By MICHELLE MALKA GROSSMAN 02/01/2016 Following a permit discrepancy and backlash from environmental groups, drilling will continue to see if commercially-viable liquid oil is underneath the Golan Heights. The search for liquid oil will continue in the Golan Heights after a two-year permit extension was approved on Monday night for Afek Oil and Gas by […]

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Following reports claiming that Russia is another suggested destination after Sierra Leone to receive Lebanon’s trash, Moscow has strongly denied the allegations bringing the months long file back to square one. A Russian diplomatic source asserted on Monday that it is impossible for Russia to receive Lebanon’s waste due to high costs it entails in […]

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In their first response to the publication of worrying statistics regarding the health impact of pollution in the Haifa bay area, the researchers behind the study implicitly attack the Ministry of Health, saying they stand behind their findings. Ynet reporters 02.02.16, Researchers from Haifa University, who yesterday published statistics on the impact of pollution in […]

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By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 02/03/2016 Former health minister Yesh Atid MK Yael German said she would support the change. Amounts of 20 pesticides permitted in fresh produce will be reduced significantly, while 16 others will be completely banned, according to new regulations passed by the Knesset Labor, Social Welfare and Health Committee on Tuesday. The permitted […]

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By Omar Obeidat – Feb 03,2016 AMMAN – Lafarge Jordan has a plan to turn its dusty site of 1,880 dunums for cement production in Fuheis into an “environment-friendly urban hub”, but it still awaits decision makers’ nod, the company’s CEO Amr Reda said. In an interview with The Jordan Times, Reda said the envisioned […]

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By Muath Freij – Feb 03,2016 A sign is placed near the entrance of a store in downtown Amman recently to prevent motorists from parking there (Photo courtesy of Saleh Saud) AMMAN — Amani Ammoura has a passion for jogging and cycling, but she feels that practising such sports is dangerous due to lack of […]

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by Suzanna Goussous – Feb 04,2016 AMMAN — Changing daily habits and lifestyles have contributed to an increasing percentage of obesity in the Kingdom, specialists have agreed. Around 40 per cent of Jordanian adults are obese, while child obesity in the Kingdom stands at more than 50 per cent, due to genetics, environmental factors and […]

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AFP, Baghdad Thursday, 28 January 2016 The United States is monitoring Iraq’s largest dam for signs of further deterioration that could point to an impending catastrophic collapse, U.S. army officers said on Thursday. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group seized the Mosul Dam briefly in 2014, leading to a lapse in […]

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by Mohammad Ghazal – Jan 30,2016 AMMAN — Syrians constitute 46 per cent of non-Jordanians living in the Kingdom and 13.2 per cent of the overall population, preliminary results of the national census conducted in late November showed on Saturday. Of Jordan’s total population of 9.5 million, the number of Jordanians is around 6.6 million, […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/28/2016 The $23.7 million field, located about 60 km. from Kigali in Rwanda’s Rwamagana district, supplies about 6 percent of the country’s power and is expected to harness the sun’s light for 25 years. An American-Israeli led solar developer has been nominated for a US Department of State award of excellence in […]

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An environmental proposal with political overtones Jan 16th 2016 | JERUSALEM WIDE-OPEN deserts and sunshine for more than 300 days a year ought to have made countries in the Middle East centres for solar power. Yet with the world’s largest oil- and gasfields nearby there has been little reason to develop renewable energy in the […]

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Reuters | Erbil (Iraq) Friday, 29 January 2016 A pipeline for gas used to generate around half the electricity in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region was blown up on Friday, knocking out power, a police chief and electricity official told Reuters. The explosion struck the pipeline in the Qader Karam district of Kirkuk, according to police […]

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By HERB KEINON 01/28/2016 PM Tsipras of Greece said cooperation with Israel and Cyprus was a “strategic choice” for Athens. NICOSIA – Israel, Cyprus and Greece decided at their first ever tripartite meeting to set up a steering committee to look into laying a gas pipeline from Israel to Cyprus, and then to Greece for […]

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By MICHELLE MALKA GROSSMAN,SHARON UDASIN,NIV ELIS 01/29/2016 Ministry says such steps are necessary, because low oil price worldwide is making natural gas a more expensive option, despite environmental advantages. Environmental Protection Ministry officials on Thursday urged Israeli gas companies to lower natural gas prices, saying it is critical to ensuring the resource’s attractiveness to Israeli […]

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By MICHELLE MALKA GROSSMAN 01/25/2016 The bill proposes more regulations and licensing for exterminators, as well as heavy fines and potential jail time for violators. The Knesset’s Internal Affairs and Environment Committee gave its approval for a bill aimed at imposing stricter regulations on the use of pesticides. The legislation seeks further training and tougher […]

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AMMAN — The job of street cleaners at municipalities around the Kingdom, is classified as a “hazardous” profession, Social Security Corporation (SSC) Spokesperson Musa Sbeihi said Saturday. Citing the list of dangerous professions included with the insurance benefits by-law issued under the SSC Law, Sbeihi said in a statement that the Greater Amman Municipality and […]

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by Naharnet Newsdesk 27 January 2016, 09:49 Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said on Wednesday that the decision to export Lebanon’s trash must be reviewed in light of the huge expenses it entails and the new offer submitted by a Thai based company proposing cheaper prices to solve the eight-month long crisis. “Regardless of the […]

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Tom Lewis and Kaveh Madani for Tehran Bureau Wednesday 20 January 2016 03.00 EST A trickle of water has returned this winter to Zayandeh Rud (the Zayandeh River) through Isfahan, but it won’t last long. When the winter rainfall ends and the snow in the mountains has melted in spring, high demand for water will […]

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By JT – Jan 26,2016 AMMAN — MP Rula Hroub on Tuesday questioned the government on raising a fixed charge included in the water bill by nearly 100 per cent, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. At a Lower House oversight session, Hroub (Stronger Jordan list) said that she was not convinced by the government’s […]

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BARCELONA, 20 January 2016 (WAFA) – Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Fathallah Sijilmassi Wednesday reaffirmed the commitment to support the Palestinian Government in its socio-economic initiatives and stressed the importance of Palestine in the Euro-Mediterranean agenda. Sijilmassi made UfM’s position clear during a meeting held with Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyadh […]

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