Politics
-
News & Reports
Despite Controversy, Emirati-Israeli Research Cooperation Has Kicked Off
The decision to normalize relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel angered many in the Arab region. Still, some…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Arabic Comics Reach a Wider Audience Through Digital Projects
Comics and graphic novels by Arabs gain greater exposure as digital publishers promote the work of talented young artists and…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Land of No Rain: How Jordan Is Facing a Parched Future
With limited rainfall and aquifers already over pumped, the kingdom is running out of water. Researchers are tackling some aspects…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Iraqi Researcher’s Assassination Stirs Fears of Renewed Violence Against Academics
Husham Al-Hashimi, an expert on ISIS and a critic of foreign-backed militias in Iraq, was gunned down by unknown assassins…
Read More » -
Opinion
African-Iraqis Also Need the Black Lives Matter Movement
As the global movement against racism grows, it’s time for the Arab world to look at similar racial discrimination in…
Read More » -
News & Reports
![Editor’s Note: This article was published by Science|Business, a publication that informs and brings together Europe’s top stakeholders in industry, research and policy. Read the full article on the site of Al-Fanar Media partner Science|Business here. The severe economic shock of the pandemic is the latest and possibly sharpest test yet of the Sesame synchrotron’s admirable survival skills. The region’s only high-energy physics lab is back in operation after a partial easing of the lockdown in Jordan, where it is based. Sesame—Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East—is the first major international research centre in the region, run by physicists from an unlikely group of countries, some of which are in mutual conflict. Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine and Turkey are the founder members. After years of doubts about the project’s feasibility, Sesame began operating in 2017. “There’s been many times when a rational person would have given up,” said Chris Llewellyn Smith, a British physicist and former president of the Sesame council, the governing body of the facility. (See a related article “In a Fractious Region, a New Physics Facility Fosters Collaboration.”) The darker economic environment caused by the pandemic is just the latest challenge, he said, following years of walking a political and technical tightrope. “It’s always been very difficult—many of these [member] countries, you can’t find their science budgets with a microscope. The funds involved in Sesame are huge for some of them.” Read more.](https://i0.wp.com/al-fanarmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/sesame-covid-1.jpg?resize=390%2C220&ssl=1)
The Middle East’s Only High-Energy Physics Lab Faces a New Test: Surviving Covid-19
Sesame, the region’s only synchrotron, is well versed in upheaval. But the pandemic promises more pressure on the project’s shoestring…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Covid-19 and Money Trouble Create Hurdles for a Mediterranean Research Project
Despite delays, a $580 million research partnership between European, North African and Middle Eastern countries hopes for additional funding from…
Read More » -
Opinion
Why Tunisia’s Once Superior Education System Needs to Reform Again
A long tradition of progressive reform prepared the country for independence in 1957. But now its universities are seen as…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Many Master’s Degree Students in Gaza Are Forced to Drop Out
The Gaza Strip’s economic crisis, worsened by political infighting and unpaid salaries, leaves many students unable to pay tuition. The…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Volunteers Find Rewards in Helping Refugee Students in France
A group called Pangea, founded by a law student, sponsors weekly get-togethers for refugees and helps them adapt to their…
Read More »