By NIV ELIS 08/14/2015 The deal announced Thursday regarding Israel’s natural gas industry was like the caped fairytale figure’s freshly- picked flowers, which on their own were a thoughtful, fragrant and colorful gift. When Little Red Riding Hood strayed from the path on her way to visit grandmother’s house, she gained a nice bouquet of […]

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Netanyahu has not advanced the economy or Israelis’ welfare with the gas deal, as he claims to have done. Instead, he has submitted to the pressures of big business. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu absconded from the news conference he convened Thursday to present the deal between the government and the companies developing Israel’s offshore natural-gas […]

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By SHARON UDASIN,LAHAV HARKOV 08/16/2015 Document will still likely head to Knesset, before receiving final approval. After a nearly eight-month stalemate that has all but frozen the country’s natural gas sector, the government approved on Sunday the revised terms of a disputed compromise outline. The government approval comes four days after the companies and an […]

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Gas plan proposed by Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz passes government vote; Ministers Kahlon, H. Katz, and Galant unable to vote on the plan due to conflict of interests. 08.16.15, 15:58 Israel’s government met Sunday, approving the updated natural gas plan presented to the public last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Yuval […]

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06 August 2015 The ongoing electricity crisis in Lebanon, although a permanent fixture, has become unmanageable. At the hottest time of the year, the Lebanese also face the worst power cuts, rendering the unbearable heat and humidity even more painful. And now those allegedly in charge of the situation are putting up their hands and […]

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The Dead Sea is shrinking because its natural water sources, which flow from Syria and Lebanon, have been diverted for farming and drinking water. Reuters Jul 30, 2015 see http://www.haaretz.com/beta/1.668685 for visuals A neglected grove of date palms, their leaves long fallen, trunks drooping in the searing heat at the lowest point on earth, is […]

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08/13/2015 Enormous controversy surrounds the proposed natural gas structure that will be brought before the cabinet for a vote on Sunday.\ Opposition politicians led most articulately by the Zionist Camp’s MK Shelly Yacimovich have railed against it, claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz and others have proven […]

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Three West Bank villages partly cut off from running water during the hottest month of the year, angering residents who point out that the quota for neighboring Jewish villages is much higher. Elior Levy Published: 08.10.15 Three Palestinian villages have been suffering from a water shortage for over a week during the hottest month of […]

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By Laila Azzeh – Aug 08,2015 – Ajloun Governorate contains 140,000 dunums of forests that cover 34 per cent of its total area (Petra photo) AMMAN — It took firefighters four hours on Saturday to extinguish a “huge” blaze in Ajloun, 70km northwest of the capital, that destroyed 500 trees on more than 40 dunums […]

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By Rana Husseini – Aug 08,2015\ The 29.82mcm Mujib Dam in Karak, some 130 kilometres south of the capital, is one of the Kingdom’s 10 major dams (Petra photo) AMMAN — Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) officials on Saturday said they are considering importing a hollow ball cover system to place in major dams and reduce […]

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AMMAN — The Energy and Mineral Resources Regulatory Commission (EMRC) said Saturday it dealt with 141 cases of electricity theft during the heatwave that affected Jordan over the past week. The commission notified the legal departments at power companies of the cases, and legal measures will be taken against violators, EMRC Chief Commissioner Farouq Hiari […]

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AMMAN — The load on the national power grid surged to an unprecedented 3,300 megawatts (MW) on Tuesday during the heatwave that affected the Kingdom this week, the Energy Ministry said Thursday. The national grid’s capacity currently stands at 4,000MW. In a report on the malfunctions witnessed during the hot spell, which began easing off […]

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By Omar Obeidat – Aug 10,2015 AMMAN — Having air- conditioning units in houses may have been seen as a luxury a few years ago, but the hot summer this year has made it a must for the majority of Jordanians. According to several homeowners and traders interviewed by The Jordan Times, fans are no […]

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Nocturnal heat records were broken in many areas of the country; Monday set a new record for power consumption. Omri Efraim, Gilad Morag, Hassan Shaalan 08.03.15 Sunday was the hottest day of the year in Israel, and the high temperatures continued into Monday and don’t appear to be letting up anytime soon. In quite a […]

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Lebanon’s residents partly to blame for trash crisis: minister August 11th, 2015 Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan placed partial blame on Lebanese citizens Tuesday for the country’s ongoing trash crisis, saying that when the state fails to find solutions for crises, the people must play a role in filling the void. “Citizens have no right […]

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Philip Issa| The Daily Star BEIRUT: South of the Shatila roundabout, there are a few dozen scrapyards where men work patiently to sort through metals and plastics. This is how Lebanon’s bulk recycling is done, with hammers, engines and tractors. Many who work these jobs are from Syria, and they are compensated better than most […]

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Lebanon’s biggest landfill closed last week – but government officials have so far failed to find a new dumpsite. Ash Gallagher | 30 Jul 2015 09:00 GMT | Environment, Politics, Lebanon, Middle East Beirut, Lebanon – Tucked away behind a gas station, along the vibrant, nightlife-friendly streets of Beirut’s Mar Mikhael neighbourhood, lies a restaurant […]

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Lebanon’s capital drowning in an ocean of trash – Al JAzeera Residents are burning garbage in the streets as politicians fail to find a solution for mountains of uncollected trash. Nour Samaha | 26 Jul 2015 14:55 GMT | Environment, Health, Politics, Middle East, Lebanon Beirut – Hundreds of protesters showed up in the sweltering […]

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by SHARON UDASIN 07/27/2015 Each year, about 2.5 million cubic meters of excess soil and building debris are simply buried or removed illegally to open spaces. Aiming to see 98 percent of the country’s excess soil salvaged for reuse by 2040, the Finance Ministry’s Planning Administration will be presenting a new program on the matter […]

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As the Tel Aviv Municipality introduces new recycling bins, we go back to the days when sanitation workers used to collect wastewater from outhouses, when dust covered the city’s streets, when the first garbage trucks arrived and when trash piled up on the streets during the Sanitation Department’s strikes. Noam (Dabul) Dvir Published: 07.27.15 Tel […]

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