Dubai Fashion Week cancelled at last minute

Plus, Arab Talent returns to MBC4; Chris Daughtry is getting sued; Indus Creed is coming to Abu Dhabi; Jennifer Hudson witness in trial; du opening doors to TV show; and much more.

Dubai Fashion Week's Autumn/Winter show has been cancelled. Jaime Puebla / The National

Dubai Fashion Week's Autumn/Winter show was cancelled just days before models were set to strut the catwalk, the creative director Simon Lock has announced. "Sometimes in life, one has to take a step sideways to be able to take the next step forward," he says.

Lock had been working to secure greater support from the Dubai Government for the bi-annual showcase, due to start at the weekend, of which they were patrons last season.

"We have been in fruitful discussion with them about their long-term support," he says, adding that, "without it being finalised, we are not in a position to be able to fully underwrite the event through designer and commercial sponsor participation."

Keen to stress his commitment to the cause, Lock announced that Dubai Fashion Week would return next with the spring/summer collection in October.

* Rebecca McLaughlin-Duane

The return of Arabs Got Talent

The first season of Arab Idol may have wrapped up, but that doesn't mean the end of that addictive mixture of talent show and reality TV that has viewers glued to their screens. Arabs Got Talent is back for a second season on MBC4 every Friday night. The panel of judges consists this year of the Lebanese singer Najwa Karam, the Saudi comedian Nasser Al Qasabi and the dean of American University of Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashed School of Communication, Ali Jaber.

The show is hosted by the renowned TV presenter Raya Abirashed and the rapper Qusai Khoder and is broadcast on Friday evenings at 10pm.

Three ex-band mates file suit against Chris Daughtry

Three of Chris Daughtry's former band mates are suing him, claiming he defrauded them out of proceeds from four songs that included music and lyrics they wrote together.

The News & Record of Greensboro reports the Daughtry bassist Ryan Andrews, the drummer Scott Crawford and the guitarist Mark Perry filed the suit on Thursday in Guilford County Superior Court.

The lawsuit accuses Daughtry of "constructive fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, unfair trade practices and other deceptive and wrongful conduct.".

Daughtry posted a statement on his band's website saying he was hurt by the accusations and that the songs listed in the lawsuit were written solely by him.

Daughtry reached stardom in 2006 when he came fourth on American Idol, and recorded hits such as Home, It's Not Over and No Surprise.

* AP

Indus Creed to perform in Abu Dhabi

The Holiday Inn in Abu Dhabi will be bringing India's original rock band Indus Creed - popularly known in the 1980s as the "Rock Machine" - to the capital for the first time.

Led by Uday Benegal, the eight-member all-male band will launch their new album Evolve, after a span of 15 years. Rolling Stone magazine called Indus Creed "one of the most important bands in contemporary Indian rock" and featured them on the cover of their February 2012 issue in India.

The band will perform on Thursday, April 26.

Du opens The Entrepreneur doors to all

A great business idea can come from anyone. Taking this thought further and listening to feedback from several applicants, du has now opened the doors of its reality TV show, The Entrepreneur, to anybody in the UAE 18 years old and above. So whether you are a college student, a working executive or a homemaker, if you think you have a great business idea, apply now on www.theentrepreneur.ae and get a golden opportunity to turn your dreams into reality by winning financial and professional support worth Dh2 million. Applications close on April 15.

The show will be broadcast on Dubai One later this year.

Suspect in Hudson family deaths greets jury

Potential jurors are getting their first look at William Balfour, a man accused in the slayings of the mother and two other family members of the singer and actress Jennifer Hudson.

The moment in a Chicago courtroom came shortly before the judge read a potential witness list that includes the Oscar-winning actress's name.

Balfour is the estranged husband of Hudson's sister. Prosecutors say he shot Hudson's mother, brother and nephew in a jealous rage because Julia Hudson was dating another man. Potential jurors collected questionnaires on Thursday. Direct questioning by the judge starts today.

* AP

TV show to test celebrities military style

A new TV series will test celebrities against the demands of military exercises.

Stars Earn Stripes is the working title of the NBC show from the veteran producers Dick Wolf (Law & Order) and Mark Burnett (Survivor and The Voice). Nine celebrities from the worlds of music, sports and Hollywood will be paired with trainers at a "top-notch, secret training facility", the producers said in a statement on Thursday.

The contestants will face weekly challenges such as hostage-rescue exercises or placing a laser target atop a mountain.

Burnett, who joined the British military at age 17 and served as a paratrooper, said celebrities and the audience will realise how "hard and scary" such tasks are.

A broadcast date has not yet been announced.

* AP