Stone-Ideas.com 
For all who behaved well in 2016
Stone-Ideas.com has collected ideas for (Christmas-)gifts in stone
Briefly noted
„Help recruit, retain and advance women in the stone industry“
„Women in Stone“ is a workgroup called to life by the Marble Institute of America (MIA) and the Building Stone Institute (BSI) / „Wine & Stone“
The aim is to have stone drywall construction recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Trade organizations and private individuals can support the initiative by writing to the French Ministry of Culture
Briefly noted
Business cards with ultra-thin stone veneer surface in real marble have been developed by Mikol Company
Stone & Tile trade fair to take place in Belgium from January 22-23, 2017
Flanders Expo in Ghent is the venue for the biennial B2B-event
One more step to reach architects and interior designers
MIA+BSI joins IBS and KBIS for Design & Construction Week during January 10-12, 2017 in Orlando (FL)
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Cremation is allowed, but ashes must not be scattered
The Vatican has released „instructions“, as a reaction to the change in funeral culture in the Western world
Briefly noted
Ajloun in the Kingdom of Jordan is home to the Royal Academy for Nature and Conservation constructed on the rim of a defunct quarry
Euroroc News (2/16): new definitions for 25.15, 25.16 etc; Crystalline Silica; Smart CE-marking
Latest news about important topics for the stone sector which are being discussed in Brussels
Greek Stone Group International (SGI) gets 15 million € from Black Sea Development Bank (BSTDB)
Seven-year loan is meant to support economic development and job creation in Northern Greece around Thessaloniki
A great success: the Natural Stone Resource Library by MIA and BSI
Online since 2015, the database for technical documents has had nearly 23,000 downloads in 12 months
Continuously accumulating eruption-threat in the South American Altiplano-Puna which never came to an outburst
Geoscientists discover magma volumes of supervolcanic proportions in the Andes
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In Iceland a temple for the mythological Nordic Deities is being erected for the first time. Stone is involved inasmuch as the holy place is set in a cliff with a view on the capital Reykjavik
„Mud therapy“ to restore the shiny beauty of India’s Taj Mahal
The ivory white marble has acquired a yellow tinge due to air pollution / The main dome will be hidden behind scaffolding for some months in 2017
Briefly noted
„After the Fire“ a book describing how London was rebuilt after the Great Fire 350 years ago. Primarily natural stone, specifically Portland Limestone was used