Archive
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.
TUNISIAN STUDENT UNION CALLS FOR NATIONAL DIALOGUE
STUDENTS in Tunisia are playing a moderating role in the country’s ongoing political crisis which has seen the seizure of power and dismissal of parliament by the country’s President Kais Saied. A planned demonstration by student and other supporters of the move scheduled for Sunday was cancelled amidst concern about political violence and now moderate democratic Moslem-oriented union UGTE (Union Générale Tunisienne des Etudiants) and the left-leaning UGET (Union Generale Étudiantes Tunisien) are calling for calm.…
INTERPOL WARNS OF FAKE COVID-19 VACCINE THREAT
INTERPOL has issued a global alert warning governments and health officials of fraud schemes run by organised crime groups offering fake COVID-19 vaccines.
The international law enforcement agency acted after reports of 60 cases in 40 countries where health officials received fraudulent offers for vaccines.…
UK TO REPLACE NATIONAL FRAUD AND CYBER CRIME REPORTING CENTRE
The UK national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre – Action Fraud – is to be replaced with “an improved national fraud and cybercrime reporting system”, the British government has said in its July 27 Beating Crime Plan (1). However, the City of London Police, which currently hosts Action Fraud, has rejected newspaper claims that the national reporting hotline was being scrapped after an exposé in The Times (2) revealed alleged failings.…
BANGLADESH TEXTILE INDUSTRY LEADER COMMITS TO SUSTAINED INNOVATION ON SUSTAINABILITY
The leader of Bangladesh’s clothing and textile industry has promised to keep encouraging this important outsourcing hub towards more innovative circular and sustainable operations, as major brands promise to deliver 100% sustainable and eco-friendly products. “In order to maintain our competitive position in the market, we must radically shift to more sustainable consumption and production, upcycling and recycling of pre- and post-consumer wastes,” said Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Faruque Hasan.…
LUMINESCENT YARM IS MAJOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GROWTH ZONE – BUT SUSTAINABILITY IS A CHALLENGE
INTRODUCTION
In a global textile and clothing market that is increasingly integrating design with functionality, the potential of luminescent yarns is becoming ever more apparent. The focus of groundbreaking research and development, there is widening diversity in this segment from luminescent coatings on yarns to those that integrate LEDs (light-emitting diodes).…
TBML EXPORT SAYS USA 2020 TRADE DATA SHOWS ABNORMAL PRICING THAT MIGHT REFLECT AUDACIOUS TBML
Analysed USA trade data from the professor who coined the phrase ‘trade-based money laundering’ have unveiled significant abnormal pricing in exports and imports to and from the USA, which could have been abused for ML. Prof John Zdanowicz, a business professor at the USA’s Florida International University, and long-standing TBML expert, shared analysed 2020 US trade data with MLB, and they include some eye-widening anomalous valuations.…
FEARS FOR EU-SWISS AML/CFT COOPERATION AFTER KEY TREATY TALKS FAIL
The Swiss Federal Council’s (Switzerland’s cabinet) May 26 unilateral decision to end seven years of negotiations on a new agreement to govern future relations between Switzerland and the European Union (EU), citing sovereignty concerns (1), closes the door on attempts to ensure the country has a formal link with EU AML/CFT legislation.…
JAPAN NEEDS TO BOOST FIGHT AGAINST LAUNDERING BY YAKUZA – SAYS FATF
JAPAN should be more proactive in investigating complex money laundering involving local organised criminal networks – the Yakuza, or Boryokudan – the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has concluded.
In its latest mutual evaluation report, FATF concluded: “Japan regularly uses financial intelligence to investigate money laundering.…
AFRICA FABRIC SECTOR LOOKS TO INNATE CULTURAL RESOURCES 19 CRISIS TO PULL OUT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS
AFRICA’s clothing and textile sector has been hit hard by Covid-19, with an emerging production industry being hit by falls in demand and disruption in supply chains. India-based market researchers Mordor Intelligence concluded in a report assessing the African industry’s prospects for 2021-5 that “disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic on global value chains and its impact on African businesses is already evident.”…
COVID 19 CONTINUES TO SHAKE UP AML/CFT IN YEAR TWO OF PANDEMIC
AS COVID-19 batters the world into its second year of the most destructive global pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1919, its impact on AML/CFT is becoming clearer. FATF released an updated assessment in December (2020) (1) highlighting an increase in certain predicate offences caused by the disease itself and the increased online activity it has generated: phishing scams, business compromise fraud; internet child sex exploitation; corruption and fraud related to medical supply contracts; and property thefts of vacant homes and offices.…