Looking to our octopus friends will help scientists build robots, maybe even goal keepers, for tomorrow. In case you thought that octopuses were smart only in guessing the outcome of soccer matches (remember the late Paul the octopus in Germany who picked all the right winners in last year’s world cup matches in Johannesburg?), scientists […]
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An Egyptian real estate developer is planning to build on 650 acres of protected land near Lake Qarun Despite the huge potential for Eco-tourism in the Middle East, the reality is that most tourism development in the region are about one thing: making lots of money. Protecting the environment and preserving important natural habitats are […]
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A sedated leopard cub less than two months old was among a variety of animals stashed in a suitcase bound for Dubai. Along with a monkey, gibbon, and bear, two sedated leopard cubs were found in an Emirati man’s suitcase at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. All of the animals were younger than two months old. […]
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When two embankments collapsed at the dam of a silver refinery in the Turkish province of Kütahya, workers began scrambling to keep the cyanide-contaminated water from leaking out of the dam. If it does, environmentalists warn, the accident could become “the most dangerous environmental crisis Turkey has faced thus far.” A silver mining and refining […]
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The three winners from the Middle East/MENA region are Tunisia, Bahrain and Qatar in new survey on tourism trends. The recently released 2011 “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness”report by the World Economic Forum, in co-operation with Booz & Company, reveals some interesting dynamics in the global tourism industry, including a shift to the East, with Central and […]
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Tafline in Dubai shark market: “Sharks piled up in the back of a truck along with a spade and rebar.” The locals are proud to pose with their dead sharks, rays, and barracudas. Many of them will even open the shark’s mouth for dramatic effect. “Picture, picture,” they said repeatedly as Jacques Van Wyk, a […]
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From recycling to water conservation, the East Jerusalem Environment Center is on a mission to improve the city and its neighbourhoods. Joining the ranks of influential green organisations such as Bustan and the Arava Institute is the newly formed East Jerusalem Environmental Center. Setup in September 2009 to work with two schools to reduce their […]
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A greenie examines her soul at the foot of hundreds of Dubai towers. Dubai is nothing at all like Las Vegas. Though both are unlikely cities in waterless environs and full of people eager to divest visitors of both their souls and their money, that is where their likeness ends. As a tour leader for […]
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Iraq is rife with environmental woes, as Arwa points out in her survey. And some of the most endangered animals are migratory birds: the Basra Reed Warbler (found in the southern Marshlands) and the Egyptian Vulture (found in the Kurdistan-Iraq Mountains) are especially at risk. To honor World Migratory Bird Day May 14-15 this year, […]
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Sunrise from summit of Mt. Sinai – some say “God’s Mountain”. The peninsula offers more than just pristine beaches. Following Egypt’s recent revolution resulting in the Mubarek family being ousted from power, the country’s lucrative tourism industry has been struggling to find ways to entice foreign tourists to return. One Egyptian Hisham Nessim, a businessman […]
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About 2/3 the size of most horses, the Caspian was used to draw ancient chariots into battle. Louise Firouz loved her Caspians, a small horse that was thought to have gone extinct 1,300 years ago. After marrying into an aristocratic family, the American Cornell graduate took up her love of horses anew by establishing a […]
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Mostly concerned expatriates snag bean bags ahead of The End of the Line screening outside the Pavilion Dive Center in Dubai. A dead dugong was found floating in the Gulf waters near the artificial island development Palm Jebel Ali in Dubai on 2 May, 2011. Listed as vulnerable on the International Union of Conservation’s (IUCN) […]
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The Tanjero River that flows southwest of the city of Sulaimani in Iraq, is remembered by many to be a sizeable and beautiful river. It might not be the Euphrates, the great biblical river which allowed for the growth of civilization, but today it is reduced to a polluted and sewage filled stream. In a […]
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Once common, animals and porcupines like this one are now becoming rare in Israel as development surges, and open spaces diminish. Israel’s birds and other wildlife are threatened with extinction due to over development of the country’s open spaces, according to an article in Haaretz. According to a new study on Israel’s nature situation, it […]
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Despite a campaign by environmentalists to protect the Ajloun forest in Jordan, 300 trees will be uprooted to make way for a military academy Back in January 2011, Jordanian environmentalists launched a campaign to help protect Ajloun forest from a development project which would have seen 2,200 trees cut down across 45 dunums of land. […]
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