<p>Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual
Lebanon's ski resorts have survived civil war but now face an insidious threat from climate change expected to cut snow cover by 40 percent by 2040. The effects of global warming are still a low priority for conflict-prone Lebanon, where environmental neglect rules. Skiers and the tourist businesses that depend on them hope this year's warm winter and brief season was not a harbinger of the
The issues of ozone depletion and climate change have been at the forefront of the international community
In a region already considered the world's most water scarce and where, in many places, demand for water already outstrips supply, climate models are predicting a hotter, drier and less predictable climate in the Middle East. By redrawing maps of water availability, food security, disease prevalence, population
The hookah, a waterpipe, originated in India and became popular for smoking tobacco. It spread elsewhere and acquired other names like nargile, shisha, goza and hubble-bubble, before its popularity declined in India. A resurgence of hookah smoking is occurring in India and around the world, and is being promoted as safer than cigarette smoking.
For a Cold War after-dinner television drama, Twelve Angry Men has travelled unusually far. Set in a hot, stuffy New York courthouse, the play focuses on a jury deliberating the fate of an 18-year-old accused of patricide. The script was made into the now-classic film starring Henry Fonda. The parable for America
With over 263 water basins shared by countries worldwide, cooperating over water is not an option, it is necessity. And it is pays to share. It
The municipality of Sidon, Lebanon, has announced a state of environmental emergency after a storm that battered the Lebanese coast caused a landslide at a huge seaside garbage dump and sent more
The southern Mediterranean region faces one of the most important water crises in the world. The combination of aridity, foreign dependency, climate change, misallocation of the resources and escalating human demand make water supply a primary issue for health, economy and poverty reduction. In this context, institutional reform of the water supply sector is of great interest. The aim of this study is to examine the water regulatory framework in southern Mediterranean countries and the development of private sector participation in the context of water crisis.
As Israel continues airstrikes on Lebanon, the country is now threatened by its worst ecological disaster. At least 35,000 tonnes of oil gushed into the Mediterranean, after Israeli warplanes hit
River water sharing project brings Israel and Lebanon on the brink of war
