New magazine brings international stars and local society together every week

The magazine is based on the hugely successful style of OK! magazine, and has been produced in association with the famous British weekly title. It will include celebrity gossip, as well as news and pictures from reporters and photographers across the globe.

Home-grown talent will be just as much a part of Ahlan!. The magazine will report on all the big social events in the UAE every week, and cover local fashion, beauty and women's health issues. Plus, the magazine will bring readers an intelligent guide to English language satellite television; a calendar of upcoming events in the UAE; and listings of what is showing at the cinemas.

ITP already has an impressive stable of consumer magazines for the Middle East. The company is the publisher of the internationally renowned TimeOut, as well as Gulf favourites such as Emirates Home and Arabian Business. The company has launched five new magazines already this year.

"The UAE magazine market is highly competitive, but we are convinced that the launch of Ahlan! will be the most significant launch this year," said Walid Akawi, publishing director for ITP. "We are living in one of the most exciting countries in Asia and we need a magazine that offers a glamorous mix of international celebrity news with local society information."

Akawi also highlighted the very competitive price and the immediacy of the news. "As a local publisher, we are able to get the very latest celebrity news, send it to print and have the issue on sale the next day," pointed out Akawi. "Many of the international magazines on sale here undergo a lengthy freighting process which makes them out of date before they get here, and forces shops to sell them at a very high price. Ahlan! is not under any of these constraints."