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The Ghanaian government has welcomed an “unprecedented increase” in cocoa prices in the 2023/24 season of 129.36% year-on-year as the market responded to production declines worldwide – costing chocolate manufacturers dear. Ghana’s food and agriculture minister Bryan Acheampong said Ghanaian cocoa prices had risen from Ghanaian Cedi GHS20,928/tonne (USD1,325) and GHS1,308 (USD82.80) per 64kg bag in September 2023 to GHS48,000/tonne (USD3,030) or GH3,000 (USD190) per 64kg bag as the season wrapped last month (September 2024).…

Australia is set to establish one of the world’s largest renewable energy production centres, capitalising on the vast solar and wind resources of the remote Pilbara region of the state of Western Australia. The private initiative, currently led by BP, represents a significant step in the nation’s push toward renewable energy and its current goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, encouraged by the country’s centre-left Labor government.…

The gender pay gap is closing among anti-fraud professionals worldwide, according to the latest survey from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). Its ‘Compensation Guide for Anti-Fraud Professionals’ (1) released September 25 shows median salaries for women are currently USD102,000 and men USD108,000, a USD6,000 difference, less than half the USD13,500 gap a decade ago.…

New members of the European Commission have been proposed for the next 2024-29 term, starting November 1, with paint and coating industry lobbyists facing experienced hands in the key trade and economy/de-regulation portfolios. Re-appointed Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has nominated Maroš Šefčovič, of Slovakia, as trade and economic security; interinstitutional relations and transparency Commissioner, for example.…

India’s surging 7% economic growth has expanded its formal economy, enabling it to strengthen its AML-CFT procedures, FATF has concluded in its latest mutual evaluation report, although there are still some key weaknesses in fighting dirty money flows (1). FATF said India’s “more than doubling the proportion of the population with bank accounts [and] greater reliance on digital payment systems”, plus simplified CDD for small accounts, “have supported financial transparency [and] AML/CFT efforts”.…

A global set of studies into how artificial intelligence (AI) can best be deployed within higher education has been launched by WISE (the Qatar Foundation’s global initiative for education), the USA-based Institute of International Education (IIE) and seven universities worldwide.

The goal, said a joint statement released after a project launch in New York on Tuesday (September 17), is “to explore the role of AI in higher education and skills development for the AI era”.…

Amid growing calls for higher performance adhesives to drive forward the renewable energy sector, their ability to extend the life of equipment and aid in their dismantling are proving just as valuable.

Indeed, a key research focus is on such adhesives’ debonding qualities.…

Major emerging markets such as Vietnam are regarded by the west as sourcing hubs for products and packaging, but this south-east Asian country of 100 million people is now a major metal packaging market. According to recent forecasting from India-based market researcher Mordor Intelligence, the Vietnamese metal packaging market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.07% from 2024 through 2029, growing from USD2.11 billion to USD2.45 billion (1).…

One of the core missions of ABET, a global, non-governmental quality assurance organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and applied and natural sciences is to increase awareness of the importance of outcomes-based education.

To achieve this, educational programs need to be carefully designed, developed, delivered and evaluated with a focus on learning outcomes – ensuring that students who complete an educational program are equipped to serve a global society in their fields.…

The Himalayan state, the Kingdom of Bhutan, has been slowly improving its AML/CFT systems and legislation – while improvements are being made in adopting FATF-compliant policies and laws, there have been no ML or TF prosecutions. A mutual evaluation report (MER) from the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), released last June (2023), concluded: “Bhutan has made progress in addressing the technical compliance deficiencies identified…” in past assessments.…