Search Results for: Mauritius

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA and Ukraine appear to have headed off an oil transit dispute that could have created a repeat of last year’s major disruption of European natural gas supplies. Moscow and Kiev have signed an agreement increasing by 30% the fees Ukraine charges on transporting Russian oil to the European Union (EU) – this alters a 2004 contract and the change had sparked a diplomatic tussle.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IF a global poll was taken to identify the best known international organisation, the Egmont Group would be lucky to get a mention, despite it linking 116 financial intelligence units (FIU) worldwide.

It is partly to raise profile that the group last June appointed its first chair, Luis Urrutia, who heads Mexico’s FIU.…

By Bill Corcoran

Confirmation that critical portions of the new Seacom 17,000km undersea fibre optic cable linking Africa to Europe and India have been completed marked a momentous occasion for people involved in tertiary education in South Africa.

As universities around the world have become used to fast and affordable internet access that handles large volumes of data, South Africa’s higher education institutions have been left to languish in the connectivity dark ages due to a lack of telecommunications infrastructure.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank is considering lending Euro 30 million to help design, construct and operate two sugar refineries, and related processing and storage facilities, in Mauritius. The money would go to the Indian Ocean island’s Compagnie Sucrière du Sud Ltée and FUEL Refinery Ltd.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE NUMBER of counterfeit personal care products seized by European Union (EU) customs teams fell by a quarter in 2008, compared to 2007, the latest European Commission figures claim. There were still many fake cosmetics, perfumes and personal soaps discovered however – 4.58 million items, in 2,134 cases however.…

BY PHILIP MCCORKELL, in London

QUESTION

London Mayor Ken Livingstone famously banned pigeon feed sellers from Trafalgar Square, while many Londoners and visitors to the city routinely refer to the birds as "flying rats". But do residents and tourists in London really hate pigeons that much or do some people think they are British urban icon?…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has guaranteed US$22.8 million’s investment from Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd to rehabilitate Mozambique’s largest sugar estate, run by the Companhia de Sena, in Marromeu district.

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) has exempted from its standard free trade rules for a further six years countries involved in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme combating ‘blood diamond’ sales.

Its current waiver was to expire December 31 and protects trade restrictions undertaken by participating countries preventing rough diamonds being exported to non-signatory states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE REIMPOSITION of quota limits last year on some Chinese textile products has driven official overseas sales down, according to European Commission figures. During the first quarter of 2006, China saw an overall decrease in exports to the EU of minus 12% in volume, although unit prices increased by 9%.…

BY STEVEN SWINDELLS, in Johannesburg

THE FORTEEN countries of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) have their AML/CFT work cut out. Under-funded, lacking resources, short of political will and working in a region that leaks money like a sieve…it is a demanding context for the group’s daunting tasks.…