By Reuters – Feb 04,2016 RABAT — Abnormally dry weather across North Africa is threatening to become another financial headache for Morocco and neighbouring Tunisia and Algeria, just as each seeks to spur more economic growth and cut public spending. Rising food import costs would come at a delicate time, as Morocco faces protests over […]

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By Hana Namrouqa – Feb 06,2016 AMMAN — The Water Ministry said on Saturday it has dismantled 20,478 illegal fixtures on water mains and resources since 2013, adding that it will deploy new technologies to uncover violation attempts. “Strict, intensified monitoring and inspection using new and advanced technologies will start soon to detect attempted violations […]

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by Hana Namrouqa – Feb 07,2016 Lawmakers attend a recent Lower House session. Conservationists say that environmental issues do not receive enough attention under the Dome (File photo) AMMAN — Conservationists have criticised the Lower House for a lack of discussion of issues concerning the environment, calling on MPs to appreciate its role in the […]

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By Dana Al Emam – Feb 01,2016 AMMAN — Prompted by a feeling of guilt for not having done enough to protect the environment, Nisreen Haram declared a “war on trash” in 2011 and adopted a “green” lifestyle that minimised her household’s waste. “My family and I succeeded in reducing our waste production from one […]

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Morocco launches first solar power plant – Al Arabiya By AFP Ouarzazate, Morocco Friday, 5 February 2016 King Mohammed VI on Thursday inaugurated Morocco’s first solar power plant, a massive project that the country sees as part of its goal of boosting its clean energy output. Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane and French Environment Minister Segolene […]

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In a region where the renewable energy market is still small, despite a natural and seemingly perpetual gas shortage, one startup is making big strides. KarmSolar is an Egyptian company dedicated to bolstering solar energy use. It is now the first company in Egypt with official permission to sell solar power off-grid. The Egyptian Electricity […]

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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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