Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
HOPES FOR LIBERALISING BELARUS-EU TRADE RELATIONS DASHED BY NEW STANDSTILL DEAL
BY KEITH NUTHALL
HOPES that warmer diplomatic relations between Belarus and the European Union (EU) could have yielded a more liberal textile and clothing trading relationship have been dashed. The latest clothing and textiles trade deal negotiated for 2008 only marginally increases mutual market access beyond the 2007 agreement, and Belarus also refused proposals the 2008 deal lasted longer than one year.…
UNECE ISSUES RECOMMENDATION TO NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS ON FIGHTING PRODUCT PIRACY
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has advised national governments to use their existing market monitoring services to detect unusual trends maybe indicating organised trades in counterfeit goods. The UNECE said this would "entail minimum additional costs and delays in existing market surveillance activities and would be a very effective addition to existing measures to combat counterfeiting".…
EU MINISTERS ALLOW DUTCH TO CHARGE CLOTHING CONTRACTORS TO FIGHT VAT FRAUD
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has authorised the Netherlands to derogate from standard VAT law for the ready-to-wear clothing industry by shifting the obligation to pay sales tax from clothing firm sub-contractors to their contractors. The aim of this temporary reform – which would last until December 2009 – is, said council minutes: "Preventing fraud in a sector in which collecting VAT is rendered awkward by the difficulty of identifying and supervising the activities of subcontractors."…
NEW HIGH TECH GLOW IN THE DARK FABRIC DEVELOPED BY BRITISH SCIENTISTS
BY MONICA DOBIE
RESEARCHERS at the University of Manchester have developed high-tech, battery-powered textile yarns that can be used to make clothing glow in the dark without a reflective light source.
These electroluminescent (EL) yarns, invented by the university’s William Lee Innovation Centre (WLIC) have the potential to be incorporated into clothing worn by cyclists, joggers and pedestrians.…
RESEARCHERS SAY ACID RAIN REDUCTIONS IS BROWNING RURAL WATER
BY MONICA DOBIE
RESEARCHERS from the University College London and the US Environmental Protection Agency have found that over the last 20 years, lakes and streams in the UK, southern Scandinavia and eastern North America have been stained brown by dissolved organic matter, indicating a return to a more natural, pre-industrial state following a decline in acid rain levels.…
EEA REPORT SAYS POLLUTION PARTICLES REMAIN IN ATMOSPHERE DESPITE CUTS IN EMISSIONS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
CONCENTRATIONS of low-level ozone and particulate matter have not improved in Europe since 1997 despite substantial cuts in emissions of air pollutants across the continent, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report. It claims man-made emissions of all air pollutants fell substantially in the 32 countries surveyed by the agency.…
ACRYLAMIDE STUDY SHOWS MANY TOXINS ARE PRODUCED BY SUPER-HEATED FOODS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project investigating the production of the genotoxin acrylamide in super-heated food has identified 800 other compounds created in high-heat cooking, of which 50 are potentially carcinogenic. "Future research should focus on these compounds," said the EU’s HEATOX project, which called for general guidelines advising overcooking when baking, frying or toasting carbohydrate-rich foods.…
NEW PRION DISEASES IDENTIFIED BY EU SCIENTISTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) scientists have developed test methods that not only show new prion diseases (such as BSE and scrapie) can occur if animals contract more than one variant at the same time, they can identify such new strains as they emerge.…
REACH FEES RELEASED BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
DRAFT proposed fees for registrations and authorisations under the REACH chemical control system have been released by the European Commission. The most expensive fee would be for securing authorisation for substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or damage reproduction – Euro 50,000.…
GRAPE JUICE AND RED WINE WARDS OFF ALZHEIMER'S SAY SCIENTISTS IN CALIFORNIA
BY MONICA DOBIE
DRINKING pure grape juice and red wine may be able to fend off or delay Alzheimer’s disease according to researchers attending the Neuroscience 2007 conference in California.
Two studies presented linked drinking moderate amounts of red wine and a lowered risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia and consuming 100% grape juice with a delayed onset of Alzheimer’s disease.…