assets worth around 1.5 billion rials, BankDhofar, is ranked number 1, as the “Best Bank in Oman 2010” by the Oman Economic Review-Gulf Baader Capital Markets, Business Today’s ‘Banks & NBFCs’ survey conducted by Ernst & Young and “Best Bank in Oman” by the pre-eminent international finance magazine Euromoney.

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Flydubai Starts New Flights to Taif in Saudi Arabia

Dubai’s low cost carrier Flydubai has added its seventh destination in Saudi Arabia, with the start of its three-weekly flights to Taif in Makkah province.

The inaugural flight was launched on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. The airline launched its services to Saudi Arabia in November 2010. It has flights to Riyadh, Jeddah, Yanbu, Gassim, Abha and Dammam in addition to Taif.

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UAE to Observe Prophet Mohammad's Birthday on Feb. 4

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a circular to all federal ministries and institutions on Jan. 30, 2012 to observe Feb. 4 as Milad un Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad.

The circular was issued by Humaid Mohamed Al Qattami, minister of education and chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Authority for Human Resources.

Meanwhile, Labour Minister Saqr Ghobash announced a public holiday for the private sector on the occasion.

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Indian Food Festival in Jeddah From Jan. 26

Indian consulate general in Jeddah is organizing a 5-day Indian food festival in cooperation with ELaf Jeddah hotel. The event will take place at Elaf Jeddah hotel at Red Sea Mall, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 8 pm to 2 am.

The menu will feature an array of all-authentic delicacies from different regions of India. Three renounced chefs — Kirti Rastogi (specialist in Awadhi and North-West Frontier cuisine), GP Ayichthu (expert in preparing delectable south Indian fares) and Raju Chauhan (expert in north Indian food like curry and tandoor dishes) — will be coming especially for the festival, a press note from the consulate general disclosed.

The event will also have live cooking demonstrations making it exciting for not only food lovers, but also for those who want to see how the renowned chefs prepare their famous dishes.

The festival coincides with the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day of India on Jan. 26.

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Art Dubai 2012 to Kick off From March 21–24

The sixth edition of Art Dubai will be held at Madinat Jumeirah, UAE from March 21–24, 2012. Art Dubai 2012 includes leading galleries and dynamic young spaces from across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Australia, Asia and Africa.

The leading international fair in MENASA (Middle East/North Africa/South Asia), Art Dubai 2012 features a carefully selected roster of 74 galleries from 32 countries.

New participants in 2012 include Arndt (Berlin), Rodolphe Janssen (Brussels), Lombard Freid Projects (New York), Galerie Mirchandani and Steinruecke (Mumbai), The Pace Gallery (New York, London, Beijing), Galerie Perrotin (Paris), and Platform China (Beijing).

Galleries returning from 2011 include Athr Gallery (Jeddah), Chantal Crousel (Paris), Experimenter (Kolkata), Goodman (Johannesburg, Capetown), Grey Noise (Lahore), Marianne Boesky Gallery (New York), Sfeir-Semler (Hamburg, Beirut) and The Third Line (Dubai).

The Art Dubai will exhibit works by over 500 artists, a new program of artists’ residencies, workshops, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize and the innovative Global Art Forum.

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Dubai to Host 'Cemtech' Conference From Feb. 12–15

The seventh edition of Cemtech conference will be held at Grand Hyatt, Dubai from Feb. 12–15, 2012. Over 250 delegates from more than 30 countries are expected to attend the annual conference on the Cement Industry.

This year’s three-day event promises to be bigger and better than ever. On this occasion the speakers will discuss multiple markets in the Middle East Africa.

The eminent speakers will be:- Sheikh Yasir Ahmed Al Qassimi - DVG Edwin Group Managing Director & CEO Dangote Cement PLC, Dr Saud Islam Saudi Arabia - Hettish Karmani Senior Financial Analyst Global Investment House.

The participants will also attend technical workshops to gain in-depth knowledge relating to specific aspects of cement plant operation enabling them to increase operational efficiency in their own works.

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India Won ‘World’s Leading Destination’ Award in Doha

The World Travel Awards (WTA) held its Grand Final Gala Ceremony on Jan. 11, 2012 in Doha, Qatar. India won the “World’s Leading Destination” award.

Important decision-makers in global travel and tourism attended the show, which was held in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority at Katara Cultural Village, Doha’s new arts and exhibitions complex. The evening marked the culmination of a year-long search for the best travel and tourism brands in the world, and featured the winners from WTA’s five 2011 regional heats competing head to head.

Organizations including American Express, Starwood Hotels, Lufthansa, Abercrombie & Kent, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Europcar and Incredible India walked off with top honors for their respective roles spearheading the global travel and tourism recovery.

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