Iraqi singer Satar Saad wins "The Voice Arabia"

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi singer Sattar Sa’ad has been crowned the winner of the second season of singing reality show The Voice Arabia. Sa’ad, who caps a three-month long journey with the win, walks away with a brand new car and a recording contract with Universal Music Group.

The finale, held in Beirut and broadcast simultaneously across the Middle East on MBC1 and MBC Masr, also saw pop star Ricky Martin take the stage to perform his new songs Andrenalina and Come With Me. Martin is also a coach on The Voice Australia.

The singing reality show, which has versions in many countries, sees aspiring singers being coached by professional musicians. The singers then compete against each other and are then voted on by TV viewers, with contestants eliminated week after week.

Sa’ad was coached on the show by Iraqi singer Kadim Al Saher. Following his crowning, he expressed his joy, thanked his supporters and coach who he said believed in his talent from the start.

“The Voice witnessed high viewership ratings and was a very engaging programme for all age groups, especially youngsters, which was reflected by the voting and the social media platforms in the Arab world,” said Mazen Hayek, official spokesman of broadcaster MBC, who confirmed that Season 3 of the show would return next in Dubai.

Representative of Religious Authority in Basra call local government to neglect disputes

Basra (Forat) The Representative of the Religious Authority in Basra Sheikh, Mohammed al-Maliki, called the local government to neglect the disputes and develop the services.

While performing Friday Prayer in Zubair district of western Basra, Maliki said “The reports over the disputes and tensions between the sides of the local government over the legitimacy of forming it are not for the benefit of Basra province and will not develop the services.”