Korean Air announced last Thursday a new direct route of flights to Tel Aviv which will begin operating to and from the South Korean capital of Seoul

That is thanks to a combination of lower electricity consumption, increased worker productivity and a rise in sales

The opening was attended by friends and family of Daniel Muszkat and his father, the well-known Israeli lawyer Yoram Muszkat. Muszka lived in Paris, where he passed away in 2005

Import of polished diamond to the USA increased 18% to $12.34 billion in the January to July period of 2008

This is an increase of 37% over the same period last year. For every extra 100,000 tourists arriving in Israel, 4,000 new jobs are created

Although the index rose 0.2% from 46.7% in July to 46.9% in August, it is still below the 50% threshold

JIMS attributes Israel's poor ranking in this year's report to a growing public sector. Last year Israel was ranked number 44

The housing maintenance item rose by 3.7% contributing 0.6% to the CPI. The rent item rose by 3.5%, contributing 0.1% to the CPI. Food costs edged down by 0.1% in August