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.
UK FRAUD VALUE UP 151% IN A YEAR, LATEST SURVEY FINDS
The combined value of major fraud cases over GBP100,000 (USD120,428) tried in United Kingdom Crown Courts rose 151% in a year from GBP444.7 million (USD535.49 million) in 2021 to GBP1.12 billion (USD1.35 billion) in 2022, returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the February 17 KPMG Fraud Barometer (1).…
UK PAYS EU EUR2.6 BILLION FOR PRE-BREXIT VAT FRAUD FAILINGS
THE UK government has paid the European Union (EU) EUR2.6 billion (USD2.77 billion or GBP2.31 billion) to cover pre-Brexit losses on customs and VAT fraud between 2011 and 2017 that it failed to stop, meaning it underpaid contributions to the bloc’s budget.…
LATEST CPI SHOWS LINKS BETWEEN CONFLICT AND CORRUPTION
Transparency International (TI) has warned that “conflict creates opportunities for corruption and subverts governments’ efforts to stop it” when unveiling its 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) on January 31, scoring 180 countries worldwide on perceived levels of public sector corruption from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) with the average 43.…
EU FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR DEMANDS PROPER ENABLING CONDITIONS TO MEET NEW PACKAGING RULES
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s new proposal for a packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR) adopted November 30, 2022 (1), will only be successful if amendments make its ambitious sustainability targets more realistic, European food and drink experts have told Food & Drink Technology (FDT).…
BIOMASS UNDER THREAT FROM EU PROPOSAL
Biomass is under threat as the leading source of renewable energy in the European Union (EU) under controversial proposals to cap use of primary woody biomass and end subsidies by the end of 2026. Bioenergy Europe figures (1) show that 69.6% of biomass energy feedstock used in Europe comes from woody biomass, which are forestry and wood industry residues with the remaining feedstock sourced 18.3% from agricultural biomass and 12.1% biowaste.…
CARIBBEAN ISLANDS HARNESS PLENTIFUL SOLAR POWER TO CUT ELECTRICITY COSTS AND BOOST ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Caribbean island states are looking to harness their natural advantage in bounteous sunlight to expand solar power, boosting their energy independence, while reducing the cost of energy as gas and oil prices rise. Even in oil and gas-rich Trinidad & Tobago, consumers have been feeling the energy pinch, facing increases in their electricity bills in 2023.…
HARD CURRENCY POOR EGYPTIAN BUSINESSES ENGAGE IN ILLICIT ACTIVITY TO STAY AFLOAT
EGYPTIAN businesses are struggling to import goods due to an ongoing shortage of US dollars, while the Egyptian pound has depreciated by over half in less than a year and inflation is in the double digits. Such issues, along with tough import requirements, has pushed businesses to resort to roundabout, sometimes illicit, means to stay afloat.…
USA NUCLEAR INDUSTRY IS BETTING ON SMALLER REACTORS
With the USA looking to replace fossil fuel consumption in its energy sector, its nuclear industry has “no appetite” for building traditional large-scale nuclear reactors…because of the delays and the cost overruns on such mega projects, said Jacopo Buongiorno, a nuclear energy expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).…
SHERBROOKE RESEACHERS’ MICROCHIP-LINKED LIGHT DETECTOR MAY UNVEIL SECRETS OF DARK MATTERSHERBROOKE RESEACHERS’ MICROCHIP-LINKED LIGHT DETECTOR MAY UNVEIL SECRETS OF DARK MATTER
Researchers at the University of Sherbrooke, in Québec, supported by CMC Microsystems, are helping build sensors to detect ‘dark matter’ – the unknown substance that scientists think makes up about 27% of the universe. That, combined with the equally undetectable dark energy (68% of the universe says physics research centre CERN), can be inferred by its gravitational pull on stars and planets.…
BRAZIL’S DAIRY INDUSTRY AIMS FOR RECOVERY UNDER NEW PRESIDENT IN 2023
Brazil’s economy has been either contracting or sluggish for the last decade, but the country’s strong dairy sector hopes this year could be different. With a new President in charge of the most populous South American nation since January 1, business leaders say exports could revive the industry, even if the local market continues to be in poor shape.…