Search Results for: United Nations

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States is pressing the European Union (EU) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for changes to its administration of pig meat import quotas. Washington is annoyed that individual exporters cannot sell more than 10% of the total quota, saying this “imposes trade distorting effects, is administratively burdensome, (is) more restrictive than necessary”, said the USA.…

BY MARK ROWE
THERE is no doubt that water quality in eastern Europe has improved immeasurably since the break up of the Soviet Union and its related satellite states, a process reinforced by the wholesale privatisation now taking place. But while standards have improved, concerns about pollution, old pipes and outdated treatment works are likely to continue.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A URANIUM and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is too dangerous for workers and should remain closed, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessment has concluded. UN officials have examined Shinkolobwe mine since a June collapse killing eight miners.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
BOARDS of major corporations worldwide are failing to disclose to financial investors how environmental and social issues pose strategic risks and opportunities for their businesses, according to an international review of corporate reports. Out of 50 reports examined in detail by non-governmental organisation SustainAbility, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, only three assessed the balance sheet implications of these potential problems.…

Keith Nuthall
THE UNITED Nations’ in-house audit office has claimed to have saved the world body more than US$26 million in the past year, with other recommendations on further eliminating waste and improving efficiency in the pipeline. In its annual report to the UN general assembly, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) stated that more than half of the 541 recommendations it made during 2003-04 have been implemented or are being worked upon.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AS a truly global criminal problem, it is only right that fighting money laundering is a key priority of the United Nations (UN). Its general assembly and key committees have made declarations and approved conventions on the subject, and its specialist agencies have also devoted time, money, specialist staff and energy to fighting the problem.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A COBALT and uranium mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is too dangerous for workers and should remain closed, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessment has concluded. UN officials have examined Shinkolobwe mine since a June collapse killing eight miners.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AUSTRALIA has made a formal bid for an extension of its jurisdiction over its submarine continental shelf, taking it beyond the standard 200 nautical miles from its coasts, granting exclusive rights over potentially lucrative non-ferrous metal seabed deposits.…

Keith Nuthall
AMERICAN newspapers are reporting that the United States has been rebuffed on a World Trade Organisation (WTO) case focusing on the Budweiser brand battle. Washington has been trying to get European Union (EU) geographical indication laws declared illegal under global intellectual property rules because they protected the use of the brand by Czech brewer Budejovický Budvar.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
IS there a role for the insurance companies of rich countries to play in developing “micro finance” in the world’s very poorest regions? The question has become relevant following the launch earlier this month (November) of the International year of Microcredit 2005 by the UN’s Agricultural Fund for Development (IFAD).…