Search Results for: United Nations

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE UNITED Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is pushing for an international agreement limiting the production and use of mercury, which it considers a dangerous pollutant of drinking water supplies. The UN agency has urged governments, industry and utilities to set "clear and ambitious targets" to reduce global mercury levels, for instance by installing technology that slashes emissions from coal-fired power stations.…

BY SUZANNE KOELEGA, in Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, JAMES FULLER, in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, and KEITH NUTHALL

A MAJOR shake up is looming in the political organisation of the Caribbean, with the impending dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles federation, and the creation of separate political units for its composite islands Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius (Statia).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) should not only increase the waste electrical equipment it collects for recycling and salvage, it should prioritise collecting items posing dangerous environmental problems, a UN report has claimed. Written for the European Commission, the United Nations University (UNU)-led study concluded only 25% of Europe’s medium-sized household appliances and 40% of larger appliances are collected for salvage and recycling, leaving "substantial room for improvement."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE FITTING of electronic stability control systems on all lorries used in the European Union (EU) is likely to become compulsory, following the approval of global standards for this technology by the United Nations. Its World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations has approved the technical standard.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE FIRST meeting of a Transatlantic Economic Council established to ease economic problems caused by regulatory clashes involving the European Union and the United States has approved harmonised rules for approving orphan drugs. A communiqué said: "We have eased the burden of introducing new drugs for rare diseases by agreeing a common format to apply for orphan drug designations."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ENVIRONMENTAL health officers may think there are a lot of smokers in the UK – in 2005, 24% of adults aged 16 or over in Britain smoked cigarettes, but spare a thought for officials in Greece – home of Europe’s keenest smokers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) maritime safety committee has accepted an offer from the United States to be the initial temporary host of a global data exchange linking centres for long range identification and tracking (LRIT) systems for shipping.…

BY MARK ROWE

THE POTENTIAL and impending influence of nanotechnology on soap and perfumery products has been acknowledged with a detailed report on the dramatic changes that may lie in store for the cosmetics industry.

The report, Nanotechnologies for Household and Personal Care, which runs to 130 pages, has been produced for the Institute of Nanotechnology, a UK government-funded research unit based at the University of Stirling, Scotland.…

BY MARK ROWE and PAUL COCHRANE

IT is something of an understatement to describe Iran as a peripheral player on the international paint scene. The country’s share of the world market in paints and varnishes in 2007 is, according to research analysts Gobi International, just 0.5%.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN INTERNATIONAL Panel for Sustainable Resource Management has been created by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), charged with helping split economic growth from the consumption of natural resources. Renewable energy and the development of biofuels are expected to be key focuses.…