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Archive for December 7th, 2010
21 bodies found in Colombia mudslide
Posted by New York Times: Simon Romero on December 7th, 2010
New York Times: Colombian rescue teams on Monday recovered 21 bodies of victims killed by a mudslide that ripped through a poor hillside area above Medellín, but they feared that more than a hundred other people, including dozens of children, might have died in the disaster. The mudslide, which occurred Sunday even as a clear blue sky prevailed over Medellín, was induced by heavy rains in recent weeks that have damaged as many as 200,000 homes across Colombia. So far, the rains, considered the worst in Colombia...
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Laos: World Bank-backed Dam Powers Ahead, Despite Social Cost
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on December 7th, 2010
Inter Press Service: As the World Bank returns to the big dam business with the inauguration of Laos’ largest hydropower project, it is coming under the scrutiny of familiar adversaries: green groups and grassroots activists.
On the eve of the Dec. 9 ceremony to celebrate the Nam Theun Two (NT2) hydropower project in the landlocked country, a coalition of activists fired a letter to the Bank’s president, Robert Zoellick, citing social and environmental troubles that have surfaced with the building of NT2.
"More...
Scottish government under pressure over winter gridlock
Posted by Guardian: Severin Carrell and James Meikle on December 7th, 2010
Guardian: The Scottish government is under pressure to explain why it failed to prevent the chaos which left hundreds of motorists stranded overnight in sub-zero temperatures and severe gridlock on the roads.
Thousands of commuters, lorry drivers and travellers were caught out by heavy snow and treacherous ice which hit central Scotland yesterday, causing chaos during the morning rush-hour and left major roads blocked for up to 20 hours by accidents and abandoned vehicles.
Hundreds of drivers were forced...
Colombia landslide kills 19, more than 100 missing
Posted by Reuters: Albeiro Lopera on December 7th, 2010
Reuters: Rescuers pulled 19 bodies on Monday from a mudslide in northwestern Colombia where more than 100 people are still missing after weeks of heavy rain across the Andean nation.
Relatives sobbed as rescue workers and neighbors used earthmovers, picks and shovels to dig through the mud after a sodden hillside collapsed on Sunday and buried 50 homes in Bello town, near Antioquia province's capital Medellin.
"In total we have recovered 19 bodies and we are still searching," said Jorge Ivan Nova, sub-director...