Young soccer players from the Kingdom’s various cities, districts and local soccer pitches put in extra hours on the field this week to hone their skills for what many considered the opportunity of a lifetime.

The quarter-page ad that appeared in Okaz last week, read: “Fulfill your dream and join up now. If you are 16 or older, try your luck at a chance to play for English football club Newcastle United for at least one year. SoccaStars, the internationally renowned television program for discovering young talented soccer players is coming to Jeddah.”

And so it did, attracting nearly four hundred young men and boys for two days of trials at the Ministry of Education’s sports stadium located in the Al-Faisaliyah District.

Revealing details of the tryouts, Amr Koura, CEO of Al-Karma Edutainment and Executive Producer of Arab SoccaStars said that a team of highly professional talent scouts closely scrutinized hundreds of aspirants before short-listing promising young sportsmen from among the hundreds of participants that came from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States.

“The response has been fabulous and beyond our wildest expectations, and we are looking forward to moving on to our final two destinations of Lebanon and Algeria,” Koura told Arab News.

After two days of tryouts, Majed Essam Ghashaha, Omar Saeed Al-Khemaishey, Badr Mislah Al-Malki, El-Mamoun Al-Nour, Ahmad Mohammed Krinshy, Abdul Rahman Bokhari, Mohammed Ahmad Al-Amoudi, Tamim Jamal Al-Tamimi, Misfir Al-Dossary, Hamidi Al-Dossary, Udai Talal Amro, Hatim Al-Aseemi, and Ahmad Al-Silami were selected to attend to go compete against the other promising young Arab players selected during SoccaStars’ trials held in Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Algeria and Lebanon.

The 13 players selected in Saudi Arabia will join six players from Bahrain, 11 from Egypt, six from Kuwait, 13 from the UAE and a yet undetermined number from Algeria and Beirut during a two month SoccaSkills camp in Egypt.

Beginning on Aug. 2 on Future Television (Al-Mustaqbal), SoccaStars 2005 will air weekly, in a similar format to that of the popular television show Star Academy. Television viewers from around the world will be able to cast their votes eliminating players every week, until only one player is left. It is he that will be offered the one-year contract playing for Newscastle United.

SoccaStars will be hosted by Bassel Maher and Majdala Khattar, who themselves earned their places as presenters in a similar competition held by Melody TV just over one year ago. “It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. For us, as presenters, the major incentive is to be able to trot around the Arab world as SoccaStars’ ambassadors and build the good will among the participants.”

* This article is from Arab news

Lebanese singer Wael Kfoury recently returned to Lebanon from a 24-hour trip Cairo. The singer went to Cairo to hold a special charity concert sponsored by the Rotary Club at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Sources say that tickets for the concert were sold out days before the scheduled performance. During his short stay, the singer was forced to turn down invitations by the media to hold interviews or a press conference, empahsizing that he only had time to rehearse for the event.

On a different note, Kfoury has denied rumors that he is romantically involved with a former student from the popular program, Star Academy, which is aired on the Lebanese Broadcasting Company (LBC) satellite channel.Rumors were that the singer had a soft spot for the Algerian contestant Salma and was giving her plenty of attention by calling her and sending her gifts while she was on the program.Wael revealed that he could care less about the recent rude public remarks made by Lebanese singer Milhim Barakat stating that he thinks Wael’s new look is more suitable for a woman. Wael stressed that the remarks are Milhim’s personal opinion, which he cares nothing about and that everyone is entitled to think what they want.

Wael added that he is very happy with his new look and feels that it suits him regardless of others’ opinons.Wael is currently busy with his upcoming album and has said that there is a strong possibility he will take part in a duet, but refused to give any further details, wanting to surprise his fans.

* This article is from Arab News

The Arab world tour for Star Academy 2 has been launched in Bahrain where the show’s eight finalists are scheduled to hold a number of performances. The first concert, organized by MIM Records and the Bahraini Ministry of Information, witnessed a crowd of over 3000. During their stay in Bahrain, the eight members held a press conference to discuss the tour and their future plans. Their next stop will be in Jordan on June 16, then Tunisia on June 24, Algeria June 30 and will end in Egypt on July 8.

The first Star Academy was aired on the Lebanese Broadcasting Company (LBC) satellite channel, and ran for almost four months. The series concluded with the victory of Saudi contestant Hisham Abdul Rahman.He defeated Tunisian contestant Amani Al-Sweisi and took home a prize of $50,000, a 2005 Ford Mustang and the title. The competition was fierce and Hisham won by a margin of 3.68% of the votes. His great sense of humor and strong personality increased his popularity, enabling him to defeat the other 15 contestants.

Hisham’s victory brought joy to Saudis, who were following the show closely, continuously voting for him via mobile messages and over the Internet.

* This Article is from Arab News

STARS from the Arab reality television show Star Academy are in Bahrain to provide entertainment to their fans, pledged organisers yesterday. They are scheduled to perform tonight at a live concert being held at the Gulf International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gulf Hotel. The event is being organised by Bahraini company Murad Events Management (MEM) in co-ordination with the Information Ministry.

MEM executive director Mohammed Murad said the show should be kept away from politics."The concert is family-oriented and has been organised so that GCC fans could watch their favourite stars, perform live in front of them."During Tuesday's weekly parliament session, MPs fought over whether to stage the show or not.Islamic MPs from Al Asala and Al Menbar Blocs tried to block the show two weeks ago, but reassurances from organisers over decency and morality, put them off.

Mr Murad said they would respect agreements made with these two blocs.Mr Murad said there would be a separate family area so that single men and women are not seated together.Four Star Academy finalists and four performers chosen by show officials will take part in the concert. They are winner Hisham Abdulrahman, Zizi, Amani, Samer, Katia, Salma, Bashar and Ahmed.They will also include Bahrain's Ahmed Salahaddin, 20, as a guest at the show.Mr Murad said MEM, in co-ordination with www.bahrain2day.com and the Bahrain Youth Society, tried their best to save Ahmed from elimination but they failed.

More than 2,300 seats have been allocated for the concert, which is the first of a regional tour for the group, since the show ended last month. A similar concert was lined up last year, but the Information Ministry refused permission for it.Tickets are on sale at the Gulf Hotel for BD15 for men and BD10 each for families and women. They are also available at Seef Mall.The event is sponsored by Batelco, Gulf Air and Al Hawaj.The event's international sponsor is Pepsi.

*This Article is from Gulf daily news

Tour Schedule:

19 May in Bahrain

16 June in Jordan

24 June in Tunisia

25 June in Tunisia

27 June in Sfax (Tunisia)

29 June in Algeria

30 June in Algeria

07 July in Alexandria (Egypt)

08 July in Cairo (Egypt)

15 July in Lebanon (Byblos)

Star Academy 2 star, Hisham Al Huwaish recently visited the disabled children’s’ association in Jeddah in a humane gesture in order to infuse the spirit within the children. Hisham toured around the association’s department and was shown the great service the association provides; Hisham amused the children with his jokes. Rotana is behind organizing and preparing for this kind of tour in support of the association’s great efforts.

After leaving Beirut and arriving to Jeddah on Rotana’s private jet, the star of Star Academy 2 headed toward Riyadh in order to personally thank his Highness Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, for all his kind and generous support during Hicham’s journey.

*The Article is from Rotana website

Tamimi Mall parking lot had a lot more than parked cars this past weekend. There were spotlights, video games, and a whole lot of people gathered for the city’s PlayStation 2 Gran Turismo 4 Challenge, the biggest gaming event held in the city this year. “It was a big success,” said event organizer Mohammad Masoud. “The police showed up at 1:30 a.m. to close us down because there was still a big crowd outside at that time.”The two-day event, which concluded Thursday night, gathered city gaming and racing enthusiasts to compete on the new PlayStation2 (PS2) Gran Turismo 4 (GT4) driving simulator. Competitors took three laps each. The fastest lap was logged, and the fastest driver, 18-year-old Abdul Razzak Abdul Malek, was invited to participate in the grand final to be held next month in Dubai.Malek won an all-expense paid trip to the Emirates capital where he will compete for the Middle East championship and win a new Nissan 350Z sports car. The winner also will get a chance to compete in the world championship at Le Mans, France, in June.

A total of 610 participants showed up at Tamimi Mall, with nearly two thirds of them arriving on the second day. Masoud attributes the first day’s low attendance of 240 people to two things: Star Academy 2 winner Hisham Abdul Rahman’s visit at Faisaliah mall and a televised soccer match. Nevertheless, these circumstances didn’t stop video game enthusiasts from enjoying an evening of PlayStation outdoors.Ibraheem Al-Dhahee, a 17-year-old Gran Turismo aficionado, was one of the first people in line to take part in the challenge Wednesday evening. “I just came here to play Gran Turismo and maybe to see if I’d win. I have GT1, 2, 3 and 4. I’m not sure of winning, but maybe.”  Hassan Baroudi, 18, was another Gran Turismo devotee, owning the game’s earlier editions. “I actually bought the demo version two months ago, and I’m looking forward to buying the original after this event,” he said while patiently waiting in line on the first day. He said he wished he could have practiced more, but he has been studying for exams.

“I was walking around here and found the PlayStation signs, so I decided to sign up for the challenge,” said Ahmad Al-Saed. He was one of the few to pre-register for the event. Most other participants interviewed learned of the challenge the same day. Eight-year-old Mirna was practically the only girl to take part in the challenge. She was accompanied by her parents. They signed her up while they were shopping at Tamimi on Thursday. The game’s popularity is still growing. Masoud said with each Gran Turismo release, sales have actually doubled. “For this newest edition, the sales have reached more than 8 million worldwide,” Masoud said. “GT4 is one of the longest racing simulators PlayStation has. It gives one of the most realistic racing experiences you can get.” “It would take more than 120 days of playing 24-hours nonstop just to sample each car on every track for just five minutes,” said Nicolas Torloting from Stallions Home Video, Sony’s software distributor in Saudi Arabia.

Interestingly, not everyone at Tamimi’s parking lot knew about the video game. Hussein Ibrahim and his friend, Abdurrahman Al-Nouri, were curious about the crowd and asked Arab News for information. We explained and they were excited. “Wow, a trip to Dubai,” Ibrahim said. “I don’t know how to play GranTurismo, but I will try.” The event was only held outdoors in Riyadh.In almost every other participating city it was held in shopping malls. However, as shopping centers in Riyadh are restricted to women and family groups on weekends, organizers said it would have hindered teens from taking part. The GT4 challenge already wrapped up in Jeddah, Oman, and Qatar. It will be held at Alkhobar’s Rashid Mall April 27-28. The video game challenge also will be held in Abu Dhabi, Manama, Dubai and Kuwait City before the end of the month. The Riyadh winner has a good chance of becoming the Middle East champion as his speed time, 35.6 seconds, was the fastest one recorded in the Gulf area so far.

*This Article from Arab News

The appearance of the Saudi young man who recently emerged as the winner in Lebanon’s Star Academy show at the Kingdom Mall in Riyadh some days back created quite a stir. Contestants in this show are drawn from several countries in the region and are selected on the basis of their “star” appeal. They have to perform before live audiences by singing, dancing or performing other stunts and after some weeks and several elimination rounds, only one emerges the overall winner.The show is broadcast live; in a reality TV sort of format, and in some circles it is a show that is never to be missed. And so it was natural that throngs of men and women quickly surrounded their native son, heaping words of praise and showering him with tributes ranging from admiration to outright adoration.

In that this event was taking place in a public place, it wasn’t long before the members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrived to investigate. And in the ensuing moments, they expressed their displeasure at what was happening before their eyes by dragging this young man into a waiting commission jeep and off to their headquarters.The crowd was severely admonished for what they perceived as sinful and un-Islamic behavior and quickly ordered to disperse. The young man, after a lengthy interrogation, was then ordered to leave town. Put on an aircraft, he was booted off to Jeddah!

Jeddah is quickly acquiring a reputation of being the most liberal of cities in the Kingdom, sometimes too liberal and decadent, among some of the visitors from the other regions of this country. It has been successfully drawing millions of visitors annually both from within and outside, and to some, this latest incident appears to be a feather in the cap of that liberated status.

***

I went to cast my vote for the elections last Thursday. After obtaining the ballot forms and retreating into the polling booths, it wasn’t long before I had tick-marked the candidates of my choice. Observing some of the other voters deeply engrossed in the ballot forms, and perplexed at the high number of candidates in each district while they mulled over the choices, I was quickly feeling smug.You see, I had come prepared. In the days preceding the elections, I was carefully evaluating the candidates for each district. I had called quite a few of them and after weeding out what I had thought to be people not worthy to be elected, I had formed my list.But soon at the polling booth, I was in for a surprise. The number of candidates I had selected on my list totaled 6, one for each district. But there were 7 districts to be decided, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how I could have missed such a minor detail. And with my smugness evaporating with each minute, I resigned myself to go through the list of names on the last ballot, and try to select a competent candidate. There was no opportunity here for calling any of the candidates or the luxury of pre-screening them. This had to be decided on the trot. As I scanned the names, and there were plenty of them, I quickly disregarded those with tribal surnames, and those who considered themselves fortunate enough to be promoted by some religious factions. I am not anti-tribal or anti-theologian but the city of Jeddah needs care by those who understand it, the long-term residents of the city or established Jeddahites if you will.

Sadly, there were no such names. As I kept moving my eyes up and down the list and kicking myself for this minor omission in my preparations, my eyes locked on someone named HabHab (watermelon). Whether it was an intuition or a calculated act of fate or the passage of resignation, I don’t know, but I selected him for the final slot.

The results will soon show how successful my choice of candidates was. But wherever you are, Mr. Watermelon man, rest assured that I did cast my vote for you.

*This Article is from Arab News

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice detained “Star Academy 2” winner Hisham Abdul Rahman briefly and then put him on a plane back to Jeddah from Riyadh. Hisham was detained for what the commission called “sparking an indecent gathering” in the Kingdom Tower in the capital.Hisham, who had arrived in Riyadh to participate in a number of social events following his win in the Star Academy popular reality show, was surrounded by fans, both male and female, when he was just browsing the mall.The teen fans, on spying the young star, mobbed him and vied to shake his hand. Some even kissed him while congratulating him on his achievement. This proved the last straw for the members of the commission who were at the mall. They waded into the crowd and broke up the impromptu crowd that had gathered around Hisham.They then asked Hisham to leave the mall for creating the chaos and triggering “immoral” acts — as they called it. Hisham then entered into a slanging match with the members of the commission and also called them names. He even threatened to take action against them if they did not leave.An altercation ensued with the members of the commission trying to pull Hisham away from the milling crowd. The crowd then joined in and began pulling the new star toward them as a veritable tug-of-war took place, leaving Hisham’s clothes in tatters.A member of the commission then managed to drag Hisham out and pushed him into their waiting van. He was then taken to the commission’s center in Olaya where he was questioned and held under custody.The commission then received a direct order from an official in the Riyadh governor’s office to immediately send the singer back to Jeddah. Hisham was then escorted by the commission’s head to the airport and was put on the plane back to Jeddah.

Bander Al-Mutairy, the head of the Commission’s Center in Olaya, said that the case was over and the orders were direct and clear from the governor’s office. Al-Mutairy, who refused to elaborate to Arab News, said that they had nothing personal against Hisham. But he violated a rule and created chaos in the Tower Mall and that had to be stopped. “I refuse to say more. We have everything under control and the governor is aware of what happened,” Al-Mutairy said.Two news portals had earlier reported that Hisham’s passport had been impounded on arrival at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah. He was flying in from Beirut after winning the reality show. The portals said that Hisham was caught trying to smuggle in illegal stuff. A member of the airport customs, who did not want to be identified, said that Hisham was caught trying to smuggle in 8 bottles of alcohol. “He thought that he would be exempted from any inspection as he was being received at the executive lounge.”The customs official denied that Hisham’s passport was impounded, but the singer was questioned and was let off with a fine.

*This Article is from Arab News

April 15 was the day everyone was waiting for ever since the “Star Academy 2005” show began some three months ago. The question on everybody’s lips was “Who is going to win? Audiences across the Middle East were once again captivated by the reality show; voting was frantic, much to the delight of the show’s creators at LBC.Such was the interest here in the Kingdom that the prohibition of a national phone line was unable to deter the mass of Saudis, who voted internationally, in a desperate attempt to support their fellow countryman — Hisham Abdul Rahman.

Hisham was nominated no fewer than four times and each and every time, Saudis phoned in their thousands to ensure their man would reach the final.The reality show enticed a range of demographic groups, from the young to the very old; such was the interest in this year’s competition.This year’s final showdown was between the 21-year-old Tunisian, Amani Swisi, and 24- year -old, Hisham. Reaching this stage of any competition would be deemed a success, but of course everybody wanted to know who would be crowned the winner of Star Academy 2005.After some 3 months of intense competition, the final came down to an evening of classic Arabian songs, at the end of which the votes were tallied and the victor announced.Tension was overwhelming as people gathered across the Kingdom to watch the excitement of the final night unfold.

With the narrowest of margins, 51 percent of the voting public, Hisham became “The Star” of Star Academy 2005.As the result came in, many Saudis were unable to control themselves, running out on to the streets in celebration.Some shopkeepers were even handing out free sweets to children in the streets.When asked why Hisham won, Fawaz, 32 replied: “Because, he was natural, he didn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t, that’s why everybody loves him, and he’s really funny too.“I was delighted with his behavior on this program and like to think of him as one of my favorite sons,” said Motlaq, a father of 14. But Basma, 16, stated: “I love Hisham; he’s so beautiful, funny and sensitive.”Right from the very outset, Hisham expressed his disinterest in a singing career and that he only applied in order to gain fame and hopefully use the show to pursue a career in acting.

Hisham’s prize of $50,000 and a new Ford car are soon to become insignificant as the great torrent of contractual offers begins to flood in.Undoubtedly, both contestants’ lives will be transformed by their new found fame as they are likely to be offered, record deals, product advertising deals, television appearances and perhaps even receive marriage proposals from adoring fans!

*This Article is  from Arab News