In the papers today - Tuesday 12th August 2008

...The watchdog is to unveil plans for possible reforms to ownership and regulation next week, focusing on the lack of rivals to BAA , which is owned by Ferrovial, people involved in the matter said - Financial Times

The value of second-hand plastic has risen so rapidly that mining operations to dig it out of rubbish dumps are forecast to begin within the decade. Waste suitable for recycling is already being dug out of landfill sites in the United States and it is thought that commodity prices are on the verge of making it a profitable option in Britain - The Times

Water companies will spend a collective £27bn on improvements to Britain's infrastructure between 2010 and 2015, the industry body said yesterday as it sought to defend planned above-inflation increases to water bills. Water UK said the figure would come on top of the £80bn already invested by the industry since 1990 and was necessary to avoid serious damage to the economy and to the environment - Daily Telegraph

Some customers will be hit with water bills in excess of £500 by 2015, it has emerged, after Britain's water companies submitted their demands for inflation-busting bill increases over the next six years. Customers in the south west of England, who already pay more than anyone else, will see their bills increase from £462 to a possible £534, if their supplier's demands are met by the regulator - Daily Telegraph

An English pipe fitter who was racially abused and taunted in his Irish workplace has been awarded €20,000 (£15,630) in compensation by an equality tribunal in Dublin. The unnamed man, who worked for an engineering company on a building site in Dublin, claimed that colleagues called him names and frequently ganged up on him to sing Irish rebel songs - The Times

Climate change campaigners pledged yesterday to set up a permanent protest camp at Kingsnorth, in Kent, if the government allows a large coal-fired power station to be built there. Tim Lever, a spokesman for the protest group Climate Camp, said: "If the government gives permission to build this power station we will be back" - The Guardian

A British construction company has admitted that it may have made corrupt payments to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq to win an export order. The allegedly improper payments to Saddam's government by Mabey & Johnson, owned by one of Britain's richest families, have been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for more than a year - The Guardian

The Bush administration yesterday announced plans to relax the law protecting endangered species to allow federal agencies to decide for themselves whether construction projects such as highways, dams or mines might harm endangered animals and plants. Under the altered rules, the government would no longer have to consult with independent scientists about the effect of new projects on wildlife - The Guardian

Water companies in England and Wales want bills to go up by about £30 plus inflation over five years from 2010 to pay for renewing ageig infrastructure, developing new supplies and tackling the effects of climate change. Water UK, which represents water and waste water companies, said the increases amounted to an average of £6 a year, which would take the average bill to £350 by 2015 - The Guardian

Georgia has few natural resources but it has become a key player for Europe because of the 155 miles of pipeline that snake across its territory. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is the only practical route for carrying Caspian oil to Western markets that avoids Russia - a treasured asset for the European Union trying to reduce energy dependence on Moscow - The Independent

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