Saudi Arrested for Offering “Free Hugs” (video)
With a plan to take to the streets with cuddles, the police decided it was better to arrest a Saudi man and his friend before their “plot” to give out free hugs began.
Saudi Arabia
Sex in the Saudi Means Flirting with Arrest
As we’ve learned from this great No Woman, No Cry video by Hisham Fageeh, Saudi Arabian rules ban women from driving. This must drive them and their love interests crazy because provocative eye contact and inter-gender chat between strangers is also taboo. The religious police will arrest anyone caught violating these laws: flirters be warned.
“No Woman, No Drive” Video by Saudi Comedian Hisham Fageeh, With Lyrics
This is the best pro-women’s rights stuff we’ve seen out of Saudi Arabia, ever. Saudi comedian Hisham Fageeh has posted his excellent No Woman, No Drive video to bring attention to the plight of women in the Middle Eastern country.
Kuwaiti Gaydar Test to Ban Gays Entry to Arab Countries?
Circling around the news is something that may violate human rights in the Middle East, pointing out just how bad it might be for gays living in these countries: some Arab states are looking to develop a “gay” test to bar gay travellers from entry.
MERS Risk and Hajj – How to Prepare for a Healthy Pilgrammage
Public health officials in the Gulf states are playing down fears about an outbreak of the deadly MERS coronavirus among pilgrims travelling to the Hajj in Saudi Arabia this month, though doctors are advising the elderly, people with existing health conditions, pregnant women and young children to stay away.
How Do You Know That Big Eid Is Coming?
Eid Al Adha, also called Big Eid and the Feast of the Sacrifice, is an important Islamic holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his first-born son as an act of submission to God’s command. Everyone knows the story: God jumped in with a last-minute substitution and […]
Bats Blamed for Deadly Middle East MERS Respiratory Virus
The deadly coronavirus behind Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) has been isolated in a bat in Saudi Arabia, according to a report in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The virus was found in a the feces of an Egyptian tomb bat, or Taphozous perforatus, a creature known to roost in abandoned buildings.
Saudi Ministry of Health Sued Over Death of Obese Man
An 840 pound Saudi man died last week from complications associated with his weight and his passing is loudly being mourned online. Is it a sign of our digital times or a new awareness of the obesity epidemic in the Middle East?
Why Teen Drivers Should Listen to Barry Manilow When Driving
In countries like Saudi Arabia where the dangerous and fatal “sport” of drifting cars into crowds of people is considered a past-time, we wonder – can music be to be blame? According to a new study from Israel teens who are listening to their favorite songs while driving are more likely to make errors while […]
Saudi Gazelle Massacre Sparks Outcry
A video of Saudi men boasting about their multi-day massacre of several Arabian gazelles has sparked an outcry across social media networks, local newspaper Sabq recently reported.
An Energy Insider for Nuclear Newcomers in the Middle East
Nuclear energy is a low carbon power source, but whether or not it should be considered a renewable energy source is long debated and fought over –- even in the Middle East where the industry is nascent.
Zaha Hadid Wins Bid for Futuristic Metro Station in Saudi Arabia
Public transportation is not wildly popular in Saudi Arabia since fuel is so cheap and many households have private drivers to escort them from place to place, but the government is trying to shift public perception of this mode of movement by developing a brand new metro system. And Zaha Hadid has recently won a bid […]
Watch Out for Falling Palm Trees Near You
The date palm is an important part of the religious, cultural, and economic heritage of the Arabian Peninsula and the rest of the Middle East. But now it is being decimated by a tiny invasive beetle.
Big Oil’s Saudi Aramco Builds LEED Certified Homes in Riyadh
The irony here is clear: the first international LEED certified housing complex is built by an oil research facility in Saudi Arabia.
Powerful Middle Eastern Graphics from Kuwait’s Mohammad Sharaf
Kuwaiti graphic designer Mohammad Sharaf serves up powerful pictures based on current events, salted with modern Middle Eastern humor and instantly provocative.
Saudi Agriculture To Be Hit Hard by Climate Change
Saudi Arabia and climate change do not mix well as this photo indicates As Earth Day 2013 approaches on April 22, issues of water options in arid countries like Saudi Arabia will be high on the agenda. Countries in the Middle East that face increasing water shortages, especially those situated on the Arabian Peninsula, have to […]
How Muslim Families Use Breastfeeding to Make Adopted Babies Their Own
Even if you didn’t give birth to the baby, you can still feed it to make it “yours” in Muslim communities. Here’s how. Under Islamic Sharia’a law, western adoption practices are frowned upon. When children are abandoned by their birth parents, they may become foster children of other families, but they are not allowed to […]
Lost In Translation Middle East Style
As America hunts for clues on the Boston Bomber suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Laurie goes on with life and looks to the follies of communication in the Middle East. Communication is key to everything. Every driver knows that intersections are risky, but the crossroad of language and culture is especially prone to accidents. Need proof? I pick […]
Saudi Arabia Nanomaterials Inspired by the Lotus
Lotus flowers were once considered sacred in Egypt and parts of Asia. They hold a secret to a clean nanotechnology. Like the ancient blue pigment found in ancient Egypt, old spiritual materials like the lotus flower inspire new environmental science: As assistant professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at King Abdulla University of Science and […]
Saudi Erects World’s Tallest Tower
Construction of the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, also known as the Kingdom Tower, has been plagued by political, economic and labour issues, with the proposed completion date of 2020 deemed unrealistic for many years now.
With Swordsmen in Short Supply, Saudi Considers A Greener Execution Solution
Can executions be green? Laurie answers this tongue in cheek. Tardy executioners have prompted Saudi Arabia to re-evaluate their centuries-old practice of public beheadings.The use of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is based on a hardline interpretation of Sharia (Islamic) law. The practice attracts international scorn because of the wide array of crimes which garner […]
Export Oil, Import Water = Risky Economics for Middle East
Water scarcity has already become a fact of daily life for Egyptians The world’s driest region, the Middle East* and North Africa (MENA), is getting drier at an alarming rate. And yet, despite massive population growth (the Middle East’s population grew 61 percent from 1990 to 2010 to 205 million people) predictions of so-called “water […]
Deep Sea Mining the Next Frontier for Sudan and Saudi Arabia?
Deep sea mining for minerals is the next frontier for the extractive industry, and the Red Sea risks becoming a victim Sudan and Saudi Arabia are targeting to start deep-water mining of a Red Sea basin, rich in zinc, copper, silver and gold, by 2014. This decision revives from a mutual agreement signed in 1974 […]
Saudis Ban Tinted Windows and Public Transport for Women
As if Saudis don’t have enough banned behaviors, the traffic department now prohibits tinted bus windows preventing fewer women from using public transport. Teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can count on costlier work commutes following the recent decision by the Traffic Department to ban tinted windows in school buses. Several bus companies that transport […]
Israel Floods Replenish the Med and Dead Sea
Israel, like other rich countries in the Middle East, has had to rely a lot on desalination plants to supply much of its drinking water. Desalination now supplies Mideast countries like Saudi Arabia, which is said to have the world’s largest desalination plant. The country receives almost all its fresh water supplies from this energy-intensive process. […]