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As the Italian economy recovers from the particularly hard two-year coronavirus pandemic, Italy’s paints and varnishes sector is among the few to have weathered the storm well. “Our sector has probably never seen such a jump in growth like that of the past two years,” said Gianni Martinetti, president of the Paints and Varnishes Group of AVISA (1), which is part of Italy’s national chemicals industry association, Federchimica.  …

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which as of June 10 had killed 4,339 civilians (UN figures) – sparked an unprecedented range of sanctions against Russia’s financial, business and political elite. But there is little evidence as of June – with the invasion entering its fourth month – of upset Russian oligarchs pressuring President Vladimir Putin to abandon his bloody invasion, because they had lost access to their yachts, mansions and bank accounts.…

Growing environmental concerns and rising awareness of sustainable energy resources is driving considerable growth in the global used cooking oil (UCO) market. Production is also being boosted by recent technological advancements in UCO processing, expanding supplies from the rapidly evolving foodservice industry and initiatives by various governments to promote UCO for industrial use.…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has undermined many political assumptions, including – of course – the right of countries to retain their borders and independence without being invaded. But one change encouraged by the war has been the increased desire of European countries to shake off dependence on Russian oil and gas – and that has increased support for nuclear power.…

With moves to sustainability conformity strengthening across the textile industry, rules protecting consumers and finishing workers, as well as the environment, are strengthening, notably to reduce textile dye allergies. Dye producers Colorifix, from Norwich, East Anglia, England, says this has led to “biology replacing chemistry” in dye production, enabling finishers to market products as provide positive health benefits not just preventing allergic reactions.…

The Russian paint industry is being disrupted by its government’s invasion of Ukraine, with foreign coatings majors quitting the country, hit hard by resulting financial and trade sanctions. Ukraine’s smaller paint and coatings sector has been devastated by the miliary action, with factories and offices destroyed and supply chains wrecked.…

The Bangladesh knitwear industry is looking to boost its exports of sweaters, competing with Chinese suppliers hampered by their government’s continuing tough lockdown responses to further outbreaks of Covid-19. Meanwhile, US tariffs imposed during the trade war launched by former American President Donald Trump persist, giving Bangladesh sweater exporters a continuing price advantage, augmenting its lower labour costs.…

Pakistan textile and clothing industry has witnessed many advances and retreats during the last 10 years. With the country operating a less draconian set of lockdowns than neighbouring countries in south Asia, it has leveraged recent investment by increasing clothing and textile exports.…

The European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi has called for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) to be strengthened with rule changes to make it more independent and effective. Presenting the EPPO’s annual report for 2021 to a joint meeting of the European Parliament’s committees on civil liberties, justice and home affairs and on budgetary control April 20, Kövesi argued for “radical simplification” of the founding EPPO regulation (1) and a shift of competence and budget to the central office in Luxembourg to guarantee the independence of delegated prosecutors in the 22 EPPO countries (2).…

RUSSIA’S invasion of Ukraine has prompted a major increase in sugar prices, the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said. Its FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 117.9 points in March, up 7.4 points (6.7%) from February, and up 20% year-on-year.…