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.
VAT ON TOLLS
Keith Nuthall
THE BRITISH government is facing a possible order to pay massive recurring fines of maybe Euro 100,000-a-day, because it has not notified the European Commission about how it has implemented a court order to pay VAT on privately operated road and bridge tolls.…
ANDERSEN-DTT ADD
BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission has taken no decision yet on whether to review the possible merger between Arthur Andersen and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a spokeswoman for the competition commissioner Mario Monti told Acountancy Age, although its rules suggest that it would almost inevitably do so.…
KPMG ANDERSON
BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission today told Accountancy Age that it is “fairly certain” to investigate the proposed merger between Andersen’s non-US operations and KPMG and warned that its competition authority could well insist that the accounting giants sell off some of their European operations as a condition of clearing the deal.…
ALBANIA CREDIT
KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Bank has approved a US$5.6 million credit to fund a Pilot Fishery Development Project, to boost the development of fish farming in Albania, one of Europe’s poorest countries. The scheme also aims at improving the country’s wild fishery sector.…
HAPPY TUNA AGAIN
BY MATTHEW BRACE, in Sydney
AUSTRALIAN scientists are experimenting with an early warning device that monitors water quality in tuna cages and phones its vital information back to shore. The aim of the machine is to save the fish farming industry in Australia and others around the world millions of dollars.…
ASIA CHECKS
KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is to order tests on all imports of shrimps from Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar, (Burma), to ensure antibiotic residues do not exceed EU health limits, following concerns raised by spot-checks on cargoes from these countries.
Results showed unsatisfactory contamination of shrimps from Vietnam and Thailand by Nitrofuran, veterinary drugs banned for food producing fish and animals in the EU on health grounds, including a possible increased cancer risks through long-term consumption.…
TUNA HEALTH
BY MATTHEW BRACE, in Sydney
AN AUSTRALIAN early warning device that monitors water quality in tuna cages and phones its information back to shore is proving to be a lifesaver for aquaculture fish stocks; the slightest change in conditions can wipe out millions of dollars worth of marine stocks and cripple sectors of the industry.…
FISH SAUCE
BY MARK ROWE
A VIETNAMESE food processor has invented an odourless variety of fish sauce in attempt to crack the American market where the smell of fermented fish is disliked. The Hanh Phuc Food Processing Company in Ho Chi Minh City has already sold 100,000 bottles of odourless sauce worth US$50,000 to the United States.…
IRELAND ECJ
KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is taking Ireland to the European Court of Justice because of its alleged failure to adopt anti-pollution programmes designed to prevent pollution in marine areas yielding shellfish. Brussels claims that under the shellfish directive, programmes should prevent pollution in the first place, while Irish legislation only covers clean-ups after problems have arisen.…
THAI CHICKEN
BY MARK ROWE
BETAGRO, one of Thailand’s biggest agribusiness groups, has spent US$ 170 million on expanding chicken production, focusing on chicken sausages and balls for export. This follows a growth in demand in China, due to an outbreak of bird flu, and in Europe, because of the BSE epidemic.…