(August 17, 2006) If presidential exclamations and Cabinet pledges could exorcise the ghost of corruption, Kenya would be a paragon of good governance.
Kenya: Lead war on corruption, Kenyans tell Kibaki
(August 17, 2006) Kenyans have asked President Kibaki to lead the war against corruption from the front, a new survey shows.
Yunnan’s Baoshan power grid plans to supply electricity to Myanmar
(August 17, 2006) The Baoshan branch of the Yunnan Power Grid Company plans to build a power transmission ‘highway’ from Tengchong county in southwest China’s Yunnan province to Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state in Burma.
Three Gorges navigation woes set to worsen
(August 14, 2006) The delays that have plagued boats trying to get around the Three Gorges dam are set to worsen soon when one-half of the two-way shiplock is taken out of service for more than nine months.
Yangtze River suffers rare drought in flood season
(August 14, 2006) The Yangtze is in the grip of a rare drought, with water in many sections of the river at historically low levels. Navigation authorities have reinforced patrols along the waterway, warning vessels against running aground.
Drought alert for parched Sichuan
(August 14, 2006) Lack of rain and heatwave making safe drinking water scarce.
Businesses to confront resources price hikes
(August 14, 2006) A top National Development and Reform Commission official says liberalizing the price of raw materials and energy will increase costs in the long run, but the government is determined to make prices more dependent on market forces.
Chinese government to subsidize 22 mln reservoir immigrants
China will raise electric power rates to compensate 22 million people who have been relocated to make way for dams and reservoirs. They will be paid 600 yuan (US$75) a year for 20 years in the hope of improving their living conditions, Xinhua reports.
Cancellation of USD120 billion of Iraq’s debt by end of next year
(August 13, 2006) Up to $US120 billion of Iraq’s total debt is expected to be cancelled by the end of next year, the Iraqi central bank governor Dr. Snan Al-Shabibi announced last month.
Trial dismissal rejected for Pinochet
(August 11, 2006) The judge investigating the origin of the personal fortune of Augusto Pinochet rejected a request for dismissal by his defense lawyers because of his state of health and impaired ability to speak, judicial sources said here Friday.
Eyewitness on the Salween
(August 9, 2006) ‘At both Maji and Songta there is much activity. Generators rumble, power tools blast into the riverbanks. Trucks full of workers and engineers are everywhere. According to some reports there have been no environmental impact surveys.’
China: Tibetan water plans raise concerns
(August 9, 2006) China’s gigantic water bureaucracy constantly needs to find new work to do and is now turning its attention to Tibet, says a Tibetan expert on natural resources.
A damming indictment
(August 9, 2006) More than 30 dams planned across mainland Southeast Asia will bring electricity, population upheaval, food shortages and ecological destruction.
One-third of China’s dams unsafe
(August 8, 2006) ‘What I fear most is dam collapses, and I think it’s not just me. Party and state leaders at every level fear this," said E Jianping, head of China’s flood-fighting agency.
China warns aging dams risk flood disaster
(August 8, 2006) The head of China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has said he is worried about the country’s aging dams, many of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s. ‘Now many dams are already operating beyond their expiry date,’ he said.
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