ICELAND: Road Threatens Heritage
By Lowana Veal
REYKJAVIK - Environmentalists are concerned that a proposed new road will threaten the ecology of Lake Thingvallavatn, Iceland's second largest lake.
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ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Controversy Over Indigenous Land and Biofuels
By Mario Osava
BRASILIA - The legal status of an indigenous territory in the far north of Brazil, and biofuels, are two hot potatoes at the Third National Conference on the Environment being held in the capital city, which is focusing on climate change.
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BURMA: Junta Gives Referendum Priority Over Cyclone Relief
By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK - Disregarding the disaster caused by Cyclone Nargis, Burma’s military rulers are bent on holding a constitutional referendum on Saturday, said to be designed to enhance the junta’s grip over the country.
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BURMA: Cyclone Nargis Exposes Junta's Anti-People Attitude
By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK - Cyclone Nargis -- Burma’s worst natural disaster in living memory -- has reinforced the image of the military in that country as a force interested solely in perpetuating its grip on power, regardless of costs to the people it claims to protect.
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DEVELOPMENT: NGOs Pressure AsDB to Strengthen Safeguards
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
MADRID - Behind-the-scenes lobbying by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) paid off by the end of the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) concluding here Tuesday. Leading financial officials from a host of European countries came out in favour of the strong "safeguard policies" that activists are championing.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: Indians Speak Out Against Carbon Markets
By Haider Rizvi*
UNITED NATIONS - International policymakers are facing fierce criticism from leaders of the world's 370 million indigenous peoples over plans to use carbon markets as one of the tools to mitigate climate change.
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DEVELOPMENT: AsDB Soliciting Private Investments
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
MADRID - When he was not attending seminars at a conference centre in the Spanish capital, the Asian Development Bank’s (AsDB) Seethapathy Chander was trying to broker deals to attract European investors to developing regions of Asia.
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EUROPE: Warnings Against Biofuels Get Louder
By David Cronin
BRUSSELS - European efforts to promote biofuels should be rethought because of the contribution they have made to rising food prices, according to Jeffrey Sachs, a top economic advisor to the United Nations.
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BURMA: Junta Holds Up Int'l Relief as Cyclone Toll Climbs
By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK - While Burma's state-run radio reports that at least 4,000 people have died and another 3,000 gone missing in the cyclone that devastated that country on Saturday, there is little that the international community can do by way of assistance without a formal request from its secretive military rulers.
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DEVELOPMENT: Food Crisis Rises To Forefront At AsDB Sessions
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
MADRID - Three words -- high food prices -- emerged like a gatecrasher at an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) here that was originally billed as a celebration of the bank’s new vision for poverty eradication in Asia.
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