Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/891637
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2017 News 2 PAUL COCKS THE European Parliament to- day passed a resolution rejecting a European Commission pro- posal to renew the glyphosate licence for the next ten years. The approved resolution fol- lows months of work by the S&D MEPs, led by Maltese La- bour MEP Miriam Dalli as co- ordinator and spokesperson on environment and health. Dalli has pushed for a phase out of glyphosate, whilst allowing farmers and industry enough time to adapt to the change. Dalli has also spoken vocifer- ously against the lack of trans- parency, questionable scien- tific reliability and scientific independence in view of the doubts cast on the validity of the current studies. Glyphosate is currently the most used herbicide in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, this herbicide is potentially carcinogenic and has hormone-disrupting conse- quences. Yet, glyphosate and its residues have been detected in water, soil, food and drinks, and non-comestible goods, as well as in human urine, posing a threat to citizens' health. The European Parliament called for the immediate ban for non-professional uses and uses in public parks, gardens and play- grounds, and a five-year phasing out for all agricultural use. It is asking that after the five- year transition period, no prod- uct containing glyphosate is placed on the EU market. "There is a growing unease over the lack of transparency in the EU classification process and many concerns over the safety of the herbicide," Dalli said. "It is proven that our citi- zens are exposed to glyphosate through food, weed killers and living close to sprayed areas. Glyphosate and its residues have been detected in water, soil, food and drinks, as well as in the hu- man body." Internal correspondence by agribusiness giant Monsanto - released in light of the litigation in the US by plaintiffs who claim to have developed cancer as a re- sult to exposure to glyphosate - has shed doubts on the credibil- ity of some studies sponsored by Monsanto. These same studies were among the evidence used by the European Food Safety Author- ity (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for their evaluation of the safety of glyphosate. Many academics argue that due to its high genotoxicity and carcinogenicity, glyphosate should be immediately with- drawn from the market. Dalli argued that whilst pushing for a ban on harmful pesticides, farmers and the industry should also be given time to adjust to the change. "S&D is seriously concerned by the widespread effect of glypho- sate and we want the European Commission to take this issue seriously and to apply the pre- cautionary principle. With this resolution, we are telling the European Commission that we want a total phase out of glypho- sate within the next five years," she said. Dalli described today's vote as an important win for health and the environment. HARVEY Weinstein's former assistant has said she has bro- ken a confidential agreement to speak out about alleged sexual harassment by the dis- graced movie mogul. Zelda Perkins worked for Miramax in London and shared a £250,000 payment with another woman who claimed she was sexually as- saulted by Weinstein, accord- ing to the Financial Times. But she told the newspaper that she wanted to break the non-disclosure agreement, which is said to have been made in October 1998. Waiving her right to ano- nymity, Perkins said the film- maker had repeatedly sexually harassed her. She insisted this had started when he asked her to massage him while he was in his underwear. At first, she had refused but his behaviour continued, she said. "This was his behaviour on every occasion I was alone with him," she said. "I often had to wake him up in the hotel in the mornings and he would try to pull me into bed." Weinstein denies allegations of non-consensual sex. But claims of sexual harass- ment and abuse from dozens of actresses have been piling up since a bombshell investi- gation published by The New York Times. SINGAPORE, one of the most expensive places in the world where to buy a vehicle, has announced it will freeze the number of private cars on its roads from next year but vowed to expand public transport. The growth cap for all pas- senger cars and motorcycles will be cut from 0.25% a year to zero with effect from Feb- ruary, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said. The affluent city-state of 5.6 million people already impos- es a quota on the number of vehicles sold and the number on its roads, and has avoided the massive traffic jams that choke other Asian cities. Singapore makes it costly for those wanting to buy a vehicle, who must first get a "certificate of entitlement", valid for 10 years – the av- erage cost of a certificate is currently around Sg$50,000 (€41,000). There were more than 600,000 private cars in Sin- gapore at the end of 2016. No timetable was given for the freeze but the number of buses and goods vehicles will be allowed to continue grow- ing. In a statement announcing the change on Monday, the LTA said 12 percent of Sin- gapore's total land area was already taken up by roads and there was limited room for expansion. Zelda Perkins says she wants to highlight unethical confidentiality agreements Weinstein's former assistant breaks confidentiality agreement to talk about alleged abuse Singapore: no more private cars to be allowed on the road WORLD BRIEFS European Parliament supports five-year glyphosate phase-out for agricultural use Labour MEP Miriam Dalli, S&D spokesperson on health and environment, says farmers require time to adapt to future glyphosate ban Maltese Labour MEP Miriam Dalli championed the call for a phase out of glyphosate MASSIMO COSTA THE Nationalist deputy mayor for St Paul's Bay Da- vid Thake has informed Op- position leader Adrian Delia that he will be tender his resignation as a PN council- lor. In a letter to Delia, Thake said he would be resigning from the local council as a PN councillor because his position was no longer ten- able given his views on De- lia's suitability as leader of the Nationalist Party. In a letter sent to Delia today, Thake said he had notified the mayor of his local council that he would be handing in his resigna- tion to the acting executive secretary at the next council meeting. For years after the Labour election of 2013, Thake led a tub-thumping politi- cal show on the PN's Radio 101 that often singled out Labour MPs, ministers and anybody associated with the government. David Thake resigns as PN deputy mayor