Work on Burmese Dam is Suspended

Following the suspension of building work on a Brazilian dam yesterday, the Burmese President has just suspended building work on a controversial dam on the Irrawaddy River. The $3.6 billion dam was largely being built with Chinese money and technology and was due for completion in 2019. The reservoir created by the dam was due to flood an area rich in biodiversity and home to thousands of indigenous people, the natural flow of the Irrawaddy would also have been disturbed. The Burmese people would also have received little benefit from the dam with 90% of the electricity produced due to be exported to China.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15121801

Is All Renewable Energy Sustainable?

Work on a controversial dam in the Brazilian Amazon has been temporarily halted. The Brazilian government say that the dam is vital to meet Brazil's growing energy needs, while campaigners against the dam say it will flood sections of the rainforest, damage fishing grounds and threaten indigenous communities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15102520

Typhoon batters the Philippines

The Philippines is cleaning up after Typhoon Nesat hit the main island of Luzon on Tuesday. The typhoon was the strongest this year and is known to have killed at least 18 people. The Philippines is considered to be a hazard hotspot. As well as suffering from regular typhoons, it also suffers from flooding, landslides, volcanoes and earthquakes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15086050

Gender Equality still has a long way to go.

Despite women receiving the right to vote last week, a Saudi women was today sentenced to ten lashes for driving a car in Jeddah. The organisation women2drive is currently championing the rights of Saudi women to be able to drive.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15079620

Development and the Environment

Bolivia is currently having an impassioned debate over national development and the protection of the environment. The Bolivian government has started to build a new road that the President Evo Morales says is essential for the economic development of the country. However, the road cuts through a National Park, causing deforestation, pollution and damage to areas inhabited by indigenous groups. After ongoing protests the President has agreed to hold a referendum on the building of the new road.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15065442

Saudi women took one small step to equality when they were given the right to vote in municipal elections and be elected to sit on the Shura Council. Even though this is a step in the right direction, Saudi women still have a long way to go until they are treated equally and fairly. Women are still not allowed to drive or leave the country without a male member of their family.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15052030

In India the country's main planning body has come into criticism for suggesting that half a dollar a day is adequate for villagers to live on and buy food, water, education and healthcare. In cities they have suggested that 66 cents is adequate. Currently about 37% of India live below the poverty line and critics have argued that this is an attempt to artificially reduce these figure and reduce welfare payments. Critics have said that these new figures completely ignoring the rising cost of living with inflation hitting nearly 10%.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14998248

People in the Philippines have found a great way to save money and save electricity. Electricity in the Philippines is the most expensive in Asia, accounting for a significant proportion of poor peoples expenditure. One budding entrepreneur has overcome the problem using only a small piece of metal, a plastic bottle and water (cost about $1). By filling the plastic water bottle with water and putting through the roof of the house, light naturally refracted around the room, stopping the need for artificial light and paying for electricity.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14967535

In the UK the courts have give permission for the local government to evict up to 400 travellers from a plot that they own. The plot of land is a brownfield site, but it is also located in the rural-urban fringe. The council wants to evict the travellers for failing to get proper planning permission.

This is an interesting story in terms of the debate about developments on brownfield sites and the rural-urban fringe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14983284

In L'Aquila, Italy six scientists are currently being prosecuted for allegedly giving false information about the likelihood of an earthquake in L'Aquila. Prosecutors say that the scientists underestimated the risk and made reassuring statements. The defendents have pointed out that it is impossible to predict earthquakes.

More than 309 people were killed in the 6.9 magnitude earthquake of 2009.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14981921

On your day off yesterday you may have felt a small earthquake. The USGS (US Geological Survey) had recorded the earthquake on their website within ten minutes. The epicentre of the earthquake was in Guatemala near the El Salvador border, about 100km from Santa Tecla. The earthquake measured 5.8 on the Richter Scale.

After the main earthquake there were two smaller earthquakes. One person was killed in the earthquakes.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005wx9.php

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/19/world/americas/guatemala-earthquake/index.html?hpt=ila_c2

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