Turmeric originates from Asia and is common to Indian cuisine. It is also a popular ingredient for middle eastern recipes.
Worried about the side effects of breast cancer recovery drugs, a 44 year old survivor named Vicky Sewart refused to follow medical orders and instead radically altered her diet. One of her secrets? A common spice found in souks across the Middle East – turmeric. Can this ancient savory spice really benefit breast health?
Bulldozers in Beirut tore down remains of a 2,500 year old Phoenician port on Tuesday with blessings from the Culture Minister. Eventually, three new skyscrapers will be built in its place, further blighting a once-beautiful city. The former Culture Minister Salim Wardy thwarted efforts by Venus Construction to proceed with the demolition in Mina al-Hosn and activists have engaged a year-long battle against the firm, but Gaby Layyoun ordered the port’s destruction, denying claims of its historical importance. Activists told The Daily Star that they will not rest until both Layyoun and Venus Construction stand trial for destroying the city’s cultural heritage.
From edible gardens to green bank accounts, I look at the top 7 things every eco-mosque should have
As the days creep into weeks and months, it seems that an entire year has passed and Ramadan has come knocking on our doors again. I say it every year, but every year I literally can’t believe its Ramadan again. Where does the time go? Anyway, in an effort to help fellow Muslims build some green momentum leading up to the holy month of fasting, I am going to look at the top seven things every green mosque should have. Whether it’s an edible garden, a green bank account or a water policy, I have come up with a list of things your local mosque could be doing to reduce its carbon footprint and tread more softly on this old planet of ours.
I also want to point out that building green mosques is only part of the solution. As the common wisdom now goes, a green building turns brown very quickly if the people using the building don’t change their behaviours. So, here are 7 things mosques can do without having to re-build and redesign their place of worship!
We are suckers for a good love story, especially when it has an eco-twist. Chafiq Ennaoui and Aimee Bianca met at the Djemaa el Fna square in Marrakech, where Aimee gushed over the unique quality of artisanal Moroccan crafts. The pair soon fell in love and eventually moved to New York, where Chafiq gained a new appreciation for the designs of his youth.
But with plastic junk from China and elsewhere quickly replacing slow handcrafted pieces, the couple became concerned about the future of these special products and the people who so lovingly craft them. This is how BELDI, which refers to all things folk and country about real Morocco, was born. An online store and a preservation project, BELDI sells a wide range of striking pieces that are almost all made with recycled or renewable materials.
Libya is one of the countries with which Turkey signed a rapid oil supply deal after the United States threatened to sanction countries that purchased oil from Iran.
In March, U.S. President Barack Obama approved sanctions on buyers of Iranian crude oil, effective starting in July. The announcement threw many of Iran’s international customers into a panic as they requested exemptions and began seeking new sources for the precious fuel.
Thanks to its exceptionally high energy demand and reliance on Iranian imports, Turkey is one of the countries whose energy strategy will most drastically change as a result.
Qatar is targeting 76 Acres of LEED Certified Buildings
When complete, the Msheireb regeneration project in the heart of Doha’s historical district will feature the world’s largest collection of LEED-certified buildings. Projected to cost $5.5 billion, the city’s new heart will eventually comprise 100 new buildings, all of which will target either Gold or Platinum LEED certification. (It is unclear whether this project will weigh in on the new GSAS green building rating system?)
Construction of the first development phase is already underway. The Diwan Amiri Quarter located in the Mohamed Bin Jassm District adjacent to Amiri Diwan and Souq Waqif will feature three major government buildings, including the national archive, heritage sites, a museum and an Eid prayer ground.
According to the Worldwatch Institute’s latest report on land grab, the oil-rich Gulf nations are big buyers of foreign land
Since 2000, an estimated 70.2 million hectares of agricultural land worldwide has been sold or leased by private or public investors. Most of that land grab took place between 2008 and 2010 and most of the land bought was in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The buyers, however, were a little more dispersed with Brazil, India, China, East Asian nations, the US and the UK topping the list.
The oil-rich Gulf nations of the Middle East, however, were close behind making up one of the major groups of buyers. Indeed Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar alone bought up 4.6 million hectares of land over the decade. And other nations such as Egypt and Jordan have also been buying up fertile land abroad.
Everyone who constructed pavilions for the recently-completed Rio +20 conference in Brazil was required to source their materials locally and to employ members of the Rio de Janiero community to build each structure. But the New York-based industrial design firm Grimshaw Architects distinguished Qatar’s pavilion from the crowd by modeling its shape after the wingspan of a soaring falcon. Referencing Qatar’s longstanding devotion to falconry, the pavilion was comprised of a steel frame and a light transparent roof and showcased the emirate’s various sustainability initiatives.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A5JnyeYgQU[/youtube]
Brochures for the Giza Pyramids usually depict Egypt’s historic relics amid a poignant desert background or a deep, radiant sunset. Camels and their Bedouin owners lurk in the background, poised to take visitors on the adventure of a lifetime. But these images spread only half the truth.
Although numbers have dropped precipitously since the revolution, in 2010 tourism accounted for approximately 11% of the country’s GDP. So it stands to reason that the authorities take excellent care of their national treasures, right? Unfortunately not.
During Mubarak’s 30 years as President, Egypt fell into a terrible decline, mummifying basic goods and services. And the masses have grown to accept life in the shadows of a once-great nation. This video depicts what the road to Giza really looks like and underscores the enormous challenges President Morsi has to face.
Video and story by Tafline Laylin
Desert Dancer by DJ Nickodemus
According to a recent report by charities, Gaza’s only source of fresh water is contaminated with fertiliser and human waste
The water and waste infrastructure in Gaza has been slowly deteriorating for years now. War damage, political conflict and dwindling resources are all part of the problem – however, the most troubling aspect is that there is little hope for improvement. According to the latest report by Save the Children and Medical Aid for Palestinians, Gaza’s water is too contaminated to drink and the number of children treated with diarrhoea has doubled in the last five years. The report also remarked that Israel’s five year blockade of the territory is preventing important sanitation equipment from reaching the people of Gaza.
Tomat-O-Red colors foods that appetizing pink color and even offers health benefits. Like eating Shakshouka every day?
Starbucks made waves with their eco-move away from artificial red coloring to a natural, sustainable dye. It was right there on their labels: carmine. Then a tip from an anonymous Starbucks employee to a vegan website alerted the public to the real nature of Strawberry Frappuccinos. Carmine is made from dried, powdered female cochineal beetles. Originating in Latin America, it’s been used to dye fabrics and foods red for centuries.
The coffee-shop chain didn’t count on the public’s reaction. Vegans and vegetarians were understandably upset, and people who don’t care to ingest insects were disgusted. An online petition with over 6,500 signatures asked Starbucks to stop using carmine. The furor is only now petering out, with Starbuck’s announcement that from now on, their products will be colored with vegetarian (and kosher) Tomat-O-Red.
Amid soaring real-estate prices that sent scores of protestors to the streets last year, an Israeli company recently ran a marketing campaign for affordable lunar homes. According to a report published in the Times of Israel, an email circulated among local press promised that intrepid home seekers could purchase “Beautiful apartment towers … built in plastic bubbles” and “apartments for all size families, from three rooms to large penthouses, along with garden apartments.”
“Can I talk to you?” a man named Hashim asked as I stooped to take photographs of government workers cleaning up last night’s party mess. Revelers marching through Tahrir Square, surrounding streets and the 6th of October Bridge cheered and set off giant firecrackers well into the early hours of the morning following the announcement that Mohamed Morsi is Egypt’s first democratically-elected president.
“He said to give him 100 days,” Hashim continued, referring to President Morsi’s promise that he will fix problems such as the poor quality of bread and burgeoning trash in just over three months. But without a constitution and with both budgetary and legislative power in the hands of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), it is unclear whether he will have sufficient control of the country’s limited resources to make good on his promises.
Beirut overtakes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, becoming the most expensive city for expatriates in the Middle East region, after Tel Aviv
According to Mercer’s latest Cost of Living survey Tokyo has become the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, pushing Luanda, Angola to second place while Karachi, Pakistan is ranked as the world least expensive city. The survey covers 214 cities across continents in the world and measures the relative costs (using NYC as base) of the 200 most significant expenses for expatriates. Mercer’s cost of living survey “is the world’s most comprehensive and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.”
Interestingly most Middle Eastern cities have dropped in rankings, according to Nathalie Constantin-Métral, Principal at Mercer this is “mainly because price increases on goods and services have been more moderate here than in our benchmark city, New York. Slight decreases in expatriate accommodation costs were also observed in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.”
Nevertheless, this is not true for Beirut (at spot 67), where living expenses are now the highest after Tel Aviv for the region. Beirut has gone up eight places from last year, and has overtaken Abu Dhabi (76, down nine places from last year) and Dubai (94, falling 13 places). These rising living expenses in Beirut are not hurting expatriates only, but locals too that face costs and prices that are not in line with average wages.
Project Interchange attendees Brian Wynn and Stephen Walz tour Ashkelon Desalination plant with Israel Desalination Chairman Abraham Tenne.
Advances in green technology are reported here often, including advances in solar energy, electric car technology and green bio-fuel from algae for future military and space programs. Interest in Israeli green technology programs came to the forefront recently with a week long conference, Project Interchange 2012, in which a number of US energy experts visited Israel to learn about advances in a number of Israeli green technology projects.
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