Since the discovery of large offshore oil and gas reserves in 2014, Senegal has set its hopes on fossil fuel export revenue to help fund its plans to become an emerging economy by 2035. Senegal is actively seeking investors to help develop its offshore oil and gas reserves – both …
following the detection of antibiotic residues in shrimps exported from India in 2002, the government seems to be making a concerted effort to rectify the situation. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (mpeda), a body that comes under the Union ministry of commerce, has recently taken several initiatives to protect …
Southern Mexico's Chiapas state boasts of a bizarre export: radiated flesh-eating flies. Chiapas' capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez, is home to an unusual screwworm factory which breeds millions of insects notorious for burrowing into human or animal flesh. In the 1950s us scientists first adopted the method of sterilising the dangerous screwworm …
Last time I wrote about the cycle of poison, where one toxic substance is replaced with another, equally toxic, one. This cycle, I wrote, is exactly like the modern economy where business is profitable only when it comes up with profitable solutions for old problems. It is a toxic tango, …
The Jamiatul Quresh Meat Welfare Association (JQMWA) in Pakistan has threatened a countrywide strike by butchers unless the government does something soon about the acute scarcity of meat and livestock in the country. Large amounts of meat are exported to West Asia and other Islamic countries at the cost of …
darjeeling tea may soon have its characteristic aroma patented. The Centre for dna Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (cdfd), Hyderabad, is soon starting a project to develop molecular markers, which will distinguish this world famous variety from its cheaper cousins and protect its market value. The Union ministry of commerce has recently …
It's bad news for coal exporters. Japan, one of the world's biggest coal importers, is considering a coal tax to encourage the use of cleaner fuels such as natural gas. Japanese ministry officials said that they were considering introducing the levy after shares of three of the world's biggest exporters …
the recent eu directives, which aim to monitor the quality of traditional herbal medicines entering the European market, have sparked off a lively debate in India. One school of thought fears the order will adversely affect the export potential of banned Indian ayurvedic products as most of them contain ingredients, …
Europe's growth hormone-laced animal feed crisis continues to become bigger. From merely three Dutch pig farms in June 2002, the tainted feed has made its way to farms in 11 European Union (eu) nations. The Dutch authorities have halted exports from 2,000 more pig farms. European scientists suspect the medroxyprogesterone-acetate …
In a major blow to the us biotech industry, the European parliament recently approved one of the world’s most stringent regulations on labelling of genetically modified organisms (gmo). The parliament has also decided to retain the ongoing moratorium on the import of numerous gm products till the regulation comes into …
Indonesia's tropical forests are fast dwindling, courtesy rampant illegal logging. Taking stock of the situation, the country has now imposed a permanent ban on log exports. In October 2001, a joint decree banning exports of logs was passed temporarily. The government discussed the matter with the International Monetary Fund (imf) …
In a swift move, China has clamped down on toxic electronic waste exports from the US. Environmental groups Basel Action Network (Ban) and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition of the US and Delhi-based Toxics Link had earlier this year jointly brought out a report stating that as much as 80 per …
on what is being seen as a red-letter day for the greens, the Supreme Court (sc) banned the felling of trees in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The apex court finally delivered its verdict earlier this month after a protracted legal battle that spawned a writ petition filed by environmental organisations. …
Brazil is set to challenge the controversial us farm subsidy programme. It is likely to file a case with the World Trade Organisation (wto) regarding the farm bill that would deprive the Brazilian soyabean and cotton farmers of more than us $1.5 billion a year in exports while boosting annual …
Sale Logged Indonesia plans to impose a permanent ban on export of logs to save its forests. Over-logging has nearly destroyed the country's rain forests. Realising this, it had imposed a ban on log exports in 1980 but later replaced it with a 200 per cent export tax to protect …
Safe Shrimps Antibiotics are good in medicines but not in shrimps. The government insists "there is no trace of the antibiotic nitrofuran in its shrimp exports to the European Union (eu).' This announcement came after the eu decided to test shrimp from Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand for illegal chemicals. The …
In 1995, Indian exporters got a rude shock when a consignment of Darjeeling tea was rejected by Germany. The reason for this drastic measure: the tea leaves contained excessive pesticide residue levels. The unsavoury incident left a bitter aftertaste in India, but the fact remains that the tea did contain …
E-WASTE - a byproduct of the US technological revolution - is being sneaked into India, Pakistan and China. This revelation has been made in a report released by five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) spread over four countries. The document titled 'Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia' warns that the processing …
"WE are aware of the sad plight of most of our towns and cities. This needs to be changed if they have to act as engines of growth, and if they are to provide a healthy environment for our citizens. Hence, we can no longer afford to delay reforms in …
