Archive

KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW report on the development of photovoltaics (PV) has been published by the European Commission, which recommends that new electricity storage technologies need to be adapted for use by this developing alternative electricity production method and also suggests ways to reduce the high price of developing this energy source.…

KEITH NUTHALL
A STRING of cases have been launched by the European Commission against Member States of the European Union to try and force them to comply with EU water legislation; under existing rules, failure to abide by the court’s rulings can see national governments being hit with huge daily recurring fines of up to Euro 100,000.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE
ONE of the world’s most inhospitable deserts is yielding scores of unknown species that have existed since the time of the dinosaurs.

They have been discovered in the Simpson Desert in central Australia, where summer temperatures reach 50C and where there is no rain for months, sometimes years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A ROAD safety initiative has been launched by the European Commission, which has formally proposed a new directive laying down European Union-wide standards for the installation of additional rear view mirrors and other vision systems, including cameras, for motor vehicles.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE GROWING thaw in relations between Spain and Britain over the future of Gibraltar and its airport, has prompted the European Commission to retable a long-standing proposal to establish a European Union regime on the safety inspection of aircraft from non-EU countries.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE, in Sydney
RESEARCHERS in Tasmania, Australia, claim they have developed the world’s first smart car that can actually override driver error and thereby reduce road accidents.

Their full sized prototype model has 25 sensors that can monitor everything from brake pressure to suspension dynamics, steering angle and engine parameters.…

Keith Nuthall
EUROPEAN Union ministers have approved two new directives that toughen EU-wide rules insisting that insurance companies have deep enough financial reserves to meet their policy commitments in the most unexpected of circumstances.

These solvency margin directives, (one for life insurance and the other for non-life), increase the minimum amounts of capital that must be held by these companies, (the so-called minimum guarantee fund).…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
SCI-FI flicks, the likes of Terminator II and Total Recall, feature futuresque scanning of objects and people to verify if they were porting any dangerous weapons or were lying about what they carrying in suspicious bags; now, this kind of portable and instant inspection has made it from the big screen to current security technology used daily in customs screenings.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RESIDENCY qualification for directors of companies established in the Alpine Principality of Liechtenstein, set up to help its authorities fight abuse of its liberal business laws, including money laundering, has been declared illegal.

The European Free Trade Area Court has ruled that the regulation discriminates against citizens of other EFTA countries, (Switzerland, Iceland and Norway), breaching fair trade treaty commitments made by Liechtenstein on joining the association.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN EXPERT commission established by the Council of Europe has made detailed recommendations about how to fight money laundering in three east European countries where criminals have exploited weak state structures to hide their illicit profits: Albania, Georgia and Moldova.…