(November 13, 2006) Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand says he intends to scrap the previous government’s controversial multi-billion dollar plans to ramp up imports of hydroelectric power and natural gas from neighboring military-run Myanmar, signaling a potentially significant shift in which direction the region’s energy flows and a possible new era of bilateral antagonism between the historical rivals.
China environment dangerous, says official
(November 13, 2006) The degradation of China’s environment was reaching a critical point where health and social stability are under threat, the country’s top government official on the environment said today.
WB blacklists Bhasha dam surveyors
(November 12, 2006) The World Bank blacklisting of Lahmeyer International has jeopardized the future of a dam scheme the company is working on in Pakistan; although widely reported by the media, Pakistan authorities say they need to verify the company’s debarment first before taking action. Work on the Bhasha dam project in Pakistan is in jeopardy now that the World Bank has blacklisted the German engineering firm, Lahmeyer International, after finding the company guilty of paying bribes in the multi-billion dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).
Burma to lose out in Thai energy industry shake-up
(November 10, 2006) Thailand will not rely on Burma for gas supplies or electricity from controversial river hydro dam schemes for the country’s energy needs in the next decade, new Energy Minister Piyasvati Amranand said in Bangkok Friday.
Pollution threatens Beijing’s future drinking water source
(November 9, 2006) Pollution is threatening Beijing’s future source of drinking water as factory discharges and untreated sewage seep into a reservoir planned for the capital’s use by 2010, water experts said.
Bank bars company for years-old bribery scandal
(November 8, 2006) By paying bribes to the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority’s chief executive, the engineering company Lahmeyer International engaged in punishable activities, the World Bank’s Sanctions Committee found.
World Bank debars Lahmeyer for bribing Lesotho water chief
(November 8, 2006) But some say the sanction is too late in coming.
German firm barred by World Bank for bribery in Lesotho project
(November 7, 2006) The World Bank has suspended contracts to the German engineering firm, Lahmeyer International, after finding the company guilty of paying bribes in the multi-billion dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).
World Bank sanctions Lahmeyer International for corrupt activities in bank-financed projects
(November 6, 2006) The World Bank has declared Lahmeyer International GmbH (Lahmeyer), a German company, ineligible to be awarded Bank-financed contracts for a period of seven years, because of corrupt activities in connection with the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The period of ineligibility may be reduced by four years if the Bank determines that Lahmeyer has met specific compliance conditions and fully cooperated with the Bank in disclosing past sanctionable misconduct.
Odious loans must be dealt with fairly
(November 6, 2006) Protests by the World Bank that odious regimes should not receive funding from new lenders ring hollow when viewed alongside the loans that have been knowingly made to oppressive and corrupt regimes, senior economist for the UK-based think tank, New Economics Foundation (NEF), Stephen Mandel writes.
Soft power and hard raw materials: China’s African campaign
(November 6, 2006) Hailed by some as a diplomatic triumph, China’s meeting with the representatives of 48 African states in Beijing at the weekend has also been described as another shift in the geopolitical center of gravity and a sign that China’s economic growth over the last two and a half decades has increasingly global implications.
Yunnan appoints acting governor
Xinhua November 6, 2006 Kunming: Qin Guangrong was appointed acting governor of southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Monday and Luo Zhengfu was appointed vice governor. The appointment was made at the 25th […]
Standards, what standards? A critique of the World Bank’s new model dam project in Lao PDR
(November 5, 2006) Full text of presentation at the Global Perspectives on Large Dams Conference: Evaluating the State of Large Dam Construction and Decommissioning Across the World. The speech was published in a report of the conference held November 3-5, 2006.
China to begin construction of another hydropower plant on Yangtze River
(November 4, 2006) China will begin working on another hydropower station on Yalong River, a major tributary on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, this month.
Taiwan’s premier faces corruption case
(November 3, 2006) Pressure is mounting for Taiwan President Chen Shun-bian to resign: his wife, Wu Shu-chen, and three former presidential aides, face charges of graft and embezzlement; prosecutors say there is evidence to charge the president as well − once he loses the immunity he has while in office.
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