Fatality at troubled Kumtor Gold Mine

(July 10, 2002) The July 8 death of a Kyrgyz national, who was buried in the collapse of a 200 meter high pit wall at the Canadian-owned Kumtor Gold Mine in Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia), has prompted renewed calls for an independent, third party environmental and safety audit of the mine.

Big business

(July 6, 2002) The Lesotho Highlands water project is the largest civil engineering feat in Africa. It involves building five dams in the tiny kingdom’s Maluti Highlands over 30 years at an estimated cost of $8bn [about pounds 5.2bn].