The increasing trend of aerosol optical depth in the Middle East and a recent severe dust storm in Syria have raised questions as to whether dust storms will increase and promoted investigations on the dust activities driven by the natural climate variability underlying the ongoing human perturbations such as the Syrian civil war. This study examined the influences of the Pacific Decadal Oscill...

The overall total population of the Arab nations in the world is estimated to be approximately 315 million (estimates; World Almanac, 2004). Arab populations encompass a vast geographical region that extends from Iraq in the east to Morocco in the west. They occupy the whole of Mesopotamia, Middle East, Arabian Gulf, North Africa, as well as some parts of East and West Africa. Arab populations ...

he year 2011 was one of remarkable and uneven transition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Mass uprisings in cities in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya brought about changes in governments; protests have quelled in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen; and cautious reforms were introduced in Saudi Arabia. The situation remains very fluid, but there is a consensus that 2011 ushered in a period of f...

Around 3% of the world's population (n = 214 million people) has crossed international borders for various reasons. Since March 2011, Syria has been going through state of political crisis and instability resulting in an exodus of Syrians to neighbouring countries. More than 1 million Syrian refugees are residents of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and North Africa. The international community m...

The Middle East and North Africa (henceforth MENA) are areas of conflict and opposed perceptions. The last three months have seen unprecedented protests and revolutions in almost all Arab countries (“Arab Spring”), starting in Tunisia with the flight of Ben Ali and his family, spreading to Egypt with the overthrow of Mubarak and his government, and to Libya with its civil war and most recently ...