Big names in global politics rubbed shoulders with stars from the entertainment elite on Thursday, as US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron for a state dinner at the White House.
Officials from US government congregated with business executives and celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, creating a fashionable spin on the political gathering.
More than 330 guests were also treated to a performance by Grammy-winning musician Jon Batiste, who attended with his wife Suleika Jaouad, who looked radiant in a modest yellow gown by Oscar de la Renta. Batiste arrived in a smart tuxedo by American brand Bode.
The theme of the dinner was red, white and blue, a nod to both America and France's flags and "our common values: liberty and democracy, equality and fellowship", Biden said.
The first ladies epitomised the theme in their outfits, with Jill Biden opting for a long-sleeved navy column gown with off-the-shoulder neckline from Oscar de la Renta, which featured lace patterning and nude lining.
Brigitte Macron wore a white turtleneck dress by Louis Vuitton with silver detailing on the waist and neckline.
Both presidents donned classic black tuxedos.
Representing the Mena region's designers was American actress Ariana DeBose, who wore a black floor-length dress with thigh-high slit and asymmetrical black and gold shoulders by Lebanese atelier Tony Ward.
American model Teigen wore a floor-length, loose-fitting silk blush-pink off-the-shoulder gown, designer unknown, with gemstones on her puffed sleeves, while husband Legend also opted for a classic black tux.
Actress Jennifer Garner attended with her daughter Violet Affleck, who marked her 17th birthday on the night. The duo twinned in black dresses, Garner in Ralph Lauren and Affleck in an ankle-length, A-line Carolina Herrera number.
Louis-Dreyfus, who arrived with her son Charles Hall, wore a dark, floor-length velvet dress by Filipino-French designer Monique Lhuillier paired with a Tyler Ellis clutch.
American-Uruguayan fashion designer Gabriela Hearst looked particularly chic in a structured, shoulderless spring/summer 2023 dress from her own collection in black, gold and white with puffed-out sleeves.
Wintour, who sets the world's annual fashion agenda, wore an all-black vintage Chanel look from 1983.
The sophisticated dinner menu, created by White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, included caviar, butter-poached lobster from Maine and orange chiffon cake with creme fraiche ice cream for dessert.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
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Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
