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Japan Times
24-07-2025
- Japan Times
U.S.-funded contraceptives for poor nations to be burned in France: sources
U.S.-funded contraceptives worth nearly $10 million are being sent to France from Belgium to be incinerated after Washington rejected offers from the United Nations and family planning organizations to buy or ship the supplies to poor nations, according to two sources. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed on Wednesday that a decision had been taken to destroy the stock. The supplies have been stuck for months in a warehouse in Geel, a city in the Belgian province of Antwerp, following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to freeze U.S. foreign aid in January. They comprise contraceptive implants and pills as well as intrauterine devices to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, according to seven sources and a screenshot shared by an eighth source confirming the planned destruction. The U.S. government will spend $167,000 to incinerate the stocks at a facility in France that handles medical waste, the U.S. State Department confirmed. The spokesperson said that a preliminary decision had been made to destroy certain products from terminated U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal," the spokesperson said via email, adding that no condoms or HIV medications would be destroyed. U.S. lawmakers have introduced two bills this month to prevent the destruction of the supplies following Trump's decision to shut down USAID, but aid groups say the bills are unlikely to be passed in time to stop the incineration. The Belgian foreign ministry said Brussels had held talks with U.S. authorities and "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction, including temporary relocation." "Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Nevertheless, Belgium continues to actively seek solutions to avoid this regrettable outcome," it said in a statement on Tuesday. "Sexual and reproductive health must not be subject to ideological constraints," it added. The supplies, worth $9.7 million, are due to expire between April 2027 and September 2031, according to an internal document listing the warehouse stocks and verified by three sources. Sarah Shaw, Associate Director of Advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, said the nongovernmental organization had volunteered to pay for the supplies to be repackaged without USAID branding and shipped to countries in need, but the offer was declined by the U.S. government. "MSI offered to pay for repackaging, shipping and import duties but they were not open to that. ... We were told that the U.S. government would only sell the supplies at the full market value," said Shaw. She did not elaborate on how much the NGO was prepared to pay, but said she felt the rejection was based on the Trump's administration's more restrictive stance on abortion and family planning. "This is clearly not about saving money. It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights, and one that is already harming women." She added that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa had relied on USAID for access to contraception and that the aid cuts would lead to a rise in unsafe abortions. The United Nations' sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, also offered to buy the contraceptives outright, three sources said, without disclosing the financial terms of the proposal. However, negotiations broke down, a source with knowledge of the talks said, in part due to a lack of response from the U.S. government. UNFPA declined to comment. One of the sources with knowledge of the issue said that the Trump administration was acting in accordance with the Mexico City Policy, an anti-abortion pact in which Trump reinstated U.S. participation in January. The pact forbids the U.S. government from contributing to or working with organizations providing funding or supplies that offer access to abortions. The source said there was no way for the U.S. government to ensure that UNFPA would not share the contraceptives with groups offering abortions, violating the Mexico City Policy. The State Department also said these were factors in their decision on Wednesday, and added that it had avoided $34.1 million in costs by cancelling other orders placed under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden. The source also said the matter was complicated by the fact that the contraceptives in Belgium were embossed with the USAID trademark and Washington did not want any USAID-branded supplies to be rerouted elsewhere. UNFPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the concerns raised by the source. One of the two sources who revealed that the stocks of contraceptives were being trucked to France said it would likely take dozens of truckloads and at least two weeks to move the supplies out of the Geel warehouse, with a third source also confirming the scale of the operation. The French government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chemonics, the contractor managing the supply chain for USAID's family planning program, declined to comment on the plans to destroy the supplies.
SoraNews24
14-07-2025
- SoraNews24
Japanese can maker says it's OK to microwave cans with their new invention
Can the Range de Can do what it says it can? All my life, I have been warned that putting metal in a microwave would cause a chain reaction that could unravel the very fabric of reality. I'm now told I'm making a lot of progress in therapy for my childhood trauma, but I still steer clear of putting any metallic object into those boxes of electromagnetic radiation. Some say it's actually not so bad, and if the metal object is smooth enough, it's not likely to trigger any sparks at all. Still, that's not a theory I'm willing to wager my own microwave or reality on so I just scoop stuff out of a can and into a bowl before zapping it. But now, we have can-maker Daiwa Can out of Tokyo, whose latest product, called the Range de Can, claims to let us microwave metal cans with impunity. It's quite simply just a plastic cap, or rather an anti-cap, as it goes on the bottom of the can rather than the top. According to Daiwa Can, the hazard of microwaving cans is that the bombardment of microwaves can cause free electrons in the can's metal to come loose and ionize the air around it. This is most likely to occur near the bottom of the can, where the space is tight and microwaves/ionized air can become more dense, creating little lightning storms. ▼ On the left side, a normal can in a microwave lights up like the Fourth of July, but on the right Range de Can provides enough clearance so electricity is less likely to arc. Range de Can fixes this simply by putting more space between the can and the bottom of the microwave. This reduces the chances of ionized air condensing and triggering sparks. According to Daiwa Can's testing, the chances of sparking drop from 28.3 percent to 0 percent when Range de Can is used. There are some very important things to note before using this item though. First, you have to open the can. Keeping it closed could cause pressure to build up inside until it explodes and creates a much bigger problem than a few sparks. Secondly, it's very important to note that metal reflects microwaves, so the food inside might not cook so well. On the other hand, the metal can could also transfer the heat of the food throughout it more easily than other materials, so depending on the size and shape, it could all balance out. Thirdly, neither microwaves nor cans are all created equally. Some ovens might have certain layouts or wattages that Range de Can isn't prepared to handle. Also, some cans use certain plastic or chemical linings that aren't meant to be heated in a microwave and could affect the quality of the food inside, so make sure you know what you're working with. ▼ Thermal imaging of a can of Pacific saury in miso sauce heated with Range de Can. In all of Range de Can's promotional images, a can of fish is shown. This would make sense since these cans are shallow enough for the food to heat up more thoroughly than taller cans. This kind of fish is also cooked while inside the can during manufacturing, meaning the material of the can is designed to safely withstand high temperatures. This item is not quite at the mass production stage yet, though, so more detailed information about what can and cannot be used by Range de Can may come out by the time it goes on sale. For now, however, it appears more suited to a nice can of mackerel than some Chef Boyardee, but good luck finding Chef Boyardee in Japan anyway. Source: Daiwa Can, PR Times, Images: PR Times ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Japan Times
30-06-2025
- Japan Times
France imposes smoking ban on beaches and parks
Anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park in France will be breaking the law from Sunday under new rules aimed at protecting children from the dangers of passive smoking. Bus shelters and areas in the immediate vicinity of libraries, swimming pools and schools will also be affected by the ban, which is coming into force one day after its publication in the official government gazette on Saturday. The rule is being imposed one week before the beginning of the school holidays in France in a clear bid to immediately protect children from smoke on the beach. However, to the disappointment of some anti-tobacco activists, the ban does not cover the terraces of bars and restaurants where many French still happily light up. They are also unhappy that the ban does not apply to electronic cigarettes. The rules had initially been expected to come into force on Tuesday after a previous announcement by the health ministry but the publication in the official gazette means this has now been brought forward to Sunday. People should also not smoke within a 10-meter radius of schools, swimming pools, libraries and other places where doing so could harm minors. The health ministry said it would announce the minimum distance for smoking in these areas in the coming days as well as reveal the sign used to designate such areas. Violators of the ban could face a fine of €135 ($160) up to a maximum of €700. However the health ministry is expecting an initial grace period as the new rules are explained. "Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children. A park, a beach, a school — these are places to play, learn, and breathe. Not for smoking," Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin said. This is another step "towards a tobacco-free generation," she added, which France is targeting from 2032. The ban "is a step in the right direction, but remains insufficient," said Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT), criticizing the continued permission to smoke on cafe terraces. "The minister points to the protection of children," but children "also go to the terraces," Martinet, a pulmonologist, said. He lamented the absence of e-cigarettes from the text, saying flavors are used to "hook young people." "For a measure to be effective, it must be clear — no consumption of products containing tobacco or nicotine in public," Martinet said. But Frank Delvau, president of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (UMIH) for the Paris region, said a ban on smoking on cafe terraces "would only shift the problem because people on terraces would go smoke next to these establishments." "Smokers and non-smokers can coexist" on terraces, the "last places of conviviality and freedom," said Franck Trouet, of hospitality association Hotels and Restaurants of France (GHR). In France, passive exposure to tobacco smoke causes 3,000 to 5,000 deaths per year, according to official figures. Smoking is steadily declining in France with "the lowest prevalence ever recorded since 2000," according to France addiction agency the OFDT. Less than a quarter of adults aged 18 to 75 reported smoking daily in 2023, according to the agency. Smoking causes 75,000 deaths per year in France and, again according to the OFDT, costs society €156 billion annually, counting factors including lost lives, quality of life, productivity, prevention, law enforcement and health care. According to a recent opinion survey, 62% of French people favour a smoking ban in public places.
