By JT – Sep 10,2015 AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday visited the headquarters of Hanergy Holding Group, a Chinese mega company specialised in alternative and renewable energy. During the visit, the King met with the company’s Chairman Li Hejun and discussed with him ways to boost cooperation and to benefit from the […]

Read the rest of this entry »

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday arrived in Seoul and met separately with Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Chung Ui-hwa and Korean parliamentary leaders over cooperation and the latest regional developments. During his meeting with Chung, King Abdullah praised the “deep-rooted” historical relations between the two countries, and […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Dana Al Emam – Sep 11,2015 AMMAN — Enhancing the resilience of communities to the impacts of climate change on the region should top the agendas of Arab participants at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (CoP21), a regional conference recommended. Around 60 participants from the region called on Arab participants in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Every country is obligated to present their national target for reducing the greenhouse emission. Zafrir Rinat Sep 10, 2015 The Environmental Protection Ministry recently completed its recommendation to the government for a target in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which Israel will present at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in November. The […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Clouds of sand cut visibility and forced thousands to seek medical treatment in Lebanon and neighbouring countries. 09 Sep 2015 Lebanon’s unprecedented and deadly sandstorm has forced the government to shut schools and public institutions over health concerns. The sandstorm, which entered its third day on Wednesday, caused the deaths of four people in the […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Reuters | Beirut Thursday, 10 September 2015 Lebanon’s government has agreed on a plan to resolve a waste disposal crisis late on Wednesday, ending a dispute that has caused piles of rubbish to fester on Beirut’s streets and triggered a wave of popular protests. The long-term plan, agreed on during an emergency cabinet meeting […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Sept. 10, 2015 10:31 P.M. BEIRUT (AFP) — Organizers of mass protests in Lebanon over trash festering in the streets said Thursday the government’s long-awaited plan to deal with the crisis is too vague and does not meet their demands. Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Beirut in recent weeks to demand […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Untreated sewage from both Jewish and Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and nearby Palestinian villages has flowed into the Kidron for years. Agencies responsible for cleaning it up can’t decide what to do. Zafrir Rinat Sep 02, 2015 read more: http://www.haaretz.com/life/nature-environment/.premium-1.674045 Nahal Kidron, the most polluted waterway in either Israel or the West Bank, will […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Military begins work on fisheries that would fill border area with water in attempt to finally put an end to smuggling tunnels into Hamas-ruled enclaved. Associated Press Egyptian military bulldozers are digging through the sand along Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip in recent days, pressing ahead with what appears to be a renewed campaign […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Researchers say Middle East is probably the least water-secure region in the world, with 12 countries and the Palestinian territories expected to face ‘exceptional water-related challenges for the foreseeable future’. Thomson Reuters Foundation 08.26.15 BARCELONA – Israel is among the top ten countries expected to face extremely high water stress by 2040, said experts who […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Raed Omari – Aug 27,2015 Jordanian agricultural exports sector is a major victim of the Syrian crisis, recording huge losses since the war started in Syria, sector leaders and officials say (Photo by Osama Aqarbeh) AMMAN — The Syrian crisis has had its deep negative impact on Jordan in many aspects as the country struggles […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Sep 09,2015 The Greater Amman Municipality does not seem to run out of new ideas to make the capital a more beautiful, functional and liveable place. The latest plan is to make Amman a green metropolis by 2020. The intention to make Jordan’s cities green is quite old, but it never really materialised. Hopefully this […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Aug 25,2015 AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan, president of the West Asia-North Africa Institute, on Tuesday stressed the importance of resilience, adaptation and readjustment as necessary tools for Jordan to address pressing challenges. Delivering a speech at the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF), the prince addressed the economic resilience of countries hosting Syrian refugees, noting that […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Environmental problems across the Middle East contrast harshly with a forgotten past. 04 Sep 2015 With thousands of tonnes of rubbish piling up on the streets and no place to go, Beirut has become a place for political confrontation. The rubbish created a suffocating stink in the summer heat, resulting in a serious health hazard […]

Read the rest of this entry »

40 portable digester generators designed by HomeBioGas start-up are in use in pilot project at Palestinian village of al-Awja in West Bank; start-up’s CEO says digesters could save many lives in rural areas across the world where smoke from cooking on an open fire causes severe respiratory illness and death. Reuters 08.24.15, 22:38 Palestinian villagers […]

Read the rest of this entry »

TUBAS, August 26, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Wednesday notified a nature reserve to the East of Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley, of their intentions to uproot its forest trees, according to a local official. Motaz Bisharat, in charge of the Jordan Valley settlements file in the Palestinian Authority, said that forces notified ‘Enoun’ […]

Read the rest of this entry »

CAIRO (AFP) — Italian energy giant Eni on Sunday announced the discovery of the “largest ever” offshore natural gas field in the Mediterranean inside Egypt’s territorial waters. The discovery, confirmed by Egypt’s oil ministry, could hold a potential 30 trillion cubic feet of lean gas in an area of about 100 square kilometers (40 square […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 08/31/2015 Following a meeting with representatives of Greenpeace Israel, Finance Ministry officials pledged on Sunday to reevaluate certain barriers blocking the solar energy industry’s advancement. Finance Ministry director- general Shai Babad held the meeting with Greenpeace representatives, who presented reforms they felt could revolutionize the field and generate profits to private citizens, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 08/27/2015 A variety of Israeli, German and Jordanian ornithology and climate experts will meet for the 2nd German-Israeli Climate Talks As climate change continues to influence bird migration behaviors, a team of Israeli and German researchers aims to find ways of coping with these ever-evolving patterns. “The climate is a key factor […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Slaughter greatest in Egypt, Italy; Israel gets high marks for enforcing no-hunting laws. Zafrir Rinat Aug 23, 2015 About 25 million birds are illegally hunted and killed or captured every year in countries bordering the Mediterranean, and many of these countries have adopted a policy of looking the other way when it comes to the […]

Read the rest of this entry »