By NADAV SHEMER AND SHARON UDASIN 12/26/2011 01:45 Tourism, environmental protection ministers warn that company may increase production if royalties remain at 10%. Talkbacks () Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz threatened on Sunday to establish a committee to examine the state’s shares from Dead Sea quarrying if Israel Chemicals unit Dead Sea Works does not respond […]

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Israel has announced plans to begin restoring the sacred river Jordan by pumping about 30 million cubic metres of water into the parched valley. Up to 98 per cent of the lower river Jordan’s historic flow is diverted by Israel, Jordan and Syria for agricultural use, according to environmentalists. The trickle that remains in the […]

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The Environmental Protection Ministry presented its program a few weeks ago, but the Finance Ministry said it opposes approving the program at this time and has not found money for it. By Zafrir Rinat The cabinet has not found funding to implement a program to reduce air pollution, putting it dangerously close to violating the […]

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By David Krantz NEW YORK (Dec. 22, 2011) — We need another Chanukah miracle. On Chanukah we recall the victory of the few over the many and the weak over the powerful. We celebrate the miracle of the oil and of the reassertion of control over our historic homeland, the present-day land of Israel. But, […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/26/2011 03:36 Cabinet members have yet to vote on a national plan to prevent air pollution, allegedly due to Steinitz’s financial opposition to the program. Talkbacks () With only a week left by law to approve a national plan to prevent air pollution, cabinet members have yet to vote on the issue, […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/23/2011 08:39 US ambassador: Water, rehabilitation efforts can bring regional peace. Talkbacks (5) Just a few kilometers south of the Yardenit baptismal site, plastic soda bottles blanket the southernmost “clean” section of the Jordan River, while below, raw sewage trickles into a saline brook gushing from an adjacent pipe. A stench overpowers […]

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Catches declined by 40 percent over the past decade, yet experts in the field say the ministry is not doing enough itself to improve the situation. By Zafrir Rinat The fisheries department in the Agriculture Ministry recently took the unusual step of publishing a call for scientists to submit proposals for research to help reverse […]

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Projected $250m World Bank loan to support state budget — Hassan Reported by Omar Obeidat | Dec 23,2011 | 23:38 Spanish Ambassador in Amman Javier Sangro de Liniers, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan and Minister of Water and Irrigation Mousa Jamani attend a signing ceremony on Thursday (Photo courtesy of Planning Ministry) […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/20/2011 03:14 “Forest in current state is at risk of renewed disaster,” environmental protection minister says. Talkbacks () Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has demanded the government do everything in its power to enact the NIS 55 million budget necessary to rehabilitate the flora and fauna damaged in last year’s Carmel fire. […]

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By Dr. Orr Karassin DURBAN, South Africa (Dec. 11, 2011) — The United Nations Conference on Climate Change concluded here with a mixed outlook at about 3 a.m. this morning. After two weeks of hectic attempts to reauthorize the Kyoto Protocol and create a road map for a legal agreement that would include all the […]

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New foundation aims to keep land available for public purposes. By Zafrir Rinat Regulations clearing the way for a foundation for the protection of open spaces were signed this week by Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias. It was the first time the government has earmarked some income – from the marketing of land for […]

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Israeli researcher stumbles upon endangered buzzard’s unusual migration thanks to cutting-edge GPS transmitters purchased with the assistance of the JNF. By Zafrir Rinat A Tel Aviv University doctoral student discovered a few weeks ago that come winter, the long-legged buzzard, an endangered raptor, heads north to Turkey and Russia instead of flying south to warmer […]

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Under revised agreement, gas imports to cost three times more than before Associated Press http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4165487,00.html Published: 12.22.11, 15:20 / Israel Business Jordan has signed a revised natural gas deal with Egypt under which its gas imports will cost three times more than before. The deal was signed in Cairo on Wednesday, Jordan’s official Petra news […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/20/2011 04:17 PA water chief: Inequities, blockade amplify Gaza crisis; Erdan says plant unrelated to Israeli actions. Talkbacks (11) The European Union has launched a 10 million euro project to erect a desalination facility over the next three years in Gaza, to combat what the governing body calls “the humanitarian water crisis” […]

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Authority decides 3 million cubic meters of water will be added to 15 million cubic meters already pumped back to nature annually. By Zafrir Rinat The Water Authority will draw up a plan to pump water back to springs and wells in an effort to prevent the drying up of reservoirs and waters in national […]

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Greenpeace unveils details of its coastal waters campaign December 20, 2011 02:14 AM (Last updated: December 20, 2011 12:25 PM) By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star Water sampling off the coast of Lebanon. Water sampling off the coast of Lebanon. BEIRUT: Greenpeace Lebanon unveiled Monday the details of their “Secret Mission: Blue Shield 2011,” which […]

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By Mohammad Ghazal FUHEIS – His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday voiced support for efforts to address environmental pollution in Fuheis and preserve the environment in the area. The King made his remarks yesterday at the conclusion of a meeting with representatives and notables from Fuheis. The Monarch said he will be the first to […]

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By Avirama Golan The hitch that occurred on Monday with the trains, grave as it may have been, is possible anywhere. Worse problems than that have held up trains for three freezing days of snow in places known longingly here as “Europe” or “properly run countries.” However here the multiplicity of disruptions and hitches is […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/19/2011 07:02 Newly appointed Israel Nature, Parks Authority head seeks to further cooperation among various environmental organizations. Talkbacks () Newly appointed Israel Nature and Parks Authority head Shaul Goldstein seeks to further cooperation among Israel’s various environmental organizations as well as increase tourism in the country’s natural oases, he told The Jerusalem […]

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New European study finds less than 17 percent of corporate social responsibility reports report the corporation’s entire emission of greenhouse gases. By Zafrir Rinat Companies worldwide are submiting environmental reports that are either factually inaccurate or mistaken, according to a new European study. The study, by researchers from Leeds University in the U.K. and EUROMED […]

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