18-07-2012 Senior Officials from the 43 country members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) recently approved a project entitled “Overcoming governance challenges to the mobilisation of financing for the Mediterranean water sector”, aimed to identify and provide solutions to the lack of basic elements for a sound governance framework for the mobilisation of financing […]

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25 Jul 2012 by OOSKAnews Correspondent CAIRO, Egypt — On the day that Egypt President Mohammed Morsi appointed former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hisham Kandil as the country’s new Prime Minister, OOSKAnews can report that residents of seven Egyptian governorates have taken to the streets in the past few days to protest severe […]

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19 Jul 2012 Source: AlertNet // Reuters By Ari Rabinovitch KFAR RUPPIN, Israel – The River Jordan is neither deep nor wide these days. The Biblical river, which has inspired countless spirituals and folk songs, is just a narrow stream in many parts – polluted and stagnant. But that’s about to change. Thanks to desalination […]

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Litani River cleanup project to cost much more than expected July 24, 2012 BEIRUT: Cleanup of the heavily polluted Litani River and Qaraoun Reservoir will cost much more than the originally planned $150 million, Environment Minister Nazim Khoury said Monday. Khoury said it is critical to target the broad range of pollution sources that have […]

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Walking through the narrow alleys of Khan al-Khalili bazaar in Cairo, it is hard to miss the white sculptures and statues displayed openly in shop windows. But while these are likely camel bone, some shops still secretly carry ivory, even though it’s been banned for decades. Despite the 23-year ban on the international trade in […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Jul 23, 2012 AMMAN — Inspectors from the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Rangers rescued scores of wild animals and birds, including some endangered species, from the black market in June, a conservationist said. “Several animals and birds were seized last month, including an African lion […]

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Raghda Mohamed Sun, 22/07/2012 While humans find it a challenge to wander Cairo’s busy streets, thousands of homeless cats and dogs are also struggling through, on the lookout for food and shelter. Animals in Egypt were once glorified, but are now mostly mistreated. Egyptians historically maintained exceptional relations with their animals, as shown by the […]

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Steven Viney Mon, 23/07/201 Egyptian conservationist Usama Ghazali earlier this month was declared the runner-up for the 2012 International Young Conservationist Award, which is annually given by the International Ranger Federation and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Ghazali, 32, is originally from Qena and graduated from South Valley University’s faculty of science […]

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Jul 24, 2012 | 00:39 AMMAN — A few residents of Karak, 140km south of the capital, on Monday blocked a street and burned tyres in protest against water supply cuts. The protesters, who said that they had not received water in weeks, also burned garbage containers, according to eyewitnesses. Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. […]

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BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army backed by firefighters succeeded in extinguishing fires that erupted across the country Wednesday, the Army said in a statement Thursday. The statement said that Lebanese troops in coordination with Civil Defense volunteers put out fires in the southern areas of Zawtar Sharqieh, Yohmor, Kfar Jouz, Toul, Kfour, Bint Jbeil, Nabatieh, Fawqa, […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 07/23/2012 05:33 The two countries agree to expand their partnerships in the energy sector with a particular focus on natural gas. The Energy and Water Ministry and the US Department of Energy committed to further cooperation on energy issues, with a particular focus on natural gas, during a series of intergovernmental meetings […]

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More than 75 percent of the water used to grow crops in this country is treated wastewater. In many other Western countries, the rate is less than 20 percent. By Dan Even | Jul.19, 2012 The Health Ministry is taking steps to reduce the amount of medical waste found in treated sewage used for irrigation, […]

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Health Ministry opposition nixes plan for household recycling systems. By Zafrir Rinat | Jul.20, 2012 Scientists from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have proven the efficiency of gray water purification systems and that people should be encouraged to use such water. The project is one of the […]

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editor’s note: Another in the recurring attacks on the gas pipeline from Egypt to Israel and Jordan is widely reported. The reports from Ma’an and YNET are below. Links to some additional coverage: Al Arabiya: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/22/227685.html Joran Times: http://jordantimes.com/blast-hits-gas-pipeline-in-egypts-sinai Ma’an CAIRO (Reuters) — An explosion on Sunday rocked the Egyptian pipeline built to carry natural […]

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Kurdish groups blamed for sabotage, as fire is controlled on pipeline carrying about quarter of Iraq’s oil exports. An explosion and subsequent fire have shut down a pipeline that carries about a quarter of Iraq’s oil exports, an official has said. The blast, which occured late on Friday, hit a section of a pipeline that […]

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by Basel Burgan | Jul 19, 2012 | 22:57 Previous Jordanian governments formed committees of specialists to come up with the Jordanian Energy Strategy (JES). The strategy became a reality in 2004, and then was updated in 2007. The JES worked out an energy mix for Jordan’s energy independence, giving 6 per cent for nuclear […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Jul 19, 2012 | 23:00 Updated: Jul 19, 2012 | 23:00 AMMAN — The water distribution programme in the northern governorates will be disrupted following power cuts in several main water resources in the north, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said on Thursday. A number of water resources affiliated with […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 07/19/2012 06:18 Israel’s energy consumption grows 4% each year; electricity shortages can be avoided, expert tells ‘Post’. As the country faces a summer with low power reserves and increasing electrical demands, it may be strategic “if not crucial” for large institutions to conduct energy surveys and increase their efficiency. Dan Bar-Mashiah – […]

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BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army backed by firefighters extinguished fires that erupted in several parts of the south Thursday, the Army said in a statement Friday. Soldiers and Civil Defense personnel put out fires in the towns of Sayroub, Tayr, Kfar Deen, Nabatieh, Kfar Roummaneh and Hboush. The fires damaged 88 acres of fruit trees and […]

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By MELANIE LIDMAN, SHARON UDASIN 07/19/2012 05:51 Fire services: Arson created need for buffer zones to protect residents. Residents of Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood are furious with Fire and Rescue Services and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund over the destruction of large swathes of the Ramot forest, which was thinned in order to protect homes against […]

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