Mazin Sidahmed| The Daily Star BEIRUT: As the debate in Cabinet intensifies over the best means to manage Lebanon’s thorny issue of waste management, two workable solutions stand tabled: the building of new landfills or the establishment of the incinerators. Either option, however, comes with its own pros and cons. The issue of waste management […]

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BEIRUT: Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk Tuesday urged Lebanese to be patient as the long-awaited shutdown of the controversial Naameh dump has been hit by delays. “I hope those who were patient for 17 years would understand the situation and help us reach an appropriate solution, especially that [this issue] exhausts all citizens,” Machnouk said in […]

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BEIRUT: Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk Monday ruled out of the possibility of managing Lebanon’s garbage sector without using landfills, and declared that the Naameh dump will not be closed on time. “We cannot shut down the Naameh landfill on 17th of this month because no alternative is available yet,” Machnouk said at a news conference […]

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ENGAGING YOUTH’S RECYCLING COURSE: A SOURCE OF SELF-RELIANCE 30 December 2014 Three internally displaced Palestine refugees from Yarmouk and nine interior design trainees sat around a table at the UNRWA Damascus Training Centre, preparing a wastebasket of recycled magazines. These students were the first batch of apprentices to join a new UNRWA recycling course, and […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/01/2015 A technology hailing from the Hebrew University’s chemistry laboratories aims to tackle hydrocarbon contaminants at their chemical core, providing an efficient and affordable solution for cleanups like the country’s December oil spill. After some 5 million liters of crude oil surged into the Arava Desert sands last month, the Environmental Protection […]

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BEIRUT: Hezbollah deputy head Naim Qassem Sunday joined calls for Lebanon to start drilling for oil and gas off its southern coast to prevent Israel from stealing it. “If we act now on this subject, Israel will not be able to take or steal our wealth,” Qassem said during a private meeting with mukhtars, mayors […]

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Kerry discusses issue with Netanyahu after regulator recommended breaking up control of offshore gas reserves by Noble Energy and Delek Group. By Reuters | Dec. 30, 2014 The United States supports moving forward with offshore natural gas deals in the Mediterranean involving the U.S. company Noble Energy, a State Department spokesman said on Tuesday. U.S. […]

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Three weeks after 5 million liters of crude oil spilled in the Arava Desert, Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company is looking for approval to expand. By Zafrir Rinat | Dec. 30, 2014 A plan to increase stores of liquid petroleum gas to roughly 60,000 tons is on the agenda of a National Planning and Building Council […]

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A drab building in Rishon Letzion’s industrial zone hides one of Israel’s most surprising and innovative enterprises. The offices of this startup company are stashed away at the back corner of the second floor, and the lack of any signs showing the way doesn’t make it any easier to find it. Not far away, in […]

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Residents tell of great light and magnificent privacy; but while Israelis approve of green building, they aren’t stampeding for it. By Israel Fisher | Dec. 28, 2014 Living the green life sounds great. Lower electricity bills, insulation from heat, cold and noise too. So why is the demand for green housing so small? Opponents claim […]

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Nizar Hassan| The Daily Star BEIRUT: The controversial cement factory being built in Zahle by the brother of MP Nicolas Fattoush will most probably not be completed, the city’s mayor told The Daily Star Friday, saying that the municipality has revoked its construction permit after a public outcry against the project. “We made the decision […]

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by Mohammad Ghazal | Dec 28, 2014 AMMAN — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has endorsed a draft agreement to build Jordan’s first nuclear power plant, according to the Russian government. The Russian-Jordanian intergovernmental agreement entails cooperation in the construction and maintenance of a nuclear plant in Jordan between Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation and […]

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AMMAN — Nippon Jordan Fertiliser Company W.L.L announced Tuesday in a press statement that its exports went up by 50 per cent this year, reaching a record 291,300 tonnes. According to the press statement, exports last year stood at 193,000 tonnes. Karim Halaseh, the firm’s general manager, credited Australia for the improvement, indicating that exports […]

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on the UN General Assembly decision on Friday to hold Israel responsible for the oil spill on the Lebanon Coast in 2006 In a recent blog, I reported that Jordan will be joining the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on the first of January. In that role, Jordan has circulated a resolution to be passed […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/25/2014 Deputy Environmental Protection Minister Ofir Akunis will submit to the cabinet on Sunday a NIS 17 million plan for the rehabilitation of areas affected by the Arava Desert oil spill earlier this month. If the ministry’s proposal is approved, the government would allocate the NIS 17m. and a boost in manpower […]

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24 December 2014 Gaza The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has provided UNRWA with 137 cubic meters of chlorine, which is essential for water and sanitation activities in UNRWA-managed collective centres in the Gaza Strip. “JICA has always been a great supporter of UNRWA and the Palestine refugees,” said Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza […]

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Israel Nature and Parks Authority behind restoration efforts of one of the most important springs in Judean Desert. By Zafrir Rinat | Dec. 24, 2014 A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled on Wednesday for a project that will bring water to one of the most important springs in the Judean Desert, now contaminated by underground industrial […]

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Viva Sarah Press On December 17, 2014 The US affiliate of Israel’s Energiya, an international solar development firm headed by Yosef Abramowitz, recently won a $30 million, 17.68 megawatt solar deal in southeastern Georgia, the first utility scale solar project in the region. The enormous 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with Georgia Power Company – to […]

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BEIRUT: A group of researchers at the American University of Beirut succeeded in turning dry pine needles, usually a forest fire hazard, into activated carbon that is used as a purification material, an AUB statement said Tuesday. The team, led by civil and environmental engineering professor George Ayoub, was the first to scientifically test the […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Dec 21, 2014 AMMAN — More than 4,000 abandoned vehicles have been removed from Amman’s streets since 2011 in an ongoing effort to improve the appearance and cleanliness of the capital, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) said on Sunday. A total of 4,500 abandoned vehicles have been removed by their owners […]

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