Do pregnant women who are fasting during the Holy Islamic month of Ramadan have a greater chance of experiencing a pre-term birth? A new study by Lebanese researchers rules out the half-day fast as cause for an earlier than expected birth. With Ramadan continuing until Friday, pregnant Muslim everywhere want to know if it’s safe […]
Why grow apples in Lebanon when hashish and cannabis is hundreds of times more lucrative? An overview of Lebanon’s unsustainable drug business in the Bekaa Valley. Escalating clashes between armed tribesmen trying to protect their cannabis fields and the Lebanese armed forces are pushing Lebanon to readdress the long-standing issue of cannabis cultivation in the […]
We continuously shine a bright light on the issue of food waste during Ramadan and have provided tips for keeping it down, but throwing away perfectly good food is not something that only happens during the holy month or in the MENA region. It is a global phenomenon. Even though roughly 925 million people throughout […]
If you ever wondered how the coffee machine works or how your iPhone responds to touch, then littleBits are for you. Lebanese designer Ayah Bdeir has recently received an additional $3.5 USD million in venture capital to scale up a hugely popular new line of toys that makes building electronic circuits as easy as fixing […]
Jordanians can pick each other out by sight and last-name analysis, as accurate as DNA testing. Six million “Jordanians” are a quilt sewn from disparate ethnicities and cultures, co-existing in peace while retaining the essence of their origins. This tiny nation divides itself up into groups and sub-groups and tribes and families. Jordan hosts one of […]
Maps showing depletion of Greenland’s ice fields between July 8 and 12 2012. July 12 version is on the right. Maps via The Weather Channel and NASA It’s happening much faster than most climatologists thought it would: the world’s polar ice caps and ice fields are melting at an alarming rate and virtually simultaneously. It’s […]
Horsh Beirut is not the only public space that has been hijacked from the residents of Beirut. In the years since the war, most of the sandy stretches along the Mediterranean Sea have been usurped by wealthy developers, who – according to Abir Ghattas – have forgotten that Beirut’s beaches belong to everyone. These private resorts […]
Lebanon is suffering from a serious crisis of E. Coli and listeria contamination thanks to unhygienic conditions and polluted waterways. Following the national uproar in Lebanon when large amounts of rotten meat and dairy were found at some of Beirut’s top restaurants and supermarkets, researchers at the American University of Beirut (AUB) carried out a study on […]
We are in the midst of a global obsession with LEGO building blocks. No longer strictly a childhood toy, these colorful plastic blocks designed by Denmark’s Kristiansen family in the 1930s are popping up everywhere: corporations are building the tallest this and that in order to market their products and artists are using them to […]
Another major fire in the Middle East: this time in a traditional market, souq. Firefighters battled a blaze that erupted last week in Manama, Bahrain’s capital city, destroying hundreds of shops in the popular Isla Town Market. Over 500 stalls and shops were destroyed in the five hours it took to bring the blaze under […]
Trash Theatre is a free theatre performance about trash – it’s taking place across Lebanon’s coast Lebanon is drowning in trash. Now artists are making theatre out of the mess. I think it’s safe to say that ‘10453: A Story About Life in 1 km2 of Trash’ is unlike any theatre production you have ever heard […]
Like Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon has been slammed with energy shortages this summer. In some parts of the country, outside of Beirut, people are often without power for twelve hours a day. These cuts have inflamed the local populace, sometimes resulting in tire-burning protests that further degrade the environment. But help may be […]
Israelis might have to cool off with just fans this summer. Summer heat waves in Israel and other parts of the Middle East are putting extraordinary strains on electricity power grids. These strains are so intense, that recently, Israel’s environment minister, Gilad Erdan, even proposed that his country cut back electric power to Gaza, which […]
We’ve often wondered: do people in the Middle East just not see the trash that has taken over their lives? 10453: A Story About Life in 1 km2 of Trash answers that question with a roaring yes. they. do. Written & directed by Camille Brunel Aoun and produced by The (B)IM Project or Books in […]
From Ma’amoul to Couscous, why not try a new vegetarian dish from the Middle East and North Africa region this Ramadan? There are some dishes that evoke such strong memories of a festive occasion, that eating them any other time of the year feels wrong. For me, Qatayf (mini nut pancakes) and Mamoul (date cookies) […]