Search Results for: United Nations

BY MARK ROWE

NUCLEAR energy production costs a lot of money and so it makes some economic sense for smaller countries interested in this climate-change friendly power supply to combine forces on major projects. So it is in eastern Europe, where in February 2007, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland provisionally agreed to build a new nuclear plant at Lithuania’s existing Ignalina site, initially with 3,200 MWe.…

By Alan Osborn

The Paris-based educational consulting company Eduniversal, part of the SMBG group, has published a list of 1,000 top business schools ranking them by their "capacity for international influence" and grouped into nine geographic regions. SMBG, which specialises in reference services and publications for educational and higher educational institutions, claims that the Eduniversal initiative is "the first stone of a global federation of education."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH Dmitry Medvedev becoming Russia’s new president, the European Union (EU) has been pushing ahead to secure oil and gas supplies independent of Moscow. EU energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and external relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner met with Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey diplomats and officials to discuss gas pipeline links.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE NUMBER of counterfeit cigarettes seized at the external borders of the European Union (EU) fell 63% in 2007 compared to the previous year, the European Commission has concluded. Brussels said 27.1 million packets worth (20 stick equivalent) of counterfeit cigarettes were seized.…

By Keith Nuthall

A UNITED Nations-sponsored global initiative to encourage business schools to teach and promote social and environmentally responsible commercial practices has gathered a critical mass of support. More than 100 business schools worldwide have now signed up to the Principles for Responsible Management Initiative.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

NEARLY a year after Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president, the widely expected Thatcherite revolution in France he was supposed to bring about has still to arrive. He talked boldly during his election campaign of radical labour market reforms including an end to France’s rigid employment practices, overhaul of the 35-hour working week and at least a start at dismantling the hugely expensive pensions and other perks enjoyed by transport and utility workers.…

BY DINAH GARDNER

SINGAPORE may rank highly on global anti-corruption ratings league tables but it has been coming under considerable fire recently for its strict bank secrecy laws. Last October, in the wake of the brutal crackdown on protests in Myanmar, the island state was accused of being a money laundering hub for top junta officials.…

BY KARRYN CARTELLE

AS the world’s wild finfish and seafood stocks continue to dwindle and environmental pressure for sustainable fishing practices rises, South Korea’s fishing fleet is adjusting with the times.

South and North Korea’s combined expansive coastline spans 8,693 kilometres (South Korea’s mainland alone commands 2,413km).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Damascus and Beirut, and HELENA FLUSFELDER, in Jerusalem

INTRODUCTION AND THE GULF

THE DENIM sector in the Middle East is as diverse as it is fragmented, with strong demand in the Gulf and Israel for major brand names and the latest trends, while in the less economically developed parts of the Levant international brands are of less importance than style.…

By Keith Nuthall

Britain’s Open University has drawn on international commercial talent to advise its managers on how to develop its business school. The country’s first virtual higher education institution, which pioneered the use of televised lectures and correspondence courses, is hoping a panel of experts will highlight opportunities for growth that would otherwise be missed.…