Search

After years of protests by the Dongria Kondh tribe and human rights groups, India's Minister of the Environment - Jairam Ramesh - stopped Vedanta Resources PLC from continuing to mine in an area considered sacred. A government report also found Vedanta was in violation of the country's environmental and forestry laws.

Indian government officials say that Vedanta Resources PLC violated environmental laws and may have violated rights of local tribespeople at its planned bauxite ore mining site in the state of Orissa. The government claims Vedanta's aluminum unit started work on the project before final governmental clearance.

Byline: PRASENJIT BHATTACHARYA; WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF The Philippines, the world's biggest rice importer, called off its largest rice tender of the year yesterday, saying it expects prices to fall [...]

The article discusses bureaucracy and regulations in India that have created delays and made it difficult for steel-producer ArcelorMittal to build new steel plants there, thus prompting the company to focus more on investments in other countries including Canada and Brazil.

The article reports on the 72 percent increase in the profit posted by Tata Steel Ltd. for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011.

The article reports that Posco has been given approval by a federal panel in India to construct a 12-billion U.S. dollar steel project in Orissa.

The article reports on the order released by Indian federal environment and forests ministry to suspend land purchases for the proposed plant of South Korean steelmaker Posco that has been marred with delays.

The article reports on the plan of India for a major expansion of its nuclear program according to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In a statement before a function held in New Delhi on September 30, 2009 to honor International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Mohamed El Baradei, Singh stressed the importance of nuclear energy in closing the energy gap in developing countries like India. The country has 17 nuclear power plants while an additional six facilities are planned to be built.

The article reports that the efforts of Asia to adopt biofuels are faltering as a surge in food prices forces governments to look for crops other than corn and palm oil with which to make the fuels. According to the article, the shift to low-maintenance crops as feedstock could yield the policy push which is needed for the growth of the Asian biofuels industry.

Reports on the state of the economy in India as the country's raw-materials consumption remains sluggish, as of June 21, 2005.

The article presents news briefs from around the world on several topics including the net profit earned during 2012 by the European Central Bank, the scheduling of parliamentary elections in Egypt for April 28, 2013, and claims by Venezuelan television network Globovision that the government was trying to stop it from broadcasting.

The article offers corporate news briefs as of November 7, 2012, on companies including pharmaceutical firm Novartis AG, steel company Tata Steel Ltd., and mining company BHP Billiton Ltd.

The article discusses a scandal in India involving allegations that the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh allocated licenses for coal-block mining that should have been auctioned off, thus costing the government billions of dollars in lost revenues.

This section offers news briefs on corporations as of June 17, 2011, including the possible association between the smoking-cessation drug Chantix from Pfizer Inc. with an increased risk of heart attacks, the decision of Tata Steel Ltd. to sell its 26.27 stake in Riversdale Mining Ltd. to Rio Tinto, and a 16 percent increase in the fiscal quarter earnings of Kroger Co.

The article reports that Grupo Mexico SAB increased its bid to acquire Asarco LLC, a copper smelter in the U.S., to 2.2 billion U.S. dollars. The bid increase is to obtain ownership of the company which is also targeted by rival Vedanta Resources PLC. Judge Richard Schmidt of the U.S. bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Texas, is evaluating which reorganization plan is better.

This section offers news briefs on corporations including a plan by Mazda Motor Corp. to stop building the midsize Mazda6 sedan, the European Commission's decision to include the aviation industry in a proposed emissions-trading system, and the 24.1% stake in a European natural-gas-transport venture sold by Statoil ASA to a group of foreign funds.

The article reports on clampdowns executed by authorities on rice profiteers in Asia. The police in India have raided warehouses around New Delhi and Mumbai in a bid to prevent traders from illegally hoarding large inventories of rice. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has demanded a stop to the sale of subsidized rice in public markets. It adds that the speed of the increase in the price of rice is driven by hoarding and theft.