Arts, Briefly: Diva Back in Damascus
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Singing in Damascus for the first time in more than 20 years, the Lebanese diva Fairuz, 73, electrified an audience that included Vice President Farouq al-Shara on Monday night as that Syrian capital celebrated its designation as Arab Capital of Culture 2008, Agence France-Presse reported. Fairuz, above, widely considered the greatest Arab singer after the death of Umm Kalthoum in 1975, is to give eight concerts, all sold out.
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Pop diva Madonna has made a pilgrimage to Israel to practice her faith in the mystical Jewish religion of Kabbalah. The star is in Tel Aviv, where security is tight, on a three-day celebration of the Jewish New Year.
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Japanese Crown Princess Masako returned to official duties on Sunday after more than a year of seclusion stemming from a stress-related disorder.
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Actress Billie Piper is back on stage after illness forced her to miss her West End stage show.
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Sushmita Sen is back with a bang with Main Hoon Na. Her career is back on the tracks.
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Diana Ross is back and putting her best face forward. But the question is where does she go from here. "I keep asking myself that," said Ross, on hand to roll out a new line of beauty products she is promoting for M-A-C Cosmetics.
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Sridevi, the impish diva of the 1980s who stole millions of hearts with her supreme spontaneity in hits like "Mr. India", "Chaalbaaz" and "Chandni", is back in business.
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A R Rahman talks about his latest work, Kisna.
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Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani, the great Shia marjaâ taqlid (source of emulation) based in Najaf, returned to the city last Thursday in order to resume his pivotal role in resolving the Najaf crisis.
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Iraqi Airways&#39; first flight landed at the Damascus international airport in 14 years on Saturday after the company made a landmark trip from Amman to Baghdad earlier in the day.
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LOS ANGELES  - Annette Bening is back  on the scene.
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After climbing out of an addiction that led to her banishment from the Met, the soprano Andrea Gruber returns to its stage in "Turnadot" on Monday.
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LONDON: Muslim convert and former pop star Cat Stevens returned to Britain yesterday after his deportation from the US over &quot;potential&quot; terrorism links sparked an Anglo-American diplomatic row.
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For decades, she was a voice of peace and unity in a troubled region, but a Syria tour has proved that even Fayrouz cannot remain above the fray
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Follow the timeline, from her prime minister father's ousting and execution in the 1970s, to her own return from exile this October
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Vivica Genaux, an international star, particularly in the early-music world, is making her return to New York opera.
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BEIRUT: With a new government likely due by month's end, Damascus is expected to use the coming weeks to smooth the tense internal and international atmosphere provoked by its unpopular decision to extend ...