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.
CLEAN OCEANS
BY MATTHEW BRACE
A NEW oil spill response atlas (OSRA) has been developed in Australia which should help the petroleum industry minimise coastal and marine environmental pollution from oil spills.
The electronic mapping system developed by the Australian Marine Safety Authority (AMSA) measures and tracks the size, speed and direction of slicks.…
BEER LABELS
BY MONICA DOBIE
BEER drinkers in Canada can now order their own personalised bottles, with their own picture or original design appearing on the label.
The Labatt Brewing Company has begun a marketing campaign which sells a case of 12 “vanity beer” bottles for CAN$45.95 plus 13 dollars for delivery.…
NORWAY EFTA
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Free Trade Area Court has ordered Norway to scrap its discriminatory beer retail system, where mostly domestically-produced brands of between 2.5% and 4.75% abv, can be sold outside the state alcohol monopoly Vinmonopolet, while other largely imported pre-packaged alcoholic drinks, with the same strength, must be sold through the government system.…
CARLSBERG/HEINEKEN
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE FIRST stage of legal proceedings that could lead to Carlsberg and Heineken being fined heavily by the European Commission because of allegations of market fixing have been launched in Brussels.
Formal statements of objections were sent to both drinks giants by the Commission, claiming that they have been in breach of EU competition rules, notably Article 81 of the EU treaty, which bans cartels and other “damaging” concerted business practices.…
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
AMERICAN beer giant Anheuser-Busch has welcomed proposed changes to the European Union’s register protecting geographical references attached to traditional EU drinks products, which would allow it to challenge any application for inclusion by its Czech rival Budejovicky Budvar of its Budweiser brand.…
BIOTECH THINK PIECE
BY DEIRDRE MASON
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s new proposals for a comprehensive policy on biotechnology wobble precariously on a political and economic tightrope. Launched in January this year with the aim of provoking serious discussion throughout 2002, this action plan faces the nutcracker pressure of a Europe about to expand rapidly to take on countries with agriculture in varying states, and an America that is striding ahead, gobbling up the world markets for genetically altered or developed crops.…
PLANT VARIETY OFFICE
BY KEITH NUTHALL
IN an increasingly borderless world, the power of international intellectual property conventions is growing ever stronger and agriculture is being affected by this trend as much as mining and IT.
Take new crop varieties. In the EU, since 1995 Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) has been established.…
JELLY MINI CUPS
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced a ban on the sale in the EU of jelly mini-cups containing the food additive konjac (E 425), which take time to dissolve and have lead to the deaths of several American and Canadian children through choking.…
CHINA - WTO
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has “expressed concern” and “disappointment” over China’s failure to met a January 1 deadline to establish low duty tariff quotas for imports of sugar, palm oil and some other commodities under the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organisation.…
COCONUTS
BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKA
INDONESIA has emerged as a major producer of desiccated coconut during the last three years, and is now threatening Sri Lanka’s position in the world market, the chairman of the island’s desiccated coconut millers association has claimed.…