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.
AML EXPERTS CALL FOR RETHINK ON USE OF SARs
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) are a crucial element in the fight against money laundering, terror finance and other financial crime. But with financial institutions filing defensively and some FIUs flooded with SARs, how can ‘good SARs’ make it to the front lines of law enforcement?…
AML REPORTERS MUST BE OPEN TO LEARN WHEN CHOSING AN IT STRATEGY
With AML/CFT technology becoming ever more powerful and sophisticated, such as the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to process and analyse data, the pressure on AML-obliged bodies to update their information AML/CFT technology (IT) systems is growing.…
SRI LANKA CLOTHING SECTOR WEATHERS RECENT POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STORMS – TARGETS SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Sri Lanka on Thursday October 6 calling for accountability, human rights and reconciliation in this important clothing manufacturing outsourcing centre that has suffered from intense political and economic turmoil. There is growing international pressure on the new Sri Lanka government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to promote calm (1) as the country grapples with financial shortages, logistical disruption and political legitimacy problems, worsened by widespread government corruption.…
ENERGY AND FERTILISER INFLATION PROMPT INNOVATION AMONGST ENGLAND AND WALES FARMERS
Eye-watering energy and fertiliser prices combined with the prospect of higher borrowing costs are leaving few England and Wales farmers untouched. According to experts, even the most resilient will not be able to simply ride the current economic climate. Yet it seems that the current crises are triggering some innovative reactions and often fundamental changes to farming practices.…
NICARAGUA LIKELY TO FACE NEW ECONOMICAL SANCTIONS AMID POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INSTABILITY
The political and human rights crisis in Nicaragua is worrying the international textile industry, given the serious chance the United States suspend the privileged access to American markets that Nicaraguan clothing and textile exporters have thus far enjoyed.
Just two months before the upcoming Nicaraguan municipal elections (November 6), more than 195 human rights defenders, journalists, clergy members, and actual or perceived political opponents have been accused and detained for allegedly committing actions against national sovereignty.…
HONDURAS STRENGTHENS POSITION AS US NEAR-SOURCING PARTNER, EVEN AS RECESSION CLOUDS LOOM
Honduras is strengthening its position as an outsourcing partner for the US clothing industry, with the central American country generating the second highest receipts from sales of textiles and finished garments under free trade agreements to the United States, just behind Mexico.…
ITALY RETAIL COFFEE SALES GROW, DESPITE INFLAITON AND WEAK ECONOMIC GROWTH
Times might be tough in Italy, with annual inflation at 9.4% (in September) and sluggish growth of 2.5% projected for 2022 (OECD data), but Italians are drinking more coffee, including supermarket sales for home-brewed drinks.
In 2021, Italian roasted mass market retail coffee sales exceeded EUR1.3 billion overall, said IRI, up 1.1% year-on-year, driven by the single-serving pods and capsules and grains segments.…
ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN BRIBERY BANS SINKS, SAYS TI
Enforcement action to tackle foreign bribery in compliance with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (1) declined from 2018 to 2021, according to Transparency International (TI), after reviewing 47 leading export economies. These were 43 convention signatories plus China, India, Hong Kong and Singapore.…
UK FRAUD DOWN BUT NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT, SAY BANKS
British banking trade association UK Finance is warning that “the level of fraud in the UK has reached a point where it must be considered a national security threat”. In its ‘2022 half year fraud update’ (1), it said that despite spending billions on fraud prevention, “the banking sector cannot solve this on its own.”…
INTERPOL: FINANCIAL AND CYBERCRIME TOP GLOBAL POLICE CONCERNS
More than 60% of police officers surveyed worldwide ranked crimes such as money laundering, ransomware, phishing and online frauds as high or very high threats, in Interpol’s first-ever Global Crime Trend report (1). Furthermore, more than 70% expect crimes such as ransomware and phishing attacks to increase or significantly increase over the next three to five years.…