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Chinese building materials provider Yekalon Industry Inc says it will take legal action “at any cost” to defend its self-developed locking technology for laminate and wood floorings.

The private company, based in the southern boom city of Shenzhen adjacent to Hong Kong, was charged by its much stronger competitor Unilin, a subsidiary of the US-listed Mohawk and located in Belgium, with patent infringement at a world fair in Germany in January.

“We have hired top-notch lawyers in Germany and will appear at the court of Hamburg on Wednesday,” said Wilson He Yixin, chairman of Yekalon. “We will never surrender to these groundless allegations.”

The focus of the case lies in a glueless locking technology for laminate and wood floorings. Unilin has owned patents since 1996 for the method and duopolized the market with another European company, Valinge.

However, the Chinese company invented a new locking method in 2005 which can connect the flooring by vertically tapping in the edges of the planks instead of the established technique of angling and snapping horizontally, according to He.

“Our locking technology is completely self-developed. It works theoretically different from that of Unilin. How can we infringe its patents?” he asked, adding that Yekalon has applied for international patents for the invention under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and will soon complete the process.

It is the second big clash between Yekalon and Unilin.

In July 2006, 18 Chinese flooring exporters, including Yekalon, were put under a Section 337 investigation by the US International Trade Commission (USITC) for patent infringement by Unilin and its subsidiaries.

Yekalon was the only company in the group that was not condemned by the investigation because the USITC found that its locking technology did not infringe the patent claims asserted.

The other Chinese companies who were using Unilin’s locking technology were ordered to pay $100,000 to $120,000 in royalties and $0.65 in royalties per cubic meter to the patent owner, or they would not be allowed to export their glueless laminate flooring panels to the US market.

It’s estimated that both Unilin and Valinge could earn more than $1 billion in royalties and licensing fees from flooring companies around the world.

A seminar on the documentary A Year in Tibet by famous writer and director Sun Shuyun was held Saturday in Beijing and drew a big crowd of scholars to discuss the work’s implications and influences since it was released last year.

The five-episode documentary, filmed in Gyantse, the third largest county in Tibet Autonomous Region, records the life of eight Tibetans and their everyday ups and downs. The crew spent a year following a village shaman, a doctor, a junior Party official, a hotel runner, a rickshaw puller, a builder and two monks from Palkor Monastery.

Tiger Woods had the lead and was ready to turn the Tour Championship into a runaway Friday.

First came a 5-wood up the hill on the par-5 15th that narrowly cleared the bunker, hopped onto the green and rolled toward the flag until it stopped just over 4 feet away. On the next hole, Woods started walking before his shot began its descent to inside 4 feet.

There were so many fans around the 16th green that it was hard to read the video board showing Woods’ PGA Tour ranking on putts between 4 and 5 feet. No one would have been surprised to see that Woods had only missed seven from that length all year.

This time, he missed them both.

Woods still wound up in the lead Friday at East Lake with a 2-under 68, one shot ahead of Padraig Harrington and Sean O’Hair. Woods might have an even stronger grip on the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus.

He was fuming over the missed putts. He found perspective shortly after signing for his seventh consecutive round in the 60s.

“The day as a whole was a good day,” Woods said. “I shot under par, and I got myself … in the lead.”

It couldn’t have been that bad, not when all the attention was on two holes where he made a birdie and a par.

“Obviously, I didn’t expect him to miss two in a row,” Harrington said after a 69. “I looked up at the stats on the board just before he hit it, and he’s No. 1 from that range. I don’t think he misses two in a row all year. That’s probably for sure he hasn’t missed two in a row on the year. So it was a surprise.”

Not so surprising was Woods in the lead, his 16th time this year to end a round atop the leaderboard. He was at 5-under 135 and in great position for the FedEx Cup. None of the other top five seeds, who can win the $10 million bonus with a victory at East Lake, were among the top 10 on the leaderboard going into the weekend.

Even so, Woods could have made it easier on himself.

One moment, it looked as though Woods was about to double the size of his lead to four shots. Three holes and 30 minutes later, everything pointed Harrington tying for the lead.

When it was over, the possibilities were plenty.

Ernie Els came to life with five birdies over his last 10 holes for a 66 and was only two shots behind at 3-under 137. Kenny Perry, who nearly wilted in the heat Thursday, also had a 66 and was at 2-under 138, along with Jerry Kelly (67).

Masters change Angel Cabrera (67), U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover (71) and British Open champion Stewart Cink (72) were in the group at 1-under 139.

The FedEx Cup is still a possibility for the likes of Harrington and O’Hair, both of whom are more concerned now with the crystal trophy and mere $1.35 million from winning the Tour Championship.

“If I win this golf tournament and Tiger finishes second … I’m going to be throwing a big party and jumping with joy,” O’Hair said. “If I don’t win the 10 million bucks, I should have played better. A win is a win. Let’s face it, I’ve got to win this golf tournament to win the $10 million. If I do my job, that’s all I can do.”

It all starts with Woods, who appears to be on his game.

Three straight birdies to close out the front nine put Woods atop the leaderboard, and he really put on a show over the final hour before fans that crammed behind the ropes on both sides of the fairway.

He turned a sure bogey into an amazing par on the 13th. From a suspect lie in the bunker, 190 yards up the hill toward the green, his shot came perfectly and landed just over the back, although it sank to the bottom of the Bermuda rough and he could only chip to 20 feet. Woods saved par with a putt that curled in the right side on the final turn.

Then came the eagle chance on the 15th and the birdie chance at the 16th, both misses. Woods made a tough par on the 17th with a downhill putt from 8 feet, then closed out his unpredictable back nine with a bogey on the par-3 18th. He had to hit a flop shot from left of the green and came up a yard short, the ball staying in the rough.

“Today’s round probably could have been one or two better, for sure,” Woods said. “But overall, I’m very pleased with my scoring the first two days.”

Harrington missed his share of putts — from 6 feet on the 14th leading to bogey, and a 5-foot birdie chance he missed on the 17th. He was pleased to still be in the hunt for the Tour Championship, even as the FedEx Cup looks out of reach.

“I’m in good position as regards to the tournament, probably not the best position as regards to the FedEx Cup,” Harrington said. “It’s a little bit out of my control. But I’m looking forward to the weekend. I left a few shots out there toward the end, but overall, I knew there was another 36 holes to play. And I’ve got to make things happen at some stage.”

Woods and Harrington will be paired Saturday for the ninth time this year, five of those over the last two months. Harrington enjoys the company, even though Woods has gotten the best of him.

“You know you’re going to be in contention, and you know you’re going to have a chance of winning the tournament the more you play with Tiger,” Harrington said.

Scientists in Ireland found regions of the brain that may hold the key to why some cocaine users become addicts while others just take the drug socially, media reported Tuesday.

Researchers said brain scans of cocaine users while they performed simple computer tasks showed changes in the part of the brain responsible for controlling behavior and making appropriate decisions.

This could explain why some people find it easier to quit than others and may shed light on long-term addiction, said Hugh Garavan, a cognitive neuroscientist at Trinity College Dublin.

“Most people who try to quit drugs relapse,” Garavan said. “It might have to do with how intact these brain regions are.”

Garavan and colleagues used MRI scans to show that cocaine users had reduced neural activity marked by reduced blood flow to the part of the brain involved in things like problem solving, decision making and controlling behavior. Some people were administered cocaine in the experiments.

“This research helps us move away from thinking of drug dependence as a moral weakness and allows us to see it as more of a medical condition.”

“One would hope this research would guide the development of new treatments including the development of pharmacological solutions to addiction,” Garavan said.

Cocaine, initially used in patent medicines, beverages and tonics around the turn of the 20th Century, is a drug that in powdered form can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Its derivative crack cocaine is even more powerful.

An estimated 1 to 3 percent of adults in developed countries use the drug, which has been linked to a number of medical, psychological and social problems including crime, violence and the spread of diseases like AIDS and hepatitis, according to the World Health Organisation.

Home to what many call the Cradle of Civilization, and whose capital was later immortalized for its splendor and sensuality in tales of the “Arabian Nights,” Iraq has millennia of rich history to offer tourists.

But while violence is down to lows not seen since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, insurgents are still capable of launching attacks, making Iraq a highly dangerous destination for all but the most adventurous of tourists.

In March, Iraq actually received its first group of Western tourists since the fall of Saddam Hussein, but in August, attacks across the country and in Baghdad killed some 393 people in one of the bloodiest months of the year.

If the violence dies down and security improves, tourists with a keen interest in the Middle East would find Mesopotamia, the old Greek name meaning the “Land of the two Rivers” for what is now Iraq, a fascinating place to visit.

Below, a Reuters correspondent with local knowledge helps you make the most of your stay. If you don’t speak Arabic, it would be ideal to travel with an English-speaking Iraqi driver who has local knowledge of the security situation.

Women should dress conservatively generally, and on some occasions, especially when visiting religious sites, will need to wear a headscarf.

FRIDAY

Noon - Once the capital of a medieval caliphate, Baghdad has been home to many notable Arab poets and novelists. Pay them homage by visiting the book market, open every Friday, on al-Mutanabi Street, named after a renowned 10th century poet.

The Ottoman-era street was once the center of Baghdad’s rich intellectual life. Hunt for literary treasures in the maze of bookstores.

2 p.m. - Take a break from book shopping to drink syrupy sweet Iraqi tea and smoke a fruity waterpipe, or “narguileh,” at Gahwet Al-Shabandar, a haven for Iraq’s intellectuals.

5 p.m. - For some colonial history, head to the Bab al-Shorji district near the Armenian cemetery where the “Queen of Baghdad,” Gertrude Bell, is buried.

Appointed as Oriental Secretary, the British traveler, writer and linguist was credited with drawing the boundaries of modern Iraq after the Ottoman Empire’s fall at the end of World War One. She died in 1926.

7 p.m. - Back in the capital, head to any one of many restaurants in the central upscale Karrada district in Baghdad for a dinner of quzi, a traditional Iraqi dish of stuffed roast lamb and rice.

9 p.m. - Visit The Bridge of the Imams, which connects the Adhamiya and Khadhimiya neighborhoods of Baghdad, named for the medieval Sunni and Shi’ite holy men whose landmark shrines lie on opposite sides of the Tigris. Visit the Khadhimiya shrine and the Abu Hanifa mosque in Adhamiya, hugely symbolic religious sites in Baghdad.

The bridge reopened with great fanfare in late 2008 after rumors of a suicide bombing in 2005 caused thousands of Shi’ites crossing the bridge for a pilgrimage to panic, triggering a stamped that killed 1,000 people.

9 a.m. - Visit the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon, the home of the Hanging Gardens, one of the original wonders of the ancient world.

Though its treasures have been plundered by looters and European imperial powers long ago and U.S. troops and coalition armies have parked tanks on the site, there are still some ruins remaining.

Officials are working on preserving Babylon, a place that gave birth to milestones of civilization like agriculture, writing, codified law, and the wheel.

10 a.m. - While you’re taking in the ruins, take a tour of a palace that Saddam Hussein built in 1988 that sits on a man-made hill overlooking the ancient city. The ostentatious palace boasts marble halls, views of the Euphrates river and carved wall panels. Many parts of it have been neglected because of the war, but its guest house is receiving guests and the gardens have been well-kept. Rooms can cost up to $170 a night.

1 p.m. - Back in Baghdad, head to the upscale al-Mansour district in western Baghdad for lunch at Zarzour restaurant, which specializes in Iraqi kebab.

3 p.m. - Head down to Shorja Market, the largest outdoor market in Baghdad, famous for selling a large array of Indian spices, ceramics and craftware souvenirs. Also popular is traditional Arabian garb with intricate hand-stitching.

Nearby, is the “Copper Market,” selling a wide variety of copperware - trays, bowls and water vessels. Note that you’ll pass by al-Rasheed Street on your way to the market, one of the oldest streets of Baghdad.

5 p.m. - Take a stroll down the eucalyptus tree-lined Abu Nawas street, named after a famous 8th century poet of Persian and Arab descent. The street, overlooking the River Tigris, is lined with fish restaurants, nightclubs and a park.

8 p.m. - Choose one of many riverside restaurants on Abu Nawas street serving Iraq’s contribution to the culinary world, mazgouf, a traditional carp dish roasted over a wood fire.

SUNDAY

8 a.m. - Pay a visit to the Askari shrine in Samarra, about an hour’s drive north of Baghdad.

The bombing of the al-Askari Mosque, also known as the Golden Mosque, in February 2006 unleashed a wave of sectarian violence in Iraq that has only abated in the last 18 months. Extensive work has been done to restore the mosque.

The mosque was built in 944 and is one of Iraq’s four holiest Shi’ite shrines. The dome of the sanctuary was completed in 1905 and had been covered by 72,000 golden pieces.

Also nearby is the spiral minaret known as the “malwiya,” one of Samarra’s most distinctive features dating back to the Abbasid caliphate.

12 p.m. - Back in Baghdad, visit Zawraa park in the city center, which has emerged as one of the most popular places for Iraqi families to meet and lovers to date. The Baghdad Zoo is there and so is a relatively modern amusement park. Rent a boat and paddle across a man-made lake, perfect for watching Iraqis’ lives unfold normally once again.

EU and French top officials applauded the G20 financial summit concluded on Saturday for four principles that were reached at the meeting.

“I was very happy with the results of summit,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at a post-summit joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. “It has laid the foundation for the future.”

He noted that the best summary on results of the two-day Summit on Financial Market and World Economy was the four principles, including a coordinated and concerted stimulus through the use of budgetary measures to support demand and the increase of financial assistance to emerging and developing countries and a new regulation for financial markets to prevent a similar crisis from happening again.

The other two principles he mentioned are a global economic governance more open to emerging and developing countries for more justice and efficiency and a rejection of protectionism and more openness towards exchanges.

Barroso acknowledged that there is “no miracle solution” to the ongoing global financial crisis, but with these principles, countries can wish for avoiding deeper crisis.

He also called for real commitment to the action plan yielded from the summit with a hope to bring concrete results to the world economy.

EU, as the only inter-governmental organization of G20 members, has been blaming the current financial crisis for the lax financial regulation, the weak international crisis management capacities and the global current account imbalances.

It has been urging for real change in the global financial system at the G20 summit as a global response to the current financial crisis.

In preparation for the summit, EU leaders agreed last Friday on a set of common lines to take to Washington, including a commitment to new, common standards of oversight, transparency and risk assessment and proposals to strengthen international crisis management.

Moreover, they also proposed a period of 100 days following the summit to draw up and begin implementing new measures.

During his briefing to reporters at the press conference, Sarkozy, whose country currently has the rotating chairmanship in EU, gave credit to the “fairly historical” summit since it was the first time for diverse countries to get together in Washington D.C. and agree on principles and action plans on how to solve the world economic crisis.

He said that the summit agreed on the need for stimulus, and called for coordination in fiscal policies and monitoring method for economic stimulus, to make sure “the crisis is never going to happen again.”

He also urged for a more fair and new economic governance, strengthened financial regulation, and more open commercial and trade relations.

Hours after the end of the first G20 summit, the French president outlined a blueprint for the next gathering of its kind, by proposing that the next summit should be held in London, Britain, which will chair the G20 in 2009.

On the relation with the outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush, Sarkozy said his American counterpart “has been a loyal partner, not always easy, but loyal.”

The two EU officials appeared before media reporters after the formal talks in the summit concluded on Saturday, followed by a series of bilateral talks.

The G20, founded on Sept. 25, 1999 in Washington, serves as an international forum of finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 countries — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the United States — the European Union and the Bretton Woods Institutions, namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

It is the first time for the body, which usually brought together finance ministers and central bank chiefs at annual meetings, to hold a head-of-state meeting in view of the worst economic crisis since 1930s.

The United States has indicated that it expects the meeting as the first step in a process that can lay the ground for future actions, while the European countries, led by France, deem the summit should take quick and necessary actions to produce real results.

As the baseball season grinds toward the World Series and another football season rears its helmeted head, a man’s thoughts turn to fashion.

Of course, that man is undoubtedly a designer, photographer, model or anyone else affiliated with the menswear shows at New York Fashion Week.

Designers exhibiting their 2010 spring collections might be oblivious to the wide world of sports, but they are cognizant of the world outside the runway. Many wove concerns about the jittery economy into their clothing. Some reduced price tags; most stressed the “upbeat” and “optimistic” elements of their designs.

On the runways, unsmiling young men moved about in double-breasted jackets or pleated bucket shorts or even something that appeared to be part skirt, part trouser. And those who watched cheered.

THOM BROWNE

There are those who expect Thom Browne to deliver jaw-dropping designs every fashion season. And they are never disappointed.

For spring 2010, Browne presented an edgy array of menswear, ranging from a topcoat with large polka-dot holes cut in its gray fabric to long pants sporting a crotch dropped so low as to make them look like dresses.

A few ensembles shimmered with mega-sequins, others appeared classically tailored.

The presentation opened to the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” — as if Browne’s designs needed whimsical accompaniment.

A few models paraded by with faces covered in what looked like white or black fish nets. Some wore helmet-like hats with eyeholes of sunglass lenses that seemed like futuristic scuba gear, and a few items were emblazoned with swordfish and seashells.

All the models wore vertical lipstick strips of gray, white or red that nearly rendered their mouths fishlike.

“It wasn’t really lipstick. It was war paint,” Browne insisted.

As if on cue, a model wearing a yellow rain slicker outlined in black appeared as “We all live in a yellow submarine” boomed from the loudspeakers. And in the end, the models streamed off the runway, out the front door and into a big yellow school bus.

DUCKIE BROWN

Sheer genius seemed to be on everyone’s mind at Duckie Brown. Sheer printed shirts and sheer knits punctuated a decidedly resort feel that designers Daniel Silver and Steven Cox gave to the collection.

“We wanted to celebrate the male form,” Silver said.

The designer duo selected various shades of gray and cream to proclaim that “Duckie Days are here again.” Asymmetrical short pants in sandstorm tweed complemented a dark gray, camel check safari jacket. A gray Jersey polo topped a dark gray, twill pleated short.

Asked to pinpoint something entirely different about the collection, Cox replied: “bows.” The bows in question were rather large and tied at the waist.

The designers ignited a few of their ensembles with eye-popping blue and bright banana yellow suede shoes — continuing their collaboration with Florisheim.

A sea of perplexed expressions greeted models wearing “high waist” swimsuits. Apparently, some wondered whether the item was intended as underwear, a male girdle, or worse, a snug-fitting adult diaper.

Cox was not at all put off by the reception.

“The collection is only about two people. Daniel and me,” he said. “I guess we’re very selfish that way.”

PHILLIP LIM

Phillip Lim appropriately presented his “neo-beatnik” spring collection in a sparse, fourth-floor loft with unfinished wood floors. Models lounged in plywood cubicles constructed like a carousel frozen in the center of the room.

If the beatniks of the late 1950s and 1960s represented a displaced, dissatisfied youth, Lim’s neo-version seemed to adopt similar attitudes.

“To me, design is not revolution. It’s evolution,” he said.

Pause here to snap your fingers in beatnik-like approval.

The neo-beatnik is no slouch. Consider a navy double-breasted traveler’s overcoat with a peaked lapel and hand pick-stitch finishing or a black lambskin harrington jacket with knit trim. Windowpane is apparently a neo-beatnik’s preferred pattern. Lim suggests a steel-blue windowpane double-breasted jacket with matching tapered pant with adjustable waist belt. Add an antique white, irregular windowpane shirt.

The presentation of a men’s collection was a first for Lim, though he has been designing men’s fashion for four seasons.

“I felt I should seize the moment to address the other half of the population,” he said.

ROBERT GELLER

For his spring 2010 designs, Robert Geller looked for inspiration in late-1950s Germany.

“I felt that period of German history was a time of hope and renewal,” said the designer, a native of Germany who has lived for 12 years in the United States. “And obviously with the economy as it is today, I wanted to design a hopeful collection.”

His runway models emerged from a leafy, arboreal backdrop — though the color scheme was more autumn than spring.

Geller incorporated “comforting materials” into his collection — cashmere, silks and fine spun cotton. His signature layered look was evident and he resurrected his prison-like vertical-stripe pants. The collection featured colors not typically associated with spring: cobalt and midnight blues, dark plum, ocean gray.

The designer’s favorite: a denim suit (Geller wore a light-blue denim shirt for the show and he designs for Levi’s).

“There really is a power to springtime and I’ve tried to represent that in a way.”

RICHARD CHAI

What seemed to be erotic groans and heavy breathing crescendoed as the lights dimmed at the opening of Richard Chai’s spring collection show. Then nothing happened and the hushed crowd began to murmur and chuckle.

The tease was followed by a booming dance music beat that’s become old hat at fashion settings.

First to appear on the horseshoe runway was a model wearing an ivory/back windowpane balmacaan (loose-fitted coat), an ivory/black cashmere tank top and ivory/black windowpane pleated bucket shorts. And that set the tone for a collection that featured much that was ivory, gray and black.

“I like the ease of it — the collaboration between the sporty cycling element and the tailoring,” Chai said of the collection.

Chai’s ivory cashmere zip-up cycling shirt, silk ribbed cycling shorts and the cycling caps were more tour de force than Tour de France.

Chai added a bit of color to the collection with a blue tweed, double-breasted blazer with matching Bermuda shorts and a berry-red cashmere T-shirt over an ivory windowpane pleated shorts.

CLAIBORNE BY JOHN BARTLETT

Think Ivy League yacht club on a stevedore’s budget.

John Bartlett calls it “Maritime/Prep” and presented it as his spring 2010 line for Liz Claiborne.

Leave it to the Harvard-educated designer to come up with a preppy mix of polo shirts, layered T-shirts, sweater vests, plaids and bow ties. The designer introduced a touch of the nautical with navy and white stripes and sailor pants.

The line marks a dramatic departure from last spring’s collection, which Bartlett acknowledges was “dressed up and suity.”

“You see I’ve added more color and patterns. The wine-berry, foliage green, aqua blue and mandarin orange. And they mix well with khakis and jeans.”

Color Bartlett’s collection cost-conscious. All the items in the presentation cost less than $100 with the exception of a petunia purple blazer ($149).

Electricity generation in Indian-controlled Kashmir is more that 100 years old affair. It was in 1905 that region’s first Hydro Power House started generating electricity and illuminating the houses.

However, 104 years down the line, hundreds of the villages and hamlets are yet to be electrified, says a recent government survey conducted by a Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency in the region, putting the number of un-electrified villages and hamlets at 309 and 9,525 respectively.

“As per the survey in every district of this state, we have un-electrified villages and hamlets. Even in the twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu, we have such villages and hamlets,” said a government official.

Residents in these villages have been relying on traditional methods as a means to illuminate their rooms during evenings. They accuse the government apathy as the reason for non-availability of electricity in their villages.

“Politicians who get elected from our areas have been promising us that electricity supply would be ensured. But the promises are yet to be translated into reality. We light the wood or oil lamps to keep the rooms glowing during evenings,” said Jalal-u-Din, an elderly person of Halanpati village of Kulgam district.

The power development department officials have been saying that electrification of such villages through conventional grid is technically not permissible and would be economically unviable.

While India-controlled Kashmir has the potential to generate around 20,000 MW of electricity, hitherto only 13 percent of this huge potential has been explored.

The government has been able to tap about 1500 MW of electricity, out of that 1,170 MW belong to federal sector. From this, the region gets just a minuscule of royalty.

“Kashmir has the history of hosting one of the earliest, in fact second, hydro power houses in entire South Asia way back in 1905, with the first power house was build in Mysore in Karnataka, southern India. More than 100 years have passed but the potential is nowhere to be tapped as the corruption, disinterested government, flawed policies, political instability and other reasons have marred the process,” says Haroon Mirani, Srinagar based analyst.

The region has a demand of about 1,500 MW. However, it is not met by current power availability of about 800 MW. As a result there are power cuts of about 10 hours daily and in winters the load shedding can shoot beyond 20 hours a day.

Experts say the water-sharing pact reached by Indian and Pakistan in 1960 known as Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is an impediment in harnessing the power potential in India-controlled Kashmir.

According to the treaty out of the six rivers in what is called the Indus basin, India has exclusive rights to the three major southern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutluj, while Pakistan has the rights to three large northern rivers that first flow through India-controlled Kashmir — the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

Prof. Nisar Ali, who teaches economics at the University of Kashmir, has long been urging for compensation to the tune of 17 billion U.S. dollars to India-controlled Kashmir.

He bases his argument citing reasons that Jammu and Kashmir is governed by India, but Pakistan gets major rights regarding storage and building dams on its main rivers.

“This Indus Water treaty is a bottleneck for which the Jammu and Kashmir State has forgone its development, of industry, of power, of agriculture for the last 50 years. We have roughly calculated that around 80 billion rupees is the loss of development on account of non use of available water resources for agricultural development, and for hydro power generation, then consequential impact on expansion of industry, production of goods and services, all these things are opportunity costs on account of Indus water treaty,” he said.

Federal indifference is another major impediment. Energy experts say that New Delhi constructs the power houses in region for its own use and the region’s share has never exceeded beyond 12 percent.

“The region’s best hydro power station 690 MW Salal power project was commissioned way back in 1987 and it has yielded its cost to New Delhi. But still New Delhi is reluctant to handover the project to state,” says an expert with region’s power department.

Now the government to reach the un-electrified villages is contemplating to electrify them using renewable energy technologies.

“The government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in New Delhi for electrification of un-electrified villages and hamlets of the State by deploying renewable energy technologies,” said a Shabir Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Power in the local government.

Khan said his government has already identified un-electrified villages and hamlets and proposal for their electrification through non-conventional sources of energy will be submitted to the New Delhi for funding.

Dating back over 2,000 years to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the western suburb of Songjiang stands as one of the highlights of Shanghai’s ancient history.

Starting off as a simple administrative county, its bustling textile industry soon gained prominence with the onset of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when it provided clothing and bed sheets for the entire nation. Just as prosperous as neighboring Suzhou, the two booming economies collected over half of the country’s taxes.

Also famous for its natural beauty characterized by rivers and creeks that run through the city, it is further blanketed by an abundance of hilly terrain and luscious greens. Songjiang also serves as the de facto source of Shanghai’s Huangpu River, where three of the country’s smaller rivers merge together here to create the vast waterway. It is also the home of Sheshan Hill, which at 99m ranks as the city’s tallest peak.

Religious dawn

The highly developed economy attracted people from all walks of life, who brought along with them various cultural influences to help shape the city’s religious birth. The early 20th century saw the construction of five places of worship: a Taoist temple, a Buddhist temple, a Catholic cathedral, a Muslim mosque and a Christian church. Grouped together along the main street, these religious institutions ushered in their respective religions.

The 1,000-year-old Buddhist temple Xilin grew to become the most renowned temple in the Yangtze Delta. Its signature mark is its northern chamber tower made of brick and wood that stands at 46 m.

Equally famous is the Mosque, one of the oldest Islamic buildings of its kind in China. Originating from the late 13th century, it later collapsed and was officially rebuilt at the order of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Though its unique architectural style strictly follows Islamic principles, it somehow remains aesthetically in tune with the landscape of the Yangtze River Delta by details commonly found in Chinese gardens.

In the 19th century, about 200 years after Catholicism first took root in Songjiang, several foreign missionaries started working routes along the Yangtze Delta. By the 1870s, more than 100,000 people in the city claimed to be Catholic, praying under the roof of the city’s cathedral.

But as more pilgrims migrated to Sheshan at the beginning of the 20th century, the cathedral was torn down to build a newer, bigger one that could accommodate the growing number of followers. Designed by Spanish-Chinese priest Ye Zhaochang, it took a decade to complete, combining various architectural styles with Roman arches, Greek columns, Gothic spires, an Israeli bell tower, and Chinese floor patterns and rooftop tiles.

Every May, pilgrims from across China make their way to the cathedral for prayer, climbing up Sheshan Hill from its south gate. The trek includes passing a series of 14 pavilions that detail the life of Christ.

Needle pulling thread

The advanced textile industry gave rise to Gu Mingshi’s famous embroidery in Songjang, an art so intricate and unique it has been listed as a national intangible cultural heritage since 2006.

In the Ming Dynasty garden home, Gu and his family, who reveled in arts and literature, befriended many aristocrats, artists and writers, many of whom influenced his work. But unlike other craftsman, Gu’s household made embroidery purely for their own enjoyment, not to sell to others. Though only a few of their pieces remain today, they all have high aesthetic and historic value; many replicate paintings by ancient masters.

The women in Gu’s family would start by embossing a painting onto a piece of silk to create a background of vivid, layered rich colors. With various needles and many different colored threads, they had a creative knack for intertwining the two into one mesmerizing product.

In the early 20th century, Gu Yulan, a descendant of Gu’s, revived the ancient craft, bringing it back into the mainstream by teaching Songjiang locals the art that had been over the years passed down to successive generations. To this day, the city remains a respected center for the traditional art. Many masterpieces created by Songjiang locals have received international awards, and are often given as national gifts to visiting foreign leaders.

Indonesia had 21,202 hotspots of land and forest fire as of Sept. 7, with 11,393 in central Kalimantan province and 9,808 in Riau province, a minister said on Thursday.

Minister of Environment Rachmat Witoelar said that the two provinces always have forest and land fire in dry season every year.

“This year, smoke triggered by the fire started on July 19 in Sumatra Island while in Kalimantan Island started on Aug. 21,” said Rachmat.

The minister said that the fire was triggered by land clearing that used “cheap method” of burning forest and land by big wood companies and ordinary people.

According to the ministry’s data, in 2006 Indonesia had 33,770 hotspots, 15,939 in 2007 and 17,118 in 2008.

Due to the smoke pollution, Riau province has a dangerous air quality which disrupts air transportation, causing several flight delays in Sutan Syarif Qasim II Airport. Meanwhile, in Central Kalimantan, Palangkaraya Airport has been closed several times.

“Schools are also closed due to the smoke pollution,” he said.

Rachmat said that efforts by his ministry include monitoring, more human resources and more equipment to extinguish fire.

The ministry also fulfilled law enforcement to the forest destroyers.

According to the new law on environment, violators could be sentenced to 3-10 years of jail term and fined 3-10 billion rupiah (300,000 to 1 million U.S. dollars).

He also said that Indonesia has inked cooperation with Singapore and Malaysia to control the fire.