Sue Surkes

View of the oil refineries in the bay area of the northern city of Haifa, May 5, 2017. (Yaniv Nadav/Flash90)

September 11, 2019, 7:01 pm

Ex-chief scientist: Bid to cut emissions regulations could endanger lives

Dr. Sinaia Netanyahu, formerly of the Environmental Protection Ministry, slams apparent attempts by Prime Minister’s Office to inject economic considerations into ecological policy

By Sue Surkes

Illustrative: In this May 25, 2014 photo, a seven-year-old male Asiatic Cheetah called 'Koushki,' crouches at the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in Jajarm, northeastern Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

September 6, 2019, 12:38 am

Gulf Arabs’ demand for cheetahs as pets ‘fuels their extinction’

Meanwhile, Iran continues to hold in prison eight researchers of rare Asiatic cheetah on charges of using cameras to spy for Israel, US

By Sue Surkes

A branching coral spawns pinkish bundles of eggs and sperm that are carried away by the currents. (Tom Shlesinger)

September 5, 2019, 10:47 pm

Climate change is knocking coral mating dance out of sync, Israeli study finds

In groundbreaking research, Tel Aviv University academics discover changes to mass spawning events that may lead to extinction of some species of reef builders

By Sue Surkes

View of the Ashalim solar power station in the Negev desert, June 19, 2018. (Miriam Alster/FLASh90)

September 4, 2019, 5:01 pm

Planners green-light Israel’s first master plan for energy infrastructure

With ministry struggling to reach renewable energy targets, plan earmarks nearly 10,000 acres, mainly in south, for solar and wind turbine plants

By Sue Surkes

Inside the Sorek Desalination Plant, November 2015. (Yossi Zamir/FLASH90)

September 3, 2019, 2:16 pm

Two desalination plants faked water quality data to cut costs

Energy Ministry inquiry reveals that Sorek plant manipulated chloride amounts before daily samples were taken; workers at Palmachim facility doctored lab reports

By Sue Surkes

Aerial picture showing smoke from a two-kilometer-long stretch of fire billowing from the Amazon rainforest about 65 km from Porto Velho, in the state of Rondonia, in northern Brazil, on August 23, 2019. (Carl DE SOUZA / AFP)

August 24, 2019, 12:21 pm

As the Amazon burns, realpolitik demands that Netanyahu speak up

The prime minister’s bromance with Brazil’s president must take a back seat to the task of salvaging the climate for generations to come

By Sue Surkes

Early infestation of an Indian fig prickly pear. (Courtesy Prof. Zvika Mendel of the Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center)

August 8, 2019, 4:14 am

Israeli scientists fight to save iconic Sabra prickly pear from devastating pest

Predatory flies from Mexico are being released to devour an insect that is decimating the Sabra cactus across northern Israel

By Sue Surkes

Central Elections Committee chairman Judge Hanan Melcer (seated at far end) listens to arguments for and against the NGO Darkenu registering as a political body. Darkenu representatives sit on the right, Likud lawyers on the left, at the Knesset, August 5, 2019. (Screenshot)

August 7, 2019, 11:17 am

Judge to rule whether Darkenu’s election campaign activities are political

Heir to controversial left-wing V-15, which campaigned to topple the Netanyahu government in 2015, the NGO insists it does not take sides

By Sue Surkes

Illustrative - A sea turtle laying eggs on the beach. (Yaniv Levy, Israel National Parks Authority)

August 5, 2019, 2:32 pm

Don’t drive on the beach: It’s turtle hatching season

Nature and Parks Authority calls on public to stay away from shore after hatchling found trapped in depression caused by tire marks

By Sue Surkes

Israelis take part in a protest demanding action on climate change, Tel Aviv, April 27, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

August 3, 2019, 6:46 pm

What role is Israel playing as the world heats up and CO2 reaches record levels?

Climate change envoy says Israel has negligible impact on planetary destruction, but is reducing pollution, is world water use champion, pioneers alternatives to plastic and more

By Sue Surkes

A whale shark swimming in the Red Sea off the coast of Eilat, July 2019. (Shani Aloush, Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

July 30, 2019, 5:38 pm

Specimens of world’s largest shark seen four times in six weeks off Eilat coast

Researchers map distinctive white spot patterns on backs of each whale shark for international database that will allow tracking

By Sue Surkes

Ofrecina (Precy) Koanka and her learning disabled son Michael James, known as MJ, aged 12. (Screenshot)

July 28, 2019, 6:04 pm

Court frees Filipino woman and learning-disabled son from pre-deportation cell

Precy Koanka and son Michael James, 12, sent home until Interior Ministry rules on their case, as second incarcerated Filipino family asks court to let them stay in Israel

By Sue Surkes

Justice Hanan Melcer, chairman of the Central Elections Committee. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

July 24, 2019, 1:22 am

No anonymous surveys, Central Elections Committee chair warns pollsters, media

Judge Hanan Melcer lays down rules for publicizing who orders, funds polls in run-up to September elections, cautions over possibility of foreign attempts to influence vote

By Sue Surkes

July 21, 2019, 6:48 am

Can’t see the forest for the trees? Environmental debate restarts on KKL forests

Forests harm biodiversity, says Society for Protection of Nature in Israel; KKL insists trees stop desertification; and a senior ecologist says both bodies have outdated ideas

By Sue Surkes

Ethiopian-Israelis and supporters protest police violence and discrimination in Tel Aviv, July 8, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

July 18, 2019, 11:26 am

Ethiopian-Israeli parents petition against Haredi schools’ rejection of children

Petition charges that stonewalling by 4 Jerusalem Talmud Torahs is part of pattern of discriminatory behavior against the community

By Sue Surkes