Bisphenol A ban to take effect from mid-2011, but campaigners say more needs to be done.
The widely-used chemical bisphenol A will be banned from baby bottles from the middle of next year, European Union regulators decided yesterday.
National government experts meeting as the standing committee on the food chain and animal health voted in favour of the ban, following a proposal from the European Commission. The ban will take effect from mid-2011.
John Dalli, the European commissioner for health and consumer policy, described the ban as “good news for European parents”. France and Denmark have already taken action to ban the chemical from baby bottles.
But chemical campaigners said that the EU had not gone far enough. Lisette van Vliet of the Health and Environment Alliance said in a statement: “We are pleased that BPA will be banned in baby bottles in 2011, but this is not enough. BPA should come out of all food contact materials so that babies are not exposed before birth.”
Bisphenol A is one of the world’s most commonly-used chemicals, found in food containers, medical equipment and mobile-phone casings. But concerns have grown about its effects on human health when it is ingested into the body via contact with bottles, tin cans and tableware.
The EU issued a statement on the situation in Iran | Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
Six days after start of violence, EU issues Iran statement
The protests, sparked by a hike in fuel prices, are said to have led to more than 100 deaths.
The EU on Thursday issued a statement on the situation in Iran, six days after the start of massive protests that Amnesty International says have resulted in more than 100 deaths.
“Socio-economic challenges should be addressed through inclusive dialogue and not through the use of violence,” said a spokesperson for the External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic body, in a written statement. “We expect Iran’s security forces to exercise maximum restraint in handling the protests and for protestors to demonstrate peacefully. Any violence is unacceptable. The rights to freedom of expression and assembly must be guaranteed.”
The protests were sparked by a hike in fuel prices last Friday. According to reports, authorities blocked internet connections late Saturday. The EU is trying to save the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran after the U.S pulled out and its silence on the current protests has been criticized as a sign of weakness.
The EEAS spokesperson also urged “Iranian authorities to ensure the free flow of information and access to the internet” and added “the protests in several Iranian cities over the past days have, according to reports, led to serious loss of life and left many people injured. We convey our condolences to the families of victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured.”
At the daily European Commission press briefing, a reporter asked why the statement was issued simply by a spokesperson and not by Federica Mogherini, the EU’s top diplomat. An EEAS spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, rejected the criticism, saying: “We use several types of statements but they all represent the EU position.”
Another reporter pointed at the language in the statement, saying it appeared to put the level of violence of the regime on the same level as that of the protesters. But Kocijancic denied this was the case: “Not at all, the statement is quite clear,” she said. “I think the responsibility here is quite clear,” she added, referring to the Iranian authorities.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Just a couple weeks after he announced the completion of his chemotherapy and began taping the latest season of “Jeopardy!,” host Alex Trebek said Tuesday he’s suffered a setback in his battle with pancreatic cancer. The longtime game-show host has had to resume chemotherapy.
Despite battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer, the 79-year-old has not missed a day on the show. Trebeck took to ABC’s “Good Morning America” to talk about his battle with cancer, candidly discussing the pain, exhaustion and frustration of the experience.
When he stopped with chemotherapy, he was optimistic. He planned a summer of recovery. But before long, his “numbers shot up,” prompting doctors to order him to resume treatment, he said.
Trebek said his goals for the summer had been to get his strength and hair back, but his progress on both fronts was “dismal.”
RELATED:
Battling Stage 4 Cancer, Alex Trebek Returns To ‘Jeopardy
Describing the toll the disease has taken, Trebek said that at times he experiences “excruciating pain” and other times “fatigue.”
The legendary host shocked fans in March when he announced his stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
“Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” Trebek said in his initial announcement. “Now normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”
City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.
NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — Domestic battery charges against an actress who appeared in the the 1995 movie “Clueless” have been dropped by the Pinellas-Pasco County State Attorney’s Office.
Stacey Dash, 52, who played Dionne Davenport in the teen comedy, was arrested Sunday after she called 911 from her New Port Richey apartment around 7:45 to report that her husband had assaulted her.
In a deputy’s body cam video released by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Dash told the 911 dispatcher her husband placed her in a choke hold and was coaching his children to confirm his story when deputies arrived. She called the children “disrespectful, awful children.”
“We were all arguing,” Dash told the operator. “I asked his daughter to get out of my face, because she was in my face. I pushed her back. He put me into a choke hold.”
When deputies arrived, Dash’s husband, Jeffrey Marty, told deputies he was the victim. He said the couple had argued and the confrontation escalated when Dash pushed and slapped him.
Deputies noted Marty had scratches on his arm.
Dash was arrested and taken to the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center where she was released on Monday in lieu of a $500 bond.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges and, on Thursday, prosecutors dropped all charges against her.
Dash’s husband thanked prosecutors for not pursuing a case against his wife. He said he was opposed to her arrest and refused to press charges.
In recent years, Dash has worked as a conservative political commentator for Fox News and briefly considered running for a congressional seat in California last year. She’s been married to Marty for more than a year.
Dave animera une émission musicale sur la station de la rue François 1er tout l’été. Le chanteur sera en direct du lundi au vendredi en début d’après-midi, aux côtés de l’animatrice star de Radio Nova, Aline Afanoukoé…
L’été s’annonce chaud sur Europe 1. Après Anne Roumanoff (la comédienne sera chaque samedi à 11h00 sur Europe 1) c’est au tour de Dave de prendre ses «quartiers d’été» rue François 1er.
L’interprète de Vanina sera aux commandes d’une émission musicale diffusée du lundi au vendredi en début d’après midi, aux côtés de la pétillante animatrice du Grand Magasin de Radio Nova, Aline Afanokoé.
Le programme sera consacré aux artistes toujours en piste ou tombés dans l’oubli. Il reviendra sur les tubes qui ont marqué les années 1980 et 1990.
Cette émission sera une grande première pour Wouter Otto Levenbach, alias Dave. A 65 ans, le chanteur néerlandais se mettra à la radio pour la première fois après avoir déjà été animateur sur TF1 dans l’émission Salut les chouchous, et avoir co-animé plusieurs émissions sur France 3 avec Marc-Olivier Fogiel (dont l’Eurovision).
Comme quoi, il n’y a pas d’âge pour démarrer une nouvelle carrière…
Attention à ne pas gâcher la fête. C’est le message adressé par la préfecture de police de Paris, lundi 31 décembre, à tous ceux qui souhaiteraient utiliser des pétards pour passer la nouvelle année. La préfecture rappelle que la loi prévoit une peine de deux ans d’emprisonnement et de 30 000 euros d’amende si d’autres personnes sont blessées.
⚠️ Pétards et mortiers = danger Évitez les risques et ne gâchez pas votre #reveillon2019 ! pic.twitter.com/XXO87n5jWL — Préfecture de police (@prefpolice) 31 décembre 2018
Les autorités assurent également qu’en moyenne, 55 personnes sont grièvement blessées chaque année à la main à cause de pétards. “Les séquelles peuvent être graves et handicapantes à vie. On parle d’amputation de doigts, de lésions terribles sur les nerfs, les vaisseaux”, insiste dans Le Parisien le professeur Levon Doursounian, ancien chef du service SOS Mains de l’hôpital parisien Saint-Antoine.De nombreuses préfectures prennent d’ailleurs des arrêtés pour interdire l’usage de pétards sur la voie publique le soir du Nouvel An. C’est le cas notamment dans le Nord, le Pas-de-Calais ou le Calvados.Click Here: pinko shop cheap
Depuis la diffusion des images sur les réseaux sociaux le 2 janvier 2019, l’amour entre deux jeunes étudiants s’est transformé en une affaire publique en Egypte. Sur la vidéo devenue virale, on voit un homme d’une vingtaine d’année s’agenouiller, un bouquet de roses à la main, devant une jeune fille. Ils se regardent, se sautent au cou et s’enlacent devant des jeunes de leur âge qui semblent complices.Une proposition indécente ? Proposition de mariage ou surprise d’anniversaire ? Les médias égyptiens hésitent entre ces deux versions. Quoi qu’il en soit, cette scène romantique a suscité un tollé. Dans une société conservatrice comme l’Egypte, on ne s’étreint pas en public et encore moins quand on est l’étudiant d’une université islamique. Suite à la propagation de la vidéo, le Conseil de discipline de l’université Al-Azhar a décidé d’exclure la jeune femme.L’intervention du grand imamLe jeune homme, étudiant dans une autre université, a été également rappelé à l’ordre quelques jours plus tard. Accusé de “contrevenir aux règles et aux valeurs de l’université et de la société”, il a été exclu deux ans de l’établissement. “Je savais qu’on nous filmait, mais je ne pensais pas que ça allait nous causer des ennuis”, a déclaré Mahmoud à Egypt Today.L’affaire “de l’étreinte”, comme on l’appelle en Egypte, a pris une telle ampleur que le grand imam d’Al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb, principale autorité religieuse sunnite d’Egypte, est intervenu en personne pour demander la clémence pour la jeune fille. Il a toutefois souligné que son comportement était “contraire aux traditions religieuses et orientales”.Des “scandales” de mœursLa sanction a donc été retirée, mais la jeune étudiante ne pourra pas passer les examens du premier semestre. Le jeune homme est, quant à lui toujours exclu pour deux ans, mais il peut faire appel.L’Egypte est régulièrement secouée par ce qui est perçu comme des scandales, largement relayés par les réseaux sociaux. Ainsi, plusieurs personnes accusées d’homosexualité ou de diffusion d’images impudiques voire de “débauche” sont poursuivies pour “atteinte aux bonnes mœurs”.
Country’s ambassador to the EU says dealing with the debt crisis will be a priority.
Putting in place tougher economic governance rules and dealing with the debt crisis will be top priorities for Hungary when it takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers in January, the country’s ambassador to the EU said today.
Péter Györkös, speaking in Brussels this morning, said “the number one issue” during his country’s six-month presidency will be “how to exit the crisis”.
He acknowledged that the debt crisis and political wrangling between member states and the European Parliament over the EU’s 2011 budget had complicated preparations for his country’s presidency.
“It has taken a long time to structure our presidency programme,” Györkös said during a meeting on his country’s EU presidency. “If somebody…can tell me what the EU will look like on 1 January 2011, I would very much appreciate his or her advice because in the coming weeks we will still witness some very important developments.”
Györkös said he hoped that Belgium, which currently holds the rotating presidency, would be able to get member states and MEPs to agree on a budget deal before the end of the year.
He said it was an EU and Hungarian “objective to generate growth…and secure fiscal stability” during 2011. He said the Hungarian government would try to get agreement between member states and the European Parliament on proposals to strengthen economic governance rules that were proposed by an economic task-force and the European Commission. The rules are meant to bolster sanctions and surveillance to prevent future debt crises and to deter governments from overspending.
Györkös said his country would have to ensure EU governments can smoothly implement “a limited treaty change”, which EU leaders are expected to endorse at the 16-17 December European Council. The change would allow a permanent bail-out mechanism to be set up as part of the Lisbon treaty.
Jobs and enlargement
Hungary will also work closely with the Commission to implement the EU’s jobs and growth strategy, which leaders agreed upon earlier this year. It includes meeting new targets on employment and education, and on reducing poverty.
Other issues that Hungary will champion during its EU presidency include examining the challenges that an ageing population will pose for national social security and employment programmes; crafting a European energy policy; breathing new life into the EU’s partnership with its eastern neighbours; and agreeing on a Danube River regional strategy.
Hungary will also push to conclude enlargement talks with Croatia before the end of June, said Györkös, adding hat Hungary hoped to use Croatia’s EU entry “as a model” for other enlargement candidates in the western Balkans.
Two decades after the system was abandoned, former players and coaches still speak highly of a quirky part of American soccer history
American soccer has long had its quirks and idiosyncrasies, little signs of uniqueness melted together by the merging of the world’s game and a unique sporting system. The salary cap still looms large, trades are still the norm and single-entity is still the system that governs the sport throughout the country.
But of all of American soccer’s quirks, few have captivated quite like the shootout. For some, it was a bastardization of the world’s game, a distortion of the rules that isolated America from the rest of the world. They viewed it as a system that was tacky, not unique.
For others, though, it was revolutionary, a viable alternative to the penalty kick system used globally. Johan Cruyff, one of the most famous players and tactical minds the sport has ever seen, said that Europe should adopt the system. Marco van Basten made the argument in 2017 in a pitch to FIFA regarding a number of potential rule changes.
More teams
“This is spectacular for the viewers and interesting for the player,” Van Basten said at the time while also suggesting abolishing the offside rule, getting rid of yellow cards and several other rule changes. “With this idea, [the player] has more possibilities: he can dribble, shoot, wait, and the goalkeeper responds – this is more like a typical playing situation.”
The rules of the shootout were simple. A player stood 35 yards from goal and had five seconds to beat the goalkeeper one-on-one. It wasn’t a penalty kick, where nerves of steel are a player’s biggest attribute. This was a test of dribbling, skill, shooting and timing.
“I thought the shootout was fun,” former U.S. men’s national team manager and current New England Revolution boss Bruce Arena said. “And, you know, it took a lot of talent, the shootout, and there were some remarkable goals and exciting times during the shootout so I thought that was fantastic. I would prefer, actually, in all competitions around the world, if games went into overtime and teams played out the 30 minutes of overtime and it’s still tied, I’d love to see a shootout rather than penalty kicks.”
While the shootout’s run in MLS popularized the system, it was initially used in the NASL during what many consider American soccer’s true heyday. It was a time when players like Cruyff, Pele and George Best dominated the landscape in a league that also had its share of quirks.
From the league’s inception, the NASL used a vastly different point system than the rest of the world. Teams were awarded six points for a win and three points for a draw while also earning one bonus point for each goal scored in a game up to a maximum of three per game. By 1977, Pele’s final year in the league, the NASL had instituted the shootout, with the system eventually deciding the 1981 Soccer Bowl between Chicago Sting and New York Cosmos. By 1984, though, the NASL was out of business, and American soccer hung by a thread.
With the founding of MLS in 1996, the sport was given another chance, and everyone involved knew this would be the last one. Because of that, the league looked to cater to the general public. How could they make the sport more exciting for the casual fan? How could they provide memorable moments that kept fans wanting more?
Rather than a single-table structure, the league implemented a playoff system. Instead of keeping a 90-minute running clock, MLS had a stopping clock that counted down. And, of course, instead of ties, MLS had a 35-yard shootout.
Of the three, only the playoffs remain as the league has generally aligned with the rule book used by the rest of the world. The summer schedule may be different and the salary cap may alter how rosters are constructed but, since the shootout was abandoned in 2000, MLS has largely fallen in line on the field.
“No other league in the world has the type of salary structure or roster and budget guidelines that we that have so there is some uniqueness,” says longtime MLS and USMNT defender Jeff Agoos, who now serves as the league’s technical director of competition. “We also have to balance it with being authentic and understanding that this is the world’s game, that this is more than just the United States and Canada, that we are representative of this region.”
He added: “What I’ll tell you is from a very selfish standpoint I love the shootout, and I would love to see it come back. I don’t think it’s going to come back but I personally really enjoyed that part of it, but I understand where we are today.”
Commission to propose review of EU staff pay as eight member states call for spending cut.
Maroš Šefcovic, the European Commissioner for inter-institutional relations and administration, was today (30 June) expected to publish an outline proposal for a review of EU staff pay and conditions, just as the stakes have been raised by calls from member states for “very substantial reductions” in administrative spending.
Staff salaries, pensions and benefits were particularly targeted by the UK, France, Germany and five other member states in a joint assessment of where there is scope for making savings by the EU institutions during the next multiannual financial framework (MFF).
The eight member states wrote to the European Commission on 20 June, underlining that European administrative spending “cannot be exempt from the considerable efforts made by the member states to reduce their administrative expenditures” – a reference to national governments’ attempts to reduce public deficits that have ballooned in the wake of the financial and economic crises.
Šefcovic has stressed that his proposals, which accompany the legislative proposals on the MFF, are not a response to the demands from the eight member states. He has spoken of the need for changes that are limited and that will safeguard the institutions’ ability to recruit talented individuals. But he does not underestimate the potential of reforming measures: he points out that the most recent reform, in 2004, has already saved the EU €3 billion, and will generate savings of €5bn by 2020.
His proposal will form the basis for consultations with staff unions as well as the other EU institutions on possible reforms. Only later this year will Šefcovic then make a formal proposal, to be submitted to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
Staff unions, anxious to protect their members, have been trying to dissuade Šefcovic from focusing his search for savings on changes to the regulation on pay and pensions. But negotiations on these issues will in any case have to take place in the near future: the agreement on the current method for calculating the annual change in EU officials’ pay expires at the end of 2012, and the system for calculating the rate for pension contributions expires in mid-2013.
Retirement age
The suggestions of the eight member states might offer some material for Šefcovic to reflect on. If the retirement age for staff in EU institutions were more closely to reflect life expectancy, it would go some way to recognise the changes that national governments are having to make to their own pension systems as they seek savings. The allowance that staff receive for living abroad was conceived at a time when it was difficult to attract people to work in the institutions, but its generosity distorts the relation between the pay many officials receive for doing similar jobs.
Fact File
Salary adjustment method
The annual change in the pay of EU officials is calculated in line with the evolution of salaries of civil servants in eight member states (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK). An average is defined, taking account of the size of each national administration, and a cost of living index is applied. Pensions and allowances are adjusted accordingly. The method was agreed in 2004 as part of the last round of reforms.
Member states have complained that the method fails to reflect reductions in salaries at national level. They are uncomfortable at the spectacle of continued pay rises for officials in the EU when their officials at home are seeing their remuneration cut. In 2009 they refused to approve a 3.7% increase calculated using the method. However, their refusal was over-ruled: the Commission, at the urging of unions, took the Council to the European Court of Justice, which decided that staff were entitled to the full increase.
The letter from the eight member states seeks a review of the automatic application of the method, so as to make it possible to “deviate from the adjustment proposal” in the face of budgetary constraints and economic conditions.
The unions defend the current method. They say it accurately reflects the economic situation in member states, with an inevitable delay because it depends on collection of data from national administrations.
They point out that in 2011 the earnings of officials were cut by 2% in real terms, since the increase was only 0.4%, while the Brussels cost of living index rose by 2.4%.
The letter also criticises the use of a special index for the cost of living, the so-called Brussels International Index. This index is higher than the usual consumer price index, as it is intended to reflect the higher spending of international staff on travel, communications and rented accommodation. A special index cannot be justified, say the critical member states, as EU officials are, on average, better paid than those in Belgium. They also challenge the assumption of an automatic salary rise in line with rising prices at a time when Belgium and Luxembourg are being asked to review their wage indexation systems in the interests of greater competitiveness.
The advantage of the current method is that it has provided a predictable formula for calculating annual changes in pay and pensions. It removes the need for time-consuming confrontational annual negotiations, with all the attendant risks of strike action and disruption to the running of the institutions. If member states were to be granted greater flexibility to reject the results generated by the method, the risk of confrontation would increase. So any workable system is likely to resemble the current one because of the need for predictability and a degree of objectivity.
Allowances
EU officials are entitled to allowances for the cost of moving and working abroad, and to taking family members along. The most substantial of these benefits is the expatriation allowance, which amounts to 16% of basic salary. In addition, officials are eligible for a household allowance – designed to compensate a spouse for leaving a job to move with his or her partner – a children’s allowance up to the age of 18 (or 26 if children pursue educational or vocational training), an education allowance for children, and an annual flat-rate travel allowance for a journey to the country of origin. Most of these allowances are at fixed rates.
The letter from the eight seeks a review and wants to compensate staff for the actual cost of expenses incurred. And the expatriation allowance, they say, should diminish in line with the time officials live outside their home country.
Over time, they also recommend that the expatriation allowance should be phased out entirely, so that basic salary levels and working conditions determine whether the institutions are an attractive place to work.
The expatriation allowance makes a significant difference to an official’s income, and is already a cause of dissatisfaction within the institutions, because the criteria for determining entitlement are unclear and open to manipulation.
Pensions
The eight member states say that the pension costs of the EU institutions are “unsustainable”, and that “significant pension reforms” are needed to ensure they are affordable on a long-term basis. An analysis by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, projects that pension costs are rising so rapidly that they could exceed active staff costs in the near future.
The funding shortfall is in part a consequence of how the pensions of EU officials are financed. Pension liabilities are paid out of the central EU budget, so instead of individual and employer contributions being paid into a fund that meets pension liabilities, staff pay their contributions into the EU budget, and member states are responsible for paying the remainder – approximately two-thirds. The burden increases as more officials attain retirement age, while the contributions from active staff cover a lower proportion of total pension costs.
Retirement age should be linked to life expectancy, urges the letter from the eight member states. The Commission increased the average retirement age for officials from 61 to 63 as part of the 2004 reforms, but the eight want to go further. They cite conclusions agreed by the Council of Ministers in 2010 on the sustainability of pensions, and they draw comparisons with Commission recommendations to member states to bring retirement ages into line with demographic developments as part of efforts to improve competitiveness.
In addition, the eight favour a reduction in the rate at which pension rights are accumulated – currently fixed at 1.9% of basic salary per year of service, up to a maximum of 70%. They also call for an end to early retirement without financial penalties. But the letter recognises that existing acquired pension rights would have to be respected. As a result, these changes would produce savings only in the future, – limiting their potential for “substantial savings”.
Special levy
The first special levy, an additional tax on officials’ salaries, was introduced in the 1970s in response to the oil crisis. The current levy is 5.5%, an increase this year from the 2.5% level set in 2004. But it expires in 2012. The eight regard the levy as no longer “special”, but as an “established part of EU revenue” for almost 30 years, and they want it not only increased, but also applied to pensions.
Career structure
The member states’ letter challenges the current system for promotions, in force since the reforms of 2004, which is based on a combination of seniority, duties and responsibilities.
Grades and remuneration should be “more clearly linked to performance, responsibility and management functions”, says the letter. It says promotion and progress should no longer be career-based and automatic.
Unions have singled this out as “the most dangerous part” of the eight’s plans, saying it could open the way to favouritism and would “break solidarity” among officials.
But others argue that a merit-based system is needed to ensure that talented, hard-working officials are rewarded for their efforts and can see a career path that is based on taking on extra responsibilities, including personnel and budget management.
The reforms suggested by the eight would not generate the large savings they say are needed to mirror efforts being made at national level. Savings on the scale they envisage may be possible only by pushing through more radical cuts in future pay and pension levels. The price of that would be to make the institutions less attractive to employees.
The staff unions believe that some member states already have an agenda to undermine the institutions, and this conditions their reaction to the letter. They point out that the Commission already struggles to recruit highly-qualified British, Scandinavian and German staff, especially to work in areas such as competition law, arguably one of the most important of the EU’s competences.
Radical moves
Drafts of Šefcovic’s proposals suggest that he may be considering some radical moves. They include a 5% reduction in staff numbers in all institutions, bodies and agencies, an increase in working time from 37.5 to 40 hours without any compensating change in payment, retaining the 5.5% additional tax on salaries (the so-called ‘special levy’), raising the retirement age from 63 to 65 and the early retirement age from 55 to 58, and recruiting clerical staff as contract agents on a permanent basis rather than as officials.
It is evident that the debate on future funding of the EU as a whole cannot be conducted to the exclusion of these issues, so flat rejection by the unions of any reform of pay and conditions is untenable. But member states also have to bear in mind that excessive pruning could ultimately weaken the institutions’ capacities, and that would reduce the Commission’s ability to enforce competition law or single market rules.