Saudi authorities have conducted their biggest-ever crackdown on camel beauty contestants that received Botox injections and other artificial touch-ups, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday, with over 40 camels disqualified from the annual pageant.

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Saudi Arabia's popular King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, which kicked off earlier this month, invites the breeders of the most beautiful camels to compete for some $66 million in prize money. Botox injections, facelifts, and other cosmetic alterations to make the camels more attractive are strictly prohibited. Jurors decide the winner based on the shape of the camels' heads, necks, humps, dress, and postures.

Judges at the monthlong festival in the desert northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, are escalating their clampdown on artificially enhanced camels, the official news agency reported, using "specialized and advanced" technology to detect tampering.

This year, authorities discovered dozens of breeders had stretched out the lips and noses of camels, used hormones to boost the beasts' muscles, injected camels' heads and lips with Botox to make them bigger, inflated body parts with rubber bands, and used fillers to relax their faces.

"The club is keen to halt all acts of tampering and deception in the beautification of camels," the SPA report said, adding organizers would "impose strict penalties on manipulators."

The camel beauty contest is at the heart of the massive carnival, which also features camel races, sales, and other festivities typically showcasing thousands of dromedaries. The extravaganza seeks to preserve the camel's role in the kingdom's Bedouin tradition and heritage, even as the oil-rich country plows ahead with modernizing mega-projects.

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Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Morocco have initiated discussions to collaborate on scientific research projects, in addition to launching students and faculty exchange programs, with an official MoU to be signed by mid-October.

This collaboration – expected to be one of the first formal ones between universities from Morocco and Israel – is slated to focus on sustainability issues: namely agriculture, water, energy, and ecological restoration.

The partnership is expected to receive backing by Israel's ICL and Morocco's OCP corporations.

BGU President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz said that "BGU and UM6P have much in common. From their desert settings to their focus on applied research and innovative teaching methods, the two universities are well suited to collaborate on projects in sustainability and climate change. Both universities are committed to thriving in the desert in a 'green' environment, and both look outward – focused on helping our regions, countries and the world."

Mohammed VI Polytechnic University President Hicham El Habti​ added: "We are confident that linking science and technology institutions from both countries will have a major impact on people at a local and regional level. UM6P and BGU consider scientific research a key component for development, especially on sustainability matters. That is why we have identified this topic as the first step for our collaboration."

BGU recently consolidated 50 years of research into the School of Sustainability and Climate Change and UM6P has made this subject a top priority of its research and education programs, within its Green Tech Institute launched last year and its School of Agriculture, Fertilizers and Environmental Sciences launched in 2015.

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When picturing wine-producing regions, people's imaginations might default to the rolling hills of Tuscany or Provence rather than Israel's Negev Desert. But the Negev climate and soil (terroir) is producing wines that are starting to garner recognition in local and international wine circles.

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The Negev Wineries Club was founded to strengthen the Negev's agro-tourism to local wineries and vineyards and increase local business cooperation. The wineries of the Negev, located from Eilat to the northern part of the desert, produce more than 450,000 bottles a year.

From July 15-31, HaShomer HaChadash and the Merage Foundation are partnering to produce "Desert Terroir," a series of events to introduce oenophiles and tourists to the region's wines and winemakers.

In addition to sampling the vintages produced by Negev-based wineries, visitors can see shows, pop in to artists' workshops, and enjoy meals prepared by professional chefs.

Planned "Desert Terroir" events include a feast at Midbar Winery near Arad, hosted by chef Guy Pistrov; a tour and tasting at Yatir Winery that will include a lecture about Israeli wines by sommelier Guy Haran; a farm-to-table meal at Carmey Avdat Farm; and a lecture at the Ramat Negev research and development center co-hosted by Tushia Winery.

For more information and reservations, visit the Desert Terroir site (Hebrew only). Events are limited to participants age 18 and over.

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Abu Dhabi-headquartered Al Dahra Agricultural Company and Israel's Watergen, which creates potable water from air, have signed a strategic partnership in the field of water security, UAE news agency WAM said on Thursday.

Since the United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed to establish formal ties in August, several agreements have been signed between companies in the two countries, particularly in the fields of technology and agriculture.

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Al Dahra and Watergen agreed to establish a permanent center in Abu Dhabi to produce and distribute machinery for producing water for drinking and irrigation in the region.

"The agreement aims to build a strategic partnership between the two sides to provide water from the air and add a renewable source of clean water suitable for human and agricultural consumption," WAM said.

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Watergen's technology made Time Magazine's list of 100 Best Inventions of 2019. This year, the company donated a third water generator the Gaza Strip that was installed at the Nasser Medical Center in Khan Younis and is capable of producing up to 5,000 liters of clean water a day.

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Renowned for its glitzy skyscrapers, air-conditioning-blasting shopping malls, and indoor skiing facilities, the emirate of Dubai has long been the antithesis of sustainability to environmentalists.

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But the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to change that reputation, with a range of projects aimed at having more than 40% of the country's energy come from renewable sources and cutting consumption by the same margin by 2050.

Opened to the first residents in 2016 and to be fully completed next year, the initiative dubbed Sustainable City is a private settlement on the outskirts of Dubai designed to use as little energy and water as possible.

Comprising 500 low-lying villas that are home to nearly 3,000 people, as well as commercial spaces and a mosque, the city aims to be a "net-zero" settlement, producing all the energy it needs from renewable sources on site.

"The Sustainable City is a living laboratory for testing future technologies and solutions," said Karim El-Jisr, head of SEE Institute, the research arm of the city's developer, Diamond Developers.

When the project started six years ago, building a zero-energy development "seemed a bit like a dream," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Today it is not difficult anymore, tomorrow everybody will have to do it," he added.

From neighboring Masdar City to the Qatari capital Doha, it is one of several developments launched across the region in recent years that aim to serve as a model for environmentally-friendly living in the Middle East.

Green desert

Houses, offices and other buildings are responsible for about 40% of planet-warming emissions globally, according to the think tank World Resources Institute (WRI).

The issue is particularly relevant in the UAE, said Emma Stewart, who leads WRI's urban efficiency and climate program, with World Bank data showing that the country has one of the highest per capita carbon footprints in the world.

About 75% of all electricity produced in the UAE is sucked up by buildings, mainly to fuel air-conditioners that keep locals fresh during the scorching summer months, Stewart said.

"They have an immense need for cooling to keep the population within their comfort range," she said in a phone interview.

In The Sustainable City, residents zig zag through the streets on bicycles or aboard small electric carts, under the shade of the palm trees flanking the strips of square, white houses. Cars are banned from most of the area.

All buildings and parking spaces are topped by solar panels which feed the energy they produce into the grid, allowing residents to pay only the difference between what they produce and consume, according to the developer.

Residential units designed to avoid direct exposure to the sun and covered in paint that reflects sunlight to keep the heat out, while wastewater is recycled to irrigate green areas, El-Jisr said during a visit to the site.

Resident Belinda Boisson said she paid more rent than the Dubai average but, besides sustainability, the development offered a family-friendly environment and sense of community that was rare to find among Dubai's high rises.

"[Children] can play outside without me worrying about my daughter being hit by a car," said Boisson, a 46-year-old expat from South Africa.

Zero-carbon wave

The Dubai settlement is the first in the region – which is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, droughts, and rising sea levels, according to the World Bank – to become fully operational, says its developer.

In neighboring Abu Dhabi, the state-sponsored Masdar City was touted as the world's first emissions-free city and designed to house up to 50,000 people. After breaking ground in 2008 the settlement remains behind schedule and sparsely populated.

In Qatar, the Msheireb area of Doha is also undergoing a carbon-cutting makeover.

Developers of the 76-acre regeneration zone, which aims to become "one of the largest sustainable cities in the world," are outfitting it with green features, from rainwater harvesting to shady overhangs that make walking outside cooler.

A similar city extension based on the Msheireb project is being planned in Muscat, Oman, while Diamond Developers is building another "sustainable city" in the emirate of Sharjah which will be about twice the size of the one in Dubai.

This second green city hopes to improve on the first, where not everything has worked according to plan, El-Jisr said.

A grey-water system set up to use water from showers and washing machines to feed the city's artificial lake was decommissioned when developers realized the phosphates from the soap were fuelling unsightly blooms of algae, he said.

The water is now used for irrigation, but the city still relies heavily on water from Dubai's energy-intensive desalination plants, El-Jisr added.

And the settlement still consumes more energy than it produces, he explained.

In a bid to reduce consumption, new motion-activated lighting is being installed and the developers are looking for new ideas to improve efficiency, said El-Jisr.

"It is not enough to design, build and then walk away," he added. "You always have to make adjustments."

Testing ground

Low-carbon projects like Dubai's Sustainable City are useful testing grounds for cities looking to go green, said Abdulla Al Basti, the head of Dubai's executive council.

But they are no magic bullet against global warming, said Alessandro Melis, an architecture professor at Britain's University of Portsmouth.

"They are good experiments that can tell us many things, but at this moment in time it would be more important to focus on how we can transform the urban fabric that we already have," Melis said in a phone interview.

Stewart of the WRI agreed, saying that building new developments, however sustainable, can be less efficient than retrofitting existing ones.

Construction works account for on average about 10% of all emissions generated by a building's lifecycle, she noted.

However, by showing what is possible, new builds could inspire policymakers to take bolder action, she said.

In September, the UAE pledged that by 2030 all new buildings will produce no more emissions than they can absorb, and all existing buildings will meet that goal by 2050 – a promise Melis said was ambitious but technically feasible.

And if a group of desert emirates can find a way to go green, it could prove a powerful example to other cities, said Stewart.

"If this can be done in a desert environment that is difficult for humans to inhabit ... it can be done everywhere," she said.

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Located in the Negev in southern Israel, the Ashalim solar-energy project is the size of a small town and is currently producing enough energy to power an estimated 70,000 households, according to the report.

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Shikun & Binui Holdings Ltd. chief shareholder Naty Saidoff announced the start of Ashalim's commercial operations at a ceremony attended by Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.

"Since I assumed office, I have used every possible means to increase the scope of renewable energy production, and by doing so, I expect to meet the government goal of 10% by the end of 2020," Steinitz said.

"The breakthrough in this field enables us, in addition to stopping the use of coal, to significantly promote the 2030 renewability goal," he added.

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Naamneh, a resident of the Galilee town of Arraba, was visiting the country as part of a group of 50 Technion Institute of Technology students who were on a hike in the desert.

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A search party comprising private teams and local police and military forces was launched after Naamneh failed to arrive at an agreed-upon gathering point and concerns for her safety arose over the extreme heat.

Temperatures in the area reached 50°C (120°F) on Saturday, authorities said.

The Foreign Ministry said that Naamneh had somehow been separated from the group, adding that all signs pointed to her falling to her death.

A ministry official said its representatives on the ground in Ethiopia were doing everything in their power to ensure her body was returned to Israel as soon as possible.

Prior to her location by the search party, Naamneh's father told Channel 12 News that some of the students "went to one of the villages there. The way was long and it was very hot. In the middle of the trip some of the group felt tired and they decided to split up, as some wanted to go back to the bus. When they got to the bus one of the students asked where was Aya. They thought she was in another car and when they realized she wasn't there, they understood she was missing."

The Technion that said students had completed a four-week academic course with other foreign students in the city of Mekelle earlier in the week, and had decided to stay for several more days. It said the trip was privately organized.

The students were scheduled to return to Israel later on Sunday.

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