Search Results for: South Africa

SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH, in Lahore

PAKISTAN’S paint sector – one of its largest industries – has shown an impressive growth over the last few years, mainly because of boost in housing and construction activities.

Unfortunately, being one of the more unorganised sectors in the country, with many small manufacturers, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of paint producing units, production and sales data, but figures available from government agencies reveal the industry achieved 25-30 % growth in last five years, with an impressive spurt of 15-20% growth in the financial year ended June 2006, which could be sustained in the medium-term if the housing sector continues growing at its current pace.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

IF there are those who doubt whether the time, effort and resources invested in tracking down lost or orphaned sources of nuclear radiation is well spent, the tragic case of Alexander Litvinenko demonstrates only too clearly why this work is crucial.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

CHANGES to the European Union’s (EU) regional and structural funds generally earmarked for the EU’s poorer areas mean that bidding for what is now a reduced pot will be even more competitive than before. In July this year, the EU agreed a cohesion policy package that, for the first time, meshed two budget headings: the cohesion fund and the structural assistance fund.…

BY WESLEY GIBBINGS, in Port of Spain

TIME-WAS that food production in the Caribbean was dominated by commodities, with sugar and bananas being king and queen of island economies. Protected from the rigours of world markets by age-old ties to current or former colonial markets, these cash crop supplies remained largely unchanged for centuries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE RUSSIAN government has rejected claims in a NATO economic committee report it is constructing a gas cartel from north Africa to central Asia to lever further concessions from Europe. NATO is warning Russian could form an alliance with Algeria, Libya, Qatar, central Asia and maybe Iran.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A WORLDWIDE plan to promote the recycling of electronic waste could emerge from the oncoming and eighth meeting of the conference of the parties to the Basel Convention, in Kenya – its first session in Africa – from November 27 to December 1.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AFRICA may be considered a dry continent, but, says the World Agroforestry Centre, it actually has more rain per capita than Europe – the problem is that this often falls in bursts, causing flooding, wastage and evaporation. However, it says with effective rainfall collection methods, many zones of Africa could be cured of drought, a message backed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

INDIA has been branded a serious hotspot for counterfeit books, in a global European Commission survey of countries where product fakes are manufactured. The Commission’s directorate general (DG) for trade gathered information from companies, diplomatic missions and trade federations.…

BY RICHARD HURST, in Johannesburg

IN South Africa both animal rights groups and professional hunters are hoping that the government passes legislation banning the killing of lions bred in captivity, otherwise known as canned lion hunting. However, the debate has been raging for some years and despite assurances from government, it appears that the practice is to continue.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

IRAN’S US$1 billion paint sector is going through a boom period: it is expected to grow by up to 20% this year on the back of strong decorative paint growth, an expanding automotive sector, and surging demand for specialised paints in the shipping and energy sectors.…