Global News Headlines 03/18

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

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March 18, 1998
FROM GREENPEACE, Greenbase Project

<<< TOXICS >>>

<<GP>>
  2  THE KOREA HERALD  March  18, 1998  Japan Asked to Provide Details on
Waste Shipments  BODY:  The Environment Ministry yesterday asked the
Japanese government to provide  information necessary for confirming
reports that Japanese trading companies exported industrial

  3  Bayer abandons proposed $1.5 billion Taiwan plant  By Kevin Chen
 TAIPEI, March 18 (Reuters) - German giant Bayer Ag on Wednesday finally
abandoned plans for a US$1.5 billion chemical plant in Taiwan in the face of
daunting political obstacles.   The German Trade Office in Taiwan, the

  4 The Christian Science Monitor March  18, 1998, Wednesday  Pg. 13
 Wind Chill of a Different Sort: Making Waste Water Snow
BYLINE: Richard C. Bachus DATELINE: HARBOR SPRINGS, MICH.
 BODY: A wispy sheet of fine snow is cascading over a field

<<< NUCLEAR POWER >>>

<<GP>>
  5  Agence France Presse  March  18, 1998  Greenpeace  protestors spend
night on 50-meter chimney DATELINE: WALHEIM, Germany   Four  Greenpeace
protestors spent the night 50 meters (150 feet) up a chimney at a
coal-fueled power plant to protest against plans to transport  nuclear

  6 GLOBE AND MAIL  MAR.17,1998 PAGE: A7  SOURCE: CP DATELINE: Ottawa ONT
 National Report Canada  Plutonium debate sought OTTAWA A coalition of
antinuclear groups is challenging Atomic Energy of Canada  Ltd. to a public
debate over its proposal to burn weapons-grade plutonium  in Candu reactors.

  7  The Moscow Times March  18, 1998  Activists Criticize Plans To Use
Plutonium  Fuel BYLINE: By Natalya Shulyakovskaya   Environmentalists  this
week blasted a Russian plan to use highly  radioactive plutonium  from
decommissioned missiles as a base for fuel for  nuclear  power stations.

  8 Mainichi Daily News March  18, 1998 Page 14 Cement firm reports loss of
perilous isotope  BODY: KAMIISO, Hokkaido -- The Nihon Cement Co. may have
allowed highly  radioactive  cobalt 60 to contaminate building materials
at its plant here, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.

  9 Moscow and Beijing discussing nuclear power plant-MOSCOW, March 18
(Itar-Tass) The progress of the construction of the  Lianyungang atomic
power plant and of two sections of the Hanzhong  uranium-enrichment plant,
which Russia is building in China, was  discussed here on Wednesday by

 10 U.S. MOX nuclear fuel plans provoke opposition LONDON, March 18
(Reuters) - Anti-nuclear campaigners in the U.S. are protesting against
proposals by the Department of Energy (DOE) to allow the introduction of
mixed oxide fuel (MOX) in U.S. power stations, nuclear newsagency NucNet

<<< NUCLEAR WEAPONS & MILITARY >>>

 11 Agence France Presse March  18, 1998  Hindu nationalists promise
nuclear weapons, 'India built by Indians' DATELINE: (ADDS opposition,
Pakistani reax)  BODY: NEW DELHI, March 18 (AFP) - India's incoming
right-wing Hindu nationalist government pledged Wednesday to build  nuclear

 12 Jane's Defence Weekly  March  18, 1998  Vol. 29; No. 11; Pg. 5 Civilians
to scrap Russia's  nuclear  submarines  BODY:Russian President Boris Yeltsin
has approved the creation of a civilian agency to scrap Russia's stockpile
of decommissioned  nuclear  submarines and chemical weapons.

 13 Financial Times (London) March  18, 1998 Pg. 34 HEADLINE: Russian
environmentalist  sues over libel BYLINE: By Leyla Boulton
 BODY: Russia's leading environ-mentalist will today start legal
action against the  Russian atomic energy ministry's spokesman

 14 Agence France Presse  March  18, 1998  Nepalese government calls for
worldwide  nuclear  arms ban DATELINE: KATHMANDU  A senior Nepalese official
on Wednesday called for the abolition of  nuclear  weapons worldwide but
made no direct comment on the new Indian government's commitment to produce

<<< OCEANS >>>

 15  ASIA PULSE March  18, 1998  PHILIPPINES GENERAL SANTOS CITY TO OPEN NEW
FISHING PORT DATELINE: MANILA, March 18  BODY:  A P612-million (US$ 15.57
million) Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund-assisted fishing port complex in
General Santos City is expected to be opened for business by June this year

 16  BUSINESS LINE March  18, 1998  India Plan to build fishing harbour at
Bheemili  VISAKHAPATNAM: The Andhra Pradesh Government is considering
the proposal to  build a new fishing harbour at Bheemili under
Build-Operate-Transfer basis. Earlier, Visakhapatnam Port Trust

 17  Africa News March  18, 1998  Namibia; Mowe Bay project takes ecological
flak BYLINE: Kate Burling, The Namibian (Windhoek)  Windhoek - As the
Government forges ahead with its feasibility study on the proposal to turn
Mowe Bay into an industrial fishing port, there is growing concern that

 18  European Report March  18, 1998 No. 2300  COMMISSION PROPOSES NORTH SEA
FISHERIES  CATCH QUOTAS.  BODY: The European Commission has proposed total
allowable catches (TACs) for six  North Sea fish stocks which were not
decided at last December's  Fisheries  Council. The proposal - which will

 19  TASS March  18, 1998 Japan's salmon quota set in talks By Vyacheslav
Bantin TOKYO, March 18  BODY: Russian-Japanese annual  fishery  talks
finished in Tokyo on Tuesday with an  accord which leaves in place the 1997
quota of salmon fishing for Japanese fishermen.  Under the accord, Japanese

 20 CSIRO: Concerns for Australian sea lion  MAR 18, 1998, M2 Communications
- Evidence is mounting that  Australia's native sea lion population has
levelled off and may be  declining, prompting a leading CSIRO scientist to
call for more  intensive research into the species.  The call, by Dr.

 21 BANGKOK POST March  18, 1998  TRADE / WTO RULING IN TURTLE PROTECTION
DISPUTE Panel backs claims against US ban on shrimp imports: Americans will
challenge findings  BODY:  Claims by Thailand and three other Asian nations
that American efforts to protect endangered sea turtles are

<<< ATMOSPHERE & ENERGY >>>

 22  03/17 Cleaner Gas By CATHERINE STRONG WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Big Three
domestic automakers will ask the government to require the sale of
low-sulfur gasoline nationwide, contending it is needed for new cars
designed to help cut smog. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are poised to

 23  CHINA NEWS March  18, 1998  Premier leans into fight against  global
warming  BODY: Taiwan should do more in the fight against  global warming,
Premier Vincent Siew told a hearing in the legislature yesterday. However,
as the government staked out its position on

 24  Agence France Presse March  18, 1998  BRUSSELS, March 18  The 15
European Union countries failed to reach a consensus Tuesday to back a
transport agreement under which Switzerland would ease restrictions from
2005 on lorries transiting through its territory.  The agreement would allow

 25  1998 GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RELEASED WASHINGTON, DC, March 17, 1998 (ENS)
- The most environmentally friendly vehicle sold in the United States is an
electric car, the General Motors EV1, according to a new consumer guide that
provides the first-ever comprehensive environmental ratings for cars and

<<< TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY >>>

 26 Xinhua MARCH  18, 1998 water commercialization urged DATELINE: beijing,
march 18; ITEM NO: 0318140  BODY: deputies from both water-abundant southern
provinces and arid northern areas  to the national people's congress (npc),
in session here since early march, have shown great concern for the

 27 CHINA DAILY March  18, 1998  China Anti- pollution  campaign vital
 "WHEN drinking water, think of its source," goes an ancient Chinese
proverb.  For hundreds of years, Chinese cited this proverb for its
metaphorical meaning, that one should be grateful to the source

<<< GENETIC ENGINEERING >>>

<<GP>>
 28 Financial Times (London) March  18, 1998 Pg. 45  A Canute standing firm
in the face of a tide of modified soya: Peggy Hollinger asks the boss of
Iceland, the frozen food group, why he launched a crusade against
genetically  altered ingredients:  BODY:  Today marks the culmination

<<GP>>
 29 EU approves use of four new gene-altered crops  BRUSSELS, March 18
(Reuters) The European Union decided on Wednesday to apprive the importation
and use of three new varieties of genetically modified corn and one new
strain of gene-altered oilseed rape, a European Commission spokesman said.

 30  Deutsche Presse-Agentur March  18, 1998 Patent on rice variety in U.S.
threatens Indian farmers  By M.V. Balaji  New Delhi  The Indian government
and agriculture specialists are up in arms against a patent granted to a
United States firm for a variety of rice which could pose a  serious threat

 31 BUSINESS LINE  March  18, 1998  INDIA DBT selects Porbandar for
bio-village project BODY: THE Union Department of  Biotechnology  (DBT) will
launch its bio-village project and has selected village morcha in
Porbandar, the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi for the unique

<<< OTHERS >>>

<<GP>>
 32  Dismayed green lobby says Brown budget too cautious By William Maclean
LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Green lobbyists dismissed measures to protect
the environment unveiled in Britain's budget on Tuesday as too cautious to
make much difference.  "The government has opened its heart

 33 European Report March  18, 1998 No. 2300  ENVIRONMENT: EU EXPECTED TO
SUBSCRIBE TO UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION  Ensuring access to environmental
information, public participation in the decision-making process and the
right to live in a healthy environment are the objectives of the new

 34 GRASSROOTS GROUPS WANT POLLUTER'S SECRETS EXPOSED WASHINGTON, DC, March
17, 1998 (ENS) - Forty-four grassroots organizations from across the United
States have asked U.S. EPA Administrator Carol Browner to hold field
hearings on environmental secrecy laws. Audit privilege laws are being

NOTE: The above newsclips are to indicate the environment news
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