Search Results for: United Nations

BY KARRYN MILLER

IF any two countries could be deemed vulnerable to Chinese dominance of rare earth supplies, it surely has to be east Asia’s high tech exporters par excellence Japan and South Korea. From smart phones to electric cars, these two Asian nations continue to drive technology forward, but with rare earths an essential component of many electronic goods, these Tokyo and Seoul are scanning the region for new sources of these key minerals.…

BY LEAH GERMAIN

THE USA’s Under-Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sánchez has told just-style he is optimistic about the impact on the American textile and clothing sector of new bilateral trade deals struck by the Obama administration with South Korea, Panama and Columbia.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

WEEKS after Japan, the United States and the European Union raised concerns to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that China was monopolising the global supply of rare earths, Japan has announced it will host a conference March 28 in Tokyo to discuss developing alternatives for sourcing 17 elements critical for the manufacture of high-tech products.…

BY WANG FANGQING, IN SHANGHAI

WHILE China is desperately in need of nurses – 1.9 million to be exact, according to the nation’s ministry of health – the opportunities for overseas healthcare providers who are not ethnically Chinese are limited, as the government requires all nurses working in China to be able to pass a national test in Mandarin.…

BY MARK ROWE

THERE is a scenario that environmentalists, climate change experts and the renewable oils industry have quietly dreaded for some time: what if – as you painstakingly push for a shift away from fossil fuels – another source of fossil fuels, a new kid on the carbon block, fronts up?…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT

AS the poorest country in the Middle East, with annual gross national income per capita just exceeding USD1,000, Yemen is plagued with chronic economic problems, corruption, smuggling, links to East African piracy, separatist movements and host to militant groups.…

DESPITE the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last May, Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups remain a global money laundering and terrorist financing concern. Yet a decade on from the September 11 attacks, counterterrorism specialists say there has been too much focus on Al Qaeda itself (it means The Base in Arabic) but not enough on associated and other militant groups that pose significant threats.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE IN BEIRUT

THE ‘ARAB Spring’ uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the past year have had a mixed effect on Arabic publishing. Book sales have plunged due to instability, and while some countries have loosened up on censorship, others have clamped down.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

AFTER five years of work – not to mention delays and complications – the New Quito International Airport is finally poised for completion this coming October, and is set to pave the way for significant increases in trade and tourism in Ecuador’s capital city.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has for the first time protected a traditional food product from being copied outside its home region which has historically been made in two countries. This groundbreaking protected designation of origin (PDO) and geographical indication has been awarded to a honey made in Poland and Lithuania: called Miód z Sejne?szczyny/?o?dziejszczyzny…