With water shortages and air pollution posing increasingly grave threats to the Middle East, artists in the region are working to make environmental issues more visible, both at home and in international forums, including Iraq’s first pavilion since 1976 at the Venice Biennale.
In Iran, where protesters have been harshly repressed and even reportedly tortured for demanding protection for the dying Lake Urmia, artists are also making bold statements against other types of environmental degradation, Tafline Laylin wrote recently for the Mideast environmental news site Green Prophet.
The police squad confirmed this week that it’s to trial a Zero Dual Sport (DS) bike manufactured by Zero Motorcycles. The Met squad will use the electric bike in its Motorcycle Tasking Team and in its BikeSafe and ScooterSafe programs. Mick Cheeseman, sergeant in the Motorcycle Tasking Team, says the electric Zero DS will be tested “under everyday police conditions” to assess whether or not it’s suitable for widespread use within the squad.
Designed by Sau Taller d’Arquitectura, the Train Store in Ribes de Fraser intermingles a historic aesthetic with a very modern glass train shed with a result that is both charming and functional. The translucent side walls fill the space with natural daylight, while the saw-toothed roof provides space for solar photovoltaics on the south facing slopes to provide power to the station.
Since July, floods have ravaged Thailand, causing $3 billion in damage and killing nearly 300 people. But as the waters approach the capital city, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says he is confident that Bangkok’s defenses will hold, reported Reuters. The flood walls, dikes and dams are all that stand between the city’s 9 million residents and water levels expected to reach more than seven feet high.