Search Results for: United Nations

BY JULIAN RYALL, in Tokyo

IT may be in its infancy, but European scientists have high hopes for new research into more effective ways to store hydrogen, and particularly in how it can be applied to next-generation fuel cell systems for vehicles, research that could have global implications.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CANADA, with Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, has successfully scuppered plans to place chrysotile asbestos on the ‘watch list’ of the United Nations’ Rotterdam Convention, which would have allowed importing countries to insist on prior consent before admitting any cargoes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AFRICA may be considered a dry continent, but, says the World Agroforestry Centre, it actually has more rain per capita than Europe – the problem is that this often falls in bursts, causing flooding, wastage and evaporation. However, it says with effective rainfall collection methods, many zones of Africa could be cured of drought, a message backed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE UNITED Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has claimed that global warming – whilst posing serious risks for developing countries through flooding and desertification – could actually spur economic growth through sustainable biomass production. Speaking at the recent UN climate change conference in Nairobi, the FAO’s Kenya representative Castro Paulino Camarada said with the right technologies, converting biomass such as wood and crop residues, grass, straw and brushwood into fuel could "provide developing countries an abundant supply of clean, low-cost energy while helping spur economic development in rural communities".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PROPORTIONAL representation electoral systems are often complex, and poorly educated voters can have a tough time understanding them, so the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government has turned to theatre to inform its voters. National elections are due early next year and new ‘limited preferential voting’ system has been introduced to encourage candidates to appeal to broader support rather than building small majorities on sectional interests.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has warned of a continued surge in counterfeits of cigarettes entering the European Union (EU), with more than 32.6 million fake packets seized by customs officials last year. That said, this actually represents a fall in numbers from 2004, being 78% of the 41 million seized in that year.…

BY JAMES FULLER, in Port of Spain

CRICKETERS and illegally-licensed drivers are two of the more unusual factors currently affecting the Caribbean paint market.

The impending Cricket World Cup, to be held in the West Indies during March and April 2007, has spawned a flurry of construction activity with resultant benefits for the paint industry.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

THE CONTROVERSAL Indo-US nuclear agreement on supplying latest technology and fuel to India’s civilian nuclear power plants finally got the approval from United States Senate last week.

However, in contrast to the House of Representative bill passed earlier this year, the Senate bill has added two clauses restricting re-export and insisting on the ‘end use monitoring’ on any transferred nuclear technology, which are viewed suspiciously in India.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and MARK ROWE

THE INSTITUTE of Nanotechnology, in Stirling, Scotland, has released a new compendium of groundbreaking research, with many studies focusing on the use of nanotechnology in environmental health. The research covers commercial and academic developments in using nanoparticles, for instance in antibacterial, self-decontamination and anti-fouling coatings; antimicrobial capsules and surfaces; making surfaces easy to clean conventionally; self-cleaning glass; eliminating odours; and other uses.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ARGENTINA government has failed to persuade a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel to order the US to lift long-standing anti-dumping duties on Argentine exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG). The disputes panel was examining American compliance with a 2004 ruling that the US had broken WTO rules in a sunset review of the duties in 2000, which had led to the reimposition of duties first erected in 1995.…