The News Review:

- Students plug Cuba’s water leaks
- Taps to turn back on at 56 schools
- Ethiopia signs grant agreements with Japan, World Bank
- Government view sought

Students plug Cuba’s water leaks
BBC News – Jun 24, 2006
The students belong to the university’s Engineers Without Borders society which is working on a project to optimise and control urban Cuban water. They aim to test their system in the area of the Polytechnic University of Havana, which serves 5,000 people. The final project’s aim is to set up an efficient automated water network. Supply problemsThe work is a follow-up to the university’s 2005 Mondialogo engineering award-winning project, which researched best practice for the Cuban electrical and water supplies.

Taps to turn back on at 56 schools
Seattle Post Intelligencer – Jun 24, 2006
According to a statement Friday, district staff members are investigating leads but have yet to determine conclusively where the toxic substance came from. Testing is expected to wrap up at the remaining schools in the next month, and the district will release a full report to the citizen Water Oversight Committee at the end of July. Other schools will have their drinking water supply turned back on when tests show their water meets district water quality standards. School Board policy requires schools’ drinking water supply to be regularly tested for lead, copper, cadmium and iron, but not arsenic. The elevated arsenic levels might not have been caught, had they not been noticed by a laboratory technician during a routine review of water quality samples. The samples, taken from five elementary schools in April, registered levels of arsenic slightly above the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards of 10 parts per billion…
Testing is expected to wrap up at the remaining schools in the next month, and the district will release a full report to the citizen Water Oversight Committee at the end of July. Other schools will have their drinking water supply turned back on when tests show their water meets district water quality standards. School Board policy requires schools’ drinking water supply to be regularly tested for lead, copper, cadmium and iron, but not arsenic. The elevated arsenic levels might not have been caught, had they not been noticed by a laboratory technician during a routine review of water quality samples. The samples, taken from five elementary schools in April, registered levels of arsenic slightly above the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards of 10 parts per billion. The fixtures — from Gatewood, Leschi, Loyal Heights, Van Asselt and Alternative Elementary No.

Ethiopia signs grant agreements with Japan, World Bank
People's Daily Online – Jun 24, 2006
He said the Ethiopian government has designed a five-year strategic plan aimed at realizing development goals. Ambassador Izumi on his part said the Japanese government would shortly conduct studies to launch similar projects in north Ethiopia’s Afar and Tigray states. The Japanese government has provided 4. 5 million dollars for the implementation of the first phase of the water supply project in South Ethiopia People’s State. Similarly, a grant agreement, amounting to 1 million dollars was signed between Ethiopia and the World Bank. According to the agreement, the grant would be used for the preparation of north Ethiopia’s Tana-Beles water resources development project, which will improve the development as well as the management of land and water resources of the Tana-Beles subbasins to contribute to accelerated socioeconomic development of the country. State Minister of Finance Mekonnen and Herber Acquacy, acting country director of the World Bank to Ethiopia, signed the agreement.

Government view sought
Hindu – Jun 24, 2006
The court ordered the Government pleader to get the report within one week. The court issued the directives while considering a petition filed by an Assistant Engineer against the Lok Ayukta order directing the engineer to appear in person for not giving water connection to an individual. The court said the water authority did not have any finance or direction to improve the water supply qualitatively and quantitatively. So, the only solution appeared to be to entrust the drinking water supply to private agencies instead of allowing water authority’s monopoly to continue. Notice to meat vendors Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan issued notices to meat vendors to express their views on the complaint that meat vending shops were functioning as slaughterhouses. The judge pointed out that in their affidavits, most of the local bodies said that they did not have any slaughterhouses and that they have granted licence only for selling meat.