Search Results for: Russia

While Ukraine battles an invading Russian enemy currently occupying approximately 18% of Ukrainian territory (1), it is also focused on its battle with the ‘enemy within’, namely elevated levels of corruption and other commercial crime. 

Since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Ukraine’s pro-Western authorities have worked tirelessly to align themselves with European Union (EU) anti-corruption and anti-fraud efforts, notably establishing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in 2014, which prepares corruption cases for prosecution by a Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.…

Japanese paint manufacturers are facing challenging times – reducing costs where possible as the price of inputs rise, to reduce pressure on final product pricing as they deal with a local consumer market with declining consumption. Economic pressures caused by geo-political turbulence and the weak Japanese yen are both creating challenges, according to industry experts.…

The European Union (EU) has banned imports of diamonds from Russia, which amounted to EUR1.3 billion in 2022, because of the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Most of these precious stones are sold to Belgium, a key diamond trader – under EUR500,000 go to other EU member states, according to the European Commission (1).…

The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has predicted that the chocolate industry will continue to face cocoa supply deficits, with its latest quarterly assessment predicting that for 2022/3, there will be 99,000 tonnes more grindings than cocoa production. As a result, global stocks will fall to 1.744 million tonnes, amidst declines in output from key production hubs Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.…

The Indonesian garment sector, already reeling from a decline in international orders, is facing a double whammy: a surge in illegal textile imports that is undercutting local producers and increasing pressure for sustainable production.

According to the Indonesian Fibre and Filament Yarn Producers Association (APSyFi – Asosiasi Produsen Serat dan Benang Filament Indonesia), the value of illegal textile and textile products, notably clothing imports into Indonesia last year (2022) reached USD2.94 billion.

Implementing international sanctions is never easy, but the sanctions regime on Iran is highly complex, buffeted by shifting diplomatic stances. With its Security Council ally Russia relying on Iranian military and technology supplies for it to pursue its invasion of Ukraine, time-limited UN restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme officially lapsed on October 18.…

The increasing risks posed by creative high-tech crime have been highlighted in the first European Financial and Economic Crime Threat Assessment released by European Union (EU) police agency Europol. It concluded criminals have weaponised the drift to digital finance, work and business.…

Indonesia’s tobacco farmers are enjoying a good harvest this year, but they are also facing uncertainty over new health regulations that could affect their livelihoods.

The tobacco industry is a major contributor to the Indonesian economy, generating about 10% of the state revenue from excise taxes, according to the country’s finance ministry.…

Signatory universities of the Magna Charta Universitatum declaration are meeting in Poland to assess how research and teaching can help reconstruct cities harmed by war, environmental pressures and socio-economic change.

This conference chimes with the aims of the declaration, which highlights the value of academic freedom, institutional autonomy and community collaboration, and which has been signed by 960 universities from 94 countries worldwide.…