Search Results for: International law

BY ALAN OSBORN
WE know that British farmers are generally lining up behind EU farm commissioner Franz Fischler’s bid to reform the Common Agriculture Policy but how do they see things the other side of the Irish Sea? Neither the government nor farmers in Ireland have so far expressed much enthusiasm about the plan to switch from production-linked to flat payments – the so-called de-coupling process.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
COUNTERFEITING is considered by many to be a victimless crime, the only losses being suffered by large trademark holders who have plenty of money anyway. The reality, of course, is quite different. Keith Nuthall reviews the latest international developments.…

BY Alan Osborn
Top level plans drawn up for the future of Europe aren’t green enough says an informal coalition of eight leading environmental organisations. The group has strongly challenged the constitutional blueprint for the future of the EU set out by the European Convention (composed of governments, parliaments, EU institutions, academics and others) and has proposed significant changes in the detail as well as the overall thrust of the text.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
HONG Kong is free of the chicken flu that devastated its poultry industry last year, say Office International des Epizooties documents. Only five outbreaks of avian influenza virus strain H5N1 were detected in Hong Kong during December 2002 and this January and no further cases have been detected since January 31.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN INTERNATIONAL Group for Anti-Corruption Coordination (IGAC) is being created. The new body – involving UN agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations – will share good practice and intelligence on corruption. Founders include the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the European Commission, the OECD, EU anti-fraud office OLAF, Interpol, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Transparency International.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
IN terms of compliance with the anti-money laundering rules and regulations laid down by supra-national bodies like the European Commission and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Ireland today is right up there at the top of the class.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKE
THE INCREASED international availability of cashews and a consequent price slump reduced Indian exports by more than INDRupees 500 million (US$10.9 million) this year. Total exports of the nut April-June 2003 were 21,192 tonnes, compared with 23,770 tonnes the same period in 2002.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) agency has concluded that chewing betel quid causes oral cancer, whether or not tobacco is included in ‘pan’ mixes especially popular with ethnic south Asians. The problem is of particular concern in the UK, which imports more betel than any country outside of Asia, (imports have doubled since the early 80’s).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
INTERPOL secretary general Ronald K Noble has warned networks pedalling pirated CDs and DVDs, and counterfeit clothing, computer software, and cigarettes are financing terror groups, such as Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Chechen separatists, Kosovan extremists and Northern Ireland paramilitaries. He called for increased industry-police cooperation, such as national anti-counterfeiting police contact points.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
The European Commission has cleared the purchase of the Spanish insurance company Metlife Iberia, currently controlled by Metlife International Holdings of the US, by Liberty Insurance Group Compañía de Seguros y Reaseguros. The buyer is part of the US group Liberty Mutual.…