Global News Headlines 07/13

[greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org]

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Greenpeace Daily Environmental News Headlines
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Tuesday, July 13, 1999
Greenbase Unit
Greenpeace International
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 TOXICS 

(GREENPEACE)
1) APO 07/13 Latin American Briefs By The Associated Press SAO PAULO, Brazil
(AP) A Brazilian state will conduct tests to determine if 500,000 tons of
lime produced by a local subsidiary of a Belgian company is contaminated
with dioxin, the Sao Paulo state environmental agency said Tuesday.
Greenpeace alleged in March that the dioxin-tainted lime treated citrus pulp...

2) New Straits Times (Malaysia) July 13, 1999 SECTION: National; Pg. 13
HEADLINE: Pollution of rivers, seas will affect ecotourism' BYLINE: All
reports on "Seminar on Economic Development and Environment Considerations:
Implications for the Media 1999" by Jumin J. Masuling BODY: THE
deterioration of water quality of Sabah's rivers and the seas around it has...

3) New Straits Times (Malaysia) July 13, 1999 SECTION: Environment; Pg. 7
HEADLINE: A new menace in the field BYLINE: Jennifer Mourin BODY: IN rural
Asia, the use of  pesticides has permeated even the remotest village. The
availability of highly toxic pesticides, lack of information and knowledge
of their hazards, aggressive marketing by the industry, as well as poverty,...

4) SKorea controls fire at major petrochem plant SEOUL, July 13 (Reuters) - A
fire raged for four hours at a leading South Korean petrochemical company on
Tuesday, causing an estimated $1.64 million in damages before it was brought
under control, a fire brigade official said. Fire tore through Songwon
Industry Co's main plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan was ablaze after...

 NUCLEAR POWER 

(GREENPEACE)
5) Court blocks Greenpeace as nuclear fuel starts Japanese journey nuclear
fuel to Japanese power stations VALOGNES, France, July 13 (AFP) - A shipment
of recycled nuclear fuel to Japanese power stations begain its journey late
Thursday, as a French court barred Greenpeace from interfering with the
load. The uranium and plutonium fuel known as MOX left the reprocessing...

(GREENPEACE)
6) Greenpeace says MOX fuel for Japan produced illegally BRUSSELS, July 14
(Kyodo) Greenpeace said Tuesday the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel to be shipped to
Japan from France was produced illegally in Belgium. Greenpeace said it has
filed legal papers with the Belgian Supreme Court demanding the closure of a
French MOX fuel production facility in Dessel, northern Belgium, alleging it...

(GREENPEACE)
7) 07/13 GOVERNMENT TO SELL OFF PART OF BRITISH NUCLEAR FUELS By Alan
Jones, Industrial Correspondent, PA News The government today
announced a partial privatisation of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL)
with plans to sell off 49% of the business before the next election.
The move, which is dependent on BNFL achieving a number of strict
performance targets, is expected to raise...

8) ANALYSIS-British Nuclear Fuels sale no easy task By Matthew Jones LONDON,
July 13 (Reuters) - The partial privatisation of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd
announced on Tuesday is likely to be one of Britain's most difficult
flotations and the legalities a nightmare, analysts said. I think it will be
very difficult to float and there are real concerns about the outlook for...

9) Slovenia says Austria's nuclear concern unfounded LJUBLJANA, July 13
(Reuters) Slovenian Foreign Minister Boris Frlec said on Tuesday that
Austrian concern over the safety of his country's only nuclear power plant
was unfounded. He was referring to concern expressed by Austrian Chancellor
Viktor Klima in a conversation with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek...

10) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Japan vows full probe into nuclear power
plant accident BYLINE: Miwa Suzuki DATELINE: TOKYO, July 13 BODY: Japanese
government leaders Tuesday ordered a thorough probe into a nuclear power
plant accident after a crack in a pipe caused huge water coolant leak and
shut down a reactor. An eight-centimetre (3.2-inch) long crack was found" in...

11) 50.96 tons of radioactive cooling water leaked FUKUI, Japan, July 13
(Kyodo) Japan Atomic Power Co. said Tuesday 50.96 tons of cooling
water containing radioactive material had leaked inside the concrete
containment housing a pressurized water reactor at  the Tsuruga
nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture on Monday. The amount of
leaked radioactive water, which...

12) Aust's traditional owners still hopeful on Kakadu finding BODY: FED:
TRADITIONAL OWNE CANBERRA, July 13 AAP - The traditional owners of Kakadu
were today confident the World Heritage Committee would list Kakadu as
in-danger despite an overnight decision to defer a finding for 18 months.
The committee's decision to impose an April 15, 2000, deadline for the...

 NUCLEAR WEAPONS & MILITARY 

13) 07/12 AWSJ: Editorial: Threat Of N Korean Missile Test Looms HONG
KONG (Dow Jones) Was South Korean Foreign Minister Hong Soon-young
drawing a line in the sand Monday when he said that if North Korea
test-fires another ballistic missile, Seoul, Washington and Japan
will cut off virtually all aid to the North? Mr. Hong's talk of aid
cutoffs and other sanctions sure...

14) 07/13 Russia-Nuclear Bust By ANATOLY MEDETSKY VLADIVOSTOK, Russia
(AP) Security agents raided the home and laboratory of a scientist
who had been researching the dumping of radioactive waste in the
Pacific Ocean by the Russian navy, Russian news agencies said today.
The incident echoed cases against two other Russians who documented
alleged environmental abuses by...

15) Pakistan decided on pullout to avoid nuke war: Sharif ISLAMABAD, July 13
(Kyodo) Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Monday the decision to
order the withdrawal of Muslim guerrillas from the disputed Kashmir region
was made to save India and Pakistan  from nuclear war. In a war between two
nuclear powers, there could be no victor,"  Sharif said in a nationally...

16) 07/13 CIA Reports Gulf Nerve Gas Findings By DAVID BRISCOE WASHINGTON
(AP) Far fewer Gulf War soldiers than previously estimated were
exposed to nerve gas in Iraq, the CIA told a presidential commission
Tuesday. The assessment came as special investigators for the
Pentagon and the CIA both told the Special Oversight Board on Gulf
War illness they have  just about exhausted...

 OCEANS 

(GREENPEACE)
17) APW July 13, 1999 HEADLINE: Greenpeace says whalers shot at activists;
police find bullet holes BYLINE: DOUG MELLGREN Greenpeace DATELINE: OSLO,
Norway BODY: Greenpeace accused Norwegian whalers of firing a rifle at
activists during a protest at sea, and police said Tuesday that the
activists' rubber raft most likely had been hit by bullets. Police said the...

(GREENPEACE)
18) The Guardian (London) July 13, 1999 SECTION: Guardian Home Pages; Pg. 10
HEADLINE: Greenpeace ship held for shielding whale BYLINE: Paul Brown
Environment Correspondent BODY: Paul Brown Environment Correspondent A
Greenpeace ship with 19 crew, three of them British, was arrested yesterday
by the Norwegian coastguard after intervening to stop a whale from being...

(GREENPEACE)
19) NSW: Mum proud of her arrested daughter BYLINE: By Janine O'Neill BODY:
WHALE NIGHTLEAD SYDNEY, July 13 AAP - The parents of an Australian activist
shot at and arrested during an anti-whaling protest in Norwegian seas today
said they were proud of their daughter. Deb McIntyre, from Pambula on the
New South Wales south coast, was part of an international protest in the...

(GREENPEACE)
20) The Vancouver Sun July 13, 1999, FINAL SECTION: News; B3 HEADLINE:
Vancouver woman among Greenpeace activists arrested: Tanya Whitford was on
the protest vessel when shots were fired by Norwegian whalers on the North
Sea. BYLINE: Lindsay Kines BODY: A Vancouver woman was among 17 Greenpeace
activists arrested after a tussle with Norwegian whale hunters in the North...

(GREENPEACE)
21) Aberdeen Press and Journal July 12, 1999 SECTION: Business: companies,
Pg.8 HEADLINE: Tanks for the memory as Brent Spar put to new use Aberdeen
firm plays large part BYLINE: Stephen Rouse BODY: The Brent Spar oil-storage
installation was finally laid to rest in a Norwegian fjord at the weekend.
However, as STEPHEN ROUSE discovered, the debate over what to do with other...

22) Business groups fret over possible whale rules By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE,
Alaska, July 12 (Reuters) Rules to protect the dwindling population of
beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet could hurt all businesses and consumers
in the state's most populated region, business representatives said at a
meeting Monday. An Endangered Species Act listing for the small white whales...

23) The Ottawa Citizen July 13, 1999, FINAL SECTION: News; A5 HEADLINE: Nova
Scotia coalition seeks new ban on oil and gas rigs BYLINE: Andrew Duffy
BODY: Fishermen and environmentalists have joined forces in Nova Scotia to
protect one the richest marine areas on earth, Georges Bank, from oil and
gas exploration. Under the umbrella of a lobby group called No Rigs 2000,...

24) ENVIRONMENT-PHILIPPINES: SEAHORSES FALL PREY TO ... HANDUMON, Philippines,
(Jul.13) IPS On a quiet night lit with stars, Rey Abano plies the dark, warm
waters off Jandayan Island  in the central Philippine province of Bohol,
searching for seahorses. The 24-year-old's head disappears under the water,
pops up for air and disappears again. When he began selling the tiny sea...

 ATMOSPHERE & ENERGY 

25) SA: Mosquito risk to grow as world gets warmer BYLINE: Sherrill Nixon
BODY: MOSQUITO ADELAIDE, July 13 AAP - Mosquitoes will pose an increasing
health risk to humans as climate change causes the world to become warmer
and wetter, one of Australia's leading mosquito experts warned today.
Michael Kokkinn, who heads the University of South Australia's Mosquito...

26) Deutsche Presse-Agentur July 13, 1999 HEADLINE: Toll mount as floods grip
East, northeast India DATELINE: New Delhi BODY: Floods and landslides
triggered by heavy rains have claimed at least 60 lives and rendered
thousands of people homeless during the past week in eastern and
northeastern India, reports said Tuesday. The eastern state of Bihar, parts...

27) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Nearly 80 dead as freak weather grips
Europe DATELINE: BELGRADE, July 13 BODY: Torrential rain swept central and
southeastern Europe Tuesday, cutting transport links and swamping remote
villages, as the death toll from nearly two weaks of freak weather across
Europe neared 80. In Serbia, the toll from heavy rains that started on...

28) 07/13 1831  GREEN CAMPAIGNERS IN AIRLINE TAX PROTEST 1  By Sherna
Noah, PA News Campaigners dressed as cabin crew lobbied British
Airways shareholders today in a bid to highlight the problem of air
pollution.  Friends of the Earth supporters protested outside the
airline's annual general meeting in central London while inside,
share-owning campaigners challenged the company...

29) New Scientist July 10, 1999 SECTION: Opinion: Opinion point, Pg. 49
HEADLINE: Dry future BYLINE: Fred Pearce HIGHLIGHT: When a geologist warns
the oil's running out, we should listen says Fred Pearce BODY: Remember that
frenetic period in the 1970s, when all hell broke loose as oil shortages
sent prices sky high ? Well, it was just a blip. Or so says Colin Campbell,...

 TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY 

(GREENPEACE)
30) Weyerhaeuser to honor MacBlo forestry pledge all figures in U.S. dollars)
By Allan Dowd VANCOUVER, July 13 (Reuters) U.S. forest-products giant
Weyerhaeuser Co. removed a potential political roadblock to its takeover of
MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. on Tuesday, agreeing to honor the Canadian forester's
environmental pledges. The issue of how Weyerhaeuser <WY.N> would handle...

31) TASS HEADLINE: Forest fires spread to vast territory in Moscow region
DATELINE: MOSCOW, July 13 BODY: Forest fires caused by a continuous spell of
hot weather and absence of rains continue in the Moscow region. The
Sergiev-Posad area north off Moscow has been the worst hit by the fires
which spread to the territory of 65 hectares, the press service of the...

32) NSW: Logging clash averted BODY: FORESTS DAYLEAD SYDNEY, July 13 AAP - A
clash between green groups and loggers in a forest near Newcastle has been
averted after negotiations resulted in activists leaving voluntarily late
last night. A timber industry body had promised to lead a 200-strong group
to break the five-day blockade at Olney State  Forest at daybreak today if...

33) The Vancouver Sun July 13, 1999 FINAL SECTION: Business; D1/Front HEADLINE:
Fletcher a global giant with purchase of parent: Proposed deal doubles
Vancouver-based company's pulp and paper capacity, ends speculation over its
future. BYLINE: Gordon  Hamilton, Sun Forestry Reporter BODY: Fletcher
Challenge Canada Ltd. is  poised to become one of the world's largest...

34) FED: World heritage battle fails to end Jabiluka war BYLINE: Rod McGuirk
BODY: JABILUKA NIGHTLEAD CANBERRA, July 13 AAP - Conservationists and
Aborigines today vowed to stop the Jabiluka uranium mine despite a UN
finding that it would not threaten Kakadu National Park. In a victory for
the federal government, the UNESCO World Heritage committee deferred a...

35) The Age 13 July 1999, Kakadu not in danger, says UN By MURRAY HOGARTH The
Howard Government last night won its battle with environment groups over
Kakadu National Park when a United Nations committee in Paris resolved not
to place the world-famous park on an international endangered list. The
decision, by the 21 nations of the World Heritage Committee, marked the...

 GENETIC ENGINEERING 

36) Japan may exclude some foods from GMO labelling TOKYO, July 13 (Reuters)
- Japan should exclude certain types of food products from labelling
guidelines for foods made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as it
is technically impossible to check if such foods are GMO-free, experts on a
government committee said on Tuesday. The committee cited products such as...

37) U.S. unveils new steps to calm fears of transgenic food By Julie Vorman
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The Clinton Administration on Tuesday
unveiled a series of steps to address consumer fears about the safety of
genetically modified foods, and asked seed companies to report any
unexpected problems with new varieties of corn, soybeans and other crops....

38) The Times (London) July 13, 1999 SECTION: Home news HEADLINE: Activists
destroy GM poplars BODY: More  than 100 genetically modified trees were
destroyed in a dawn raid yesterday. The anti-GM gang rampaged through test
fields owned by the biotechnology firm Zeneca Plant Science, carving up and
mutilating the trees. Dozens of the 30ft tall poplars were cut to ribbons...

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