1. It's said that "a dog is a man's best friend," but what's a good dog to do when its master is away during the day?

2. Dog TV, the first cable television network for dogs, has been created and designed specifically to entertain stay-at-home dogs while their work-a-day masters are away from home.

3. According to the developers, the 24-hour programming is good company for its four-legged viewers.

4. "There was a void to fill. And the void to fill is that there are numerous dogs, 80 million in the United States, many of whom are spending long hours alone, up to and even more than eight hours a day. And in that vacuum, devoid of human company, they have pretty much nothing to do. So owners sort of took to leaving on radio or TV, that's just what they decided to do. So 60 or 70 percent of people already leave on some kind of media for their dog when they leave. It just so happened it wasn't specifically programmed for the dog and Dog TV is."

5. He added that some dogs are desperate for companionship while their owner is away and Dog TV can reduce their anxiety, as well as relax them.

6. Billed as the first channel of its kind, Dog TV made its premiere earlier this year on cable networks in southern California.

7. The content is specifically tailored for dogs, with even the sound, colors and camera angles adjusted to make them more appealing to canines.

8. "We know that dogs are kind of red-green color blind. So the colors have been adjusted and augmented to be more appealing to dogs. As to auditoria, we know that especially for the relaxation phase of Dog TV that they appreciate more melodic sounds and music, preferably single instruments and played in slightly slower rhythms, perhaps trained to biological rhythms like respiration. And content, we know they like looking at other dogs. They like looking at people. They like motion, like balls being kicked around, Frisbees and stuff. So all of that has been brought to bear."

9. The dogs' favorite TV stars, not surprisingly, turn out to be other dogs.

10. Dodman said there are imminent plans for Dog TV to be broadcast nationwide.

11. He also added the company is working to bring the network to dog-loving countries such as Japan, United Kingdom and some countries in Europe.

12. "It is important for folk to realize that Dog TV is not just a gimmick. There is actually a lot of scientific data that has gone into constructing the programming and it's not even a stationary medium. In fact, the company is dedicated to doing ongoing research to improve and refine the product so it is optimized for dogs. I think it's pretty good right now, but in the future it's going to be everything to all dogs and I believe it's going to be a great sort of welfare tool to help the lives of dogs who otherwise are suffering alone at home."

13. Dog TV also streams from its website, dogtv.com for a monthly fee.

1. Twenty-first century architecture has arrived in Jericho, where buildings have stood for over ten thousand years.

2. The houses here are part of a new eco-housing project called Jericho Hills, that hopes to transform this ancient West Bank city into a pioneer of energy efficiency in the Middle East.

3. Techno Homes is building dozens of new villas using materials that will help take advantage of Jericho's location as the lowest lying city in the world.

4. And for engineer Mitri Rizeq, it's a venture like no other.

5. "It is the first project of its kind in Palestine and the whole of the Middle East. It is a new way of construction. All of our materials are eco-friendly, as you can see we use steel structure covered with fibre cement plates."

6. The buildings themselves use pre-fabricated materials, and in particular Structural Insulated Panels in the walls, ceilings and floors.

7. The material shields the house from the intense heat of the region, often nudging 40 degrees Celsius.

8. But for people like Simon Kwa interested in buying a villa, they offer solutions to more than just the heat.

9. "I will repeat and say that this way of building makes for good heat insulation in Jericho. This is what attracted me to it, plus the material used in this kind of building has no problems with the insects in Jericho."

10. Techno Homes hopes to build six types of villa with sizes ranging from 90 square metres to 138 square metres. Each home will have 2 to 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

11. One of the benefits of using pre-fabricated materials -- says George Rizek, the project owner -- is the speed at which you can put them together.

12. "The price is cheaper and the period, instead of taking two years to build the villa, here we finish within ten days. Also you can have a high level of finishing."

13. The eco-houses are being sold for around $US 150,000, less than the regional average by about 25%.

14. And, unlike the walls of Jericho in biblical times, it's hoped these eco-houses can stay up for generations to come. 15. Joel Flynn, Reuters