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.
ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
EURELECTRIC has welcomed the long-awaited final agreement reached over a proposed European Union directive on the energy efficiency of new and renovated houses, saying that it will push electricity producers into adopting a more profitable strategy of value-added service provision.…
GREECE STRANDED COSTS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has authorised the Greek government to pay the part-privatised Public Power Corporation of Greece up to Euro 1.431 billion in compensation for so-called ‘stranded costs,’ liabilities incurred when the Greek energy market was regulated and publicly controlled.…
LUXEMBOURG NITRATES
BY KEITH NUTHALL
IT maybe the size of Surrey, but pollution knows no boundaries and the European Commission is concerned about excessive nitrate usage in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Much of the tiny nation’s river system flows into the Moselle, which is its south-eastern border and it flows into the Rhine and hence to the North Sea.…
FRANCE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRANCE is being threatened with legal action at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) by the European Commission, which claims that Paris is breaking European Union (EU) public procurement rules governing the buying of goods and services by utilities.…
CAFFEINE SOAP
BY MONICA DOBIE
US-company called ThinkGeek could make busy workers forget that early morning coffee by introducing a product called ShowerShock, a soap that washes whilst delivering a dose of caffeine. The soap is not eaten, but absorbed through the skin by lathering up and, voila, instant buzz.…
COOKING OIL SOAP
BY MARK ROWE
A JAPANESE firm and a soap manufacturer have produced a laundry detergent made from used cooking oil. Residents in Tokyo take their used cooking oil to 28 collection points in the city from where it is removed to a factory and initially filtered to remove sediments and impurities.…
RICE FUNGUS
BY MARK ROWE
RESEARCHERS in Thailand have discovered a fungus parasite on fragrant rice that could be further developed for cosmetic products such as soaps. The fungus can produce a pandanus leaf smell that contributes to the rice’s aromatic quality and the finding could lead to the developments in the cosmetic industry for applications that include face powders, scents and oils, according to scientists at the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Bangkok.…
TOYOTA ECO SPIRIT CUBIC
BY JONATHAN THOMSON
TOYOTA claims its latest concept car is the world’s best in terms of = fuel consumption and recycling technologies.
The carmaker’s Eco Spirit Cubic concept vehicle was on display for the = first time in the UK at the British Motor Show in October.…
GRANT MISS
BY ALAN OSBORN
THE BRITISH government lost out on a possible claim for GBPounds 5 million of European Union (EU) funds this summer because “we overlooked a deadline,” a spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment, Food and the Regions (DEFRA) has admitted.…
CANNED AIR
BY MARK ROWE
A SOUTH Korean firm has begun selling canned “clean air,” tapping into mounting environmental concerns about industrial and car pollution in the capital Seoul and other major cities. Officials at CJ Corp said that it was the first company to market natural air, as opposed to processed oxygen or perfumed air in South Korea.…