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That plastic bottle of water? Apparently it’s full of plastic. According to the organization Agir pour l’Environment (Acting for the Environment), 78% of bottled water from the best-selling brands in France is contaminated with microplastics.A new study suggests most plastic water bottles in France are full of microplastics, which might have a detrimental effect on the environment and your health“Every week, we ingest an average of 5 grams, the equivalent of a credit card,” the NGO notes in its latest report. These microplastics then contaminate the water cycle, soil, food chain and even our own bodies. Microplastics are tiny, virtually...

Danone revealed yesterday that five containers of its Evian bottled water have been detained in China after failing quality control testing. The containers, which held 115 tonnes of water, failed quality testing by Shanghai's entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau in February, the company said. The water was denied entry over concerns that the amount of microbial flora present in the products exceeded 's maximum allowance, the company said in a press release.  Microbial flora is bacteria, present within bottled water as part of its natural formulation. The announcement highlights the discrepancy in standards and regulations between China and its major trade partners like the US and...

Third World attacks failure of Evian to tackle its problemsIn an attempt to present a united front, contentious issues were avoided in 'least substantive" meeting to date By John Lichfield in Evian 04 June 2003 The G8 summit of the world's richest countries ended yesterday with a ringing cry of economic confidence and the generation of more statements than ever before. But pressure groups for the Third World complained - and officials close to the summit admitted - that this had been a choreographed summit of fixed smiles that evaded all the most contentious issues, from the plunge of the...

French President Jacques Chirac, right, places his hand on the shoulder of U.S. President George W. Bush during a bi-lateral meeting at the Hotel Royal in Evian, France, Monday June 2, 2003. G8 leaders met Monday for the second day of a three day summit. (AP Photo/Jacky Naegelen, Pool)

PARIS - For President Jacques Chirac, it will be a moment of truth: a handshake with President Bush that will be photographed and scrutinized for clues to whether their fractious relationship is on the mend. Chirac meets Bush at a summit starting Sunday that offers them and other world leaders who argued bitterly over the war in Iraq a major opportunity to heal rifts. For Chirac, the success of the Group of Eight summit in the French spa town of Evian could hinge on how well — or badly — his encounters with Bush go. Bush has not set foot...

Welcome to this G8 website devoted to the forthcoming Summit, which is due to take place in Evian-les-Bains, France, from 1 to 3 June 2003. I hope you will find the answers to all your questions here. The G8 Summit is a major event in the international calendar, when the Heads of State and Government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Russian Federation, with the European Union, meet informally to discuss the issues relating to globalisation, and to devise responses commensurate with the responsibilities that flow from their place in the world...

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (AFP) - Furious with France over its opposition to military action against Iraq and its embargo on genetically modified food, US House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Wednesday raised the specter of sanctions on French wine and mineral water. Hastert's spokesman, John Feehery, said the powerful speaker was running the thought by his Republican colleagues to get a fix on whether such a move were feasible."The speaker is exploring whether the US should require bright orange labels" on French wine bottles warning their contents may have been treated with powdered beef blood to alter the colour", he said.But...