Like voracious ants, the columns of workers set about their task, stripping the gargantuan gray hulks down to nothing. This coastal strip of southeastern Bangladesh is where some of the oceans’ largest vessels meet their end, …
Environment
Indonesia Embraces Shale Fracking — but at What Cost?
Shale fracking has already caused waves in the U.S. and is poised to similarly shake up Southeast Asia’s energy landscape
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North Korea raises the stakes, glacial ice that took 1,600 years to form has melted in just 25 years in Peru’s Andes and a flagship Indian jobs program has been defrauded of around $10 billion by local officials
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The ruler of Qatar proposes a $1 billion-fund to help Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Peru declares an environmental state of emergency in its rainforest, and British judges have ruled that an Islamic preacher wanted on terrorism …
Spring Sandstorms Add to China’s Bad Air Misery
This week the Chinese capital has been hit with an air quality disaster of a more ancient vintage: a sandstorm blowing out of the north.
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Child labor remains a problem in India, information about soil pollution is a state secret in China and thousands of Colombian coffee growers have gone on strike
Chinese Environmentalists Lose Fight to Stop Nu River Dams
One of the sayings trotted out when people try to explain Chinese politics is, “The mountains are high, and the emperor is far away.” It is meant to describe the limits on the power of the central government and the ability …
In Burma, Another Round of Ethnic Unrest Threatens Fragile Reforms
Over the past few days, violence between the Arakanese (or Rakhine) and Rohingya communities erupted again in the country’s far west, leaving at least 56 dead, according to an Arakan state official’s estimate.
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On deck for Monday: North Korea’s apparent progress is only skin deep, criminal activity in Latin America takes a heavy toll on the environment, and the Pakistani girl who was recently shot by the Taliban has been sent to Britain …
Environmental Protest Blocks Wastewater Pipeline Near Shanghai
Demonstrators took to the streets Saturday in a town north of Shanghai to contest plans to build a wastewater pipeline from a Japanese-owned paper mill, the latest case of large-scale environmental protest in China. The government of Qidong, which had earlier said the project would be suspended, announced Saturday that it would be …
How the Changing Monsoon Is Changing India
Climate scientists are trying figure out how environmental changes are affecting the yearly monsoons — and the lives of millions
“...The thing is that it's normal in Russia to distrust authorities in everything – be it a natural disaster, elections or soccer.”
Chinese City Halts Copper Smelter After Protest over Pollution Fears
After days of protests, a city in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan has relented and decided to halt construction of a molybdenum and copper plant. Thousands of demonstrators in Shifang, a city of about a half-million …