Search Results for: United Nations

BY PAUL COCHRANE

PAINT sales in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are forecast to fall by 25-30% this year, a remarkable change in fortunes from the years of double-digit growth when the country’s US$300 million coatings sector was one of the fastest growing in the world.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BELGIUM – the host of Europe’s de facto capital – has long been regarded as being flawed as regards corruption – but now the Council of Europe’s GRECO watchdog is on its case. Keith Nuthall reports.

GRECO – the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption – acts like its MONEYVAL committee does as regards money laundering.…

By Raghavendra Verma, in New Delhi

The recent victory of the Congress party in the Indian general elections is a positive signal for international business and diplomacy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has a good chemistry with many world leaders and has aptly stuck to his international commitments in the past - the successful implementation of the Indo-US deal on nuclear power is an example.

The most important aspect of Congress’ re-election has been its much more comfortable position in the new parliament, eliminating the need to seek support from rigid and obstructive communist parties. During the last five years India has moved forward in opening its economy, but the last government’s speed and the level of engagement was restricted due to threats by powerful left-wing allies of necessity.…

By Munza Mushtaq, in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The destruction of a ruthless armed seperatist organisation in a small south Asian nation may provide lessons to counter-insurgency units fighting terrorists and rebel groups around the world. Sri Lanka citizens rejoiced this week at the end of its quarter century long war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - dubbed as the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit.

In a final brutal battle in the northeast of the island, the group was wiped out from its very root with the killing of the organisation’s leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his son and heir-apparent Charles Anthony on Monday. This also marks the conclusion of an era of massive destruction since 1983 which killed more than 100,000, injured scores more and destroyed vast amounts of valuable property across the country.…

BY MARK ROWE, in London; KARRYN CARTELLE, in TOKYO; RUSSELL BERMAN, in Washington DC; and MONICA DOBIE, in Ottawa

INNOVATION in drinks packaging is more intense today than it has been for decades, with cutting edge innovation in intelligent materials, microchip integration and nanomaterials allowing designers to create boxes, bottles, cans and sacks that they could not dream of before.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, ALAN OSBORN, DAVID HAWORTH, RUSSELL BERMAN, MARK GODFREY and GAVIN BLAIR

INTRODUCTION

WHILE the drinks industry is undoubtedly an important sector in the global economy, the honest truth is that there are bigger players in town: the IT sector, steel making, and food, to name a handful.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SCIENTISTS from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have warned that the amount of the potentially harmful contaminant acrylamide appearing in biscuits is increasing despite industry efforts to reduce its presence.

Figures released this month (May) by EFSA say tests showed the average presence of acrylamide in European Union (EU) biscuits in 2007 was 317 ?g/kg,…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

IRAN has been under international financial and other trading scrutiny since the Islamic revolution 30 years ago, with sanctions by the United States tightened under the Clinton administration through the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. And since Iran’s decision to embark on a nuclear programme, US sanctions have intensified, but in the face of such restrictions Iranian banks and individuals are increasingly using joint venture banks in the Middle East and South America to bypass scrutiny.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

INTENSE debates are being staged in Pacific island nations such as Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea (PNG) over whether traditional land management is the best model for their agricultural development, rather than western formal ownership. The topic is also under discussion amongst Australian academics with a recent debate being staged at the Australian National University, in Canberra.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

TURKEY is ramping up car safety inspections as part of its bid to join the European Union (EU). Last year, Turkey hired a consortium made up of a German inspection firm TUV-Sud; Turkish car importer and distributor Dogus Automotive; and Akfen, a Turkish construction company, to independently inspect motor vehicles.…