World

Renewable Energy Gets Global Boost

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A lot of global energy went into the creation of a new international agency that aims to promote a clean and green world — but many environmentalists fear the effort may not be enough. Inter Press Service reports that some 75 nations endorsed the creation of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in January — excepting China and the United States, the world’s biggest polluters. Funding and staffing is also a concern. IRENA’s $25 million budget is just a tenth of that of Greenpeace International, according to the environmental advocacy group. There is also a question about how much clout IRENA can have without official status as a United Nations organization.

Environment

Salmon Imports May Bring Banned Chemicals

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The Pew Environment Group recently obtained documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showing that Chilean salmon farmers are using chemicals and medications banned by regulators in the United States and Europe. Chile is America’s biggest suppliers of salmon and the second largest exporter of salmon in the world, reports PR Newswire. The farms — including Chile’s two largest salmon producers — are using the antibiotics flumequine and oxolinic acid, plus emamectin benzoate, a pesticide, to treat salmon destined for foreign markets. People who eat fish treated with antibiotics may develop resistance to the drug, making them vulnerable to certain types of bacterial infection, according to the report. Emamectin, the pesticide, is known to be “very toxic to aquatic organisms” and harmful to the environment.

World

Kosovo: A Brittle Peace?

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One year since Kosovo’s secession from Serbia, the fledgling country is at peace but struggling with severe poverty and unemployment. Economic challenges, corruption and lawlessness persist, especially in the mostly Serbian north. While interactions between Serbs and majority Albanians have remained non-violent, Deutsche Welle reports that “ethnic tensions and conflicts are still bubbling below the surface.” On February 10, thousands of Serbs gathered in Mitrovica to protest Kosovo’s mostly Albanian security forces. Pieter Feith, the EU’s representative to Pristina, said the protest “highlights the continued fragility of the situation on the ground.”

World

Russia Plans New Military Bases Near Georgia

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A plan to open military bases in the contested province of Abkhazia could threaten Georgia and extend Russian military power abroad, reports Eurasianet.org. Russia is working to restore an old Soviet air base in the breakaway Georgian region, and plans to open a naval base on the Black Sea as well. Abkhazia’s separatist government welcomes the bases due to what Russian military officials call the “threat of … terrorist attacks by Georgian special services.” Yet the new bases shine a more strategic light on Russia’s support for Abkhazian independence.

Economy

An Asian Tiger Comes (House) Hunting

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A group of Chinese tourists in America may go home with the ultimate souvenir: a house. The China Daily, published by China’s Communist Party, reports that more than 300 Chinese have signed up for a 10-day house-hunting trip organized by real estate Web site, Soufun.com. Potential homebuyers are capitalizing on low prices following the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis and the current global recession. The trip costs roughly 25,000 Yuan, or $3,500 and will target houses in the $400,000-$700,000 range, focusing on metropolitan areas with large numbers of ethnic Chinese in states such as California, Nevada and New York. Those interested include real estate professionals looking for cheap investment opportunities and parents of children studying in the United States.