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.
BYRNE SWANSONG
BY KEITH NUTHALL
ANTI-TOBACCO European Union (EU) health Commissioner David Byrne will release a report this autumn proposing further EU measures to restrict smoking, as his official term expires (on October 31). Speaking at a Tobacco Control Conference, at Limerick, the Irishman said a Commission Strategic Tobacco Control Report would propose ways of “denormalising” tobacco and promote measures helping smokers to quit.…
BULGARIA QUOTAS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE BULGARIAN government has negotiated the right for its tobacco-growing sector to claim direct farm payments from the European Union (EU) representing 47,137 tonnes of production per annum. European Commission officials have told World Tobacco that the notional quota was part of an agriculture agreement within Bulgaria’s talks on joining the EU, which it is expected to do by January 2007.…
TABACALERA SPAIN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is pressing Spain to implement a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling of last May, telling it to reform a law allowing it to block deals involving tobacco giant Tabacalera SA. If Spain continues to ignore the ruling, it could face massive daily recurring fines worth Euro 1,000’s.…
TABACALERA SPAIN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is pressing Spain to implement a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling of last May, telling it to reform a law allowing it to block deals involving tobacco giant Tabacalera SA. If Spain continues to ignore the ruling, it could face massive daily recurring fines worth Euro 1,000’s.…
WORLD BANK - POLLUTION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
AFTER removing lead from fuel, developing countries should concentrate on cutting sulphur content, a World Bank report – Reducing Air Pollution from Urban Transport – has proposed. Where sulphur is high, diesel fuel content should be cut to 500 ppm or lower, it said.…
IMO SECURITY CODE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) International Ship and Port Facility Security Code came into force (on July 1) with only 71% of tankers under the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) certified in compliance. Insurers fear non-compliant ships could be barred from some ports.…
WORLD BANK LENDING
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A SHAKE UP in the World Bank’s lending guidelines for extractive industries will probably see natural gas given priority over oil and solid fuel projects, for environmental reasons. Board proposals would also tie future loans to good governance and transparency, boosting spending on energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy consumption.…
EU ROUND UP
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has moved towards creating an effective cross-border gas market in the newly expanded EU, striking political agreement over a regulation on gas networks. It harmonises the conditions for accessing gas transmission infrastructure, specifying third party access, rules on capacity allocation, congestion management and the release of transmission information required for gas providers to use foreign systems.…
QUEBEC GAS
BY MONICA DOBIE
GAZ Metropolitain, Quebec’s dominant natural gas distributor, will import LNG to avoid dependence on the resources of fellow Canadian province Alberta. Gaz de France and Enbridge, of Calgary, are also involved in setting up an import terminal and distribution network, costing over CDN$2.7 billion by 2009.…
CUBA OIL
BY MONICA DOBIE
SPANISH oil and gas giant Repsol YDF has begun drilling for oil in Cuban waters in a narrow sector of the Gulf of Mexico, using a Norwegian drilling platform for US$200,000 a day. The Spaniards are working with government oil company Cubapetróleo in a narrow sector of the Gulf of Mexico, off Cuba’s north-western coast.…