Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

E nvironmental reporter Sue Surkes joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode.

We open the episode with a recent annual national monitoring report, carried out on behalf of the Energy and Environmental Protection ministries, on the state of the Mediterranean Sea. Surkes describes how the sea is growing saltier, warmer and more polluted, and why it has become a home to invasive tropical fish. We discuss what that means for beachgoers and fish eaters as we head into the summer season.

We then move on to the latest updates in an unusual court case: The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday ordered the Interior Ministry to grant temporary Israeli status to a Syrian-born woman, the wife of a disabled IDF veteran, who converted to Judaism. The Syrian Alawite woman and her husband have faced a series of legal hurdles as they seek to build a life together in Israel. We hear about their saga.

In the second half of the program, Surkes walks through her recent op-ed on Israeli energy policy, which she describes as a growing security risk.

We end off the program with an account of her recent visit to the orangutans at the Jerusalem Zoo, who, 10 days ago, welcomed a new baby to their troop. This is not the first orangutan to be born in Israel, but it’s the first at the biblical zoo, and an important addition to the world’s shrinking orangutan population.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

The Mediterranean: Warmer, saltier, more acidic, and rising fast — report

After years in limbo, court lets Syrian convert live in Israel with husband, a disabled vet

True independence must include the air we breathe

Great excitement as first orangutan is born at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.

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