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.
AL AIN UNIVERSITY PAVES THE WAY FOR MORE QUALITY EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABILITY IN UAE
The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) private Al Ain University (AAU), located in the oasis city with the same name, is leading the way on sustainable development among local universities, through initiatives to boost quality education and global and national partnerships.
AAU, in Abu Dhabi emirate, on the Oman border, of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was considered the best UAE university in the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact Ranking (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/impactrankings#!/length/25/locations/ARE/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc…
PORTUGUESE HE REACHES RECORD STUDENT NUMBERS, BUT DECREASING DEMAND IS EXPECTED IN FUTURE
The number of students at Portuguese higher education (HE) institutions may have peaked in the past academic year (September 2022 to July 2023), say the country’s HE officials, with proactive measures needed to ensure a projected future decline is not too steep. …
NEW EU IP RULES WILL BOOST RESEARCH, BUT CONCERNS OVER COMPULSORY LICENSING REMAIN, SAY EXPERTS
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU)’s proposed new intellectual property (IP) rules to safeguard inventions (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/09/25/intellectual-property-council-adopts-two-positions-on-designs-protection-legislation/) will cut red tape and boost technology transfer, university research experts have told University World News (UWN). They praise the increased opportunity to protect new products.…
CIRCULAR ECONOMY INCREASINGLY DRIVES PACKAGING CHOICES, BUT BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED, SAY EXPERTS,
PACKAGING companies worldwide are increasingly choosing more environmentally friendly packaging, driven by tough laws, such as the European Union’s (EU) proposed packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR) (1). This is moving through the EU’s legislative decision-making system, ready for approval in 2024, with the European Parliament adopted its first reading report on November 22 – coordinated by French liberal MEP Frédérique Ries (2).…
TEXTILE, FASHION NEEDS TO SHIFT FROM LINEAR TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY, EURATEX CONFERENCE TOLD
Speakers at the Textile & Fashion Forum Helsinki 2023 have stressed the need to transform the textile sector from linear to circular economy principles, to achieve robust sustainable practices across the industry.
Leading textile and fashion professionals and experts stressed the need for green innovation at a two-day forum organised by Finland’s clothing and textile industry association Finnish Textile & Fashion and European industry organisation Euratex.…
FATF CHANGES RECOMMENDATIONS TO PUSH FOR MORE DIRTY MONEY CONFISCATION
FATF has released changes to its formal recommendations designed to push governments to ensure more money is seized and confiscated.
The global AML body will henceforth require governments to “establish asset recovery as a priority”, nationally and international in cooperation with other countries, periodically reviewing confiscation policies and programmes.…
FATF, INTERPOL AND EGMONT GROUP TOGETHER ADVISE REFORMS ON FIGHTING CYBER-FRAUD ML
FATF, Interpol and the Egmont Group have called on governments to undertake three priority reforms to combat the increasing amount of money laundering generated by cyber-enabled fraud. These attacks have mushroomed during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. The US FBI said in June (2023) that cyberattacks and cyber-enabled frauds in the USA cost more than USD10.2 billion in 2022, up from USD6.9 billion in 2021 (1)
In a new FATF/Interpol/Egmont Group report released this month (November) ‘Illicit Financial Flows from Cyber-Enabled Fraud’ [CEF], the three organisations call for better domestic co-ordination between regulators, law enforcement, AML reporters and other actors; more multilateral collaboration; and strengthened detection and prevention (2).…
ESQUEL MOVES ON, BUILDING NEW BRANDS AND SELLING TECH
Hong Kong-based shirtmaker Esquel has been through some tough times of late, but its vice-chairman has told Just Style that the company is optimistic about the future. Esquel has been fighting bad fortune since early 2020, when its operations in mainland China were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.…
CHALLENGES MOUNT FOR BANGLADESHI FACTORIES AMIDST WORKER UNREST AND CASUALTIES, STRAINING AN ALREADY FRAGILE MARKET
Garment manufacturers in Bangladesh have offered to increase minimum wages for their employees above an earlier offer of Bangladesh taka BDT10,400 (USD94) per month (up from today’s BDT8,000), but worker unrest this morning (Thursday) continued while negotiators debated the new rate.…
UK’S LEAD POLICE BODY UNVEILS FIRST 5-YEAR ANTI-FRAUD PLAN
The City of London Police (COLP), the lead force on fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has unveiled its first ever five-year plan, a ‘National Policing Strategy for Fraud, Economic and Cyber Crime 2023 – 2028′ (1).
The strategy’s aim is to improve police response to fraud, economic and cybercrime by delivering on three cross-cutting strategic objectives:
*Improve outcomes for victims – through a new, “innovative” Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting and Analysis Service (FCCRAS) that replaces Action Fraud (the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime) in 2024;
*Proactively pursue offenders – through a shift to proactive, intelligence led investigations; and
*Protect people and businesses from these threats – by launching a new ‘PROTECT’ network of anti-fraud and cybercrime resources, combining systems and strengthening national co-ordination.…