Egypt Farm home rebuild a step closer

Egypt Farm home rebuild a step closer

July 5, 2017 | 

A JERSEY family whose home was destroyed during the Occupation is nearing the end of a long quest to be allowed to rebuild it. The Rice family first applied to Planning in the 1980s, but it was not...
The weather

The weather

June 23, 2017 | 

The Department of Meteorology in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation predicted that the weather will be clear tomorrow to low clouds with additional rise in temperature at home and on the...
The weather is partly cloudy with low temperatures

The weather is partly cloudy with low temperatures

June 20, 2017 | 

The Meteorological Department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation predicted that the weather will be partly cloudy to cloudy with fog over the highlands, low temperatures and sometimes...
Early this year, an unassuming white van pulled up in front of the houses of Parliament in Warsaw, and, with a screech of tires, emptied a huge load of sawdust on to the street at the feet of ruling party MPs. The publicity stunt, staged by Greenpeace Poland, sent a clear message that activists aren’t going to stand for what they are calling a wholesale, unrestrained logging spree. Earlier this year, Poland adopted a law allowing landowners to cut down trees to make way for housing or industrial construction. Krzysztof Cibor of Greenpeace Poland says its impact is being felt all across the country. Sägemehl Sägespäne Polen Greenpeace (Greenpeace) Greenpeace sends a message to lawmakers “Logging companies say the number of people calling them wanting to cut trees has increased from a few to 100, 200 daily,” he told DW. Szyszko’s law The man behind the new law is Environment Minister Jan Szyszko. It has even been dubbed “Szyszko’s law.” Critics say the minister seems to favor the interests of the logging industry over environmental protection. Szyszko himself is generally tight-lipped on the issue, but has called it a “storm in a teacup.” The law certainly has caused a storm – provoking widespread public outrage. Last month, neighbors phoned the environment minister to let him know trees around his holiday home in northern Poland had vanished. They were apparently cut down overnight by unknown protesters in a drastic move to show that under Szyszko’s law, no tree in Poland is safe. Facing this popular backlash, ruling nationalist party leader chair Jarosław Kaczynski demanded the law be changed. A fresh amendment signed into the law by the president on May 29, means owners must apply for permission from the local council to cut down a tree. If the council does not respond with 14 days, the felling can go ahead. But critics say with thousands of trees being removed, councils will not have time to look into each case, and are likely to turn a blind eye. Paradise lost Julita Grosser, one of Warsaw’s most sought-after landscape architects, says trees are vital to urban living, producing oxygen, improving the microclimate, reducing noise and encouraging wildlife. Julita Grosser Polen (Julian Berner) Architect Julita Grosser says urban landscapes are being ruined as trees are felled to make room for development “All those values are gone in so many Polish neighborhoods, because property owners have been allowed to cut down their trees indiscriminately,” she said. “The results are a disaster!” Józefosław is a middle-class suburb separated from Warsaw by the unspoilt Kabacki Forest. Until recently, it was sparsely built with plenty of greenery: Orchards, rows of old poplars and clumps of oak and pine. But the local council has come in with what residents are calling a “chainsaw massacre,” to make way for new housing estates. “One day, a whole fleet of bulldozers came and ripped – actually, ripped together with the roots – all the trees alongside my garden,” Joanna, a teacher who lives in Józefosław, said. “We used to have a nice alley of old trees. But now all of them are gone.” Jozefoslaw Polen Abholzung (DW/J.Berner) The Józefosław suburb was an arboreal idyll – until the bulldozers moved in With the trees, the sound of birdsong has vanished too, she added. One of her neighbors, Grażyna, says it’s as if her own little bit of paradise has been torn down, and complains that property prices have taken a tumble, too. Democracy and justice “I’m really angry with our government because no one listens to us,” Grażyna said. “Where is democracy?” Szyszko’s law isn’t the first case of the environment minister pursuing highly controversial plans – including a motorway across an important area of marshland, which was halted by the European Court of Justice. Greenpeace Krzysztof Cibor Polen (Greenpeace) Krzysztof Cibor says the environment ministry has little interest in environmental protection “Now we have almost the same situation with Białowieża Forest, which is one of the last primeval forests in Europe,” Cibor said, referring to logging in Poland that the European Commission has declared illegal. “Minister Szyszko seems to be on the front line of a war against Polish nature,” Cibor said. Greenpeace Poland activists recently replaced a sign on Szyszko’s ministry building with one that read “ministry of logging.”

Early this year, an unassuming white van pulled up in front of the houses of Parliament in Warsaw, and, with a screech of tires, emptied a huge load of sawdust on to the street at the feet of ruling party MPs. The publicity stunt, staged by Greenpeace Poland, sent a clear message that activists aren’t going to stand for what they are calling a wholesale, unrestrained logging spree. Earlier this year, Poland adopted a law allowing landowners to cut down trees to make way for housing or industrial construction. Krzysztof Cibor of Greenpeace Poland says its impact is being felt all across the country. Sägemehl Sägespäne Polen Greenpeace (Greenpeace) Greenpeace sends a message to lawmakers “Logging companies say the number of people calling them wanting to cut trees has increased from a few to 100, 200 daily,” he told DW. Szyszko’s law The man behind the new law is Environment Minister Jan Szyszko. It has even been dubbed “Szyszko’s law.” Critics say the minister seems to favor the interests of the logging industry over environmental protection. Szyszko himself is generally tight-lipped on the issue, but has called it a “storm in a teacup.” The law certainly has caused a storm – provoking widespread public outrage. Last month, neighbors phoned the environment minister to let him know trees around his holiday home in northern Poland had vanished. They were apparently cut down overnight by unknown protesters in a drastic move to show that under Szyszko’s law, no tree in Poland is safe. Facing this popular backlash, ruling nationalist party leader chair Jarosław Kaczynski demanded the law be changed. A fresh amendment signed into the law by the president on May 29, means owners must apply for permission from the local council to cut down a tree. If the council does not respond with 14 days, the felling can go ahead. But critics say with thousands of trees being removed, councils will not have time to look into each case, and are likely to turn a blind eye. Paradise lost Julita Grosser, one of Warsaw’s most sought-after landscape architects, says trees are vital to urban living, producing oxygen, improving the microclimate, reducing noise and encouraging wildlife. Julita Grosser Polen (Julian Berner) Architect Julita Grosser says urban landscapes are being ruined as trees are felled to make room for development “All those values are gone in so many Polish neighborhoods, because property owners have been allowed to cut down their trees indiscriminately,” she said. “The results are a disaster!” Józefosław is a middle-class suburb separated from Warsaw by the unspoilt Kabacki Forest. Until recently, it was sparsely built with plenty of greenery: Orchards, rows of old poplars and clumps of oak and pine. But the local council has come in with what residents are calling a “chainsaw massacre,” to make way for new housing estates. “One day, a whole fleet of bulldozers came and ripped – actually, ripped together with the roots – all the trees alongside my garden,” Joanna, a teacher who lives in Józefosław, said. “We used to have a nice alley of old trees. But now all of them are gone.” Jozefoslaw Polen Abholzung (DW/J.Berner) The Józefosław suburb was an arboreal idyll – until the bulldozers moved in With the trees, the sound of birdsong has vanished too, she added. One of her neighbors, Grażyna, says it’s as if her own little bit of paradise has been torn down, and complains that property prices have taken a tumble, too. Democracy and justice “I’m really angry with our government because no one listens to us,” Grażyna said. “Where is democracy?” Szyszko’s law isn’t the first case of the environment minister pursuing highly controversial plans – including a motorway across an important area of marshland, which was halted by the European Court of Justice. Greenpeace Krzysztof Cibor Polen (Greenpeace) Krzysztof Cibor says the environment ministry has little interest in environmental protection “Now we have almost the same situation with Białowieża Forest, which is one of the last primeval forests in Europe,” Cibor said, referring to logging in Poland that the European Commission has declared illegal. “Minister Szyszko seems to be on the front line of a war against Polish nature,” Cibor said. Greenpeace Poland activists recently replaced a sign on Szyszko’s ministry building with one that read “ministry of logging.”

June 19, 2017 | 

Activists say untreated waste is being dumped freely into sea waters off the Lebanese coast, killing off ocean life. The pollution of the Mediterranean is sparking public outrage. Lebanon’s...
Publisher: Lebanese Company for Information & Studies

Editor in chief: Hassan Moukalled


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Egypt : Ahmad Al Droubi
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Administrative Director : Rayan Moukalled

Causes : Suzanne Berbery, Malek Hakim
Biodiversity: Maya Nader
Reports, Inv.: Anwar Yasine, Noor Hourani, Elissar Karam, Nadine Charrouf, Salam Naser
Follow Up: Ayman Fadel,Rama Antonios, Yara Asmar, Elias Naiim, Nay Al Achkar, Joumana Khoury, ‏Ali Farhat, Naim Berjawi,Simar Farah Mazen Haidar, Hazem Ayoub.
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Spanish section coordinator: Faddi Nassar
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