Internet TV taking off in the Middle East
Sep0
The Middle East is set to embrace internet-connected TV over the next 3 years with the announcement of a new device to enable televisions to connect to the internet to stream international and local video straight to the living room.
Netgear are behind this new broadband router, cashing in on the nearly 50 million internet users in the region. The idea is to allow users to view streaming content in full screen on their TV screens from a variety of sources. Web video sites such as YouTube should be catered for, along with broadcasts from European and American markets. The device connects directly to the television set and provides functionality to search for and view content available on the internet, whilst also providing a method to view locally-stored content accessibly via a flash drive.
With the popularity of internet streaming video reaching ever higher levels, this device is well placed to take advantage of the burgeoning market and consumer demand. Netgear estimates that the market will reach a total of 1 million users by 2011, and hopes that this figure will turn out to be conservative due to the increasing numbers of users being hooked up to broadband connections in the Middle East.
Shoe throwing journalist free again
Sep0
The man sent to prison for throwing a shoe at ex US President George W. Bush has been released from prison after spending 9 months locked up for his protest.
Muntadar al-Zaidi has become something of a hero in both the Middle East and on the internet for his tirade against Bush on his final visit to the Middle East before he left office. Even though he was punished for the outburst, many agree with what he said at the time and love the fact that he had the courage to stand up for what he believed.
The Cairo-based journalist had been held captive before, both by terrorist groups and the US armed forces, and decided to register his, and many others, discontent while Bush gave a press conference.
Shouting: “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq”, he almost hit the then-current US President with his shoe. This has spawned numerous internet games and videos, a notoriety which is sure to go on for some time.
Originally sentenced to 3 years in prison, later commuted to 12 months, he has been released 3 months early due to good behaviour.
Dubai welcomes first mass transit system
Sep0
Residents of Dubai are welcoming their new metro train network as it opens today, becoming the first fully automated, driverless train network in the Gulf region.
Costing $7.6 billion, up from the original estimate of $4.2 billion, it is as state-of-the-art as they come. Air conditioned station platforms and carriages, leather seats (for those who want to pay for them) and segregated, women-only carriages are designed to appeal to those who usually drive to work. Low fares have had to be implemented to compete with the cheap fuel costs residents are used to.
However, the introduction of this public transport milestone has come at a bad time, with Dubai suffering from the effects of the recession to a greater degree than most other parts of the world. Traffic problems which were constant and growing worse by the month when the project was drawn up are now subsiding due to an exodus of foreign migrant workers. It remains to be seen whether the project will reach its goal of the 200 million passengers annually organisers hope for, let alone how long it will take to recoup the costs of a very expensive statement of intent.
Even if the passenger numbers never quite reach the heights expected, then at least there will be some high-tech engineering work to admire and extravagant stations to wander around (some of them even have chandeliers), along with what is planned to be the biggest corporate branding effort in the world with the naming rights to stations up for grabs.
Once the second stage of the project opens in mid-2010, the Green Line, it is expected to become the longest unmanned rail line in the world, surpassing the Vancouver Skytrain. The total length of the Red and Green lines will reach 75km of track at this point.
At a time when Dubai is desperately trying to make a name for itself on the world stage with the construction of a crop of skyscrapers (a fair number of which will become record breakers in various fields when they are complete) and the urge to show itself as an environmentally sound city, this network could well help these goals be achieved.
Opec Reports Oil Price Drops
Aug0
As reported previously a small drop in oil prices can hit hard on the oil producing nations, however they are set for a bumpy ride. Opec the oil producers group have announced they expect the demand for oil to drop further in 2010 as the economic lul to 27M barrels a day.
Demand for oil is set to stay low until predictions on the economy show signs of picking up. Despite the downturn in global demand China last month imported a record amount of oil as they imported 4.62M barrels per day.
Currently the price of a barrel of oil is around $70. This is significantly lower than the $149 it peaked at in 2009 but its also over double the cost it was at the start of 2009. And petrol prices?? I think thats another blog post!
To Rob A Princess
Aug0
If you are going to steal from someone then you probably don’t have a brain. As a result of not having a brain you can do some very stupid things like steal from the head of a state which still believes in execution! A dimwit has recently done said act and robed a Saudi princess while she was holidaying in Sardinia!
The thieves used the hotels master key to get into her room (which you might expect to have had a guard) and they ripped a safe from the wall. This might sound like He-man has been on the steal but reports suggest the safe was only attached to the wall using silicon, not very safe in my opinion. All this was achieved in a 10 minute time gap while dinner was being served.
The name of the princess has not been revealed but diplomats have confirmed they have met to discuss an incident which backs up the reports. In the robbery the princess had £10M stolen in cash and jewelery.
Iran president takes oath
Aug0
Iran have sworn in their president for a second term after weeks of unrest following the elections in which he was re elected. He has criticised the different foreign powers that have questioned the validity of his election just like many of the people that have taken to the streets resulting in some of them loosing their liefs. Some of the main countries in Europe have all said they will not be sending a letter of congratulations to the Iranian president.
Ahmadinejad will now have a two week period in which he will form his government which undoubtedly will be approved by parliament. During his speech following the oath he claimed that his people are resisting the west who think they are the yard stick of democracy. He is in power to do what is best for his country and the people of his country.
I Am The Law!!!
Aug0
It has been reported that an Iraqi army captain has been helped by government body guards to rob one of the largest banks in Baghdad. The robbery which was one of the biggest in Baghdad history left 8 people dead as the thiefs made of with millions of dollars.
The money has been recovered after being found withing a government compound and two people have been arrested, one person is still on the run. The find was made after the police were tipped of that the money was there and that the bodyguards were involved. when they got there they found a hall of around £4M.
The robbery took place just after the bank received the money pointing to corruption between security services in Iraq. no doors or windows were broken in the robbery and the robbers got through 4 heavily secured doors. They then blew up the vault with dynamite.
all this comes not long after the atni corruption agency claimed that the police and the army are amongst the most corrupt organisations in Iraq
Money Making Cactus
Aug0
The arid planes of Morocco have now turned into money making planes of Morocco all due to the cactus that live there! The fruit that grow on the cactus have always been used by the locals who went to pick the cactus fruit to eat, These same peole are still picking the cactus fruits but no longer are they foraging for the fruit but they are collecting them for the french cosmetics industry.
The French cosmetics company are keeping quiet ovr what they do to it to get the benefits but it is believed that the oils that are extracted from the fruit can help fight high blood pressure and also cancer. As well as this they say the oils also go into anti ageing creams.
Other European countries have been putting research into the fruits as they believe there may be a connection with the oils from the cactus fruit and slimming.
This is great news for the people who live in the area. The people work along side the co-op and all the locals have their own section of land in which they are farming the cactus. The other good news for the local people is that because they are part of the co-op they have a better chance of getting a fair price and wage for their work. Plans are being put in place to be able to produce on a manufacturing scale as if all the cosmetic companies in the world start to want these fruit then there will be a lot of work for a long time to come. Lets hope they can keep their land and they dont get pushed out by greedy organisations to get them cheaper.
Middle East Swine Flu Update
Jul0
A 30 year old man was admitted to hospital last Wednesday after showing symptoms of swine flu such as high fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. This is the 3rd death from the virus in the Middle East following deaths in Egypt and Israel. Currently there have been more than 300 cases of the disease reported in Saudi Arabia and there is now growing concern that it could affect the Hajj later this year. On Thursday Arab health ministers agreed to prevent vulnerable groups joining the pilgrimage including those under 12, over 65 and individuals suffering with chronic diseases. Its expected that at least two million people will take place in the Hajj which falls in November this year.
Saudi Oil Prices Plummet
Jul0
When the oil prices were high Saudi Arabia was making a billion dollars a day. Now in the current economic crisis it’s earning just $700m equating to £432m). to us it may only seem like a small difference but for the oil exporting nations this is hitting them hard. In the global recession prices have halved bringing good news to the consumers and bad news for the producers. If the prices continue to slump then public spending concerns will grow as the government get between 75% and 95% from the oil income. This is proving to be a big issue as the movements are now having to dip into there reserves to fund big projects such as motorways, airports and public transport systems.
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