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International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.

BRAZIL’S STEPS TO IMPROVE ITS AML/CFT
11th Jun 2025
Brazil is trying to improve its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) system with stronger penalties and more supervision, but some gaps remain.

Brazil, which is among the countries with the highest alerts (1.36 million in 2023) for financial crimes involving shell companies, as per the Moody’s Shell Company Indicator quoted by CNN (1), “has made important strides to improve” its  Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) system and “is achieving some positive results”, but still “needs to strengthen cooperation and coordination between certain authorities and improve prosecution”, warned the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2023 (2).…

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WELLNESS AT FESTIVE PERIODS
27th Feb 2025
At busy social times, maintaining good boundaries and taking care of your needs when in close quarters with family and friends while detaching fully from work and study is of critical importance to wellbeing.

This year, an extra nugget of sound wellness wisdom  includes using the holiday season to reflect on what impact phone and computer algorithms might have on your  wellbeing.

Whilst their pros and cons are many, especially in the fields of science and medicine, some drawbacks could include:

  • Spending too much time on devices;
  • Comparing oneself to others, causing a loop of anxiety;
  • Compulsive or addictive device use;
  • Creating bias and pigeon holing and
  • Limiting openness to new ideas or activities.
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Cheese (Kars, Turkey) by Sasha India

TÜRKIYE DAIRY PRODUCTION FALLS AS INDUSTRY STRUGGLES WITH INFLATION AND DEPRECIATING LIRA
27th Feb 2025
Türkiye is one of the top 10 milk producers worldwide, according to the Turkish National Dairy Council (Ulusal Süt Konseyi - USK) but the country’s dairy sector has been impacted over the past two years by high inflation and the depreciation of the Turkish lira (1). Production is slowly rebounding, with demand driven by the country’s growing population and new export markets.  

“Until the Covid pandemic the dairy sector was growing really well, then it started to decrease due to inflation and other issues, and has not really recovered,” said Shirley Kaston, co-founder of the Kök Projekt, a food start-up accelerator and consultancy in Istanbul.  
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"Defenders of Donetsk Airport" commemorative coin. Photo Credit: Oleksandr K.

UKRAINE STEPS UP FIGHT AGAINST COMMERCIAL CRIME, BUT CONCERNS REMAIN
24th Feb 2025
Ukrainian authorities, with the support of their European counterparts, are working to rid Ukraine of its former corrupt past – they are having mixed success. Dylan Carter reports. 

While Ukraine battles an invading Russian enemy currently occupying approximately 18% of Ukrainian territory (1), it is also focused on its battle with the ‘enemy within’, namely elevated levels of corruption and other commercial crime. 

Since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Ukraine’s pro-Western authorities have worked tirelessly to align themselves with European Union (EU) anti-corruption and anti-fraud efforts, notably establishing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in 2014, which prepares corruption cases for prosecution by a Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.…

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Chinese Yuan. Photos Credit: Mussi Katz

CHINA CRACKING DOWN ON WEAK AUDITING OF ACCOUNTING CRIME
24th Feb 2025
Major companies in China are under tightening scrutiny for accounting fraud, with major audit firms facing punishing penalties for turning blind eyes. Keith Nuthall, Jens Kastner and Sara Lewis report. 

The Chinese auditing unit of accounting giant PwC has been fined a record Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY441 million (USD62.7 million) and banned from auditing in mainland China for six months after a regulator concluded it had “covered up and even condoned” fraud.…

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Image Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Globes_showing_Indonesia#/media/File:Indonesia_(orthographic_projection).svg

ASIAN PAINT REGULATORY ROUND UP – INDONESIAN EXTERIOR PAINT STILL USES LEAD, WARNS WORLD BANK 
25th Nov 2024
A World Bank study released in October revealed that 58% of Indonesian households with visible interior paint still use products containing lead, posing significant health risks, especially to children under five. An estimated 10.2 million young Indonesian children live in homes with lead-based paint, with 14% of them at heightened risk from deteriorating paint conditions, according to the report.

It said 77% of popular paint brands on sale in Indonesia exceed safe lead levels, contributing to long-term health issues such as reduced IQ, neurological disorders, and cardiovascular problems. 
 
The country’s industry ministry denied the report’s claims, stating that Indonesia’s decorative paints meet national standards, which limit lead content to below 90 parts per million (ppm), in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations. 
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CHEMICAL REGULATION DILEMMA FOR NEW UK GOVERNMENT
21st Oct 2024
The election of a new Labour government in the UK comes at a critical time for chemical regulation in Great Britain (GB) – and hence textile-finishing materials. Public consultation is currently underway on potential changes to how GB (not Northern Ireland) regulates its chemical industry and market.  

When the UK left the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2021, it also left the EU’s comprehensive REACH chemical control system, which was formally replaced by a UK REACH system. This mirrored EU REACH, grandfathering existing registrations and restrictions to the national system, although GB companies lost access to EU databases run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).…

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ASIAN PAINT REGULATORY ROUND UP – CHINA CRITICISES EUROPEAN TITANIUM DIOXIDE ANTI-DUMPING DUTY
21st Aug 2024
The China National Coatings Industry Association has complained that a European Union (EU) anti-dumping investigation into Chinese exports of titanium dioxide have sparked anti-dumping tariff rates far higher than expected. The provisional anti-dumping rates announced by the European Commission in July were 39.7% for the Longbai Group, 14.4% for Anhui Jinxing Titanium Dioxide Group, 35% for other responding companies, and 39.7% for other non-responding companies.

The China Coatings Industry Association warned that if this tax rate is implemented, it will seriously affect the exports of Chinese titanium dioxide companies and the future development of the industry. 
https://www.chinacoatingnet.com/news/show.php?itemid=11589 
 
*The Indonesian Paint Manufacturers Association (APCI – Asosiasi Produsen Cat di Indonesia) has worked with the government to launch a high school programme, promoting and explaining paint technology.  
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PRACTISING HEALTH CARE IS GOOD FOR YOU
23rd May 2024
We often tend to put ourselves last and feel guilty when we make time for ourselves. But practicing regular self-care is one of the best things you can for yourself and others. Here’s why.

Think of your inner voice – have you ever talked to yourself in a way you would never dream of talking to a loved one? Are you more supportive and encouraging of your friends than you are of yourself when going through a rough patch?…

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Countries of central Asia. Image Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_map_of_central_asia.png

ASIAN PAINT REGULATORY ROUND UP – VIETNAM EXPANDS IMPORT SAFETY CONTROLS TO ALL CHEMICAL INPUTS 
21st May 2024
Vietnam’s ministry of industry and trade (MOIT) has released a draft amendment to the country’s Law on Chemicals. The draft amendment stipulates that all chemicals, including paint and coating ingredients, must be declared when imported through Vietnam’s National Single Window Information Portal.

Under current regulations, only certain chemicals must be declared when imported, leading to the possibility of many dangerous and toxic chemicals imported into Vietnam. The MOIT explained that this weakness was especially relevant for new chemicals imported into Vietnam for the first time, impeding the government’s ability to update the list of chemicals that must be declared, hindering the identification of new chemicals, needed to apply management and safety procedures. 
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