Inbrief

California’s biggest utility company has apologized to an Arizona Indian tribe for desecrating a sacred site by building a $15million (£7.6m) water treatment plant in the Mojave Desert. Pacific Gas & Electric said it ‘regrets the spiritual consequences to the tribe’, and announced it had reached an agreement with elders to relocate the plant as soon as possible. In return the Indians have dropped a lawsuit against the company. Pacific concedes that it should have paid closer attention to the Indians’ spiritual beliefs before building, and has pledged to adopt a more sensitive approach when planning other facilities.