Uri Shani, the head of the Water Authority, is leaving after four years on the job. By Avi Bar-Eli Uri Shani, the head of the Water Authority, is leaving after four years on the job. Shani started in December 2006 and was scheduled to serve until the end of 2011, but he recently informed National […]

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By Olivia Alabaster Tuesday, September 21, 2010 BEIRUT: “If water resources become even more limited, it could destabilize the Arab region and destabilize peace,” according to one of the speakers at this year’s German-Arab environmental conference, held at the Lebanese American University (LAU) Byblos campus on Monday. Fathi Zereini, from the German-Arab Society for Environmental […]

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By RON FRIEDMAN 09/16/2010 04:02 Omer’s mayor Pini Badash claims culprits are local Beduin who claim the land for themselves; damage estimated at NIS 500,000. When JNF-KKL foresters arrived at the woods outside Omer on Wednesday morning, they were in for a nasty surprise. As they prepared to water the saplings, they discovered that thousands […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – More than 9,000 factories, farms and workshops breached public health regulations and environmental laws over the last two months, according to the Ministry of Environment. During July and August, the majority of the 9,790 violations detected by ministry inspectors and environment Rangers were committed by factories emitting excessive fumes, car […]

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By Mohammad Ghazal STOCKHOLM – Over 90 per cent of water resources in the Palestinian territories are exploited by Israel, leaving insufficient water for an eventual Palestinian state, according to a Palestinian official. Total annual agricultural, industrial and domestic consumption in the West Bank and Gaza amounted to 330 million cubic metres (mcm) in 2009, […]

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Jordanians, officials or otherwise, have long acknowledged that there is a growing water problem that needs to be taken care of urgently. But while the need to deal with the problem is pressing, the measures hopefully envisaged should cater to both the immediate and long-term needs. In other words, patching a pipe here, tightening a […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – A drop in the amount of natural gas supplied by Egypt is forcing the Kingdom to explore new energy sources, according to a senior official. Natural gas, which the Kingdom receives from Egypt at preferential prices, fuelled 90 per cent of electricity generation last year, but the amount of gas […]

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By Mariam Ghorbannejad While Syria is the 88th largest country in the world, it has the 11th largest deposit of phosphate, a type of rock with high concentrations of the mineral phosphorus and a key ingredient used in fertilizer. With the planet’s population expanding and subsequently becoming hungrier daily, this rock-like substance ranks with petroleum […]

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By REBECCA ANNA STOIL 09/14/2010 01:24 Committee chairman recommends full salt harvest as solution to southern area’s problems. A multi-million dollar empire could come crashing down on the shores of the Dead Sea if Israel fails to act soon to solve the crisis caused by rising sea levels in the Ein Bokek area. But a […]

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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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