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Strawberry tree extracts helped treat ulcerative colitis in rats. (HJBC/Shutterstock) In a nutshell A traditional Mediterranean plant, the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), showed strong protective effects against ulcerative colitis in rats, performing nearly as well as a common prescription drug. The extract worked by reducing inflammation, preventing tissue damage, and restoring antioxidant enzyme levels, suggesting multiple mechanisms of action. While promising, these findings are from animal studies, and more research is needed before the extract can be considered a safe or effective treatment for humans. ======================================================================== JENDOUBA, Tunisia — A humble fruit from the Mediterranean region might hold the key...

An Egyptian fisherman who helped organise the movement of more than 3,000 migrants as part of a £12 million illegal boat crossing operation has been jailed for 25 years. UK-based Ahmed Ebid, 42, was involved in smuggling nearly 3,800 people from North Africa to Italy between October 2022 and June 2023, with some making their way to Britain, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. Ebid is the first person in the UK to be convicted of being involved in people smuggling across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa to Italy. He arrived in the UK on a small boat in 2022...

Artifacts at Kach Kouch reveal stable agricultural settlements in mediterranean africa over 3,000 years ago.Recent archaeological discoveries at the Kach Kouch site in Morocco transform the understanding of ancient civilizations in North-West Africa. A team of young researchers from Morocco's National Institute of Archaeology carried out extensive excavations in 2021 and 2022, utilizing technology such as drones, differential GPS, and 3D models, as reported by The Independent. The findings at Kach Kouch suggest that stable agricultural settlements existed on the African coast of the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age, more than 3,000 years ago. This was at the same time...

Amid the drama over the Ukraine War and the resulting push for more European defense spending in line with US President Donald Trump's demands France's defense minister dramatizing an encounter in the eastern Mediterranean... On Wednesday night President Emmanuel Macron brought the notion of a Russian threat to Europe out in the open with blistering comments designed to promote both a European military buildup and the notion of 'peacekeeping troops' in Ukraine... But what is the real endgame of a French-European defense buildup? Russia and Ukraine played up the gravity of the Ukraine War stressed. But those questioning the war...

Over 2,200 people, including hundreds of children, have perished in 2024 in the waters of the Mediterranean during their attempt to reach Europe, UNICEF said in a statement on Wednesday. “The death toll and number of missing persons in the Mediterranean in 2024 have now surpassed 2,200, with nearly 1,700 lost in the central Mediterranean route alone,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF’s Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe. “This includes hundreds of children, who make up one in five of all people migrating through the Mediterranean. The majority are fleeing violent conflict and poverty,” she added....

'Colossal' explosions have filled the skies in Syria as Israeli strikes are said to have targeted military sites in the 'the heaviest strikes' in the area for more than a decade - with blasts which registered on earthquake sensors. A war monitor group said that Israeli strikes had targeted military sites in Syria's coastal Tartus region. 'Israeli warplanes launched strikes' targeting a series of sites including air defence units and 'surface-to-surface missile depots', said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in what it said were 'the heaviest strikes in Syria's coastal region since the start of strikes in 2012'. It...

Russia has begun withdrawing ships from its naval base in Tartus, Syria, after a rapid advance by Islamist rebel forces that the Syrian army, led by President Bashar al-Assad, is unable to contain, according to Naval News. On December 2, the tanker "Yelnya," crucial for supporting Russian forces in the Mediterranean, departed Tartus. Other vessels may have left the base along with it. The Russian naval group in Syria consists of five ships and one submarine, including two "Admiral Gorshkov" class frigates, one "Admiral Grigorovich" class frigate, an upgraded "Kilo" class submarine, and two auxiliary vessels. If Russia decides to...

A study team led by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) says that a 7,000-year-old weapon kit consisting of two bowstrings believed to be the oldest ever found in Europe and a set of three wood arrows discovered in the Cave of Los Murciélagos in Albuñol, Granada, reveals an “unprecedented degree of precision and technical mastery” in their construction. When describing the complexity of the bowstrings, which were woven together from the tendons of three different animal species, Raquel Piqué, a researcher in the Department of Prehistory of the UAB and coordinator of the study, said that “this...

Whether you're looking for a cozy pasta or a refreshing salad, you're sure to find a new favorite among these quick and easy vegetarian recipes. The best part? These 30-minute dishes align with the Mediterranean diet, since they are filled with healthy ingredients like whole grains, fiber-packed veggies, healthy fats and plant-based protein. Options like our Creamy Lemon-Garlic Spaghetti & Spinach and No-Cook White Bean & Spinach Caprese Salad are full of flavor and will leave you feeling satisfied.

President-elect Donald Trump’s victory bodes well for US-Morocco relations. As King Mohamed VI recalled in his statement congratulating Trump on his election win, during his first term, Trump recognized Rabat’s full sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Trump made this recognition with a presidential proclamation on December 10, 2020, in exchange for Morocco reestablishing diplomatic relations with Israel. In his statement, Mohammed VI went on to say that “the Moroccan people will forever be grateful” for this recognition, calling Washington “our longstanding friend and ally.” While Morocco hopes to pick up where it left off in negotiations with...

What have I done to be placed on the sanctions list of the Russian Foreign Ministry, alongside several distinguished historians of eastern Europe? My normal hunting ground (not the right word for a maritime historian) is the Mediterranean and the oceans beyond. But maybe Russia’s mandarins know that I am now writing about the Black Sea. Since the reign of Peter the Great in the 18th century, Russia has seen the Black Sea as a vital gateway to the wider world. The Ottoman sultans blocked Russian attempts to reach warmer waters via Istanbul. Russian ships bound for intended conquests had...

On the morning of 21 July, AD 365, the Eastern Mediterranean was shaken by an earthquake that is generally believed to be the strongest recorded earthquake in the Mediterranean. It probably originated around Crete, Greece, and was followed by a tsunami that hit the Mediterranean coastlines causing many deaths. In Alexandria, tsunami devastation was so severe that the day of the event was commemorated as the "day of horror" for centuries after the event.The earthquake was strong enough to lift parts of Crete by several meters. This upheaval of the island left behind fossil shorelines, which Richard Ott, a scientist...

Traces of tsunami in ancient city of Patara Tuesday, December 27, 2005 ANKARA - Turkish Daily News Archaeologists claim that an ancient lighthouse located in the ancient city of Patara on Antalya's Mediterranean coast might have been destroyed by a tsunami that hit the region in ancient times. The ruins of the lighthouse were discovered two years ago during excavations that are still under way in Patara. Professor Havva Ýþkan Iþýk, head of Akdeniz University's archaeology department, which is conducting studies in the ancient city, said they believed the lighthouse was destroyed by a tsunami since a human skeleton was...

Olympia, the Sanctuary of Zeus and venue of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece, was probably destroyed by tsunamis that reached far inland, and not as previously believed, by earthquakes and river flooding... Paläotsunamis that have taken place over the last 11,000 years along the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean. The Olympic-tsunami hypothesis has been put forward due to sediments found in the vicinity of Olympia, which were buried under an 8 metres thick layer of sand and other debris, and only rediscovered around 250 years ago. "The composition and thickness of the sediments we have found, do not fit...

...Two fifths of the subs that ventured into the Mediterranean were sunk and when a submarine sank it became a communal coffin - everyone on board died. That was the rule.In fact, during the whole of the war there were only four escapes from stricken British submarines. And the most remarkable of these took place on 6 December 1941, when HMS Perseus plummeted to the seabed...He dragged any stokers who showed signs of life towards the escape hatch and fitted them and himself with Davis Submarine Escape Apparatus, a rubber lung with an oxygen bottle, mouthpiece and goggles.This equipment had...

The necropolis of Panoría is located at the easternmost end of Sierra Harana, in the town of Darro (Granada). It consists of at least 19 graves, 9 of which have been excavated between 2015 and 2019. They are collective burials from which more than 55,000 human skeletal remains were recovered. The dating of these remains shows that the first burials took place 5600 years ago with a discontinuous funerary use until 4100 years ago.Bioarchaeological AdvancesIn a recent study published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports, the use of new bioarchaeological methods has allowed the identification of chromosomal sex from the...

Ah, olive oil. The golden elixir that has graced everything from the most luxurious Mediterranean feasts to the humble kitchen counters of suburban America. It’s been hailed as the heart-healthy darling of the culinary world, the so-called “nectar of the gods,” worshipped almost as fervently as the wine it accompanies. But is this liquid gold as divine as we’ve been led to believe, or is there something more nefarious lurking beneath its glossy surface? Let’s start with the basics. Olive oil is one of those pantry staples that’s been given an almost holy status. We’re told it can do no...

Orcas relentlessly battered a yacht in a “terrifying” two-hour attack that didn’t end until the $128,680 vessel sunk to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. ... they were not playing at all, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the weak points of the boat, and they knew how to sink it... “Their sole intention was to sink the boat ... The five orcas circled the 39-foot sailing boat and took turns smashing it to bits .. in a coordinated assault Powell compared to the carnage of wolves. ... The pod of five first focused on the rudder,...

In what part of the world were cats first found? And how did the different breeds arise? Cats were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the area known as the Fertile Crescent. This area stretches from Turkey to Northern Africa and includes Iran, Iraq and Egypt. Research data from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, where cat genetics are studied, suggests that Turkey is one of the sites of origin for the domestication of cats. Cats started living close to people when people ceased being nomadic herders and became farmers raising livestock and crops....

Video The Hezbollah terrorist organization released a psychological warfare video overnight in which terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to bring destruction upon the State of Israel in the event of a war in Lebanon. The video included Hebrew and English subtitles for Nasrallah, who spoke in Arabic, as well as images of Israeli landmarks. "In case an inclusive war is imposed on Lebanon, the resistance will fight without restraints, without rules, without limits," ...