(December 12, 2008) GUATAQUIL, Ecuador – Leftist President Rafael Correa defaulted on Ecuador’s foreign debt on Friday, vowing to fight bond holders in court in one of most aggressive moves against investors in the region for years.
Ecuador’s default
(December 12, 2008) After months of threats, the government of Ecuador has made good on its promise to forego payment of foreign loans deemed illegitimate by the country’s debt audit commission.
ANALYSIS: Chinese hydro concessions generate controversy in Cambodia
(December 11, 2008) In a desperate bid to attract investment in Cambodia’s failing power sector, the government is offering guaranteed power revenues to Chinese companies willing to finance and build large hydro dams, and sell their entire output to the financially-strapped state utility, Electricite du Cambodge (EdC).
China postpones Yangtze water diversion scheme
(December 11, 2008) China has postponed completion of its multi-billion dollar water transfer scheme to bring water from the Yangtze river to Beijing, citing water pollution and other environmental risks as the reason for pushing the completion date back four years, official media reported last week.
Failing water scheme leaves Beijing high and dry
(December 9, 2008) The completion date for an engineering mega-project to bring water from a tributary of the River Yangtze in the wet south of China to the capital city, in the arid north, has been postponed again.
Beijing officials downplay Three Gorges landslide threat
(December 4, 2008) In a delayed response to two major landslides in the Three Gorges reservoir last month, officials in Beijing now say the slides pose no danger to local residents or shipping, and that natural factors triggered the landslides, not the filling of the Three Gorges dam’s reservoir.
Manifesto for Ecuador and for creation of a global network against illegitimate debt
(December 4, 2008) Latin America and the Caribbean are still paying the colonial tribute. The foreign debt, contracted under illegitimate, deceptive, illegal or corrupt terms, undermines the sovereignty of the peoples and forces them to hand over all their wealth. Odious debts, contracted by dictatorships, designed to subjugate and repress, combine with expansive debts: those that paradoxically, the more they are paid off, the more they grow. These debts were not contracted by the people but against them.
Three Gorges farmers should shun fertilizer, US scientists say
(October 29, 2008) Farmers should cut back on fertilizers during a flood season that can last as long as six months to help mitigate ecological damage in China’s Three Gorges Dam region, according to US scientists quoted by Bloomberg.
Major landslides hit Three Gorges region
(December 1, 2008) On November 29, a major landslide hit Wu Gorge, one of the deepest canyons upstream of the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River, Xinhua reported on December 1.
26 Three Gorges turbines in operation
(October 31, 2008) The last turbine generator on the right bank of China’s Three Gorges hydroelectric project was officially put into commercial operation on Oct 30, Xinhua reports.
Integrated analysis of stress and regional seismicity by surface loading: a case study of the Zipingpu reservoir
(December 1, 2008) Probe International provides a partial translation of a Chinese geological case study of the Zipingpu reservoir authored by scientists from the government’s China Earthquake Administration. The study concluded that the 320 million tonnes of water in the Zipingpu reservoir had “clearly affected local seismicity” in the region and that, "it is worthwhile to further study if the effect played a role in triggering the Wenchuan earthquake."
Yunnan prefecture promotes Lancang hydro development
(November 30, 2008) Lancang hydro development has entered a new phase, according to Dali (Yunnan) Daily News.
FEATURE: Reclaiming the Sesan River
(November 30, 2008) Ever since Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) began damming the Sesan River for hydropower, affected communities in downstream Cambodia have grappled with the question: what, if anything, can be done to reduce the worst effects of EVN dam operations?
EGAT acquires coal mining rights in Indonesia
(November 29, 2008) Egat International Co (Egat Inter), a subsidiary of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, has received coal exploration and production rights in Sumatra from the Indonesian government, which will strengthen its power generating portfolio overseas.
Great Expectations
(November 28, 2008) Big things are expected of China’s new energy regulator as the country faces a power pinch and calls for a shift toward renewable sources.
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