>> The Zambian Parliament has amended the Mines and Minerals Act allowing the government to levy higher taxes on mining companies by abolishing all existing agreements. Mining companies operating

With a smile on her tanned face, skiier Kazumi Furukawa can vividly recall the time three years ago she stood here on Mount Zao and looked down at fir trees turned into glittering crystals. "The sky was cobalt blue and I could see the tiny snow crystals on the tips of the tree branches," Furukawa, 56, remembers. But these days the natural phenomenon is growing rarer and scientists say the culprit is beyond Japan's control -- industrial pollution from China.

A major earthquake and two aftershocks hit China's north-western region of Xinjiang on Friday morning, the China Earthquake Administration said, but there were no initial reports of casualties or dama

Chinese group here to identify land for industrial zone

At least 27 Chinese miners were missing in two separate accidents concealed by mine owners in northeastern Heilongjiang province, a state-run news agency reported Wednesday.

The jute industry has urged the ministry of textiles (MoT) to impose a ban on the imports of A.Twill and B.Twill jute bags from Bangladesh as part of its qualitative restriction. It has also requested the ministry for quantitative restrictions, whereby imports from Bangladesh will be limited giving a breather to the domestic jute industry. The country imported around 55,000 tonnes of jute products from Bangladesh, Nepal, China and Pakistan during 2006-07 jute season. The government recently made jute and jute goods imports duty free. According to the industry, qualitative and quantitative restrictions are required to be maintained as rules on these line have already been laid down in the Jute Mandatory Packaging Act (JPMA). In a letter to A K Singh, secretary, MoT, the jute industry has pointed out the events leading to the adverse effect faced by it because of the withdrawal of import duty on the crop and items. Indian Jute Mills Association ( IJMA) chairman, Sanjay Kajaria said, quantitative and qualitative restrictions need to be imposed to plug loopholes on imported jute bags by certain vested interested persons. Moreover, the restrictions would also ensure the stoppage of import of cheap and non-standard quality of jute bags which are not in conformity with Indian and international standards. The industry feels, unrestricted import of the raw crop and jute goods would be disastrous and therefore should be stopped immediately.

Exports to Japan of some Chinese-made food items have come to a halt as Chinese inspectors are taking time to rigorously check product safety following the discovery of tainted meat dumplings in Japa

Chinese domestic coking coal prices are expected to rise $14 per tonne next month, which could trigger problems for the Indian steel industry whose demand for coke is expected to touch 85.34 million metric tons by 2011-12. "Chinese domestic coking coal prices are expected to rise by 100 yuan ($14) per tonne for March delivery, pushed up by strong demand for coke,' the Metal Bulletin reported. Coal producers in China are talking about raising prices next month in the face of strong demand as steel mills gradually ramp up production after the snowstorms, it quoted Chinese trading sources as saying. Currently, coking coal is transacting at 1,300-1,400 yuan per tonne in Shanxi province, China's largest coal and coke producer. This is double the price paid in the middle of last year. Indian Steel Alliance sources said that rise in Chinese coking coal prices could generate problems for the Indian steel industry as domestic firms are considerably dependent on the neighbouring country for coke. Recent force majeure announcements by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto at several hard coking coal mines in Queensland, Australia, have also seriously affected many Asian steel mills and caused a global shortage of coking coal supply.