March 03, 2014 By Elias Sakr BEIRUT: The nearly rainless months of January and February have hit Lebanese farmers hard, and if the drought persists, experts warn it could further dry up groundwater wells and reservoirs increasing the water deficit for both household and agricultural use. While the government has done little except to warn […]

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Despite a major storm in mid-December, the amount of rainfall and the number of rainy days since have been unprecedentedly low. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb. 28, 2014 This winter is one of the driest Israel has known since meteorologists first began measuring local rainfall, the Israel Meteorological Service announced on Thursday, a day before […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/27/2014 EU expert: Natural gas potentials of Cyprus, Israel could strengthen ties with neighboring countries by forging partnerships. The question of Cypriot sovereignty presents an obstacle that inhibits energy advancements in the entire Eastern Mediterranean region, a Greek-German expert on European Union integration and enlargement issues said Wednesday. Dr. Angelos Giannakopoulos, an […]

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Amit Shapira, one of Israel’s most prominent planners, died in a critical moment for the industry. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb. 27, 2014 Friday will mark the end of the 30-day mourning period for Amit Shapira, a long-time senior official at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and later one of the […]

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JNF staff find that the owls, which had become rare, are proliferating. By Zafrir Rinat | Mar. 3, 2014 A group of long-eared owls has established itself in part of the forest in recent months, say Jewish National Fund wardens in the Mishmar Ha’emek Forest area. The owls are among several species of birds that […]

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In suspending planned neighborhood, Uri Ariel cites desire to prevent damage to ‘unique landscape’ of the Negev. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb. 27, 2014 | Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel this week suspended a plan to build a residential neighborhood on the edge of the Makhtesh Ramon crater, because it would damage the region’s […]

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March 03, 2014 By Venetia Rainey BEIRUT: Activists and residents are calling for the funding planned for the Fouad Boutros Highway in Ashrafieh to be spent instead on improving urban planning and public transport, after protests against the controversial project over the weekend drew hundreds. More than 2,300 people have signed an online petition against […]

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March 01, 2014 M By Dana Khraiche AIN IBL, Lebanon: A landfill in a south Lebanon village where illegal practices have forced residents to rally in protest is promising to become a model for environmentally friendly waste management, thanks to an invention developed by a Lebanese professor. The controversial landfill acquired a device called the […]

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New York, which is rehabilitating a mountain of trash just like Israel is doing, has signed a cooperation deal with the Ariel Sharon Park. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb. 20, 2014 About 10 years ago, another reporter and I were invited to the offices of Hazera, where company executives and consultants told us there was […]

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Planned campaign to raise awareness on electronic waste disposal – Jordan Times by Hana Namrouqa | Feb 27, 2014 AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment will launch a campaign within a week to raise public awareness on ways of handling electronic waste, according to officials. The campaign seeks to guide people on how to dispose […]

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Wednesday, 26 February 2014 Militants blew up a pipeline in Sinai late Tuesday that transports gas to Jordan, security officials said, in the fourth such attack this year in the restive peninsula. The rebels planted explosives under the pipeline south of the city of Al-Arish in an area called Lehfen, they said, according to Agence […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Feb 25, 2014 HRH Prince Hassan addresses participants at the Water in the Arab World: Status, Challenges and Opportunities Conference on Tuesday (Petra photo) AMMAN — Increasing sustained investment in water infrastructure is crucial, HRH Prince Hassan said on Tuesday, calling on Arab states to establish a fund to protect the […]

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GAZA CITY (AFP) — On the roof of Gaza City’s children’s hospital, a pristine row of solar panels gleams in the sunlight, an out-of-place symbol of modern, clean energy in the impoverished Strip. As the coastal Palestinian territory lives through the worst fuel shortage in its history, many of Gaza’s 1.6 million inhabitants are beginning […]

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Feb 24, 2014 | 23:06 7 inShare1 Jordan has 128 olive presses spread across the country, according to a study prepared by the USAID-funded Jordan Institutional Support and Strengthening Programme (JT file photo) AMMAN — Although Jordan ranks as the eighth largest olive oil producing country in the world, it still lacks proper facilities for […]

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February 26, 2014 12:23 AM By Joacim Nielsen BEIRUT: Two new power plants expected to boost the country’s troubled energy sector will be completed within a few months, according to Danish constructor BWSC, which is building the facilities in Jiyyeh and Zouk just outside of Beirut. “Everything is running as planned. Both concerning time, budget […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/18/2014 The Energy, Water and National Infrastructures Ministry wants to promote holistic approach to urban planning. The smart city of the future must supply all of the needs of its population, rather than focusing simply on niche areas of expertise, stressed an Energy and Water Ministry official at a Tuesday conference. “There […]

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February 21, 2014 12:13 AM By Noeleen Heyzer By the end of this century, 10 billion people will inhabit our planet, with 8.5 billion living in cities. This could be the stuff of nightmares. But, with sufficient political will, vision and creativity – along with some simple, practical policy changes – we may be able […]

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Water Affairs Court rules that lack of access threatens both the herd owner’s livelihood and the animals themselves. The Water Authority and Agriculture Ministry must allow a sheep farmer in an unrecognized Bedouin village to extend his water connection to the herd’s paddock, giving the animals easy access to water, the Water Affairs Court in […]

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February 20, 2014 12:05 AM By Ali Akbar Dareini OROUMIEH, Iran: The first Cabinet decision made under Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, wasn’t about how to resolve his country’s nuclear dispute with world powers. It was about how to keep the nation’s largest lake from disappearing. Lake Oroumieh, one of the biggest saltwater lakes on […]

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February 22, 2014 By Asit K. Biswas, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe During its recent gathering in Davos, the World Economic Forum released its ninth annual Global Risks report, which relies on a survey of more than 700 business leaders, government officials, and nonprofit actors to identify the world’s most serious risks in the next decade. Most remarkable, […]

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