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.
ARAL SEA
BY KEITH NUTHALL
WHEN men first flew into space, they were moved by the deep blue of Earth’s oceans; maybe they would be horrified at this satellite picture of a dying sea and the white desert replacing its retreating shores. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea has split into two and its larger portion has been judged doomed by many environmentalists who warn it may dry out completely by 2020.…
ENVIRONMENTAL NGO ATTACK
BY ALAN OSBORN
THE PRESENT European Commission under the presidency of Romano Prodi has sometimes been said to be ‘green-minded,’ in that it takes a more friendly attitude towards the environment than either its predecessors or the European Union member governments.…
FRIDGES/FREEZERS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW European eco-label for fridges and freezers that are extremely energy efficient has been launched by the European Commission; from 2004, such appliances can be labelled A+ and A++. The move builds on the European Union system that has existed since 1994, where fridges and freezers are rated from A to G, depending on their energy efficiency.…
HEAVY METALS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has ducked setting mandatory maximum levels of the heavy metals arsenic, cadmium, mercury and nickel in ambient air, instead proposing a directive that orders Member States to undertake detailed monitoring of this pollution. A memorandum accompanying the proposal says that there “are no cost-effective measures to attain everywhere the concentration levels that would not give rise to harmful effects on human health.”…
FISH FARMING COMPENSATION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FISH farms that have to slaughter their whole stock because of disease are not automatically entitled to compensation under European Union law, the European Court of Justice has ruled. In a ruling likely to be controversial in aquaculture, the court has said that a complete cull should not be regarded as an illegal attack on the property rights of fish farmers, even though such a slaughter would be mandatory under EU legislation.…
FRIDGES/FREEZERS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW European eco-label for fridges and freezers that are extremely energy efficient has been launched by the European Commission; from 2004, such appliances can be labelled A+ and A++. The move builds on the European Union system that has existed since 1994, where fridges and freezers are rated from A to G, depending on their energy efficiency.…
HEAVY METALS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has ducked setting mandatory maximum levels of the heavy metals arsenic, cadmium, mercury and nickel in ambient air, instead proposing a directive that orders Member States to undertake detailed monitoring of this pollution. A memorandum accompanying the proposal says that there “are no cost-effective measures to attain everywhere the concentration levels that would not give rise to harmful effects on human health.”…
FISH FARMING COMPENSATION
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FISH farms that have to slaughter their whole stock because of disease are not automatically entitled to compensation under European Union law, the European Court of Justice has ruled. In a ruling likely to be controversial in aquaculture, the court has said that a complete cull should not be regarded as an illegal attack on the property rights of fish farmers, even though such a slaughter would be mandatory under EU legislation.…
PAN-EUROPEAN WATER CONFERENCE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THERE has been a lot of talk about water in international meetings and organisations this year. Report after report has spelt out a gloomy message: we are all using too much water and if reforms do not make systems more sustainable, then a thirsty future beckons.…
ROME II DISPUTE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is resisting proposed reforms to European Union business law on cross-border non-contractual civil disputes, which would insist that the country of a complainant provides the courts charged with making a judgement. The ICC fears that such a law – designed to breed consumer confidence in cross-border retail sales – would scare businesses from selling into foreign markets.…