Israel's Arava Power said on Tuesday it secured 780 million shekels ($204 million) in funding to build eight medium-sized solar energy fields - the largest financial closing in the country's solar power industry.

Much of Israel is covered by desert with favorable conditions for harnessing the sun's energy, and while Israeli firms have developed a number of pioneering technologies used around the world, the country has yet to invest heavily in solar fields at home.

The government recently set a goal of 10 percent of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020.

A report on the quality of life for mothers around the world put Maldives in 45th place out of 80 developing countries.

The 13th Save the Children annual report, released on Tuesday, lists countries based on a range of UN and World Health Organization parameters such as life expectancy, maternity deaths, education, earnings, and maternity leave benefits.

The best country in the world overall to give birth and raise children in is Norway, followed by Iceland and Switzerland. The United States ranked 25th and the United Kingdom came in 10th.

Fresh water supplies are unlikely to keep up with global demand by 2040, increasing political instability, hobbling economic growth and endangering world food markets, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment released on Thursday.

The report by the office of the Director of National Intelligence said that areas including South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa will face major challenges in coping with water problems that could hinder the ability to produce food and generate energy.

A delegation of 17 Israeli companies presented latest technologies in water management to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).

Last year, MCGM signed a declaration on its intention to cooperate with Israel on water management.

Mr Rajiv Jalota, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Mumbai, said, “MCGM faces the herculean task of supplying safe and secure water to Mumbai. We are very keen to explore the possibility of using advanced Israeli technologies to improve the quality of our service.”

Denmark, followed by Israel, Sweden, Finland and the US provide the best conditions today for clean technology start-up creation, with companies in the Asia Pacific region following closely behind when it comes to commercial success, the first Global Cleantech Innovation Index shows.

Israel on Tuesday engaged India on energy security reiterating Tel Aviv’s intent to share its natural gas but did not spell out any offer saying it still had to work out the policies. Israel’s Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau, who also heads Energy & Water Resources, held an hour-long meeting with Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister S Jaipal Reddy citing the recent large finds in the Mediterranean Sea.

The United Nations chief urged Iran on Friday to implement Security Council resolutions under which Tehran should curb sensitive nuclear activity, but the Islamic state once again signalled it has no intention of doing so.

While solar energy companies throughout the world are competing for the relatively few vast land areas required to house solar farms, Israeli startup Solaris Synergy has found a new terrain to use. Instead of a land-based solar system, the company decided to develop a water-based technology. In other words: a floating solar power plant.