Search Results for: Climate change

IF the Arab Spring has often disappointed in political terms, leading more to armed conflict, oppression and chaos than civic democracy, it is undeniable that citizens in north Africa at least have often been able to indulge more personal freedom. This is well illustrated by women’s smoking habits, with more women choosing to smoke openly – and whatever the health risks, it is clear that women themselves are making the choice to smoke, a sign of social change in one of the world’s most conservative regions.…

AN APPRECIATION of interior design along with environmental concerns appear to be driving innovation when it comes to the colouring of nonwovens.

Often used in functional or ‘behind the scenes’ capacities in industrial applications, colour is not always top of the list when consideration is given to nonwovens finishing processes.…

THE DE-RISKING by major banks through cancelling correspondent banking relationships (CBRs) has started to raise such alarm that anti-money laundering institutions are starting to advise against such caution.

“There has been international pressure to make banks think twice about turning down customers and not just have blanket bans  on certain jurisdictions  or certain types of institutions,” said Sarah Ouarbya,  partner in Mazars, one of the UK’s largest accountancy firms and an international  specialist in audit, tax and advisory services.…

INTERPOL is seeking international assistance in its own investigation into alleged frauds against the Brazilian poultry and pork industry, with a key industry association admitting the sector has been suffering from external attacks by fraudsters, GlobalMeatNews can reveal.

The international police agency has issued a ‘Purple Notice’ which means its 190 member countries are asked “to seek or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals”.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission should bring forward legislation to enhance due diligence for supply chains in the garment sector, the European Parliament’s development committee said yesterday (March 21). MEPs backed a report by Spanish MEP Lola Sánchez Caldentey from the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group which asked the Commission to propose a European Union (EU) law saying a binding reporting system should generate data linking each product to its respective producers.…

Ethiopia attracted foreign investments of USD1.2 billion in the first six months of the 2016/17 fiscal year, despite this increasingly important manufacturing base being under a state of emergency due to widespread anti-government protests. The figures come from the Ethiopian Investment Commission, which says that these financial injections investments were dominated by major Chinese companies, half of which are licensed in textile and garment manufacturing.…

SOLAR power of course draws on a free renewable energy to create electricity, but a burgeoning sector is enabling the harnessing of heat for cooking, which can promote energy efficiency in all manner of climates – solar cookers.

Indian solar cooker innovator Deepak Gadhia and Julie Greene, executive director, Solar Cookers International (SCI), co-chaired a 6^th SCI World Conference held in Gujarat, India, this January, that demonstrated how these technologies are entering the mainstream.…

MAURITIUS has embarked on a comprehensive reform of its national corporate governance code, the island state’s first such change in almost 13 years. This programme has been welcomed by accounting and law professionals as an important milestone by the local business community.…

MEPS CHANGE EU SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS LAW

Reforms to the European Union (EU) shareholders’ rights directive (2007/36/EC) have been approved by the European Parliament. Key changes, that are expected to be formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers, include that institutional investors and asset managers declare how they invest in a company and work with their executives.…

India’s complex Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime is set for a launch on July 1 with complicating features such as multiple tax rates and a separate law to guarantee minimum revenues to the country’s states. The central government is moving ahead with the plans, even as the country’s USD2 trillion economy recovers from the shock of November’s withdrawal of high value banknotes.…