Search Results for: Czech Republic

By Keith Nuthall

It is almost a truism that women have a tougher time in most professions than men, and academia is no different. But it is worth considering the absurdity of this statement: that in the 21st century, it is still quite normal to assume that the success of an academic or student is likely to be affected by their gender.…

By Alan Osborn

The 27 EU member states will have to speed up their educational progress if they are to meet a range of self-imposed targets deemed necessary if the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs is to be successful by 2010.…

By Keith Nuthall

The launch of a new Euro-Mediterranean University in Slovenia dedicated to higher education courses focused on issues of importance to European, African and Levantine countries bordering the sea has been given a formal seal of approval. The creation of the institution was welcomed within a joint declaration issued by heads of state and government from 43 countries at a Paris summit launching a Mediterranean Union organisation.…

BY SUZANNE KOELEGA and JUHEL BROWNE

"CASINOS are an important part of the development of the Caribbean tourist sector, yet they hold a particular attraction to money launderers. Casinos provide the venues for large flows of cash, which launderers can utilise to disguise the true origins of their criminal proceeds."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN research network EUREKA has asked for plastics firms to participate in a new project that will involve the development of new laminated multi-layer packaging materials for food. The aim, said a EUREKA note was "to design and apply new laminated packages [also incorporating non-plastics materials such as paper and aluminium] that will help to extend the shelf life of food products."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has moved to protect four traditionally made European food products from being copied by food manufacturers based outside the regions where they have historically been made. Brussels has added these products to its protected geographical indication lists preventing such copies being sold in the European Union (EU):

*Slovenská parenica, a steamed, lightly smoked Slovak sheep milk cheese wound into two rolls 6-8 cm in diameter and 5-8 cm high, connected in an ‘S’-shape;

*Vlaams-Brabantse tafeldruif (Belgium’s Flemish-Brabant table grape) – both white and black varieties;

*An Italian onion Cipollotto Nocerino, grown near Naples; and

*A Czech camomile Chamomilla Bohemica.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CONSTRUCTION materials taxes, such as Britain’s aggregates tax, should be used widely to encourage the building sector to waste fewer materials, the European Environment Agency has said. In a new report, it claimed the British tax gave the construction sector confidence when purchasing materials, "since part of the levy revenues have been used to support the development of quality standards for recycled aggregates".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A NEW explosives scanner, quick to use and able to probe tiny cracks, has won a European research award. The technology has been developed in a Euro 760,000 project by Czech high-tech company RS Dynamics with Spanish engineering company SENER Ingenieria y Sistemas.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ANOTHER eight traditionally made European food products have been added to the European Union’s (EU) protected geographical indication lists, preventing these foodstuffs being copied by food manufacturers based outside the regions where they are traditionally manufactured.

Three of these newly protected products are from Portugal: a special rice – ‘Arroz Carolino das Lezírias Ribatejanas’; a smoked sausage ‘Alheira de Vinhais’; and a ham ‘Presunto de Vinhais’, also known as ‘Presunto Bísaro de Vinhais’.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

MOTORISTS who have their licences confiscated by a court cannot apply for a driving permit in a foreign European Union (EU) country, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. Judges have closed a loophole being exploited by some German drivers losing their licence in German courts: they applied for and secured a replacement in the Czech Republic, enabling them to drive again in Germany because EU member states recognise each others’ driving permits.…