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Pipeline Leaks in Caspian Sea Oil Project To Cost $4 Billion
Pratap Chatterjee
October 9th, 2014
Kashagan, Kazakhstan's flagship offshore oil project in the Caspian Sea, will need to spend some $4 billion to repair 200 kilometres of pipelines that are leaking corrosive sulphur-containing gas, according to new estimates. The reports confirm long standing fears of environmental organizations and the local community.
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 | | Photo: John C Bullas. Used under Creative Commons license.
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Facebook Changes Names Policy In Partial Victory for Privacy Activists
Richard Smallteacher
October 6th, 2014
Gay and transgendered performers have forced Facebook, the popular social network wesbite, to make changes to its “real names” policy to allow them to appear online under their stage names. The company has not, however, offered a way for people to keep their identities private
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 | | Drag performers in San Francisco. Photo: Alan, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Used under Creative Commons license. |
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Indian Rose Exporter Declares Bankruptcy in the Netherlands
Pratap Chatterjee
October 2nd, 2014
A subsidiary of Karaturi Global, the Indian flower export multinational accused of land grabbing in Ethiopia and Kenya, has been declared bankrupt by a Dutch court. The company owes some $300,000 in the Netherlands, as well as upwards of $4 million in taxes in Kenya.
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 | | Photo: Ethiopian Roses. Planète à Vendre (used under Creative Commons license) |
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Fashion District Businesses Accused of Laundering Mexican Drug Money
Richard Smallteacher
September 30th, 2014
One thousand law enforcement officers staged an early morning raid on dozens of businesses in Los Angeles fashion district to seize $65 million allegedly derived from drug trafficking. QT Fashion, a company that imports wholesale maternity wear from China to Mexico, provided a key to the money laundering scheme.
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 | | Money seized in the Los Angeles fashion district raid. Source: U.S. Department of Justice. |
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Amazon Workers in Germany Strike for Better Pay
Richard Smallteacher
September 23rd, 2014
Some 2,000 German employees of Amazon, the internet retail giant, walked off their jobs this week at four sites - Bad Hersfeld, Graben, Leipzig and Rheinberg. The strike action was coordinated by Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (United Services Union), a Berlin trade union commonly known as Ver.di.
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 | | Ver.di workers on strike outside an Amazon warehouse in Germany. Photo: ver.di Facebook |
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Kosmos Energy Prepares to Drill for Oil in Disputed Western Sahara
Pratap Chatterjee
September 19th, 2014
Kosmos Energy, a Texas oil company, is preparing to drill for oil in Western Sahara, a disputed territory currently controlled by Morocco. The company has dispatched a state of the art oil rig to begin operations later this year, according to Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), an activist group.
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 | | Western Sahara activists in Spain protests against Kosmos drilling. Photo courtesy Western Sahara Resource Watch |
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Actavis Sued To Stop Forced Switch To New Alzheimer's Drug
Richard Smallteacher
September 16th, 2014
Actavis, the world's third-largest generic drug manufacturer, has been sued by New York state to prevent it from forcing patients to take a new version of a popular Alzheimer's drug. The company is attempting to hook patients on an extended release version before its U.S. patent expires next year.
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 | | Pills. Photo: e-magineart.com.. Used under Creative Commons license |
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Migrant Rights Activist Fights Thai Pineapple Company Lawsuit
Pratap Chatterjee
September 12th, 2014
Natural Fruit, one of Thailand’s largest pineapple processors, has sued Andy Hall, a British researcher, over a report that he worked on for Finnwatch on labor abuses in the industry. Hall faces some seven years in jail and $10 million in fines.
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 | | Private label pineapple juice products on sale in Finland. Photo: Finnwatch |
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