Haifa Port welcomes record-setting ship for new year
The Haifa Port started the new year by setting a record in Israeli shipping.
By MICHAEL OMER-MANHaifa port 521(photo credit: LIAT COLLINS)
NORTHThe Haifa Port started the new year by setting a record in Israeli shipping. Late last week, the MSC Chicago, pulled in by four tugboats, entered the northern port. The massive container ship, 336 meters long and capable of carrying 9,200 shipping containers, was the largest to enter any Israeli seaport.The ship was expected to continue on its voyage to New York after leaving Haifa.Noting that the ship was commissioned only two months ago, MSC Shipping CEO Adani Simkin said of the event, “The entrance of such a big ship into an Israeli port is an exciting event, but for us it is part of a welcome routine of imports and exports from Israel.”He went on to praise port workers and staff in Haifa, saying that the ship successfully stayed within the designated window of time due to the “excellent cooperation with the port and its workers. We are well served by the relationship between the Israeli economy and the world economy.”The ship’s entrance was made possible by the recent deepening of the entrance channel into the Haifa Port, which is expected to accommodate 13 huge ships from the company on a twice-weekly basis.Nearly debt-less Karmiel wins Interior Ministry management awardThe city of Karmiel was awarded the Interior Ministry’s award for management of local authorities last week by Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Interior Minister Eli Yishai at a ceremony in Jerusalem, the Local website reported. The award, presented to Karmiel Mayor Adi Eldar, is judged based on aggregate performance measures, such as the municipality’s cumulative deficit rate, which is 1 percent in Karmiel.The Karmiel Municipality said in response that since its inception, the city has had no cumulative deficit. Eldar noted, “This is a rare achievement in itself among local authorities,” especially in times of funding cuts in local government, according to the report.One killed, 20 injured in accidents in the NorthA 16-year-old boy was killed in a motorcycle accident near the village of Yirka on Monday night. The boy was taken to hospital and died of his injuries soon after. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.On Wednesday, a multi-car pile-up on Road 6 left 17 people lightly injured. The accident took place on the southbound lanes of the high-speed roadway near the Irron Interchange.Over the weekend, a car accident seriously injured three people near the town of Jedeida-Makr in the Upper Galilee. The car was reportedly hit by another vehicle while it was making a U-turn. The driver of the second vehicle fled the scene on foot. Police were searching the area for the suspected hit-and-run driver.Magen David Adom paramedics took the injured to Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya.CENTER TA prepares for annual Gillette MarathonMore than two months ahead of the annual race, 14,000 of some 35,000 expected runners are already registered to participate in the Tel Aviv Gillette Marathon, organizers announced this week. In addition to the runners, some 180,000 Tel Aviv-Jaffa residents are expected to participate in the events scheduled throughout the marathon race day.The marathon comprises seven courses, including a standard 42.195-kilometer marathon, a half marathon, a 10k race, a hand cycle race, a 420-meter mini kids’ marathon and an inline skating event, and a 4.2-km. 10 percent race. Non-running events are scheduled to include musical stages set up throughout the course, a marathon picnic in Rabin Square and marathon-sponsored discounts at local restaurants and cafes. The day will end with a Marathon After-Party at the city’s southern beachside Charles Clore Park, which will feature music and other performances and sports and fashion kiosks.In addition, in the week leading up to the marathon, a four-day Marathon Expo will be held, described by event organizers as Israel’s leading sports, health and active lifestyle exposition. The exposition will end on March 14 with a traditional pasta party the night before the marathon in order to pump runners full of carbs ahead of the big race.For the first time this year, runners will be able to run for their charities of choice, part of the event’s new Charity Run. Registrants for the marathon will be able to choose from a list of participating charitable organizations, for which they can raise funds.Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai described the Tel Aviv Gillette Marathon as “one of the most spectacular races in the country and stands alongside the world’s greatest marathons.” He went on to praise the event for displaying the diversity and variety of the city’s residents.“This is a great celebration, not only for athletes but for all residents and visitors,” he added.The marathon will take place on March 15. Regular registration is open until February 16. Late registration will be open from February 17 until March 9.Man robs TA McDonald’s at gunpointA man robbed a McDonald’s restaurant at gunpoint in central Tel Aviv Wednesday. The armed man entered the store in broad daylight and emptied the cash register. Police arrived on the scene and began chasing the man, but he escaped. There were no injuries during the robbery.Later Wednesday, police arrested two suspects for an attempted robbery at a gas station in south Tel Aviv. The police were called to the scene and pursued the suspects, who attempted to run the officers over. In response, the police fired two warning shots before taking the suspects into custody.One killed, two critically injured in Tira, Taiba shootingsA 25-year-old Taiba man was shot to death and another was critically wounded on Saturday. Paramedics took the 25-year-old man in critical condition to the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, where he died of his injuries.On Wednesday, an 83-year-old man from Tira was shot and critically injured. Police said the background to the shooting was criminal and that they are investigating the incident.African woman stabbed in Tel AvivIn Tel Aviv, police on Thursday arrested a man suspected of stabbing his wife to death earlier in the week week. Magen David Adom paramedics on Saturday discovered the African migrant woman in her 30s dead in an apartment in the city with multiple stab wounds to her upper body, MDA said. The man was being held for questioning and was brought for a remand extension hearing Friday.SOUTH BGU signs lease to build 1,000 new dormitory bedsBen-Gurion University of the Negev has signed an agreement with the Israel Lands Authority that will see the construction of a new 1,000-bed dormitory on its new Beersheba campus. In the first phase of the project, to be built on the new northern Marcus Family Campus, 1,000 beds will be built within four years, with a potential expansion to 2,500 beds in the future.The agreement was signed on Sunday by BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi and Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Attias.“This is a historic step that will shape the character and identity of the university in the next 50 years,” Carmi said.Attias said of the decision to lease the land to the university: “There was a long debate as to whether the land should be used for the profits it could reap or to benefit the citizens of Israel,” concluding, “The land must be used for citizens.” Attias went on to praise the periphery of the country, saying he felt more connected to the area, “even though we are building in the center of the country.”While the university will pay for most of the land for the north campus, the land on which the dormitory space is planned will be given to the university for free.Ashkelon mayor protests exclusion from national priorities listAshkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin last week called on the government to add his city to the list of areas designated national priorities. The mayor pointed out that during Operation Cast Lead and Operation Pillar of Defense in the South and Gaza, politicians of all stripes arrived in his city. To exclude the city from the national priorities list is “a great injustice to the city and those who want to buy apartments in it,” the Local website reported.According to Vaknin, the Israel Lands Authority recommended the city be included in the national priorities list but that the Finance Ministry ignored the recommendation. By including the city, he claimed, it would lower the price of land, thereby reducing the cost of housing “for young couples, in Ashkelon and elsewhere, who want to buy an apartment at prices they can afford,” Local reported.
