Middle East ban for Noah epic

The UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are among Middle Eastern countries banning Hollywood epic Noah as it breaks Islam's taboo of depicting a prophet. "There are scenes that contradict Islam and the Bible, so we decided not to show it," Juma Al-Leem from UAE's National Media Centre said. Director Darren Aronofsky's film stars Russell Crowe as the ark-building Biblical figure. Paramount Pictures recently admitted the movie takes "artistic licence". "It is important to respect these religions and not show the film," Mr Al-Leem said, according to BBC.