Salami, sausage, ham and bacon — the latest study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has found a strong link between processed meat and bowel cancer, as well as evidence for probability of such a link also between red meat and bowel cancer. IARC, which is the World Health Organisation’s cancer research body, … Read more
Legislation that bans supermarkets from giving out free plastic bags to their customers has finally kicked in in England. Gone are the days of plastic bags bonanza: from today, shoppers will have to pay 5p for each thin-gauge supermarket plastic bag they require. Some 8.5 billion single-use bags plus some 500,000 reusable were used in … Read more
What is the state of lobbying in Europe? How transparent is it? Is there a clear and enforceable code of conduct for lobbying activities? How diverse are the voices affecting decision making? In their latest report Lobbying Europe: Hidden Influence, Privileged Access Transparency International (TI) answers these very questions. The study looks at the practice … Read more
Over 1.5 million people a month — almost 195 million people to date — have renounced their links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since the Tuidang Movement (in mandarin Chinese Tuidang means ‘withdraw from the party’) was founded in January 2005, spurred by the publication of the ‘Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party’, an editorial … Read more
A recent report by economist Jim O’Neill is shining the light onto the economic implications of the global rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR occurs when bacteria that are exposed to different types of antibiotics become resistant to them, or multidrug resistant. In layman’s terms they turn into superbugs. O’Neill’s report looks at the effect … Read more
New figures released by the OECD this month show that permanent migration flows in OECD countries, while still below their pre-crisis level, have nevertheless started to rebound. Figures indicate some 4.4m extra permanent migrants in 2013 compared to 2012. The small (1 percent) increase is mainly attributable to a rise in free-movement migration (for a definition, … Read more
In April this year the EU passed a new piece of legislation aiming to halve use of thin plastic bags in the EU by 2017, compared to 2010 levels, with a further reduction target of 80% by 2019. In implementing the directive, member states are given the flexibility to decide whether to ban, tax or … Read more