Search Results for: United Nations

BY JULIAN RYALL, in Tokyo

BY any standards, it has been a tough couple of years for the Japanese nuclear energy industry. Still stinging from public, political and media criticism of atomic energy operators’ practices – including the way in which companies consistently failed to report data that might have been damaging to their operations – the industry was then dealt a blow by Mother Nature.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) challenge to new Canadian cheese production rules is likely, with the European Union, the United States and New Zealand expressing dismay at a WTO agriculture committee. New Zealand representatives claimed incoming limits on dairy proteins within cheese sold in Canada would illegally "restrict demand for dairy products"

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE UNITED Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) should not assume that future technological innovations slashing carbon dioxide emissions will emerge spontaneously, senior north American scientists have argued. Researchers form the USA’s National Center for Atmospheric Research; the University of Colorado; and Montreal, Canada’s McGill University say the panel has "seriously underestimated" the work required to develop such technology.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WORKING groups for the new European Nuclear Energy Forum have started investigating the opportunities and risks facing Europe’s nuclear power sector, while examining how it can improve its transparency.

Following up an inaugural conference held in Bratislava last November 2007, three groups of high level nuclear experts have staged meetings and circulated papers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A NEW fishing agreement has been negotiated between the European Commission and Mauritania, slashing maximum catch allowances, after an earlier deal was poorly exploited by European Union (EU) fishermen. Under the replacement agreement – which should run from this August to July 2012 – catch quotas for EU vessels in Mauritania waters will fall by 25% for cephalopods; by between 10% and 50% for demersal species (mainly shrimp and hake); and by 43% for small pelagic fish.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) seven-year-old Doha Development Round maybe drawing towards a close, the cosmetics, soap and perfumery industries might start considering that a final deal may lead to the elimination of most import duties on their products, worldwide.…

BY MARK ROWE

RUSSIA’S new-found belligerence and confidence is not confined to the political and military sphere: in recent years Russia has adopted an aggressive, take-it-or-leave it stance when it comes to fish, seafood and other food products.

The country has imposed a number of bans on fish products from its European neighbours, including salmon and other fresh fish from Norway, fishmeal, frozen fish and canned smoked sprats from Poland and a range of fish products from Latvia.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

IN a bid to become a major air industry capital of the world, Dubai is investing US$13 billion in civil aviation and aerospace projects as part of a master plan that extends to 2050. Dubai International Airport (DXB), the 10th busiest in the world in 2006 according to Airports Council International, is spending US$4.5 billion on terminals and other facilities that will triple its capacity by 2009 to 75 million passengers, while the US$33 billion Dubai World Central (DWC) business and residential city will be centred around what could be the world’s largest airport and cargo hub, the Al Maktoum International Airport (MIA).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has been angered by the United States has been demanding additional information on air passengers flying to American airports, beyond the existing agreement between the European Union (EU) and the USA. And furthermore, the US has been making such demands through bilateral supplementary agreements with EU member states, notably with the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia, while deals with Lithuania, Hungary and Slovakia are under discussion.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has pushed for more concrete collaboration between African and European Union (EU) researchers, amidst concerns that grand declarations of altruistic intentions are failing to deliver cash or expertise.

A formal resolution passed by parliament members (MEPs) called for a "special emphasis [to] be placed on research into AIDS in African countries" within the EU’s ongoing seventh framework programme on research, which commands a huge Euro 53.2 billion budget, nearly three times the total GDP of Kenya.…