A recent study by Harvard and Yale economists asks a question few in the aid community ask, after finding that food aid prolongs civil conflict and supports rebel groups by feeding them or providing them with goods that can be traded for arms or other services.
‘Don’t aim at fame; just be a good, compassionate person’
The environmental awareness of Chinese people has changed dramatically in the 25 years since her path-breaking book, Yangtze! Yangtze! on the environmental and social effects of China’s Three Gorges Dam, was published. Now, renowned journalist, author, activist and Probe International Fellow and correspondent, Dai Qing, sits down with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) for a look back on her experiences as a veteran reporter and the lessons of value she has learned along the way.
China’s Lacang River dams – impacts already ‘extensive’
Already, newly completed cascade dams along China’s Lancang River are altering the river’s hydrological regime and sediment flow, blocking fish migration and posing a risk to food security and livelihoods. As more cascade dams roll out along the Lancang, International Rivers offers a better understanding through their research of the environmental impacts of current development and what further impacts can be expected as more projects come online.
Yunnan earthquake linked to dam-building, says Chinese geologist
The 6.5-magnitude earthquake that devastated southwestern China’s Yunnan Province on August 3 and killed nearly 600 is linked to the world’s largest and most intensive dam-building scheme on the Jinsha River, says renowned, independent geologist-explorer, Yang Yong.
War dams
Bombed, breached, hacked … dams have a long history as weapons of war, seized on or attacked for their capacity to wreak massive havoc and suffering.
China quake reignites debate on country’s rush to build large dams
“Why do earthquakes keep happening in that area?” In the wake of China’s 6.1 magnitude quake in Yunnan Province and a number of smaller quakes in the region, questions are once again being asked about the country’s rush to build big dams in its southwestern mountains, an area already vulnerable to seismic hazard.
Education scam: Ghost teachers from ghost schools receive ghost training
A CIDA-funded teacher-training project based in Pakistan’s Sindh province has been revealed as nothing more than a cash cow by a former project leader who claims teacher training took place only on paper and that while those registered were often unaware they were signed up to the programme, their training expenses were pocketed by officials.
Ukraine’s odious debts
Ukraine’s national news agency, Ukrinform, asked Probe International’s Patricia Adams to weigh in on Ukraine’s multibillion-dollar debt to Russia and whether Ukraine could challenge the enforceability of the US$3 billion Eurobond using an odious debts argument.
A new cold war? Hardly
Talk of a new Cold War is not only overblown but counterproductive to the West’s security interests.
West not blameless in Flight 17 disaster over Ukraine
The EU and especially the U.S. gave Putin fertile ground with which to exploit the ensuing mayhem of months of orchestrated anarchy.
The biggest victim of the Three Gorges Dam: Shanghai?
Shanghai will suffer Three Gorges Dam impacts the most, says report.
The Middle East’s three-way war
How to make sense of the different factions and forces now fighting in Syria and Iraq?
Argentina’s cronies are fair game
Argentineans would not need to suffer if assets hidden from creditors could be recovered.
Ten years of the Three Gorges Dam: a call for policy overhaul
An urgent overhaul of Three Gorges’ Dam management policy to enforce relevant regulations is needed to save various endangered species, improve the environment, and encourage economic development, say the authors of this paper. Xiankun Yang and X X Lu of the National University of Singapore discuss what we’ve learned from this controversial megadam over the past decade.
China flattening mountains to build more ghost cities?
A mind-boggling new twist on the road to urbanization.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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