The effect of third gulf war on the efficiency of Arabian and east African seaports.

On March 19, 2003, the American and the British forces began the Third Persian Gulf War, a conflict which may become popularly known as " 3rd Gulf War" or the "Second Iraq War". The Gulf War was disastrous for the region Arab finances and economy in particular the maritime transport sector. In this paper, we used DEA, a new non-parametric linear programming method to estimate the efficiency of seaport production function for a group of 22 seaports situated in Middle East and East Africa. The aim of our study is to analyze the efficiency of 22 seaports for the period of 2000-2005. The result of this study shows that the Gulf War has massively contributed to the deterioration of seaport efficiency in the region.Middle East, East African, Seaports, DEA, Gulf War, Efficiency.

Kinetic and Analytical Studies on Catalytic and Noncatalytic Oxidative Degradation of Some Hazardous Organic Dyes Using Hydrogen Peroxide

Dyes have become a very important part to countless modem applications. As a result of this huge consumption of dyes in manufacturing processes, huge amounts of wastewater contaminated with dyes are released into different natural dumps like rivers and seas. These dyes contaminated wastes have dangerous impacts on the environment and toxic affects. Two problems are facing scientists concerned about this environmental task. First, dyes vary in their chemical and physical natures and different waste treatments are needed which sometime are not available. Second, getting rid of these pollutants from its sources is costly, that many manufactures can not afford. As a result, solving these two problems is a hot area for environmental researches. Different approaches to deal with dyes pollutants have been applied. One of these approaches is the chemical treatment of dyes using the bleaching and oxidation power of hydrogen peroxide. H2O2 was used to degrade many organic dyes especially in the presence of some metal ions like Fe+2 or Cu+2. This method is effective, has safe clearance outcomes and economically cheap in addition to the availability of its primary materials worldwide. In this work, two commonly used dyes by many manufacturers haves been chosen for investigation. These are the thionine and methyl violet dyes. The aim of this study was to study the kinetics and mechanisms of catalyzed and noncatalyzed degradation of the two dyes using H2O2. Degradation products were identified using different analytical techniques like C, H, N analysis, IR, and HPLC. Cu+2 ion was used as catalyst. Due to the difficulty in identifying degradation products by analytical techniques, a computational approach to calculate the potential energy for each fragment was carried out. In the following, a brief description for each chapter of the thesis: 1. Chapter I, introduction, includes a general and updated literature survey on dyes degradation kinetics and mechanisms. Different treatment approaches were also described. An updated survey on thionine and methyl violet dyes was also given. 2. Chapter II, experimental, include a description of experimental procedures, instrumentation used, materials and reagents, preparation of the various standard and buffer solutions and finally a brief description of the computational approach used. 3. Chapter III, result and discussions. In this part the following themes have been studied and discussed. 1. Kinetics of thionine and methyl violet dyes degradation by H2O2 were investigated. Oxidation in presence and absence of catalysts was also studied. 2. The oxidation rate for the uncatalyzed reaction was found to increase when concentration of H2O2 increases until it reaches a maximum value at high concentrations of H2O2. In catalyzed reaction, the rate reached maximum at the beginning and started to declines with increasing concentrations of H2O2. 3. The oxidation rate for both uncatalyzed and catalyzed reactions is increased by increasing concentrations of methyl violet dye until high concentrations of dye and then it decreased. 4. The oxidation rates for both uncatalyzed and catalyzed reactions for both dyes increased by increasing concentrations of Cu+2. Strong acceleration by adding Cu+2 to the reaction medium is attributed to the induction of free radicals which are highly active in attacking the organic dyes. 5. The oxidation rate for both uncatalyzed and catalyzed reactions is increased by increasing pH values and reaches maximum in pH range of 9.0 - 11.0. 6. The oxidation rate for both uncatalyzed and catalyzed reactions is increased by increasing the ionic strength of the reaction medium. 7. The oxidation rate for both uncatalyzed and catalyzed reactions was found to decrease by increasing the concentration of sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS, even before reaching the critical micelles concentration, CMC value. Different analytical methods have been used to identify the degradation products of the two dyes. Elemental analysis, IR, and HPLC analyses were used to identify the degradation products. But due to the difficulties of separating these products, a computerized approach to predict these compounds by predicting the most energetically favorable compounds and reaction rout have been done. The two dyes were found to possibly produce up to four products through different cracking pathways

A Study on the Uptake and Voltammetric Determination of Trace Heavy Metals in the Treated Wastewater in Abu-Dhabi Area

Wastewater reuse has a positive and negative environmental impacts and possibly it can have an important role to play in water resources management, as a substituent for freshwater in irrigation. However, the presence of the toxic heavy metals in domestic sewage and in industrial effluents discharge to sewers, wastewater can create unacceptable health and environmental risks. Therefore, the present work includes the determination of the toxic heavy metals in some treated wastewater samples collected from Abu-Dhabi area using polarographic and voltammetric techniques. Differential pulse polarography and anodic stripping voltammetry are well established techniques for trace determination of heavy metals content of environmental water samples. The most important regions of application of polarography and voltammetry in chemical analysis today are the trace determination of metal ions particularly in environment analysis e.g. water analysis. The main rival to voltammetric methods for trace metal determination is atomic spectroscopy. With a limit of detection about 5x10-5 and 1x10-5 mol/L for DC- and sampled DC-polarography, respectively. These two polarographic methods are similar in sensitivity to atomic absorption spectroscopy using flames. Differential and normal pulse polarography (DPP and NPP) have limits of detection in the range of 10-7 - 10-6 mol/L which is similar to the flameless atomic absorption spectroscopic methods such as graphite furnace and graphite rod techniques. Stripping voltammetric methods with limits of detection, which can reach as low as 10-10 mol/L can be more sensitive than atomic spectroscopic method Moreover the most important advantage of the voltammetric techniques over the atomic spectroscopic techniques is the ability of the voltammetric techniques to differentiate between the different oxidation states of the metal, and hence give environmentally more relevant information. The sensitivity of any analytical technique can be greatly increased 1) introducing a preliminary preconcentration step, e.g. solvent extraction. In stripping voltammetry an electrochemical preconcentration technique is used. The analyte is concentrated, from very dilute solutions, by electrolysis to an insoluble product (metal atoms in case of anodic stripping voltammetry) which collects at the electrode surface and can be subsequently determined with a very great sensitivity (anodic oxidation step). ⇋ (1) Forward process by Preconcentration. Reverse process by Anodic Oxidation. The preconcentration or deposition step consists of the controlled electrodeposition, at a fixed potential of the species of interest onto a stationary electrode. This is followed by the determination step which consists of electrolytically oxidation of the deposited species back into solution (equation 1). In the present investigation the differential pulse polarographic (DPP) and the differential pulse - anodic stripping voltammetric (DP-ASV) methods were applied for trace determination of heavy metals in the treated wastewater (TWW) samples collected from Zakher plant and EI-Mafraq plant at AI-Ain and Abu-Dhabi cities, respectively. The preliminary check of the our investigated samples of TWW samples using DPP and DP-ASV indicates that the samples contain Zn(II) at 2-3x10-6 mol/L, Cu(II) 2-3x10-7 mol/L, 1x10-7 mol/L Pb(II) and 1x10-7 mol/L Cd(II). Therefore a synthetic solution mixture contains 2.5x10-6 mol/L Zn(II), 2.5x10-7 mol/L Cu(II) and 1x10-7 mol/L of Pb(II) and Cd(II) was prepared. The mixture was subjected to full analysis using DPP and DP-ASP under the selected optimum conditions of determination. The results of analysis indicate that the DPP technique was suitable for Zn(II) determination only, whereas all of the metal ions are determined with higher degree of recovery using DP-ASV. The degree of recoveries of the four metal ions analyzed by DP-ASV were in range of 97-106%. These values were calculated by application of standard addition method using spiking procedures of the synthetic solution mixture with standard metal ion solutions. DPP and DP-ASV methods were applied for trace determination of heavy metal ions, e.g. Zn(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) in some TWW samples collected from AI-Ain and Abu-Dhabi TWW plants. Sample I and sample II are collected at May 1996 and November 1996, respectively. The samples under investigation are filtrated, acidified to about pH 3 and stored in polyethylene bottles

Thermal degradation kinetics of real-life reclaimed plastic solid waste (PSW) from an active landfill site:The mining of an unsanitary arid landfill

Landfilling is viewed nowadays as a serious threat associated with various burdens and stressors on the urban environment. To date, there is little information available on actual value of landfilled waste namely plastic solid waste (PSW) resulting from mining operations. In this work, PSW reclaimed from an active unsanitary landfill site (MAB) has been studied with the aim of determining its thermal profile and degradation behaviour for future utilisation in thermo-chemical conversion (TCC) processes. The materials were characterised by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in accordance with internationally approved test methods in a simulated pyrolytic environment. In addition, chemical analysis using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was applied to study the nature of the materials reclaimed. The degradation kinetics of the reclaimed PSW were studied with the aim of determining the apparent activation energy (Ea) of the pyrolytic reactions. The Ea values determined ranged from 199 to 266 kJ mol−1 which is in-line with pyrolytic reactions applicable for future use in fuel recovery units. TGA showed a clear shift in thermograms indicating a clear change in the degradation mechanism. The physico-chemical studies conducted on the materials also favours TCC treatment over other conventional end of life options such as physical (mechanical) recycling or incineration. The degradation mechanism was also determined from the Criado method showing that Avarami-Erofeve was the model that best represents PSW degradation. Overall, this work points towards future intervention schemes for reclaimed municipal solid waste (MSW) and in particular PSW favouring TCC technologies

"Judicial Activism in the ""Eye of the Beholder"" : the Israeli High Court of Justice and the Human Rights of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories"

Il est mondialement reconnu que les institutions judiciaires jouent un rôle central dans le processus de prise de décisions politiques, à la fois au niveau national et international. C’est d’ailleurs le cas à la Haute Cour de justice d’Israël. L’étendue de son succès (ou de son échec) dans la tentative de trouver une solution aux violations des droits humains dans les territoires occupés est un problème qui continue de faire l’objet de bien des débats et de recherches académiques. À cet égard, il a été suggéré que, malgré l’absence de constitution écrite et l’existence d’un état d’urgence prolongé en Israël, la Haute Cour de justice a réussi à adopter une approche « judiciairement active » quant à la protection et la promotion des droits de l’homme de manière générale, y compris ceux des Palestiniens dans les territoires occupés. Dans cette perspective, le débat sur le processus d’examen judiciaire de la Haute Cour de Justice tient pour acquise la notion qu’Israël est une démocratie. Ainsi, cet article cherche à examiner cette hypothèse. Premièrement, en adoptant la position que le processus de révision judiciaire est compatible avec la démocratie et la règle de loi. Deuxièmement, il examine l’approche « judiciairement active » de la Cour et soumet un bref aperçu du processus, des outils et des principes légaux que la Cour adopte pour examiner les actions des autorités israéliennes, y compris l’armée, et imposer une loi commune de protection des droits de la personne, donc ceux des Palestiniens dans les territoires occupés. L’article argumente également que le contrôle prolongé des territoires occupés par Israël a eu des conséquences significatives, car tout effort fourni par la Cour pour garantir le respect des droits humains de la population civile palestinienne doit se faire sans compromettre la sécurité du pouvoir israélien. La conclusion à laquelle on arrive ici dépend de la façon dont on qualifie ce contrôle: une occupation à long terme ou une annexion (ce qui n’est pas réglementaire par rapport à loi internationale), ce qui n’est pas sans conséquence sur le rôle que la Haute Cour de justice peut effectivement jouer pour faire respecter les droits de la personne dans les territoires occupés.To date, it is widely acknowledged that the role of judicial institutions is becoming more central to the process of policy-making, both at the national and international levels. This is equally the case of Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ), and the extent to which it has succeeded (or failed) in providing a venue for effective remedy to Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Opt) for alleged human rights violations by Israeli authorities, an issue which continues to be the focus of much academic research and debate. In this regard, it has been suggested that, despite the absence of a written constitution in Israel, and the existence of a prolonged state of emergency, the HCJ has managed to adopt a ‘judicially active’ approach vis a vis the protection and promotion of human rights more generally, including of the rights of the Palestinians in the Opt. In this regard, the entire debate on the process of judicial review by the HCJ, takes for granted the notion that Israel is a democracy. Therefore, this paper seeks to examine this hypothesis by firstly adopting the position that judicial review is compatible with democracy and the rule of law. Secondly, it seeks to examine the ‘judicially active’ approach of the Court, and to provide a brief overview of the process, tools and legal principles which the Court has made use of to review the actions of the Israeli authorities, including the military, and to bring about a gradual “common law’ protection of human rights, including those of Palestinians in the Opt. However last but not least, the paper also argues that the prolonged (more than 40 years) of Israeli control of the Opt, has introduced an important time related factor, that has had significant consequences for the way one qualifies any efforts by the Court to balance the human rights of the Palestinian civilian population vis-a-vis the security of the Occupying Power Israel. Here, the conclusion one reaches depends on how one qualifies this control: as long term occupation, or as annexation (unlawful under international law). This in turn influences the kind of problematic that this poses for the role that the HCJ can effectively play in upholding human rights in the occupied territories

Aesthetic Value of Minimalist Architecture in Gaza

This paper aims to visually study the simple objects that exist around us and the buildings people live in, in order to account for how a simple architectural language can help in the current situation in the Gaza Strip. A descriptive analytical method was adopted as the main methodological tool in order to gather information about existing minimalist objects and ordinary architecture in Gaza. Field investigations were conducted in order to photograph different areas in the Strip’s communities: Gaza city, rural-to-urban areas, and marginalized areas were compared to well-known minimalist artworks. Minimalist architecture in Gaza is not an alternative paradigm but a consequence of the current situation of material resources, building techniques, and form-making processes. This paper aims to show that, by using certain aesthetic design strategies, such as a particular arrangement of building elements and patterns, a more livable architecture can be obtained that advances aesthetic values, such as a sense of order, simplicity, and clarity, thus enabling a particular enjoyment of beauty

Unilateral Economic Sanctions

After the failure of the League of Nations in dealing with the Second World War, the United Nations was keen not to repeat the tragedies of war, targeting the maintenance of international peace and security, and using peaceful means to resolve international conflicts in accordance with the principles of justice and international law.In order to achieve its previous goals, this organization possessed a set of guarantees and penalties that its charter included. However, the United Nations was not the only organization that used these sanctions. Rather, countries resorted unilaterally to using these sanctions to achieve their goals and interests. As the second half of the twentieth century witnessed a great expansion in the countries ’resort to using unilateral economic sanctions, whether this expansion is related to the intensity and breadth of imposing such sanctions on the level of international relations or related to the multiplicity of their forms and levels, as well as the development of their tools and policies-The major countries, led by the United States of America, are not reluctant to use their enormous economic power and capabilities and to take the sanctions that they deem appropriate at a time when they find it appropriate as one of the means of pressure and extending hegemony against other countries, with the intent to compel the target country to comply with its orders and change its policy and attitudes in a manner that is compatible with the interests of the country imposing such countries. However, this violates the target country’s sovereignty, independence and principles of its economic life.Therefore, unilateral economic sanctions represent a clear violation of the principles of international law and its peremptory norms, especially those rules that prohibit members of the international community from resorting to force, or merely threatening to use it on the level of international mutual relations among them, as well as a violation of the rules that affirm the sovereignty of countries and the inadmissibility of intervention in their internal affairs or in the area reserved for those countries.Unilateral economic sanctions usually carry any character other than military ones, as they may include economic embargoes, economic boycotts, blockades and seizures of property, restricting the activity of foreigners with the nationals of the target country through measures and restricting the trade of the target country, as well as other similar measures. Such sanctions may amount to unilateral economic intervention. Keywords: Unilateral economic sanctions- economic embargoes- economic boycotts- blockade- seizure- unilateral intervention- international peace and security DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/94-16 Publication date: February 29th 202

What ‘Security’, whose ‘Rights’ and which ‘Law’? : the Israeli High Court of Justice and the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank

Cette thèse examine l’interprétation et l’application, par l’Haute Cour d'Israël (HCJ), de principes du droit international de l’occupation et du droit international des droits de la personne dans le traitement de requêtes judiciaires formulées par des justiciables palestiniens. Elle s’intéresse plus particulièrement aux jugements rendus depuis le déclenchement de la deuxième Intifada (2000) suite à des requêtes mettant en cause la légalité des mesures adoptées par les autorités israéliennes au nom d’un besoin prétendu d’accroitre la sécurité des colonies et des colons israéliens dans le territoire occupé de la Cisjordanie. La première question sous étude concerne la mesure dans laquelle la Cour offre un recours effectif aux demandeurs palestiniens face aux violations alléguées de leurs droits internationaux par l’occupant. La recherche fait sienne la position de la HJC selon laquelle le droit de l’occupation est guidé par une logique interne tenant compte de la balance des intérêts en cause, en l’occurrence le besoin de sécurité de l’occupant, d’une part, et les droits fondamentaux de l’occupé, d’autre part. Elle considère, en outre, que cette logique se voit reflétée dans les principes normatifs constituant la base de ce corpus juridique, soit que l’occupation est par sa nature temporaire, que de l’occupation découle un rapport de fiduciaire et, finalement, que l’occupant n’acquiert point de souveraineté sur le territoire. Ainsi, la deuxième question qui est posée est de savoir si l’interprétation du droit par la Cour (HCJ) a eu pour effet de promouvoir ces principes normatifs ou, au contraire, de leur porter préjudice. La réunion de plusieurs facteurs, à savoir la durée prolongée de l’occupation de la Cisjordanie par Israël, la menace accrue à la sécurité depuis 2000 ainsi qu’une politique de colonisation israélienne active, soutenue par l’État, présentent un cas de figure unique pour vérifier l’hypothèse selon laquelle les tribunaux nationaux des États démocratiques, généralement, et ceux jouant le rôle de la plus haute instance judiciaire d’une puissance occupante, spécifiquement, parviennent à assurer la protection des droits et libertés fondamentaux et de la primauté du droit au niveau international. Le premier chapitre présente une étude, à la lumière du premier principe normatif énoncé ci-haut, des jugements rendus par la HCJ dans les dossiers contestant la légalité de la construction du mur à l’intérieur de la Cisjordanie et de la zone dite fermée (Seam Zone), ainsi que des zones de sécurité spéciales entourant les colonies. Le deuxième chapitre analyse, cette fois à la lumière du deuxième principe normatif, des jugements dans les dossiers mettant en cause des restrictions sur les déplacements imposées aux Palestiniens dans le but allégué de protéger la sécurité des colonies et/ou des colons. Le troisième chapitre jette un regard sur les jugements rendus dans les dossiers mettant en cause la légalité du tracé du mur à l’intérieur et sur le pourtour du territoire annexé de Jérusalem-Est. Les conclusions découlant de cette recherche se fondent sur des données tirées d’entrevues menées auprès d’avocats israéliens qui s’adressent régulièrement à la HCJ pour le compte de justiciables palestiniens.This thesis examines how the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) has interpreted and applied principles of the international law of occupation and of international human rights law, in adjudicating petitions filed by Palestinians. The thesis focuses on HCJ judgments that were rendered since the outbreak of the Second Intifada (2000) in relation to petitions challenging the legality of measures implemented by Israeli authorities for the professed need of enhancing the security of Israeli settlements and settlers in the occupied West Bank. The first question that this research seeks to answer is the extent to which the Court has provided Palestinian petitioners with a venue for an effective domestic remedy for alleged violations of their internationally protected rights. The research adopts the position of the HCJ that the law of occupation is guided by an internal logic of balancing between the occupant’s security requirements and the fundamental rights of the occupied population. It also espouses that this logic is reflected in the three normative principles underlying this body of law: stating that occupation is ‘temporary’; that it is a form of ‘trust,’ and that it does not bestow sovereignty by the occupant over the occupied territory. Hence, the second question that the research attempts to answer is whether the Court’s adjudication has promoted or undermined those principles. Israel’s occupation of the West Bank has been a long one. Coupled with the heightened security threats after 2000 and the active government supported settlement policy, this provides a unique case study for testing the following hypothesis: the domestic courts of democracies, where those in the capacity of the highest judicial body of an occupying power, can successfully uphold fundamental rights and freedoms, and promote the international rule of law. The first chapter analyses the HCJ judgments that were rendered in relation to petitions challenging the construction of the Wall inside the West Bank and its associated Seam Zone, as well as special security zones around settlements, to assess their implications for the first normative principle. The second chapter examines judgments that were rendered in relation to movement restriction imposed on Palestinians, allegedly for the safety of Israeli settlements and/or settlers, and their implications for the second normative principle. The third chapter looks at decisions rendered in relation to the legality of the Wall’s route in and around annexed East Jerusalem. The research is based on empirical data from Israeli lawyers who regularly petition the HCJ on behalf of Palestinians