Bring up faith in the Middle East, and three Abrahamic religions will dominate the convo. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism form the triad of True Faith, but other native-born belief systems have also shaped the face of our region, providing identity and moral guidance for people here and across the world. The Middle East is rich in religious history, and where strong faiths collide and compete for dominance, persecution and war inevitably follow. The rights and religious freedom of the Zoroastrians - perhaps the planet’s oldest organized faith - were first ...

Syrian opposition fighters may not always have the tools or the funds for high-tech weaponry — so if they want a job done, they do it themselves . Time and again, the rebels have shown they know how to make something out of nothing. From handmade hand grenades wrapped with 7-Eleven sale tape, to armored vehicles using PlayStation controllers, soldiers-gone-rogue know exactly how to use their resources to stay in the fight. Rebel groups aren’t the only ones in the war that have made them with amateur hands; Daesh (ISIS) ...

Every year on August 13th, lefties around the world celebrate their minority dominant hand on International Left-Handers Day, an event inaugurated in 1976 to raise awareness about living in a right-handed world. Left-handers face physical challenges, to be sure - but what happens when we overlay culture? Pity the poor lefty. Southpaw science tells us they’re creative and smart (most geniuses are left-handed). But they are also live shorter lives (research says nine fewer years!) with a higher risk of psychosis, accidents, insomnia and alcoholism. Lefties are prone to dyslexia ...