Could First Choice all-inclusive holidays spell the end for small businesses in Middle Eastern resorts? First Choice, one of Britain’s leading package holiday companies, announced this week that all holidays sold as of 2012 under its brand will be all-inclusive. This means that as well as flights and hotels, the price that tourists pay up-front […]
As a new political order struggles to assert itself in the autocratic states of the Middle East novel challenges – and possibilities – emerge. In looking toward the future, social Greens throughout the region would do well to coordinate an agenda geared toward a sustainable tomorrow.
Istanbul – a major hub for train travel across the Middle East Survey results published this week reveal that the majority of international travelers would prefer to take trains instead of aeroplanes, if they had the opportunity. The poll of 300 consumers, conducted for train technology company Silverrail, showed that 79% would choose trains over […]
Souvenirs of the recent revolution are already on sale in Tahrir Square In recent weeks, Green Prophet has reported on concerns for MENA regional eco-tourism after visitor numbers slumped over concerns about safety, and on worries that the conflict in Libya could damage the country’s stunning historical remains. But plans to promote Middle East and […]
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that rising oil prices is at the heart of the reason why the protest are driving up food prices. As Tafline Laylin wrote earlier today, the price of oil has risen 6% to $95.39 per barrel following the turbulence in the MENA region. This is apparently a six-year high.
How governments respond to water woes will determine the future stability of the Middle East. It’s impossible to point to any one issue and claim it as the final explanation for the protests unnerving leaders in the Middle East. Weeks ago one Tunisian man set himself on fire when he was told he couldn’t sell […]
Tiny pieces of plastic invisible to humans is likely behind the death of thousands of Mediterranean mammals, turtles, and fish. Maurice once speculated whether the Mediterranean has a plastic waste situation comparable to that of the Pacific, an issue particularly sensitive to our favorite eco-hunk David de Rothschild. His hunch – informed by empirical evidence […]
It started with cotton and oil: the Middle East oppressed now seek freedom and a future. image via AP The autocratic rule now being challenged in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East has its roots in the state system that developed in the region during the twentieth century. This system is based on […]
As the popular Tunisian revolt which ousted the President Ben Ali dies down, the continuing rise of food prices is becoming a real concern for the region’s governments The reasons behind the downfall of the Tunisian president Ben Ali are complex but the high food prices, which brought the average person to the streets in […]
Oil prices and food prices are interconnected. Wealthy Arab states try to create a food pipeline to stave off riots. As oil prices once again begin to climb past $100 a barrel as they did in 2008 so too, as in that oil price shock, food prices are rising, too. As then, there are now […]
Jordanians have taken to the streets of the capital Amman to vent their anger at the government’s inability to stem rising food prices We’ve already reported on the riots in Tunisia and Algeria sparked by high food prices, and now Jordan joins the list. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest against […]
The recent riots that have rocked North Africa are not just about unemployment and political corruption but also the rising cost of basic food As violence spirals out of control in Tunisia and the death toll continues to rise, it’s clear that the concerns that are bringing people to the street are ones of basic […]
A gigantic electricity network would link electric grids throughout the Middle East and extend them much further in a massive infrastructure investment in a smart grid. At a press conference in the Cairo office on Saturday, Mohie Eddin said the World Bank is considering a smart grid plan that would link the eastern Arab states, […]
For the sake of trade in red coral such as this, several Mediterranean countries opposed a measure that would have protected precious coral. Already plagued by a bucketful of ecological maladies, the Mediterranean faces further degradation of its precious coral, Bikya Masr reports. In December several Mediterranean countries were among those that shot down a […]
The Magreb nations have a bright solar future: don’t miss your chance to be part of it! Solar Maghreb in Casablanca, Morocco on 24-25 May 2011 is the must-attend utility-scale solar conference to make contacts within the five Maghreb nations – meaning “the Western” ones, in Arabic – of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and the […]