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.
RESEARCH PAPER - Gulf States: Biden and Changing Priorities
Ever since President Joe Biden defeated former US President Donald Trump last November (2020), foreign policy experts have been predicting change regarding American foreign policy. This is especially as regards approaches to the Middle East, notably in dealings with the Gulf states.…
THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL IDs OFFERS EXPANSION OF EFFECTIVE AML/CFT KYC CHECKS
The development of trusted digital identity systems, now being rolled out internationally, will strengthen anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF) controls, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and AML technology vendors have argued.
Global AML body FATF is encouraging AML/CFT authorities to consider using regulatory ‘sandboxes’ to test how digital ID systems might interact with national AML/CFT laws and regulations.…
EBA WARNS CENTRAL BANKS AND REGULATORS OF POTENTIAL INCREASE IN AML/CFT RISK THROUGH COVID-19
THE EUROPEAN Banking Authority (EBA) has warned that national banks and financial regulators within the European Union (EU) to take care financial institutions they monitor do not weaken their AML/CFT controls through Covid-19.
In its latest biennial assessment on AML/CFT risk, the EBA warns that increased remote on-boarding by banks and services unused to handling KYC and CDD online “may expose the financial sector to additional ML/TF risks”.…
UAE FACES SHIFTS IN CYBERCRIME BECAUSE OF COVID-19 AND LIKE INCREASE IN OVERALL REMOTE SCAMS
Fraud, cybercrime and e-commerce scams are on the rise in the United Arab Emirates, with the COVID-19 pandemic presenting new opportunities for criminals. The government has launched an anti-fraud campaign, but laws and enforcement are still not up to scratch. Paul Cochrane reports.…
INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ROUNDUP – EU CONFECTIONERY SECTOR FIGHTS MOVE TO REIMPOSE CONTROLS ON EUROPEAN SUGAR MARKETS
EUROPEAN confectionery and sugar processing associations have appealed to the European Parliament not to reimpose market controls on the European Union’s (EU) sugar sector. MEPs have pressed for new restrictions during the ongoing negotiations about reforming the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).…
COVID-19 HAS BEEN A MIXED BLESSING FOR CZECH DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTING SECTOR
The Czech Republic’s digital textile printing business continued to thrive in 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic’s e-commerce boom boosting trade rather than hampering the sector. Europe’s leading print-on-demand provider Spread Group, which was founded 18 years ago under the name Spreadshirt, and has a key plant in the Czech Republic, had a record year.…
EU WTO ROUND UP – PEACE BREAKS OUT IN TRANSATLANTIC FOOD AND DRINK TRADE WAR
PEACE appears to be breaking out between the European Union (EU) and the UK on one side the USA over an aircraft subsidy-prompted trade war that had led to billions of dollars of duties being levied on food and drink exported between these countries.…
COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S ECOMMERCE BOOM WILL PUSH FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO USE MORE BIG DATA ANALYSIS TO FIGHT FRAUD
The surge in ecommerce in the past year driven by the Covid-19 pandemic will push financial institutions and commercial traders to use more big data analysis, maybe utilising artificial intelligence (AI), to identify anomalous behaviour, say fraud analysts.
International payments company Worldpay (part of the FIS Group, based in Florida, USA, since 2019) valued global online spending at USD4.6 trillion last year, up 19% on the previous annual figures – the highest growth in the past five years.…
EU ROUND UP – CYPRUS PRESSED TO APPOINT FULL-TIME EPPO PROSECUTOR
CYPRUS is under pressure to appoint a full-time prosecutor working with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), with the EPPO’s chief prosecutor Laura Kövesi claiming 10% of the office’s 3,000 anticipated initial cases will involve this small island country.
Kövesi was addressing a joint meeting of the European Parliament’s committees on civil liberties, justice and home affairs and budgetary control, saying the claim was based on data received from the 22 European Union (EU) member states participating in the EPPO, which includes offshore banking centre Cyprus.…
HOW CLOTHING FIRMS CAN PREPARE SUPPLY CHAINS FOR THE NEXT CRISIS
FASHION brands and clothing retailers have seen their supply chains struggle under lockdown measures imposed by governments trying to contain Covid-19. The shutdowns, of course, began just in time for 2020’s spring season, causing maximum disruption.
According to consulting firm McKinsey, 2020 was the fashion industry’s worst year on record, with a 90% decline in overall profits and almost three-quarters of registered firms globally making a loss.[1]…