Recovered from an archeological dig, an extinct date variety springs back to green life in the Arava Valley. Dates have always been a staple in the Middle Eastern diet. Mentions of them have come down from ancient times. Now the hope of actually eating the fruit of an extinct variety exists.The story goes back 2000 […]
3D printing technology could lead to a greener product manufacturing and consumption. Above is the model for a 3D printed villa now in Dubai. We were about 12 miles east of Limerick, Ireland when our tire blew out. So we melted the old tire into the 3D replicator, printed a new one and we were […]
Begin with a 3-pronged disclaimer: I’m no engineer; I’m as political as a daisy; and since leaving university, my preferred way of learning is fairly chaotic. I bump into things. That draw me to other things. Thing One and Thing Two quickly lead to Thing Fifty-Three; and when I look up, blinking, discombobulated, I’m “sort of” knowledgeable about […]
This Arabian sand gazelle in the United Arab Emirates is now six days old! While some zoos in the Middle East and North Africa have a terrible track record when it comes to their treatment of animals, Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates functions as a leading wildlife conservation center that specializes in […]
If you need another reason to support the Barcelona soccer team, this might help: in order to expand their fan base in the Middle East and Asia, Real Madrid is joining forces with the United Arab Emirates to build a giant soccer resort complete with a stadium, fancy villas, two high rise hotels, and a […]
Tafline’s reporting trip to Tunisia has evolved into a personal odyssey that has revealed a side of the country Wikipedia can’t convey. I’ve been in Tunisia since Tuesday afternoon and almost every day has been fraught with challenges. This is typical of travel, of course. Few things ever go smoothly, belongings are lost or broken, […]
Looks like a flat thermometer, but its inventors say it can disinfect 100 glasses of water on a single battery charge. As many as a billion people on this planet do not have easy access to clean drinking water, especially in Third World countries in Africa and southern Asia. We have previously written about solutions […]
Crazy idea keeping you up at night? Are you a solver of problems with worldwide impact? Would your innovation benefit from expert mentoring? Join the Innovation Tournament If so, grab your entrepreneurial lance and take aim at this opportunity to participate in a worldwide challenge; gain guidance from international business experts; attract elusive project funding; and […]
SlutWalk started in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in April 2011 in response to the slur of a Toronto Police officer who suggested that women could remain safe by avoiding dressing like ‘sluts.’ Since then, the movement has spread across the globe as a worldwide protest against aggression and rape. Activists are reframing the dialogue, calling on […]
Better Place offers the public a close-up view of the electric Renault Fluence Z.E. and the sporty Tesla Roadster at the Automotor Exhibit in Tel Aviv, April 8-11 . Rising fuel prices and a growing commitment to reducing air pollution are causing more Israelis to turn towards alternative cars. Maurice’s post from January tells of […]
A fleet of oil tankers is heading from Saudi Arabia to the US in order to drive down “unjustified” oil prices of $127 per barrel. Saudi Arabia’s current capacity of 9.9 million barrels per day already exceeds self-imposed OPEC quotas. Saudi Petroleum minister Ali Naimi said production could go up another 25% to 12.5 million […]
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault locked safe away in Norway has once again opened its steel doors welcoming 25,000 new seed samples including varieties of chickpeas, fava beans and other seeds from Syria. Around 110,000 Syrian duplicate seed samples out of 750,000 samples stored in Syria have been safely consigned, should the conflict in Syria […]
It’s World Water Day today, relevant and necessary for the Middle East. Well, not quite, but I got your attention. Raise an icy glass filled with clean water: it’s World Water Day. In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly declared each March 22 to be World Day for Water, raising awareness of water issues at local and […]
After a rise in the cost of gasoline on Tuesday, Turks are now paying what may be the world’s highest price for the precious liquid. 95-octane unleaded gasoline jumped to 4.62 Turkish Lira ($2.60, or € 1.93 ) per liter on Tuesday. By comparison, the European countries with the highest current gas prices — Italy, Denmark, […]
A handful of Tunisian men walk down Avenue Habib Bourguiba after a full day of protesting on Independence Day We landed in the capital as thousands of Tunisians wearing and carrying their red and white flags swarmed on Avenue Habib Bourguiba to celebrate their independence from France on March 20, 1956. At one point a […]