Search Results for: United Nations

By Paul Cochrane, in Beirut 

Countless times I've read analysis and the blurb on the back of books that the Middle East is ‘on the brink’, a ‘tinderbox’ ready to explode due to the nepotistic nature of governments and the dire economic conditions of much of the region. Now more than ever, these predictions look like they may be coming true - a dictatorial regime has fallen in Tunisia and another is tottering in Egypt.

Some of these analyses have predicted the imminent fall of the Middle East’s regimes and monarchies for the past four decades. A Middle East ‘spring’ was just around the corner, the people would rise up and the region’s overwhelmingly authoritarian regimes would no longer have their days in the sun.…

By Alyshah Hasham, International News Services As negotiators at the recent United Nations climate change conference in Cancun wrapped up their work, one problem concentrating minds enough to secure a partial deal was the spread of disease on the coat-tails of global warming. Infectious diseases are spreading to regions where they were previously absent, driven by warmer temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. Europe and North America have been seeing an increase in cases of West Nile disease, which as the name suggests thrives in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Warmer temperatures are allowing the mosquitoes that carry the disease to roam further north. It’s a similar story for diseases such as dengue fever or tick-borne encephalitis (which causes brain inflammation).

 

The UK is by no means an exception to this trend. A recent study from the University of Plymouth concluded that the most dangerous climate-change linked threat to Britain’s environmental health could be vector borne diseases (such as Leishmaniasis – carried by the sand fly) which could spread to new areas because of warming temperatures.…

By Emma Jackson, International News Services

Global news agency International News Services Ltd – in association with world-leading business publisher Aroq Ltd - has released a major new e-book compiling global textile regulation news and analysis since 2001. This comprehensive 187 page report offers clothing and textile companies, consultants and lobbyists a survey of the sector’s rapid evolution to a free, global market in the last 10 years. The report is a detailed backgrounder of the last decade’s textile policy, collected and arranged in a concise document with monthly summaries to direct and help select topics and an essential background brief for marketers seeking to break into new markets, or lobbyists wanting to understand the rationale behind trade regulations they want changed.

The document, available from International News Services and via Aroq Ltd’s prestigious industry news service just-style.com is a must-have for business, policy makers and stakeholders in the textile industry, according to Keith Nuthall, editor of International News Services. “No where else will you find such a comprehensive regulatory history compiled into one document,” he said.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ENERGY companies offering green solutions to developing and emerging market countries could prosper from decisions made at the latest United Nations’ (UN) climate change conference, staged in Cancún, Mexico. Delegates managed to codify informal decisions made at the 2009 Copenhagen summit as formal agreements under the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC).…

BY MARK ROWE and E BLAKE BERRY

GIVEN Poland’s reputation as a reliable member of the international community, it is perhaps surprising Poland was (until 2009 at least) reckoned by the European Commission and the US Department of State to have one of the EU’s poorest records for tackling money laundering.…

BY SAMI HALABI

BEFORE the county’s 1975-90 civil war Lebanon was an oil transit nation, with pipelines running through its territory from Saudi Arabia, and export terminals on its shores. Today, the country cannot even produce the electricity it needs to power its cities and is completely dependent on imports of oil and gas for energy.…

BY MARIYA PETKOVA, BY PAUL COCHRANE, AND BY KEITH NUTHALL

AFTER the economic crisis hit Egypt’s demand for vegetable oil imports in 2009/2010, industry experts from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) foreign agricultural servicepredicted a relative recovery for this sub-sector in 2010/2011.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

OLIVE oil production in the Levantine counties of the Middle East has moved away from traditional methods to bolster exports and develop domestic sales. But where Syria has risen to be the fourth largest producer in the world, Jordan’s modernisation of the sector is being undermined by cheap smuggled olive oil from Syria, and Lebanon needs major investment to bring the sector up to speed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE UNITED Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is providing hotels registered with its Hotel Energy Solutions project with free specialist software enabling them to assess and reduce their energy use. The system enables hotels to compare themselves to other hotels; details a hotel’s overall carbon footprint; and makes suggestions on potentially useful energy technologies.…

BY MARK GODFREY

VIGOROUS economic growth and stimulus spending in key growth markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and India is ensuring Asia remains a bright spot in the global US dollar USD100 billion paint and coatings sector. Yet in terms of raw material supplies, south-east Asia and India are not as geared towards production as China, which has been ramping up chemicals refining capacity largely through ventures between local and multinational firms.…