Elon Musk wants to Starlink Iranian dissidents
Elon Musk is hoping to dodge American sanctions against Iran to help researchers and anyone who wants it, access uncensored internet via his satellite-based Starlink internet service.
Iran
Death by modesty police? Iranian women burn head coverings to protest #MahsaAmini
A young Iranian woman, 22, has died in custody after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for improper clothing. Her death sparked anger on social media under her name #MahsaAmini.
Without a hijab? Iran’s surveillance cameras will track and punish you
Like China who has been using AI and facial detection surveillance to pinpoint people breaking lockdown, Iran's morality police are using cameras to catch women without a head covering –- a moral sin in Iran.
What’s in season May
Sour green plums the size of large marbles are in the local Middle East markets now, a seasonal favorite of the Iraqis. Eat them out of hand as a snack, sprinkling each bite with a little salt. The classic Iraqi way to cook them is to pair them with meat in a flavorful stew. And if you want to ask for them in Persian just say "Gojeh sabz!"
Qanat, an eco-hotel in Iran’s desert, makes ancient tech new
When you go deep into a desert, whether it's Iran or Sinai, it has a similar effect of being in a forest. The stark nature of the planet holds you. Deserts may offer less distractions in your peripheral vision but the clouds and sand come to life as you feel yourself expanding within the expanse.
Tehran wins “world’s most polluted city” in April
The Iranian city now passes as one of the world's most polluted cities, as smog, dust and smoke overcomes it.
Iran’s going solar with half a million solar panels
Each house will generate more than 100% of its energy needs and the rest will feed back to the household as a monthly check.
Mediterranean oil spill cleaned by EU ambassadors
EU Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret was joined Friday morning by more than two dozen envoys from EU member states, including 10 ambassadors, at a large-scale beach clean-up operation at the Beit Yanai National Park near Netanya, Israel. A suspicious and deadly bitumen oil spill appeared washing up on the Israeli and Lebanese coast a […]
Meet the Mountain People of the Middle East
A joint study found that mountain ecosystems are becoming increasingly fragile, under pressure from changes to land use and climate, overexploitation, pollution, demographic shifts and other factors which threaten livelihoods and food security.
To stop crippling air pollution, Iranians do car-free Tuesdays
Cities in Iran are some of the most polluted in the world. It’s estimated that 27 people a day die in Tehran from the low quality of air. Mohammad Bakhtiari, 25, from Arak decided he couldn’t take it anymore, and started car-free Tuesdays –- a day when he’s encouraging Iranians to find alternative ways to […]
Iranian women “selfies” without headscarves causing rivers to dry up
Today on the streets of Jaffa, where I live, I saw for the first time in my life a woman in hijab (helmet on top) driving her motorbike in full throttle along Jerusalem Boulevard. She was too quick for me (on my peddle bike!) to take a photo. I was pretty proud of her, because […]
Iran’s devastated Lake Urmia wins recognition
Like Israel and Jordan’s Dead Sea, Iran has it’s own inland salty lake called Lake Urmia. Climate change and dam construction has caused its demise to about 10% of its of former glory. Local protestors who have dared called on the government to fix it have been tied up, beaten and tortured. One trusted source I […]
Alligator sneaks into Iranian gas facility “no man zone”
Hey, it says ‘no man’, not ‘no alligator’ says this crocodilian creature caught on film by security at an Iranian gas production facility this month. It climbed onto a gas rig in Southern Iran, in search of food, say local personnel. It was led back to the swamp. Unlike in Canada, where police went crazy over […]
Two decades of his life to the Oaks
Bust all stereotypes you might have of Iranians: A retired teacher in Kohgiluyeh and the Boyer Ahmad Province has planted over 10,000 oak tree saplings over a two-decade period. Mohammad Hossein Aria has devoted several years of his life to the protection and revival of forests, and believes that there is no room for famine or […]
First Earth Architecture festival in Iran would make Nader Khalili proud
Iranian architect Nader Khalili, founder of the California Earth and Architecture Institute and proponent of the- dare we say- revolutionary SuperAdobe building technique, would be proud. In the coming week from the 11th to the 14th of March 2015, l’Iran will inaugurate the first edition of “Regeneration of earthen architecture festival” which aims to promote earth […]