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.
CANADA SALES
BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
General Motors of Canada has headed reports of sharp increases in national sales for the month of May for new vehicles. GM unveiled a whopping 21 per cent year-on-year increase from May 2001, reporting that it sold more trucks in Canada last month than in any other May in history.…
RENAULT AIR BAGS
BY JONATHAN THOMSON
RENAULT HOPES to enhance its reputation for safety through developments in passenger restraint systems, including a front seat “anti-slide airbag” and a “frontal airbag” for the rear seats.
The French carmaker explained that although highly effective, existing double-pretensioners, (tightening the seatbelt from both ends on impact) “are not adaptable to all types of vehicles”.…
UN ATLAS
BY MONICA DOBIE
SHIPPING safety stands to be improved due to the recent launch of the United Nations Atlas of the Oceans. The atlas is an Internet based encyclopaedic resource that will enable seafarers to access information in real time, to find out about weather, dangerous routes, sea collisions, the state of ocean resources, maps, emergencies and threats to human health from deteriorating marine environment.…
MARITIME BORDERS
Keith Nuthall
A SPECIAL conference on settling a number of maritime border disputes in the Caribbean has been launched, which could help develop international law regarding the effect of uninhabited island on establishing exclusive economic zones.
One wrangle is between Venezuela and the Caribbean island state of St Kitts and Nevis, which has been protesting about maritime boundary treaties concluded by the south American state regarding the so-called Isla Aves; they grant the islands full territorial sea status, including an exclusive economic zone, or continental shelf.…
MARITIME SAFETY
Keith Nuthall
THE CREATION of a European Maritime Safety Agency is moving swiftly towards reality, with the European Union’s Council of Ministers and European Parliament approaching consensus on its powers and duties.
Ministers adopted a wide range of amendments made to the original agency proposals by MEP’s and parliament’s transport committee is not looking to make many more changes, clearing the way for final approval, maybe by August.…
TANKER HIJACK
BY MONICA DOBIE
A HIJACKED tanker ship was recently retrieved for its rightful owners in a joint effort by the International Maritime Bureau and Thai marine police. The “Han Wei” disappeared two days after leaving Singapore in March containing 1,950 metric tonnes of gas oil bound for Yangon, (Rangoon), Myanmar.…
MACAO
BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKA
MACAO International Airport cargo volumes increased 40
percent year-on-year to 22,171 tons in the first quarter of 2002, while passenger numbers rose more than 15 percent to 953,097. Macao has been benefiting from its key position as a hub for traffic between mainland China and Taiwan, the Shipping & Trade News has reported.…
MALAYSIA INDIA
BY MARK ROWE
MALAYSIA Airports Holdings (MAH) has won a joint contract to build and operate a new international airport in Hyderabad, India, which is expected to be in operation by 2006. MAH will be involved in the airport’s planning, development and operation.…
DAIMLER SCAM
BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc. has recently won a court judgment in New York to begin seizing assets to recover US$330 million from Castor Holdings Ltd., a defunct Montreal-based holding company and real estate lender formerly headed by Wolfgang Stolzenberg, a German-Canadian businessman suspected of orchestrating one of Canada’s most colossal fraud scams.…
THROMBOSIS AIRLINES
KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Health Organisation has launched a comprehensive research programme to unmask mysteries surrounding the contraction of venous thrombosis by air passengers, including epidemiological, pathophysiological and clinical studies.
Scientists will aim to determine the frequency and causes of travellers’ thrombosis, to identify who is at greatest risk and what may be done to prevent the condition.…