In court

Mining firm Acquitted: On April 24, 2007, Newmont Mining Corporation, the world's biggest gold producer, and one of its executives were acquitted of charges related to dumping unsafe levels of toxic waste into a bay off Indonesia's Sulawesi Island. The judge said documents presented during the trial could not prove that the waste exceeded government standards. The decision has received flak from environmental groups, who demanded changes in Indonesia's obsolete mining laws.

Canal tension: A recent ruling by a US court approving an overhaul plan of the All-American Canal--the world's largest irrigation canal--has caused much tension among Mexican farmers. They fear the canal relining could harm a fragile wetland and leave many villages in the Mexican valley dry. The canal runs along the California-Mexico border and provides water to Mexican farmers as well as to consumers in the US.