Latest news with #EEA
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Health
- Euronews
Summer swimming: Most of Europe's waters safe to bathe in, report says
From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, Europeans can swim safely in most of Europe's waters, according to the latest EU bathing water assessment released on Friday. Over 85 per cent of the sites tested met the EU's strictest 'excellent' bathing water quality standards according to data last year, while 96 per cent of all officially recognised bathing waters in the EU met the minimum quality standards. The assessment and interactive map, produced by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in partnership with the European Commission, highlights where swimmers can find well-managed bathing sites in Europe. The assessment tests the suitability of waters for bathing, focusing on monitoring bacteria that can cause potentially serious illness. In total, over 22,000 bathing water sites were assessed in all 27 EU Member States, as well as in Albania and Switzerland. In five countries - Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Austria, and Croatia - 95 per cent or more of the bathing waters were marked as being excellent quality bathing waters. Only 1.5 per cent of EU bathing waters were found to be of poor quality. The quality of coastal bathing waters is generally better than that of rivers and lakes. In 2024, around 89 per cent of EU coastal bathing waters were classified as excellent, compared to 78 per cent of inland bathing waters. From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, most of Europe's bathing waters are of excellent bathing quality when assessed against the parameters (Escherichia coli [E. coli] and enterococci) required by the Water and Waste Water Directive (BWD). Bathing water quality in Europe has improved significantly over the last decades. This is due to a drastic reduction of organic pollutants and pathogens previously released in untreated or partially treated municipal wastewater. These improvements have occurred as a result of the combined effects: - The systematic monitoring and management introduced under the Water and Waste Water Directive. - The major investments in urban waste water treatment plants; - the large investments in urban waste water treatment plants. - Improvements in wastewater networks. Thanks to these ongoing efforts, swimming is now possible in urban and once very polluted waters. BWD focuses on monitoring E. coli and enterococci, important indicators of faecal contamination, which poses a risk to human health due to the potential presence of pathogens. In addition, toxic cyanobacterial blooms, although not subject to the quantitative monitoring prescribed by the BWD, often lead to anti-bathing advisories. However, chemicals are also present in the water. Water quality is monitored and assessed under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (EU, 2000). The report found there is still significant pollution of surface and groundwater, which are not captured by bathing water monitoring, even when they exceed legal limits set to prevent harm to the environment. As the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies, air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites could have serious health consequences across the region. Monitoring groups have not yet documented any such impact. On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, said it had not identified radiation leaks as a result of Israeli strikes that began Friday and have killed hundreds of people in Iran. But that could change quickly as the attacks continue. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that he is worried about 'the targeting of nuclear sites, which may have immediate and long-term impacts on the environment and health of people in Iran and across the region'. Not all strikes on nuclear facilities would be the same, and an Israeli military official has said their forces plan to minimise the risk of a nuclear disaster and the consequences for civilians. 'There are gradients of risk,' Simon Bennett, who leads the civil safety and security unit at the University of Leicester in the UK and wrote a book on wartime risks to nuclear facilities, told Euronews Health. A successful attack on a live nuclear reactor would be the most devastating to human health, spreading radioactive materials that could endanger people hundreds of kilometres away. But Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant, the Bushehr plant, has not been targeted or affected by the recent attacks, according to the IAEA. Israel has targeted three key nuclear facilities: Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordo. The sites use centrifuges to enrich uranium gas, which produces the fuel that powers civilian nuclear reactors. These centrifuges would also be central to an Iranian effort to develop nuclear weapons, which European Union officials have said must not happen. Israeli strikes fully destroyed the above-ground plant at the Natanz facility, which is more than 100 miles from Tehran. The attacks also severely damaged the site's below-ground operations, which contain its centrifuges. According to the IAEA's director general Rafael Mariano Grossi, there is both 'radiological and chemical contamination' inside the Natanz facility. During an emergency meeting on Monday, Grossi said uranium isotopes may have spread within the facility. Such a leak would consist primarily of alpha particles and would pose a 'significant danger if uranium is inhaled or ingested'. Those dangers include a higher risk of cancer and damage to the kidneys, lungs, and bones. 'However, this risk can be effectively managed with appropriate protective measures, such as using respiratory protection devices while inside the affected facilities,' Grossi added. The level of radioactivity surrounding the site, meanwhile, 'has remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact to the population or the environment from this event,' Grossi said. Israel also hit a nuclear research facility in Isfahan on Friday, the IAEA said, damaging four buildings, including a uranium conversion plant. But there has been no sign of increased radiation there. Israel has been eyeing an attack on the secretive Fordo fuel enrichment site, which is where many analysts believe Iran has been working on its nuclear weapons capabilities. The site, built clandestinely, was first publicly acknowledged in 2009. Fordo is buried deep in the mountains of northern Iran, and US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering dropping a bunker-busting bomb to destroy the heavily fortified facility. The site's location deep below ground means that in the immediate aftermath, 'the likelihood of significant contamination [in the surrounding region] is significantly reduced, if not zero,' Bennett said. Over time, though, radioactive isotopes would be 'leaching into the groundwater,' he added. That means it will be critical that Iran allows the IAEA into the country to help manage any leaks – similarly to how the agency assists at the Chernobyl site in Ukraine, decommissioning and managing radioactive waste, Bennett said. It's not yet clear whether Iran will do so. One week into the conflict, it is still escalating. 'At this point, given the fog of war… everything is conjecture,' Bennett said.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Most of Europe's bathing waters safe for swimming, says new report
A girl walks in the water of lake Wannsee at the start of the bathing season in Berlin. PHOTO: REUTERS Most of Europe's bathing waters safe for swimming, says new report COPENHAGEN – More than three quarters of bathing waters monitored in the European Union, Albania and Switzerland were of 'excellent' quality in 2024, the 27-member bloc's environment agency said on June 20. All but 4 per cent met the EU's minimum standard ('sufficient') and just 1.5 per cent were of 'poor' quality, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said in its annual update on the beaches, rivers and lakes that are tested for faecal contamination. Overall, Europe's bathing waters were of the same standard in 2024 as in the year before. The EEA monitors more than 22,000 bathing areas for bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and intestinal enterococci, caused essentially by pollutant run-off from livestock farms and household sewage pipes. 'Europeans can confidently bathe in the vast majority of the EU's bathing sites that meet the EU's bathing quality standards,' European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said. The best bathing waters in 2024 were in Cyprus, where 99.2 per cent were of excellent quality, followed by Bulgaria with 97.9 per cent, Greece with 97 and Croatia with 95.2. The EU-wide average was 85 per cent. Albania came bottom in the ranking, with just 16 per cent of excellent quality bathing waters, a drop of more than 25 percentage points over the space of a year. Poland was second from bottom at 58.1 per cent, a slight improvement from 2023. In general, beaches were cleaner than rivers and lakes because of seawater's better capacity for renewal. Many of central Europe's inland bathing areas are found in relatively small lakes, ponds and rivers, which are more susceptible than coastal areas to short-term pollution caused by heavy rains, the EEA said. The agency said climate change was expected to increase the intensity and frequency of various extreme weather events, including heavy rains. 'In turn, these events will impact bathing water quality through pollution from sewer overflows, floods or surface run-off,' it said on its website. 'This will come with corresponding potential increased health risks for bathers.' The EEA no longer collates data on bathing water in Britain, which left the bloc. But the national Environment Agency found that in 2024, just 64.2 per cent of England's bathing waters were 'excellent' and 8.2 per cent failed to meet the minimum standard and were classified as 'poor'. British water companies, privatised since 1989, have repeatedly come under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea. EU members, meanwhile, are obliged to monitor popular bathing places from May to September and rank the water quality as excellent, good, sufficient or poor. Of the 321 bathing sites that were recorded as poor in 2023, a fifth had improved by 2024. In such cases, the authorities must shut the area to bathers the following year and take steps to reduce pollution and health hazards before they can re-open. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Cision Canada
a day ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Equitable Bank completes successful issuance of €500 million of covered bonds to further funding diversification strategy
TORONTO, June 19, 2025 /CNW/ - Equitable Bank (the "Bank" or "Equitable"), Canada's Challenger Bank™, is pleased to announce that it has completed its latest offering of €500 million (CAD $789 million) of covered bonds (the "bonds"). The bonds were issued under the Bank's CAD $3.0 billion Global Legislative Covered Bond Programme (the "program") and represent Equitable's sixth covered bond issuance since the launch of the program in 2021. "We are pleased to see continued investor support for Equitable Bank's covered bond program. This program is a key part of our broader funding diversification strategy, enabling us to execute on our mission to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives," said Andrew Moor, president and CEO, Equitable Bank. The €500 million 2.375% coupon covered bonds were priced to yield 2.52% and will mature on September 28, 2028. The bonds are rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA+ with a positive outlook by Fitch. Inclusive of all costs, covered bonds are the most cost-effective wholesale funding available to the Bank. The issuance was completed with Barclays Bank, Commerzbank, DZ BANK, Erste Group Bank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Scotiabank and TD Bank acting as joint lead managers. In the United Kingdom, this announcement is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, persons who: (A) (i) are "investment professionals" specified in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order or (iii) are other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated; and (B) are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). In the European Economic Area (the "EEA"), this announcement is addressed only to and directed only at, persons in member states who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation ((EU) 2017/1129 ("Qualified Investors"). This announcement must not be acted on or relied on (i) in the United Kingdom, by persons who are not Relevant Persons, and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, by persons who are not Qualified Investors. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to: (i) in the United Kingdom, Relevant Persons; and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, Qualified Investors, and will be engaged in only with such persons. About Equitable Bank Equitable Bank has a clear mission to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. As Canada's Challenger Bank™ and seventh largest bank by assets, it leverages technology to deliver exceptional personal and commercial banking experiences and services to over 742,000 customers and more than six million credit union members through its businesses. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB), a leading digital financial services company with $134 billion in combined assets under management and administration (as at April 30, 2025). Through its digital EQ Bank platform ( its customers have named it one of the top banks in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks list since 2021. Investor contact: David Wilkes VP and Head of Finance [email protected] Media contact: Maggie Hall Director, PR & Communications [email protected]
Local Norway
2 days ago
- Business
- Local Norway
KEY POINTS: Norway's government cuts tuition fees for international students
The announcement comes after a series of reforms brought in by the former minister of higher education and research, Ola Borten Moe, came in for heavy criticism from universities and international student organisations . Since the autumn semester of 2023, when students from outside the EU or EEA first had to pay student fees which at least cover the cost of their education, the number of these international students coming to Norway has fallen by "around 80 percent", the government said in a press release announcing the changes. Advertisement Sharp reduction in tuition fees They are not being scrapped completely, as was first reported in the Aftenposten newspaper. Instead, the government is proposing to remove the requirement that tuition fees must at least cover costs. "This will give universities and colleges more room to manoeuvre to attract talented international students," the government wrote. Researchers no longer required to learn Norwegian From June 16th, this year, foreign researchers have no longer been required to learn Norwegian. The requirement that foreign researchers study to reach an upper intermediate level in Norwegian became law in August 2024, but as universities were given a year to implement the requirement, it will now have been abolished before they have had to meet it. The government said it would "instead prioritize other measures to ensure Norwegian professional language proficiency and prepare candidates for the Norwegian working world". Universities will still be required to offer language training to students. Advertisement Lower maintenance requirement for PhD students Currently, when PhD students apply for a residency permit in Norway, they need to document that they have 325,000 kroner in their account if they cannot show that they will receive an income for the period for which they are applying for residence. Norway's justice ministry has now ordered the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) to reduce the maintenance requirement to just 80,000 kroner. What has the reaction been? The reaction from universities and student organisations has been positive. Dag Rune Olsen, Rector of UiT The Arctic University of Norway, told the higher education news website Khrono that he welcomed the news. "This gives institutions the freedom to offer education for a fee they believe is reasonable, both for the institution and for the students, or to waive fees where we believe it is most beneficial," he said. Selma Bratberg, head of the Students and Academics International Relief Fund, told Khrono that it was "a very good day for all student organizations and universities". "The fact that the government is now taking action to reverse a multi-year trend where international collaboration in academia has been systematically downgraded is very good," she said. Advertisement Ola Borten Moe, the minister of higher education who brought in the criticised changes, was, however, sharply critical. "I think it is unwise to make this change," he told the Klassekampen newspaper. "The government is effectively signalling that Norway cannot compete on quality in the international education market. We're going to compete on low price. Norway is making itself the education sector's answer to Nille or Temu."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Companjon is a top AI innovator, an AIFintech100 company for the second consecutive year
The market leader in Cancel for Any Reason in the EEA region is a top 100 insurtech innovator for the second year running. AI-powered Dynamic Product & Pricing Engine delivers hyper-personalised protection and unlocks 25% M-o-M growth. Newly launched Companjon One API gives partners access to all insurance products and developments through a single connection. DUBLIN, June 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Companjon, the market-leading Insurtech+, is an AIFintech100 company for the second year in a row. The award acknowledges Companjon's pioneering work in building AI-powered insurance solutions that scale across industries and geographies. The core of Companjon's innovation is the company's Dynamic Product & Pricing Engine, which uses AI and machine learning to analyse up to a billion data points per quote to offer hyper-personalised products to customers. By leveraging AI/ML technologies, Companjon is able to unlock a sustainable, 25% growth month over month. It also uses sophisticated AI models and automation for fast and precise claim handling. This year's recognition also highlights 'Companjon One API', a recent innovation that delivers all Companjon insurance products, updates, and testing capabilities through a single, simplified connection. By reducing integration complexity and cost, One API allows partners to embed insurance into their international products more easily than ever before. With these technologies, Companjon became a market leader in Cancel for Any Reason insurance in the EEA region and delivered over 400 million transactions year-to-date. Companjon CEO, Matthias Naumann, said: 'Being an AIFintech100 again is a strong signal that our approach is working. From our Dynamic Product & Pricing Engine to the newly launched Companjon One API, everything we build is designed to make the lives of our partners easier. That's how we stay ahead in embedded insurance, and why our partners see measurable gains in revenue and customer experience. These innovations also enable us to unlock outstanding growth and stay market leaders in CFAR in the EEA.' FinTech Global CEO, Richard Sachar, said: 'We applaud Companjon for being an AIFinTech100 company for a second year in a row. Their continued leadership in AI-powered, embedded insurance is redefining how financial services deliver value. Companjon continues to push boundaries with scalable, dynamic products that create real value for businesses and customers at the same time. We look forward to seeing what they achieve next, and how they will transform the insurtech space even further with the introduction of the Companjon One API.' About Companjon Companjon is a leading B2B2C Insurtech start-up specialising in fully digital, AI-driven embedded insurance. Its modern, end-to-end insurance solutions enable companies to delight their customers and drive more business value from stronger brand loyalty and new ancillary revenue opportunities. Companjon designs, builds, and underwrites its dynamic solutions on a 100% cloud-based platform capable of issuing 32,000 policies per second. They also introduced 'Companjon One API', which can deliver all their products and AI capabilities through a simplified connection. It has been recognised as one of the World's Top Insurtech Companies 2024 by CNBC and one of the world's most innovative insurtechs by FinTech Global for four consecutive years (2021-2024). Companjon seeks to change the way people think about insurance by creating seamless and positive experiences when things don't go as planned: being right there when 'life' happens. The company is registered in Ireland and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Media Contact:Simone Vottari+353 86 032 4630press@ in to access your portfolio
