Heads up! A look at Iran’s fantastical ceilings (PHOTOS)

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Instagram photographer “m1rasoulifard” has been creating a visual catalog of Iranian architecture, shooting the interiors of mosques, such as Hazrat-Masoumeh in Qom (above), and cultural centers, like the Chaharbagh School in Isfahan.  His images capture intricately detailed interiors rich in texture and kaleidoscopic colors. Tuck into this visual feast of Iran’s splendiferous ceilings; scenes lost to […]

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Brilliant IKEA dinner table outsmarts mealtime smartphone users!

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Sit four people around the dinner table, and at see that least three are tethered to their smartphones (well, someone’s got to cook and serve). What’s a conversation-starved hostess to do? Head to IKEA Taiwan where designers have cooked up a table that encourages real-time relationships, eye contact and chat.  You remember those once-essential ingredients to a […]

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Syngenta Merger Must Be Blocked

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China’s state-owned ChemChina tendered a $43 billion bid for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta today as part of a strategy to improve domestic food production. Remember the classic board game Monopoly? It’s being played by multi-national agri-businesses in attempt to control the world food supply chain. China is the largest agricultural market on the planet. Syngenta’s […]

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Google gets hot for Wilbur Scoville!

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Google did a doodle marking the 151st birthday of the pharmacist who helped us navigate the chili peppers, the tiny veggie with the power to drop diners to their knees. Wilbur Scoville was the first person to measure the heat of peppers. His heat scale is still in use today, scoring the piquancy of peppers. (What […]

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Sharjah wins Arab Tourism Capital award 2015

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According to a recent report, Sharjah – a city named after its state, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates criteria set forth by the Arab Council of Tourism Ministers. It must be actively attempting to: increase tourism exchange with other Arab countries, promote the region’s appeal on the international market, sustain natural […]

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Kuwaitis drive social change with new fund. N-mu?

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A few years ago, Jordan launched an initiative called BADIR to support budding young entrepreneurs, eager to contribute to positive change in their communities. Now Kuwait is following suit: the “n-mu” program endows participants with the skills and resources necessary to create real social change. N-mu? That’s a funny name, you might be thinking. But […]

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