Minister highlights new plans to improve supply Friday, September 10, 2010 Bassil warns of serious water shortage in September BEIRUT: Lebanon may be facing a serious water crisis in September and October if the government fails to take quick actions to contain this problem, Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil said. Bassil’s remarks came during […]

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010 BEIRUT: Civil Defense and Lebanese Army personnel succeeded on Tuesday in extinguishing a fire that broke out in Daraya two days earlier. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that efforts to quench the Daraya fire were finally successful. The blaze started on Sunday in the woodland separating the Chouf villages […]

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010 BEIRUT: Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan launched a workshop in Batroun on Tuesday to encourage harvesting fish and protecting Lebanon’s maritime wealth. The workshop was part of a regional project organized by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with the aim of promoting guided fishing, east of the Mediterranean. It was attended […]

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AMMAN (JT) – Prime Minister Samir Rifai on Monday underscored the need to take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of the “drinking water shortage crisis” witnessed recently in a number of governorates. During a tour to the governorates of Zarqa and Jerash yesterday, Rifai underlined the need to develop plans and programmes in […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – The northern governorates’ water woes will be solved in the next 10 days with the pumping of an additional 400 cubic metres of water per hour to the area, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said on Tuesday. Pumping from the Mashtal Feisal water wells in Jerash Governorate is expected […]

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By Mohammad Ghazal AMMAN – Jordanian-Thai ties may bring about wet weather in the Kingdom under cooperation in artificial rain techniques, according to the top Thai diplomat in Amman. In a recent interview with The Jordan Times, Thai Ambassador in Amman Isinthorn Sornvai said Jordan is actively studying ways to benefit from Thailand’s experience in […]

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While no vegetables are expected to disappear altogether from the market, prices are going to be increasing, even though they’re already higher than usual for the season. By Amiram Cohen and Haim Bior The heat wave of the past few weeks has given the country a surplus of roasted vegetables – on the vine, that […]

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By Antoine Amrieh Friday, September 03, 2010 AKKAR: The series of fires that broke out across the country this summer have left numerous green spaces completely torched. The massive damage has become evident in the north Lebanon region of Akkar, where almost 100,000 square meters of land were ruined, threatening both the environment and the […]

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World Bank report to urge government action on issue By Simona Sikimic Wednesday, September 08, 2010 BEIRUT: Many of Lebanon’s waste water treatment plants are lying unused due to high operating costs, insufficient support infrastructure and a lack of awareness, several experts told The Daily Star on Tuesday. Eight government-backed waste water treatment facilities have […]

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By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 09/02/2010 08:00 International consultant to help Israeli team of specialists improve air quality. As the implementation date for the Clean Air Act approaches, the Environmental Protection Ministry issued a tender this week seeking an economic consultant to create a national plan to reduce air pollution. The Clean Air Act goes into […]

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The West Bank settlement of Beit Haggai lives on earnings from a stone quarry it received as a ‘gift’ from the state. But the High Court of Justice may soon stop work at the quarry and force the government to rethink the way it exploits natural resources in the territories. By Shay Fogelman Even in […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Ecologists on Tuesday warned that wolves, a locally threatened species, are increasingly being hunted down and poisoned, leading to a drop in their numbers in Jordan. Gray wolves, known simply as wolves, are carnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family, of which five species exist in Jordan, also including the […]

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By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 09/01/2010 05:39 Garbage mountain will become the showpiece of a series of walking and biking paths, a lake, and a canal system. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) and Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) both pledged to ensure funding for the development of Ariel Sharon Park in the Tel Aviv metropolitan […]

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09/02/2010 08:51 Friends of the Earth Middle East wins Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue Award. Friends of the Earth Middle East, an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian environmental organization, has won the 2010 Anna Lindh Foundation’s Euro- Mediterranean Dialogue Award. The theme of the award this year was “Intercultural Dialogue for Ecological Sustainability.” According to its Web site, Friends of the Earth […]

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by Sarah Ozacky-Lazar 02 September 2010 JERUSALEM – Every few years, the idea of establishing one state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea rises and falls like a phoenix; a dream of a state where both Palestinians and Israelis live in peace with no borders, no barriers, cultural autonomy and equal citizenship for […]

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‘Big Jump,’ an international environmental event, held Middle Eastern style. Israelis, Palestinians, including mayors, youth group leaders, jump into Jordan River in order to raise awareness of pollution in southern section Yael Darel Published: 08.20.10, 08:21 / Israel Activism More than half a million people throughout Europe showed up in bathing suits next to a […]

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By Rebecca Conway Reuters ISLAMABAD – Global warming might be one explanation for Pakistan’s devastating floods, but scientists believe poor land management, outdated irrigation systems and logging are at least as much to blame. Flooding has battered Pakistan since the onset of heavy monsoon rains a month ago, affecting a wide central belt. More than […]

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By DAVID E. MILLER / THE MEDIA LINE 08/24/2010 22:12 Recurring power shortages cause demonstrations. The Egyptian government has announced its intention to continue decreasing electric output pending the end of a heat-wave which saw temperatures climb to 40 degrees Celsius. Government spokesman Magdi Radi announced that an “emergency plan” prepared by the government would […]

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By Ali Ibrahim August is a hot summer month, and in some cases, a month of problems. August in Lebanon has been characterized by two problems, which reflect two aspects of the lives and concerns of the people there. The first was the clash that erupted suddenly, amidst rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, between Hezbollah […]

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By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 08/26/2010 22:22 Government issues tender to analyze alternative energy vehicles. The National Infrastructures Ministry on Thursday issued a tender for a consultant to do an economic analysis of the feasibility of electric cars compared to gasoline-powered and other alternative energy vehicles. The ministry said it was committed to cleaner transport to […]

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