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Search Results for: Cameroon

80 results out of 80 results found for 'Cameroon'.

IMAGINATION AND INNOVATION PUSHES SMALL-SCALE RENEWABLES INTO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA



Sub-Saharan Africa has natural resources that aids the development of renewable energy, it has lots of sun, plentiful wind, and much potentially sustainable biomass. With the development of small-scale affordable renewable energy technologies, such systems have been promoted by major aid agencies keen to prevent deforestation and excessive reliance on fossil fuels, that – even where they are plentiful, have not usually led to widespread economic development.

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SÃO TOMÉ & PRÍNCIPE TAPS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT TO GROW ITS NEW HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM



The under-developed system of higher education of African archipelago country São Tomé & Príncipe is growing slowly amidst expanding demand, being assisted by international projects and funds.
One major potential initiative that may cause significant progress, however, involves this Lusophone country being chosen by the Pan African Institute for Development (PAID) to host a future International University of Development Sciences.…

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ACADEMICS AT UGANDA’S MAKERERE UNIVERSITY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF COVID-19 TEACHING LULL TO BOOST RESEARCH OUTPUT



Academics at Uganda’s Makerere University appear to have taken advantage of the lull in face-to-face teaching caused by Covid-19 to increase their research output, a self-assessment study has suggested. Research publications from Kampala-based Makerere, one of Africa’s oldest universities, rose from 992 papers in 2019 to 1,301 in 2020. …

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INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP – EU/UK CONFECTIONERS MUST ABIDE BY COMPLEX ORIGIN RULES TO SECURE BREXIT DUTY FREE TRADE



BRITISH and European Union (EU) confectioners must take care to ensure their products meet new origin rules if they want them covered by the duty free goods provisions of the new EU/UK trade agreement struck on Christmas Eve.

The 1,256-page deal includes complex and comprehensive origin rules, such as for chocolate, which can be deemed made in the EU and Britain if all dairy, eggs and honey used are sourced locally, as well as at least 40% of grains, malt, starches and wheat, (which must also not exceed 30% of costs).…

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AFRICA’S CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR GROWS, BUT FACES CHALLENGES TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL MARKET



AFRICA is commonly hailed as the world’s next big focus of economic growth, but for the civil aviation industry, this prospect will require significant investment in new intra-African routes and related airport and ATC infrastructure. It will also require governments to remove immigration barriers preventing African air travellers flying to other countries on their home continent.…

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KENYA STARTS GM COTTON PRODUCTION THIS YEAR IN BID TO KICKSTART ITS UNDERPERFORMING TEXTILE MANUFACTURING SECTOR



Kenya will start to grow genetically modified cotton this year, becoming the first country to do so in Eastern Africa. The move is significant as it is likely to inspire other counties in the region start to grow Bt cotton hybrids that are resistant to African bollworm and other pests.…

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AFRICA HIGHER EDUCATION IS MAINSTREAMING INCLUSIVITY INTO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION, CONFERENCE TOLD



 

Universities and other institutions of higher learning should incorporate well-structured capacity building programmes that target women at all levels of the academic life within strategic policies to promote gender inclusivity in science, technology and innovation (STI), an African HE conference has been told.…

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ICCO MOVES TO AFRICA – BUT STILL BUILDING LINKS WITH MANUFACTURERS



IT is now two years since the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) headquarters moved from London to Abidjan, in Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) in July 2017, a move ICCO called a “turning point that will bear fruit in the years to come.”…

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SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA PUSHES FORWARD ON LNG PRODUCTION



IN a world increasingly hungry for natural gas, recent foreign investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects has raised the likelihood that the substantial gas reserves of some sub-Saharan African nations will make it into global markets in the decade ahead.…

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INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP - RETALIATORY DUTIES ON USA CONFECTIONERY AND INGREDIENTS EXPORTS CHALLENGED AT WTO



THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling sought by the USA on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US confectionery and sweet bakery and associated ingredient exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

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ICAO BUDDY SYSTEM HELPS EMERGING MARKET COUNTRIES PREPARE FOR CORSIA



A BUDDY training system has been launched by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), enabling countries with significant regulatory capacity to help other states prepare for the upcoming CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) scheme. ICAO has been training national officials to advise on ensuring CORSIA’s legal requirements are written into local laws and also on building the emissions data monitoring, reporting and verification systems they need to measure their airlines’ carbon footprint.…

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INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP – CHINA PLANS TO HIT AMERICAN CONFECTIONERS WITH TARIFFS



 

THE CHINESE government has directly targeted the American confectionery and related ingredients sector in its latest tit-for-tat response in the trade wars launched by US President Donald Trump. Beijing has highlighted these goods as products that may become subject to retaliatory tariffs, should the USA impose a threatened third list of duties on Chinese tech, drafted over alleged thefts of American IP.…

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INTERNATIONAL AGRI-RESEARCH INITIATIVE AIMS TO CREATE AFRICAN REGIONAL RESEARCH HUBS FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT



MAJOR universities from six African countries will next year (2019) be able to develop their services through each receiving USD20 million grants from the World Bank, via a regional rural development research initiative, with the money designed to turn these institutions into regional hubs for agricultural learning.…

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REGULATORY CONVERGENCE OF COSMETICS LEGISLATION WILL HAPPEN – BUT SLOWLY, SAY EXPERTS, COSMETICS EUROPE MEETING HEARS



ACHIEVING regulatory convergence in the USD465 billion global cosmetics industry (Euromonitor 2017 figures) is an important long-term goal, industry experts agreed at European personal care product association Cosmetics Europe’s June 13-14 annual conference 2018 in Brussels. Europe is a key market for this industry – providing EUR77.6 billion’s worth of personal care product sales last year, and supporting more than two million jobs, said Cosmetics Europe president Loïc Armand, also president of L’Oréal France.…

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EU/WTO INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP – EU-MEXICO TRADE DEAL TO HELP FOOD EXPORTERS



EUROPEAN Union (EU) food and drink exporters could be major beneficiaries of a revised EU-Mexico trade agreement which will remove almost all bilateral tariffs left by a year 2000 deal. Under a new agreement struck in principle, Mexican import duties on EU exports of cheeses, such as gorgonzola and roquefort, and pasta (of up to 20%), will be removed, along with duties on chocolate and confectionery, (that can exceed 20%).…

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KEY NORTH AFRICA PAINT MARKETS STABILISE AFTER YEARS OF INSTABILITY



NORTH Africa is never an easy market in which to do business, and the Arab Spring and its turbulent aftermath has not helped ease trade, but as the paint industry looks to 2018, there is optimism that profits can be made.…

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AFRICAN COMMONWEALTH ANTI-CORRUPTION CENTRE TARGETS GROWTH THROUGH FIGHTING GRAFT



CORRUPTION saps economic competition that drives productivity improvements and grows emerging market economies – this is a key reason behind the establishment of the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre (CAACC). Another is the established link between the perception of risk from corrupt practices in a country and foreign economic investment.…

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EU TO HELP AFRICAN ATC AGENCY WITH SATELLITE NAVIGATION TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE



A COOPERATION Agreement has been struck between the European Union (EU) and the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) over the mutual development of satellite navigation. The deal commits the EU to creating an autonomous satellite-based augmentation service (SBAS) to help ASECNA, which coordinates air navigation in 14 African countries and Madagascar.…

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TECHNICAL REGULATORY ROUND UP - OECD RELEASES TAX EXCHANGE DATA



OECD SAYS 49 JURISDICTIONS WILL AUTOMATICALLY EXCHANGE TAX INFORMATION THIS YEAR

 

THE IDENTITY of 49 jurisdictions that will automatically exchange tax information in 2017 under a global standard has been revealed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).…

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ICAO GREEN AIRPORT SEMINAR HEARS HOW ACI WILL LAUNCH NEW ECO-TERMINAL PEER REVIEW SYSTEM



AIRPORTS Council International (ACI) is to launch in the New Year a pilot programme designed to boost environmental good practice in airport management. The organisation’s director general Angela Gittens told a seminar on green airports, at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), in Montréal, Canada, that the roll out would begin at Mariscal Sucre International Airport, Quito, Ecuador.…

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LOW LEVELS OF AFRICA TAX TAKE DEMONSTRATED BY OECD



DATA has been released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) that shows how African governments collect less tax as a proportion of their countries’ wealth than in Latin America and the Caribbean. Africa’s average 2015 tax-to-GDP ratio was 19.1%; compared to 22.8% in Latin America/Caribbean and 34.3% for the 35 richer countries within the OECD.…

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OECD SAYS 49 JURISDICTIONS WILL AUTOMATICALLY EXCHANGE TAX INFORMATION THIS YEAR



THE IDENTITY of 49 jurisdictions that will automatically exchange tax information in 2017 under a global standard has been revealed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). Among the major countries included in this list are Britain, Mexico, Germany, France, South Africa and Argentina.…

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IRELAND STATE AID TAX CASE SIGNALS TOUGH APPROACH ON COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY TAXATION



A EUROPEAN Commission ruling that Ireland must recover up to EUR13 billion in back-taxes (plus interest) from Apple has signalled a tough approach from Brussels over alleged European Union (EU) competition law breaches associated with sweet taxation deals by member states.…

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CAMEROON ACCOUNTANTS NEED TO GET CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH CLIENTS’ BUSINESSES TO SUCCEED



LAWRENCE Agbor Abunaw had set his sights on the banking sector as an economics undergraduate student at the UK’s University of Leicester more than two decades ago. But a career orientation fair and meeting a headhunter changed the Cameroonian’s goals and led to joining the accountancy profession in May 1993 with PwC France, before returning to his country of birth Cameroon for eight years.…

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MEPS GRILL MULTINATIONALS OVER EU TAX RULINGS



A MEETING of the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings has grilled multinationals over European Union (EU) member state tax rulings. The European Commission fears they have been abused by governments giving companies low tax rates in return for registering businesses in their jurisdictions.…

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CHINESE PHARMA COMPANIES EYE INVESTMENTS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, BUT THE GOING IS TOUGH



China pharmaceutical industry investors want to help sub-Saharan African countries meet growing domestic demand for medicine in return for tax breaks and private-public partnership initiatives. But there are difficulties – including product quality and standards issues that impede the flow of Chinese Yuan into African pharma production.…

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INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUND UP – BRUSSELS PROBES CARGILL-ADM CHOCOLATE DEAL



 

THE EUROPEAN Commission may block or impose conditions on a planned acquisition by US-based Cargill of the industrial chocolate business of its American rival Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). The European Union (EU) executive’s directorate general for competition has opened an in-depth investigation into the deal, to assess whether it could damage the availability of reasonably priced supplies of this key confectionery input.…

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CHOCOLATE AND COCOA SECTOR SQUEEZES CHILD LABOUR FROM GHANA COCOA PRODUCTION



Increasing efforts are being made across the cocoa supply chain in globally important producer Ghana to ensure its industry operates ethically and sustainably. Total Ghanaian cocoa production for the 2013/14 season was forecast to be around 830,000 tonnes, according to a report by the Oxford Business Group, which noted that 835,000 tonnes of cocoa were harvested in Ghana during the 2012/13 season, representing around 21% of the global total.…

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OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA OPENS NEW FRONTIERS ABROAD



The Open University of Tanzania (OUT) is reaching out to higher education institutions in other neighbouring countries to establish collaborations that will encourage more foreign students to enroll for distance learning.
University vice chancellor Professor Tolly Mbwette said the institution’s board hoped to spread its influence regionally: “We are now the largest distance learning university in the region and our plan is to take distance learning to most countries in East Africa and those under the Southern African Development Community [SADC] by 2016.”…

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SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA PERSONAL CARE PRODUCT MARKET IS KEY GLOBAL GROWTH ZONE



One of the biggest expanding markets for cosmetics and personal care products is sub-Saharan Africa. A key exporter to the region, L’Oréal has estimated that the overall African beauty and personal care market generated EUR6.93 billion (USD8.61 billion) in 2012, growing at between 8% and 10% annually, compared to a global market growth rate near 4%.…

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BRUSSELS GIVES EXTRA FINDS TO AIRCOP AIRPORT ANTI-DRUGS PROJECT



THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced it will pay an additional EUR3 million to the Airport Communication Project (AIRCOP), financing its work to 2016. AIRCOP is run by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and Interpol, and aims to strengthen anti-narcotic detection, interdiction and intelligence capacities in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. …

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EXTENSIVE MEDICAL SCREENING FOR EBOLA INSTALLED AT WEST AFRICAN AIRPORTS



West African airports have imposed comprehensive health checks on passengers to fight the spread of the Ebola virus. In the region’s most populous country Nigeria, widespread passenger medical screening is under way, using screening, protection, detection and healthcare equipment, some donated by the USA government and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

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EU FUNDS INNOVATIVE RURAL AFRICA ELECTRICITY PROJECTS



Time was when energy projects funded by developed world institutions in poorer jurisdictions tended to be large – major power plants and large infrastructure projects. And while these have certainly had benefits, the value of smaller smarter investments in rural areas is increasingly appreciated.…

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CHINESE INVESTMENT IN AFRICAN TEXTILE FINISHING IS UNEVEN AND WILL BUILD ON CLOTHING INITIATIVES



Chinese investment in sub-Saharan Africa’s textile processing sector is creating new capacity for finishing, but progress is uneven. Whilst China’s growing presence in the region is far from universally popular, industry figures consulted by International Dyer across the continent were generally positive about the trend.…

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SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN PERSONAL CARE MARKET GROWS AS WEALTH SPREADS



SUB-SAHARAN African makers of cosmetics and personal care products are profiting from a growing and increasingly stable regional market, where economic growth is increasing demand for personal luxuries.

A report, ‘Business in Africa – Corporate Insights’ by Dianna Games, Standard Bank South Africa estimates that more than half of Africa’s population would be living in urban areas by 2030 and 60% by 2050, when the population would be about 2.4 billion, compared to 1 billion now.…

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CAMEROON MEDICAL SCHOOL BANS SPARKS ANGER



The decision to ban 15 medical schools in Cameroon from training doctors has sparked anger, although it has been welcomed by the country’s medical profession.

The National Commission for Training in Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry’s move in August has prompted the Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Bamenda Michael Suh Niba to call the decision “unjust and unjustifiable”.…

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CAMEROON MEDICAL SCHOOL BANS SPARKS ANGER



The decision to ban 15 medical schools in Cameroon from training doctors has sparked anger, although it has been welcomed by the country’s medical profession.

The National Commission for Training in Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry’s move in August has prompted the Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Bamenda Michael Suh Niba to call the decision “unjust and unjustifiable”.…

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BUEA UNIVERSITY FACES FRESH WAVE OF STRIKES AS INSTABILITY CONTINUES



The vice-chancellor of Cameroon’s English-speaking University of Buea (UB) has declared she is determined to soothe tensions on her campus which have led to a series of violent strikes by students. Buea is one of two public English-speaking universities in majority-Francophone Cameroon.…

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LEAD PAINTS STILL WIDESPREAD IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA



IF there is one paint ingredient that marketers agree should be left off the label, it has to be lead. General and scientific opinion agrees this metal causes health problems and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), working with the UN Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) has embarked on plans to eliminate architectural and household lead paints in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.

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GLOBAL TRADE IN COUNTERFEIT MEDICINES KILLS ON A GRAND SCALE



IF there is one crime condemned worldwide it is the sale and smuggling of counterfeit medicines. Sometimes close copies and sometimes dangerous substances – this crime kills on a grand scale.

Counting the number of its victims accurately is difficult, because of the subversive nature of the trade, but some think-tanks have tried.…

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COSMETICS IN CAMEROON: BOOMING AND UNREGULATED



BY TRICIA OBEN, IN DOUALA

THE GROWTH in the Cameroon personal care product sector in the past few years has been phenomenal. Imports of cosmetic products alone grew by more than Central African Franc XAF10 billion (United States Dollar USD19.1 million) in 2011, up from XAF31 billion (USD 62 million) in 2010, according to figures supplied by Cameroon customs.…

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CHINESE PHARMA COMPANIES TURN TO AFRICA FOR RISING EXPORT AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES



BY WANG FANGQING, IN SHANGHAI

THE CHINESE pharmaceutical sector is pushing hard to secure sales in sub-Saharan Africa – seeing it as a softer and growing export market, compared to stagnating mature markets in Europe and north America. It is for want of trying.…

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WCO COORDINATES FAKE MEDICINE CRACKDOWN IN AFRICA



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Customs Organisation (WCO) has launched a crack-down on illicit medicines in 16 African countries, which sparked the seizure of more than 82 million doses of illegal pharmaceuticals. The haul included antimalarial and anti-parasitic drugs, antibiotics, cough syrups, contraceptive pills and infertility treatments, worth more than USD40 million.…

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WCO COORDINATES FAKE MEDICINE CRACKDOWN IN AFRICA



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Customs Organisation (WCO) has launched a crack-down on fraudulent medicines in 16 African countries, seizing more than 82 million doses of illegal pharmaceuticals worth more than USD40 million. A WCO note said: "These results are alarming…" Its officers worked with the Institute of Research against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM) and 16 national customs administrations in raids called VICE GRIPS 2, targeting seaport containers in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Togo.…

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REGULATORY ROUND UP - EU SUGAR QUOTAS COULD STAY AS CAP REFORM DEBATE HOTS UP



BY KEITH NUTHALL

PRESSURE is growing on European Union (EU) ministers to give the EU’s sugar production quota system a stay of execution. MEPs on the European Parliament’s agriculture committee have called for the retention of EU sugar quotas for beet farmers until 2020, rather than follow existing plans to phase them out in 2015.…

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INTERNATIONAL REGLATORY ROUND UP - NESTLÉ BOSS HAILS VALUE OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE CEO of Nestlé has praised the role of international standards in managing his multi-national company, giving it a health-based legal framework within which its specialists can creatively develop new confectionery and other food products.

Speaking within an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) briefing, Paul Bulcke said: “Tastes may differ, but health requirements and minimum standards are the same the world over.…

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2012 3 CONFECTIONERY HEALTHLABELLINGEUFATSUGARCONTENTLABELS



BY MJ DESCHAMPS

HEALTH is not really a priority for most confectionery consumers, but it is covered by ingredient labelling designed to promote well-being anyway – and the industry has to take note. The European Union (EU) is a case in point: it has been updating legislation on food labelling to promote consumer awareness about not-so-healthy ingredients in food products.…

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WORLD BANK TO EXTEND WEST AFRICA AIRPORT SAFETY PROJECT



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank is planning to extend by 18 months to June 2013 a major spending project upgrading the safety of airports in west Africa. Spending will continue in Guinea, Burkina Faso and Cameroon. The projects were launched in 2007, but since then Guinea has been in turmoil, with a military coup and then a first competitive election.…

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INTERNATIONAL CONFECTIONERY NEWS ROUND-UP - EFSA COMPLETES HEALTH CLAIM ASSESSMENTS



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is staging a re-evaluation of the sweetener aspartame after it agreed to bring forward from 2020 a scheduled inquiry, despite recent scientific assessments failing to reveal fresh concerns about the sweetener.

Indeed, EFSA reviewed the latest studies on aspartame only in April, but accepted a European Commission request for a new study.…

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EMERGING MARKET GIANTS SHOW MUSCLE IN AFRICA RECYCLING MARKET



BY TRICIA OBEN

MATERIALS buyers from large emerging market BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have been dominating poorer developing world countries for years now, with Indian and Chinese buyers especially, cornering the car battery recycling market in west Africa’s Cameroon, for instance.…

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SMALL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES FACE TOUGH OBSTACLES IN CREATING EFFECTIVE ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING SYSTEMS



BY LEAH GERMAIN and ALYSHAH HASHAM

THE SMALL West African country of Guinea Bissau has seen its share of bloody coups, and is known as a cocaine smuggling hub between Latin America and Europe. Continued lawlessness and corruption in the country helped forced the European Union (EU) to withdraw support from security sector reform in 2010.…

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INTERNATIONAL FINANCING FOR CAMEROON OIL-FIRED POWER PLANT



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE AFRICAN Development Bank, the Netherlands Development Finance Company, and the International Finance Corporation, of the World Bank, are investing Euro EUR66 million in a Cameroon electricity company to help it build a heavy fuel-oil fired power plant.…

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ACCA NEEDS TO RAISE ITS ENTRY STANDARDS TO IMPROVE ITS CAMEROON GENERATION Y INTAKE, BUSINESS FORUM TOLD



BY TRICIA OBEN

THE DIFFICULTY of luring the cream of ‘Generation Y’ into the accounting profession worldwide is a widely recognised problem, but in countries where opportunities can be sparse such as west Africa’s Cameroon, this can be very tough. The issue was discussed at an ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) employer forum on March 22 in the economic capital Douala.…

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POST OFFICES WORLDWIDE TO HELP FIGHT AIDS



BY KEITH NUTHALL

MOST people use a post office, so they are an ideal outlet for spreading important public health messages such as about avoiding HIV. As a result, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), UNAIDS, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UNI Global Union trade union federation are launching a global awareness campaign using post office.…

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SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT IN EMERGING ECONOMY AND POORER COUNTRIES BECOMES INCREASINGLY UNEVEN



BY KEITH NUTHALL

IT has long been outmoded and inaccurate to split the world into two camps: industrialised developed economies, and largely agricultural developing countries. The growth of the 1990s and the current decade means there is a wide range of social and economic sophistication and wealth amongst the poorer of these two old-fashioned categories.…

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WORLD BANK WASHES HANDS OF CHAD PIPELINE PROJECT



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank has scrapped a groundbreaking deal financing an oil pipeline from Chad to Cameroon, on condition the Chadian government spent resulting revenues on poverty reduction. Instead it funded military and security programmes. Chad has now repaid the US$65.7 million owed to the bank.…

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EU INCREASES FOOD AID AS AFRICA BURNS OVER PRICE RISES



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is to increase money available for emergency food aid within its European Development Funds budget from Euro 650 million to Euro 1.2 billion following food riots in Africa. Unrest has wracked Egypt this week over basic food prices doubling in 12 months.…

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ECONOMIC COLLAPSE IN ZIMBABWE FUELS PUBIC SECTOR CORRUPTION



BY BILL CORCORAN, in Johannesburg
AS Zimbabwe descends further into economic and political meltdown the country’s ruling elite are continuing to enrich themselves through fraud, theft and bribery. Bill Corcoran reports from Johannesburg.

UNLIKE politically stable countries where large scale commercial crime is just as likely to occur in the private sector as it is in the public, troubled Zimbabwe’s major fraudsters and thieves are today predominantly found in state run companies or government departments.…

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INTERPOL INVESTIGATES GLOBAL CAR THEFT RINGS



BY KEITH NUTHALL
FLEET managers suffering from car thefts might think their vehicles are sold in a nearby city, or neighbouring region. No so, says global police agency Interpol – they could well end up on another continent. It recently coordinated controls of more than 8,000 vehicles in Africa’s Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Chad, and found 14 had been stolen “mostly from Europe and Japan.”…

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AFRICA OIL GAS EXPLORATION RISKS FEATURE



BY STEVEN SWINDELLS, in Johannesburg

SECURITY specialists and risk assessors will be increasingly in demand within oil majors seeking to tap sub-Saharan Africa’s oil and gas riches in the next few years, experts say, with available resources and political uncertainty growing in an uneasy parallel.…

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DEVELOPMENT AID INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION ROUND UP, LEAD FREE PETROL, CULTURAL TRADE UNESCO, IFC ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS



BY KEITH NUTHALL

BY KEITH NUTHALL

UNEP – RISK MANAGEMENT

A BOOK detailing practical ways in which governments can reduce the costs of dealing with major challenges such bird flu, terrorism and climate change has been released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).…

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CHAD EIB WORLDBANK AID FROZEN - CAMEROON PIPELINE PROJECT



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have suspended aid earmarked for Chad, because of their opposition to changes made by its government to its Petroleum Revenue Management Law, which they claim "would substantially weaken programmes to improve the lives of poor people".…

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CHAD EIB WORLDBANK AID FROZEN - CAMEROON PIPELINE PROJECT



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank and the European Investment Bank have suspended aid earmarked for Chad, because of changes made by its government to its Petroleum Revenue Management Law, notably abolishing a Future Generations Fund commanding 10% of earnings, and identifying "security" as a spending priority beneficiary.…

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CHAD-CAMEROON OIL PIPELINE LAW AMENDMENTS CONCERN - WORLD BANK



BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank has expressed "strong opposition" to changes made by Chad to laws controlling revenues from the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline. The bank is criticising the abolition of a Future Generations Fund, earmarking 10% of earnings for when reserves are exhausted, and also the identification of "security" as a priority beneficiary for oil revenues.…

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AFRICA LAKE SHRINKAGE UNEP REPORT



BY KEITH NUTHALL
SATELLITE images of the shrinking Aral Sea in central Asia have long horrified environmentalists, but now similar creeping disasters are threatening the many fresh water and brackish lakes of Africa. These are illustrated by disturbing satellite images within an atlas produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).…

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AFRICA LAKE SHRINKAGE UNEP REPORT



BY KEITH NUTHALL
SATELLITE images of the shrinking Aral Sea in central Asia have long horrified environmentalists, but now similar creeping disasters are threatening the many fresh water and brackish lakes of Africa. These are illustrated by disturbing satellite images within an atlas produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).…

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CHAD - WORLD BANK - OIL FINANCIAL REFORMS



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Bank will work closely with the Chad government in its plans to reform its Petroleum Revenue Management Law. The bank is concerned about the loss of revenues from the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project through corruption and inefficiency.…

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NON-CUBA CIGARS AOInv106



BY ALAN OSBORN
PRESIDENT George W Bush’s re-election last November has pretty well ruled out any change in the US ban on Cuban cigars for the next four years – if anything, things are likely to get tougher. One of the last things the previous Bush administration did last October was to actually tighten the import ban by barring Americans travelling to Cuba from bringing back up to US$100 dollars worth of Cuban cigars.…

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UNCTAD COMPUTERS



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is piloting the Internet dissemination of market data to Cameroon cocoa (and coffee) producers to see if the information will help them grow commodities mirroring market needs. UNCTAD wants to avoid over supply problems that can deflate prices, sometimes ruining producers.…

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ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE



BY KEITH NUTHALL
IT could be the most underestimated commercial crime in the world, the illegal trade in wildlife and their products. Some estimates put its value at US$5 billion-a-year, but governments do not really seem to care. Keith Nuthall reports.…

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CANCUN COTTON DEBATE



BY KEITH NUTHALL
SURPRISINGLY wide support for the west African plan to rid the world of cotton subsidies has been voiced at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit, in Cancun, Mexico. The Canadian and Australian governments yesterday (10 Sept) threw their developed country weight behind the plan, as did WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi.…

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INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION ROUND UP



BY KEITH NUTHALL
*A south-south project – backed by World Bank Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will raise Burundi’s teledensity ratio above one per cent. It is guaranteeing Mauritius Telecom Ltd’s US$1.01 million investment in Burundi’s Africell GSM mobile network.

*An emerging international market in hosting regional and international headquarters of transnational corporations benefits developing countries, says the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); 829 HQs were established or relocated January 2002 to March 2003, nearly a quarter in developing countries.…

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CAMEROON TRUCKS



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation of the World Bank is lending US$700,000 to Cameroon petroleum transporter Sodetran-Cam Sarl, to expand and upgrade its fuel transportation trucks. It plans to buy 10 additional tanker trailers to boost its work with Cameroon’s Mobil Oil Distribution Company.…

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CAMEROON TRUCKS



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation of the World Bank is lending US$700,000 to Cameroon petroleum transporter Sodetran-Cam Sarl, to expand and upgrade its fuel transportation trucks. It plans to buy 10 additional tanker trailers to boost its work with Cameroon’s Mobil Oil Distribution Company.…

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IFC LOANS



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank is leading an aid deal to encourage local companies to maintain and manage pipelines sending natural gas and oil from central Asia to the European Union. The IFC, (which is initially injecting US$250,000), BP, Norway’s Statoil, GTZ, (the German aid agency), and the Baku Enterprise Centre, Azerbaijan, will launch a programme to help local businesses benefit from petro- projects, notably the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey.…

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CENTRAL AFRICA



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Bank is developing a Regional Integration Assistance Strategy to remove obstacles to trade within six central African countries that would particularly promote commerce in the area’s rich metal reserves. Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon would benefit from five years of support, leading to road construction and improvement, the modernisation and integration of the financial sector, and by speeding ports and customs transactions.…

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NIGERIA-CAMEROON



Keith Nuthall
THE UNITED Nations’ (UN) International Court of Justice has fixed the disputed maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon, having decided that the contested Bakassi Peninsula should be considered part of Cameroon.

The court ruled that the maritime boundary should be set from the point of intersection of the centre of the navigable channel of the Akwayafe River with the straight line joining Bakassi Point and King Point, with many elements following previous Cameroon-Nigeria agreements dating back to the 1970’s.…

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ICJ CASE



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Court of Justice has announced five weeks of public hearings for a case between Nigeria and Cameroon, who are disputing their mutual maritime border. Nigerian troops currently occupy part of the disputed Bakassi peninsular, provoking the Cameroon government into launching the case, which calls for a fixing of the coastal and associated sea frontiers and the withdrawal of foreign forces.…

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AFRICAN QUOTAS



BY RICHARD HURST
USA President George W. Bush has approved 35 African countries as eligible for tariff preferences regarding clothing and textile exports to America under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), with Zimbabwe and Gambia being notable sub-Saharan African pariahs from the move.…

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EU ROUND UP: NORWAY ETC



BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has warned Norwegian gas producers that the joint sale of Norwegian gas carried out through the national Gas Negotiation Committee is in breach of the European Union competition rules, because it fixes, among other things, the price and the quantities sold.…

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