Interior Design & Textiles students from London’s Royal College of Art (RCA) have designed a piece of clothing with three distinct uses: it is a weather-proof coat, a sleeping bag, and a tent. Their prototype aims to meet the immediate needs of migrating people, with pockets specially designed to store passports, personal documents, and phones.
Things have gone terribly wrong in an Egyptian zoo where a group of baboons turned on one of their cage-mates, tearing at its legs and biting off its feet, according to eye-witness reports. Images of the African baboon, whose feet were cannibalized by his cage mates, have gone viral on Egyptian social media. “Due to extreme hunger, […]
A Dubai-based abaya fashion designer has come up with a way to take the traditional black cloak into the future by integrating nanotechnology into its sleeves, giving the garment the capability to charge a smartphone or tablet. Manaal Al Hammadi showcased her solar-powered abaya at the last month’s World Energy Summit 2016 at the Abu Dhabi […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s all the rage. Eating Paleo, or like Paleolithic man has benefits, adherents to the New Age diet claim (here are 5 steps to going on a Paleo Diet). But while Paleo people cite red meat as part of the mainstay of their diet (eating what ancient Paleolithic man was supposed to eat), I have […]
In a region where the renewable energy market is still small, despite a natural and seemingly perpetual gas shortage, one startup is making big strides. KarmSolar is an Egyptian company dedicated to bolstering solar energy use. It is now the first company in Egypt with official permission to sell solar power off-grid. The Egyptian Electricity […]
A new report from the Climate Council of Australia revealed that last year’s global average temperature was the highest since global records began in 1880, with 2015 experiencing its hottest year on record – again – besting the 2014 stats by a jaw-dropping 0.16°C. To paraphrase Paris Hilton, that’s hot.
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 […]
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 […]
Green is sort of a buzzword nowadays. People will say they are going green (like Zaha Hadid), but are they as good as their word? Usually not. In the world of Middle Eastern architecture and engineering, rest assured that there are several who are fighting for green choices. Clients often see lots of green – […]
“Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads!” Fans of the 1985 film “Back to the Future” watched the year 2015 slip from a promising future into a disappointing past with no sign of time travel, Mr. Fusion or flying cars. And while hoverboards came surprisingly close to reality, even these require roads (of solid […]
Anyone who has used their smartphone to make an online purchase or to make a video call knows that recent advances in telecommunications technology and the convenience that it brings is now one of the bedrocks of modern life. In addition, the truly amazing thing about the communications revolution is the way it has quickly developed into a […]
In these days, when jet setting around the globe is becoming less popular due to environmental concerns, it’s worth remembering there are lots of fascinating destinations right here in the Middle East. Try a staycation! Just a couple of hours on a plane can take you to cities full of breathtaking sights, fascinating historic buildings and museums full […]
An old pine tree in the courtyard at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem inspired architects Ifat Finkelman and Deborah Warschawski to design a modern treehouse. The slatted wood structure sits at the entrance of the museum’s Youth Wing for Art Education, and it’s attracting children and adults in equal numbers. Who would think a museum installation could incite […]