JEDDAH: Arab star Balqees Fathi has posted the cover of her new album “Arahemkom” on Twitter.
In the photo, the Emirati-Yemeni singer sports blonde hair and is dressed in white and black, wearing boxing gloves with the word “Becky” engraved on them.
Soon, however, Twitter was abuzz with users and fans accusing Fathi of imitating American pop star Madonna, who had appeared in a similar look in the past.
“Becky is known as a basic white girl with blonde hair, I don’t know is Balqees the white girl? Or is she going to kill that white woman?” wrote one user.
“Becky” is a pejorative used to describe Caucasian women, white Americans or white people in general.
Mohammed Sayegh shot the photo cover.
The controversy notwithstanding, the album announcement has created considerable excitement among the singer’s fans.
“@BalqeesFathi we are so happy and excited for your album, you slay, keep shining,” wrote one.
Fathi’s latest album comprises 12 melodies in Yemeni, Iraqi and Lebanese dialects, in addition to classical Arabic.
The album is produced by Fathi herself and will be released on YouTube later this month.
Balqees copies Madonna for album cover; sets Twitter abuzz
Balqees copies Madonna for album cover; sets Twitter abuzz
Lunar New Year prayers, robots and festivities usher in the Year of the Horse
- In Taiwan, worshippers heard a temple bell ring 108 times and left flower offerings
- In Hong Kong, people lined up at midnight to light incense and make wishes
BEIJING: People are marking the Lunar New Year on Tuesday with prayers, fireworks and festivities.
The activities ushered in the Year of the Horse, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, succeeding the Year of the Snake.
The Lunar New Year is the most important annual holiday in China and some other East Asian nations and is celebrated outside the region, too.
Robots take the stage of an annual TV show in China
As every year, China celebrated the Lunar New Year with a TV show and once again the humanoid robots were a central part of the performance Monday night.
One of the highlights of the CCTV Spring Festival gala was a martial arts performance by children and robots. For several minutes, humanoids from Unitree Robotics showed different sequences and even brandished swords.
The performance shows China’s push to develop more advanced robots powered by improved AI capabilities.
Temple crowds at midnight in Hong Kong
Incense smoke wafted into the air at a temple in Hong Kong where people line up every year to make wishes for the new year at midnight.
Holding up a cluster of incense sticks, many bowed their heads several times before planting the sticks in containers placed in front of a temple hall.
Fireworks light up skies in Vietnam
Entertainers in Vietnam sang at an outdoor countdown event before multiple fireworks shows at several cities in the Southeast Asian nation, where the festival is called Tet.
Light shows lit up bridges and skyscrapers as the fireworks went off and crowds clapped in rhythm to live pop music performances.
Chinese street fairs in Moscow
People sampled Chinese cuisine from stalls and strolled along snowy streets decorated with red lanterns and dragons as two weeks of events got underway Monday at various venues in the Russian capital.
The third annual Lunar New Year celebration comes at at time of warming relations between China and Russia — ties that have frustrated many European governments because of the war in Ukraine.
A temple bell rings 108 times in Taiwan
The solemn peal of a temple bell rang out 108 times — an auspicious number — as people flocked to the Baoan Temple in Taipei on Tuesday morning.
They lit incense sticks, bowed their heads and left offerings of colorful flower bouquets on outdoor tables on the temple grounds in Taiwan’s capital city.
Argentines join celebrations in Buenos Aires
Thousands of Argentines gathered in Buenos Aires’ Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year and enjoyed dragon and lion dances on the main stage, alongside martial arts demonstrations.
The Chinese immigrant community is among Argentina’s most dynamic, accounting for more than 180,000 people in the South American country.
