Transport Ministry to bring in electric Quadro cycle for city use; pilot program hopes new vehicle will battle petrol price hike, city traffic

Source: Ynetnews

The Transport Ministry is set to launch a one of a kind pilot program which will enable Israel to import the initial model of the electric 4-wheel Quadro cycle, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday.

The Quadro cycle is the perfect solution for getting around big cities due to its size, low petrol consumption and reasonable price. It appears that the new vehicle could solve common problems the Israeli public faces on a day-to-day basis such as city traffic and the constant increase in petrol prices.

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Israel Export Institute chairman Ramzi Gabbay: The current situation is simply too good for both sides.

Source: Globes

The day after the declaration that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi is the winner of the presidential election in Egypt, many questions hang over the future of relations between Egypt and Israel, relating both to diplomacy and security, and to business.

Frequent closures of the Nitzana Border Crossing to the flow of goods because of security decisions by the Egyptians, transfer of goods from Israel to Egypt by sea, and liaison meetings between Israeli and Egyptian business people in third countries because Israelis can't obtain visas for Egypt that's how commercial relations between the two countries look after the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and led to the rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo.

Despite all that, Israeli business people who trade with Egypt report that business activity is reasonably normal, if only because of Egypt's interest in providing bread to its people. "The cooperation between the two countries serves both sides," Dan Catarivas, director of the Division of Foreign Trade and International Relations at the Manufacturers' Association of Israel, told "Globes" today

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Israelis could invest less than the price of a Tel Aviv apartment in a US business and be eligible for an E-2 visa with their families.

Source: Globes

US President Barack Obama yesterday signed into law legislation allowing Israeli citizens to obtain E-2 investor visas, to which they were not previously eligible. Under the E-2 visa, Israelis will be able to invest in a new or existing operating business in the US an amount that could be less than the price of an apartment in greater Tel Aviv, and be eligible for the visa with their families.

Israel is now among the 75 countries whose nationals are eligible for E-2 visas. An important provision of the law is that the Israeli government shall provide similar nonimmigrant status to US nationals.

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An Israeli oil and gas exploration firm announced Sunday that it had discovered a major oil and gas bed in the Mediterranean Sea off the Haifa coast.

Source: Dailyalert/Chinadaily

Israel's Water and Energy Minister Uzi Landau has made switching over from Egyptian gas a linchpin of the country's energy development policy. Together, the oil and gas finds could, potentially, change the strategic face of the region and turn Israel into an energy exporter.

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The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in April 2012 from 7.1% in March.

Source: Globes

The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in April 2012 from 7.1% in March, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. The unemployment rate among men fell to 6.3% in April from 6.7% in May, and the unemployment rate among women fell to 7.2% from 7.5%. The figure is for people aged 15 and over.

Participation in the labor force by people aged 25-64 rose to 78.6% in April from 78.1% in March. Participation in the labor force by men aged 25-64 rose to 84.7% in April from 83.6% in March, and the participation by women aged 25-64 fell to 72.6% from 72.7%.

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US Senate approves bill allowing Israelis to apply for E-2 investor visa; bill requires smaller investment by business owner than current available E-1 visa

Source: Ynet

The United States Senate has approved a bill allowing Israeli nationals to apply for an E-2 investor visa to the US.
This type of visa, permits foreign investors to temporarily live and work in close proximity to their investments in the US with their families.

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