China to slap export taxes on grains as prices soar
Beijing (AFP) Dec 30, 2007
China said on Sunday it will levy taxes on grain exports in 2008 in the latest move apparently aimed at reining in galloping inflation and ensuring stable domestic food supplies.
The rates would range from five to 25 percent, according to a brief announcement posted on the website of the Ministry of Finance.
The move goes even further than one China announced just two weeks ago, when it ... read more
Dwindling helium supply prompting concerns
New York (UPI) Dec 30, 2007
A looming helium shortage has some U.S. citizens concerned about the impact the gas' availability will have on parades and even research.
While owners of U.S. party goods stores are concerned the rising cost of helium will directly impact their businesses, researchers such as Northwestern University Professor William Halperin are concerned about their research efforts, ABC News said Sun ... more
Iran nuclear plant to start in summer 2008: FM
Tehran (AFP) Dec 30, 2007
Iran on Sunday insisted its first nuclear power station would be launched in the summer of 2008, despite the plant's Russian constructors saying it will not go on line until the end of the year.
"The Bushehr nuclear power station will launch at a capacity of 50 percent next summer," said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.
A Russian contractor is fi ... more
SAIC Motor merger with Nanjing Auto aimed at global markets
Beijing (AFP) Dec 30, 2007
The merger of two of China's state-run auto makers comes as its domestic market booms and as the quickly accelerating nation gears up to compete with top global brands, industry officials said.
The merger announced Wednesday between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), one of China's largest car groups, and rival Nanjing Auto is one of the biggest-ever tie-ups between mainland vehicle m ... more
Analysis: Fuel curbs China combat ability
Hong Kong (UPI) Dec 28, 2007
By calculating the amount of fuel oil required by the Chinese navy and air force in a large-scale attack across the Taiwan Strait under high-tech conditions, it becomes apparent that such an assault could not be sustained for an extended period.
For an attack on Taiwan, China would likely mobilize 10 fighter divisions of the PLA air force. In fact, only one to two regiments under each d ... more
Analysis: Iraq oil up end-'07, sketchy '08
Washington (UPI) Dec 28, 2007
Iraq's oil sector ends 2007 on a relatively upbeat note, with production at levels not seen since before the war. But the year had more downs than ups, and sustaining success through next year is far from guaranteed.
Iraq averaged production of 2.4 million barrels per day in November, according to the global energy information firm Platts. That's nearly a half million more than the post ... more
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ENERGY TECH
Analysis: Eye on Uzbek energy
ENERGY TECH
Outside View: Nabucco cut by Caspian line
ENERGY TECH
China says wants quick fix to East China Sea dispute with Japan
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Russia delivers more nuclear fuel to Iran: official
Tehran (AFP) Dec 28, 2007
Russia has delivered a second consignment of nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr power plant, the official news agency IRNA quoted the deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation as saying on Friday.
"The second consignment of fuel for the Bushehr nuclear plant arrived in Iran on Friday," Ahmad Fayazbaksh said, adding that the delivery was the same amount supplied in the first consignme ... more
Outside View: Russia's Iran nuke role
Moscow (UPI) Dec 28, 2007
According to Zalmay Khalilzad, the permanent U.S. representative to the United Nations, the Iranian Six -- the United States, Russia, China and the European trio of Britain, France and Germany -- have at last reached a consensus.
The situation around the Iranian nuclear file reads like a crime novel, especially in view of the latest surprise moves by Tehran.
Iran has found an o ... more
Outside View: EU goes Russian nuclear
Moscow (UPI) Dec 28, 2007
After the EU gave its approval for the Russian-Bulgarian agreement on building a nuclear power plant in the small Bulgarian town of Belene on the bank of the Danube, the two countries are in the starting blocks waiting for the main treaty to be signed in late January 2008.
The European Union gave the OK for the nuclear project between Moscow and Sophia after a thorough review by expert ... more
Clean coal plants mired by cost and delays
Washington (UPI) Dec 27, 2007
Clean coal-fired plants offer a cleaner fuel source but construction costs and increased greenhouse gas standards in the United States hamper their production.
Regulators canceled, suspended or refused several plans to develop clean coal-fired plants citing construction costs, technological pitfalls and regulation regarding greenhouse gas emissions, USA Today said Thursday.
Clean ... more
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CIVIL NUCLEAR
France could provide Egypt with nuclear help: Sarkozy
SUPERPOWERS
Japan, China pledge warmer ties, but no deal on gas fields
ROCKET SCIENCE
Dawn Of The Ion Age
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Japan's Fukuda seeks to keep reconciling with China
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 26, 2007
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda heads Thursday to China on a mission to further ease strains in relations between the Asian powers which hit rock bottom just a few years ago.
Fukuda, a political veteran paying his first visit to Beijing since taking over in September, is hoping to show his skills as a diplomat after a sharp slide in his approval ratings at home.
The Japanese leader ... more
Illegal land grabs in China threatening food supplies: minister
Beijing (AFP) Dec 26, 2007
Illegal land grabs are threatening food supplies in China as scarce farming land is destroyed to make way for industrial and urban development, a minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
"The illegal acquisition of arable land (for purposes other than agriculture) has endangered food safety and social stability," Land and Resources Minister Xu Shaoshi said, according to the China Daily. ... more
Anglican chief warns greed could wreck the Earth
London (AFP) Dec 25, 2007
The leader of the world's Anglicans slammed "human greed" in his Christmas sermon, saying it threatened the Earth's fragile environmental balance.
Doctor Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told worshippers at Canterbury Cathedral in south-east England, that humanity needed to protect the world created by God.
People should treat each other and nature with "reverence", the Chur ... more
Old TVs bad landfill reception
Baltimore (UPI) Dec 24, 2007
When U.S. broadcasters switch to digital transmissions, millions of viewers will likely discard analog televisions creating a potential environmental disaster.
Television sets contain toxic substances like lead, mercury and cadmium, and when televisions are sent to landfills or shipped to other countries for dismantling, those substances are sent with them, the Baltimore Sun reported./ ... more
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FARM NEWS
China's Agricultural Bank ready for bailout: officials
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Sunk swampland recovering post-Katrina
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Graft, fighting hinders Sri Lanka's tsunami recovery
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