Global News Headlines 08/19

[greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org]

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Greenpeace Daily Environmental News Headlines
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Thursday, August 19, 1999
Greenbase Unit
Greenpeace International
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 TOXICS 

1) THE JOURNAL (Newcastle, UK) August 19, 1999 Thursday Edition 1 SECTION:
REGIONAL NEWS, Pg. 18 HEADLINE: Companies accused after toxic drums find
BODY: SEVERAL companies face prosecution following a three-year probe into
the dumping of thousands of drums of toxic chemicals. In September 1996
almost 1,500 45-gallon drums were found stockpiled on an industrial estate,...

2) National Post August 19, 1999 NATIONAL EDITIONS SECTION: FINANCIAL POST;
Pg. C06 HEADLINE: Cambior faces second suit over cyanide spill at mine:
Filed in Guyanese court DATELINE: GEORGETOWN, Guyana BODY: GEORGETOWN,
Guyana - Guyanese residents have sued Canadian mining company Cambior Inc.
for about $100-million (US) in damages after a cyanide waste spill at a gold...

3) Two die in UK factory from suspect chemical leak LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters)
- Two British factory workers died on Thursday after being overcome by fumes
in a suspected chemical leak, firefighters said. The two were found on the
ground floor of a paint-stripping factory in West  Bromwich, in the West
Midlands, said a spokesman for the local fire service.  "We believe they...

 NUCLEAR POWER 

4) French Greens threaten to quit over nuclear plants PARIS, Aug 19 (Reuters)
The Greens party  broke France's summer political lull on Thursday with a
warning that it would quit the government if the Socialist-led cabinet
pushed ahead with plans to replace ageing nuclear plants with new reactors.
This would mean the end of the plural coalition," the Greens' spokesman...

5) 17 held after Michigan nuclear protest BRIDGMAN, Mich., Aug. 19 (UPI)
-- Seventeen anti-nuclear activists have been taken into custody
after stepping onto the grounds of a troubled nuclear plant on the
Lake Michigan shore. The activists from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio,
Indiana and Pennsylvania were peacefully protesting next year's
scheduled re-start of the D.C. Cook...

6) The New York Times August 19, 1999, Late Edition  - Final SECTION: A;
Page 11; Column 1; Foreign Desk HEADLINE: As 2000 Nears, a Wary Optimism for
Ukraine's Nuclear Plants BYLINE: The New York Times DATELINE: KIEV, Ukraine,
Aug. 18 BODY: With less than five months to go before the year 2000, a
project financed by Western governments has just got under way to try to...

7) ENS August 8 HUNGRY MICROBES DIGEST SELLAFIELD'S RADIOACTIVE PROBLEM
SELLAFIELD, UK, August 18, 1999 (ENS) - Microbial janitors are helping to
clean radioactively contaminated walls at a shut down nuclear reactor in the
UK. The new technique, being tested at one of Europe's most radioactive
sites, may help with the disposal of radioactive wastes around the world....

 NUCLEAR WEAPONS & MILITARY 

8) 08/19 India Shrugs Off Nuke Conflict By NEELESH MISRA NEW DELHI,
India (AP) India's foreign minister shrugged off concerns Thursday
that it is inching toward a nuclear conflict with neighboring
Pakistan. Jaswant Singh rejected the worries the followed its release
of a new nuclear policy statement, despite expressions of alarm from
the United States and China. I...

9) Pakistan: Indian N-doctrine dangerous By RAJA ZULFIKAR ISLAMABAD, Pakistan,
Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Pakistan has expressed grave concern over India's nuclear
doctrine and its plans for a nuclear and conventional arms buildup, warning
that Pakistan will be obliged to follow suit if New Delhi continues to
threaten Islamabad's security. If India operationalizes its nuclear weapons,...

10) 08/19 Moscow warns U.S. about missile system By Peter Graff MOSCOW
(Reuters) Rather than declaring renewed friendship with the United
States, Russia walked away from new arms control talks Thursday,
accusing Washington of trying to start a new nuclear arms race in
outer space. Presidents Clinton and Boris Yeltsin arranged the talks
at a summit in Cologne in June...

11) Deutsche Presse-Agentur August 19, 1999 HEADLINE: 2ND ROUNDUP: Russia wants
more radical cut in nuclear weapons DATELINE:Moscow BODY:Russian negotiators
proposed Thursday a more radical reduction of strategic nuclear weapons than
has been envisaged. Interfax news agency quoted Russian diplomatic sources
as saying Russia would like to see a further 50 per cent cut in strategic...

 OCEANS 

(GREENPEACE)
12) Australia expects victory in tuna protection case SYDNEY, Aug. 19 (Kyodo)
-- Australia is confident a hearing before the International Tribunal for
the Law of the Sea will find Japan guilty of overfishing threatened southern
bluefin tuna, Attorney General Daryl  Williams said Thursday.  "We believe
at this interim stage that the tribunal will accept that Japan is in breach...

13) Aust govt urged to list Southern Bluefin Tuna BODY: FED: GOVT URGED TO LI
CANBERRA, Aug 19 AAP - The Humane Society International today urged the
federal government to take action to protect the threatened Southern Bluefin
Tuna from overfishing by listing it under an international agreement on
endangered species. Australia overnight launched its case in the...

14) BBC Summary of World Broadcasts August 20, 1999, Friday HEADLINE: Fiji
official denies harvest of coral "indiscriminate" SOURCE: Fijilive web site,
Suva, 19 Aug 99  BODY: The Agriculture Ministry has refuted claims that
Fiji's coral trade was destroying reefs and depleting fish supplies through
the indiscriminate harvest of its coral reefs, as reported by some media....

 ATMOSPHERE & ENERGY 

(GREENPEACE)
15) WSJ(8/18):Exxon/Russia -2: Legal Dispute With Government By Steven
Liesman MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--Exxon Corp., one of the few major Western oil
companies that was actively exploring in Russia, has suspended drilling amid
an environmental and legal dispute with the government. The Irving, Texas,
company said in a statement that it canceled its drilling activities after...

(GREENPEACE)
16) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Greenpeace sues Mexico's Pemex over pollution MEXICO:
August 19, 1999  MEXICO CITY - Environmental group Greenpeace said its
pressuring legal authorities for charges against Mexico's state oil and gas
monopoly for alleged dumping of toxic waste has led to the first-ever arrest
warrants to be enforced against Pemex officials. "It's the first time...

(GREENPEACE)
17) BBC Online August 19, 1999 UK Sci/Tech Turkey's environment feels the
heat: Until the fire is out, the effect of the pollution remains unknown By
Environment Correspondent Alex  Kirby For the moment, what matters above all
is rescuing every last survivor of the earthquake. That is made harder by
some of the immediate effects of Tuesday's catastrophe - power lines down,...

(GREENPEACE)
18) ENS August 18 FUNDING FAILS FOR WORLD'S BIGGEST SOLAR PLANT MIRES, Crete,
August 18, 1999 (ENS) - Plans to build the world's largest solar power plant
on the island of Crete have silently been dropped due to financing issues.
The government of Greece announced in June 1997 that Amoco and IWECO Solar,
a subsidiary of Enron Solar in the United States, would construct and...

19) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Woodside fears greenhouse shackle on LNG AUSTRALIA:
August 19, 1999  MELBOURNE - Woodside Petroleum Ltd said yesterday
greenhouse  emission costs could hinder Australia's chances of winning
liquefied natural gas contracts.  Woodside managing director John Akehurst
said greenhouse gas emission targets agreed to under the Kyoto agreement...

20) Calgary Herald August 19, 1999, FINAL SECTION: Business; E2 HEADLINE:Report
says Alaska pipeline safe to operate despite flaws BYLINE: Yereth Rosen,
Reuters DATELINE: ANCHORAGE, Alaska BODY: Despite problems including flaws
in a new pollution  control system, the Trans Alaska Pipeline System remains
safe to operate, state officials say in a report responding to new whistle-...

21) U.S. car buyers won't pay for environment-Daimler By Ben Klayman AUBURN
HILLS, Mich., Aug 19 (Reuters) American car buyers like environmentally
friendly vehicles -- as long as they don't have to pay extra for them,
DaimlerChrysler AG <DCX.N><DCXGn.F> executives said on Thursday. A lot of
people are asking for environmentally friendly cars, but nobody is willing...

22) San Francisco Chronicle AUGUST 19, 1999 FINAL EDITION SECTION: BUSINESS;
Pg. B1; MEDIA BYTES HEADLINE: Shell Using MoJo Wire to Woo a Public Cynical
About Big Oil; The ads attempt to show company's environmental side BYLINE:
Dan Fost BODY: Odd couple of the year: MoJo Wire, the online companion to
muckraking magazine Mother Jones, and megalithic corporation Royal...

23) INTERVIEW-Belgium could change energy laws on Suez By Gillian Handyside
BRUSSELS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Belgium may modify its energy liberalisation
laws if needed to protect consumers if France's Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux buys
Belgian utility holding company Tractebel, the Secretary of State for Energy
said on Thursday.  "I am in favour of energy sector regulation...If it...

24) Agence France Presse HEADLINE: Refinery blaze under control after Turkey
quake DATELINE: IZMIT, Turkey, Aug 19 (AFP) - A fierce blaze in Turkey's
biggest oil refinery was being brought under control early Thursday but the
effects of the fire were causing severe fuel shortages in the quake-hit
region of northwestern Turkey. "The fire is under control although we cannot...

 TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY 

(GREENPEACE)
25) The Ottawa Citizen August 19, 1999, FINAL SECTION: News; A7 HEADLNE:
Logging  killing salmon: report DATELINE: VANCOUVER BODY: VANCOUVER --
Hundreds of runs of salmon are in danger of extinction because of British
Columbia's lax approach to  logging,  Greenpeace says. In a report to be
released today, the  environmental  group says the federal Department of...

26) 08/19 FOCUS-Farmer debt rife throughout Mercosur trade bloc By Robert
S. Elliott BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) Farmers throughout South America's
Mercosur trade bloc, one of the world's chief food producing regions,
are pressing for debt relief as their margins are squeezed by low
international commodity prices. In Uruguay, Ignacio Zorrill stepped
down as the country's...

27) The San Francisco Chronicle AUGUST 19, 1999, FINAL EDITION SECTION:
EDITORIAL; Pg. A24; EDITORIALS HEADLINE: Quincy's Broken Promise BODY: THE
U.S. FOREST Service appears ready to make it official: The Quincy Library
Group plan could more than double logging operations on 2.4 million acres of
Lassen, Plumas and Tahoe national forests.  It would carve another 100 miles...

28) Business Times (Malaysia) August 19, 1999 SECTION: Pg. 1 HEADLINE: US not
in favour of world forestry pact (HL) BYLINE: Fadzil Ghazali BODY: A GLOBAL
initiative to secure international agreement on the protection of the
world's forests, not just those in the tropics, has run into resistance from
the US. The  European Union (EU) and countries like Russia and Canada are in...

29) WA: Logging protest disrupts city traffic BODY: FORESTS WA PERTH, Aug 19
AAP - About 80 logging trucks disrupted traffic in central Perth this
afternoon in protest at the state government's revision of the Regional
Forest Agreement (RFA). The trucks were parked at Parliament House from
early this morning as the focal point of a timber workers' rally which...

30) THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) August 19, 1999 SECTION: Pg. 01 HEADLINE:
Farm use of antibiotics blamed for 'superbugs' BYLINE: By Charles Clover,
Environment Editor BODY: THE growth of drug-resistant "superbugs", such as
E-coli and salmonella can be blamed directly on the use of antibiotics on
farm animals, Government advisers said yesterday. They said it could...

31) 08/19 Canada Wants WTO To End Agriculture Export Subsidies By David
Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) Canada unveiled its initial negotiating
position for a forthcoming round of World Trade Organization talks
Thursday, saying it would push for all agricultural export subsidies
to be scrapped. Ottawa insists it cannot compete with the large
subsidies paid to grain farmers in...

32) S.Africa takes tough WTO stand on farm, industry By Jeremy Lovell CAPE
TOWN, Aug 19 (Reuters) - South Africa has drawn up a list of tough demands
to take to the new round of global World Trade Organisation talks starting
in Seattle in November, Trade Minister Alec Erwin said on Thursday.  In
particular the country's trade negotiators would be playing hard ball on...

 GENETIC ENGINEERING 

(GREENPEACE)
33) St. Louis Post-Dispatch August 19, 1999 FIVE STAR LIFT EDITION SECTION:
BUSINESS, Pg. C1 HEADLINE: BRAZILIAN JUDGE RULES AGAINST MONSANTO; COMPANY
CAN'T MARKET ITS SOYBEAN TECHNOLOGY UNTIL STUDY IS COMPLETED; BRAZIL IS
2ND-LARGEST PRODUCER BYLINE: Robert Steyer; Of The Post-Dispatch 
BODY: A Brazilian judge has delivered a sharp setback to Monsanto
Co.'s effort to...

34) Marks & Spencer to offer non-GM-fed meat LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - British
retailer Marks & Spencer Plc is to start selling meat from animals which
have not been fed with genetically modified soya and maize. The feed used
for the company's free-range chicken, eggs and pork had been changed, it
said in a statement. Customers will be able to purchase these products from...

35) Ameriscan ENS August 8 CALIFORNIA TWIST ON THOSE AWFUL SCHOOL LUNCHES The
school board in Berkeley, California, is expected to approve a new food
philosophy today. The proposal calls for stocking school cafeterias with
organic food, and require an organic garden at every school. Organically
grown food is produced without pesticides, herbicides or synthetic...

36) ASIA PULSE HEADLINE: MONSANTO SEEKS TO IMPORT PLASMIDS FOR RESEARCH IN
NDIA DATELINE: NEW DELHI, Aug 19 BODY: US company Monsanto has sought the
permission of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to import 33 different
plasmids for research and development purposes only, all of which are freely
available in the public domain and all information about them have been...

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