Nearly four years into Syria's conflict, some of the impacts are easy to quantify: more than 9 million displaced into neighboring countries; 2.8 million children out of school; more than 160,000 lives lost so far. And that's before you mention the more recent shockwaves caused by the Islamic State militant group. It's harder perhaps, to consider the real-time effects of such figures on the displaced people themselves, or what they might look like drawn out on the concrete walls of camps that many refugees now call home. Last week for ...

The world’s most famous ginger is currently on an official (and leisurely) visit to the Middle East. To mark Prince Harry’s highly publicized visit to the region, we’re looking back at the Brit royal’s globe-trotting adventures and life in pictures. Whilst much of the West (and certainly old and current Commonwealth) is obsessed with British royalty , we’re just as intrigued by this wild prince, the fourth in line, who is about to be upstaged yet again by Will & Kate’s next little prince or princess. However, because he needs ...

Jewish surfing legend Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz died last week at age 93. The Stanford-educated physician is credited with introducing surfing to Israel and perhaps the wider Middle East, albeit in a most unusual way. He featured in the 2007 documentary film “Surfwise” which captured his eccentric life and parenting style - like raising his nine children in a 24-foot camper. Is his long life a credit to his free-thinking credo, or to the magical powers of surfing? In 1956, Paskowitz left his medical practice and his family for a year ...

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott closed the G20 summit Sunday, 16 November, by detailing promises made by world leaders to boost their respective economies by at least 2.1% by 2018, for an impressive $2 trillion total uptick. Good for global economics. Much of the summit had focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on the crisis in Ukraine, but there’s scant news on that other international confrontation: who won the now-infamous “shirtfront” challenge? Tony "Tough Talk" Abbott had thrown down the gauntlet (promising to shed his shirt too) in a ...

Milan ponder Sneijder move

“Golf and sex are about the only things you can enjoy without being good at," claimed Jimmy Demaret, a fabled American pro golfer from the mid 20th Century. Years on, the Middle East is proving very good at golf, indeed. The Jordan Open, the official national championship, was just held on November 14-15, attracting nearly 50 international golfers to Bisharat Golf Club in Amman. Meanwhile, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai is the climax of the European Tour Race to Dubai. Held on Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 20-24 ...