---

3. AML/CFT Monitor

The AML/CFT Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. Purchase a subscription at our online store:
TAMNI Publications

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AML/CFT Incidents/Cases
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Bulgaria's National Service for Combating Organized Crime (NCOC) and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have broken a money laundering operation associated with property purchases in Bulgaria. Assets of a US suspect have been frozen.
http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=21868
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=66783

The Irish division of HSBC has found major flaws in AML checks.
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=THE%20MARKET-qqqs=themarket-qqqid=15944-qqqx=1.asp

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons that Iran was providing support to both Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi insurgents:
"In the communique issued by the G8, we refer to and condemn the activities of the extremist groups and, more elliptically, as we say, 'those that support them'. For most of us at the G8, we can be less elliptical. Hezbollah is supported by Iran and Syria: by the former in weapons, which incidentally are very similar, if not identical, to those used against British troops in Basra; by the latter, in many different ways; and by both of them financially."
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm060718/debtext/60718-0991.htm#06071887000583

Juan Maria, owner and AML compliance officer of the licensed remittance agency Genoveba Communications in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of money laundering and one count of criminal forfeiture. He sent more than $92,000 to his native country, Dominican Republic, which he believed the proceeds of the drug trade.
http://www.hardbeatnews.com/editor/RTE/my_documents/my_files/details.asp?newsid=10202&title=Top%20Stories

Senior executives from Societe Generale, Barclays France, Societe Marseillaises de Credit, and the National Bank of Pakistan have been ordered to appear in French court over money laundering charges following a 1999 investigation that suggests they failed to enforce AML laws.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13974388/

Deprez's Quality Jewelry and Loans, Inc. consented to a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessment of a $25,000 civil money penalty for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Deprez is a money services business (MSB) located in Louisville, Kentucky, which failed to register as an MSB in a timely manner, failed to implement an adequate AML program, and structured transactions to avoid reporting requirements.
http://www.fincen.gov/deprez_release.html

Mexican authorities in the state of Tabasco called in army support after Los Zetas, a paramilitary gang that works for the Gulf drug cartel, launched an armed assault in an attempt to free two associates from the local jail. Los Zetas' narco-terrorist attacks involve extortion, kidnappings and decapitations connected to control of drug supply routes in this area and Acapulco.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5188838.stm

UK police and customs officers have dismantled a fuel laundering plant. They seized a 40-foot tanker, a 10,000 liter storage tank, and 21,000 liters of illegal fuel. Total output was estimated at 210,000 liters each week, presenting an annual loss of revenue of nearly GBP7 million. Seven tons of toxic waste was also removed during the operation in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
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AML/CFT Legislation and Regulation
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KPMG's Global Anti-money Laundering Survey 2004 finds that banks spending on AML will continue to increase, particularly for know your customer and transaction monitoring. Other key findings include:
"* More than 60 per cent of banks saw anti-money laundering as a high profile issue at senior management level, 34 per cent saw it as moderate profile, and only 5 per cent considered it low profile. Banks in Latin America and Russia were particularly likely to consider it high profile (87 per cent and 88 per cent respectively), while only about half the banks in ASPAC and Africa thought it high profile.
* A large proportion of respondents have a formal program of independent testing of their AML systems, although western European banks scored poorest on this, with only 59 per cent carrying out formal testing of the effectiveness of their AML systems and controls. This compares to 100 per cent in the Middle East and 91 percent in North America.
* Increased spending was especially pronounced in North America where 29 per cent reported increased spending of more than 100 per cent in the past three years. KPMG attributes this to the impact of the USA PATRIOT Act 2001, passed in the wake of September 11th."
http://www.kpmg.co.nz/pages/102477.html
http://www.kpmg.de/about/press_office/10245.htm -

Bangladesh Bank has appointed a special division to monitor and inspect 50 branches of different commercial banks to identify suspicious transactions.
http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=7/18/2006&section_id=1&newsid=31424&spcl=no

Ghana is making progress in implementing anti-money laundering laws.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/economy/artikel.php?ID=107580

The number of suspected money laundering offenses in Ireland has doubled over the past two years, from 5,491 in 2004 to 10,735.
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqid=15918-qqqx=1.asp

2.5 percent of alleged corruption cases reported to Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Agency involve money laundering.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/7/21/nation/20060721155040

Central Bank of Nigeria governor Professor Charles Soludo addressed an AML seminar in Lagos with a call for banks to "gird their loins" to thwart money laundering with effective mechanisms, procedures and processes.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/business/july06/20072006/b220072006.html

Recent reports suggest a 7-fold increase in money laundering in Poland over the last five years.
http://www.polskieradio.pl/polonia/article.asp?tId=39496&j=2

The US Department of the Treasury designated Abu Sufian Al-Salamabi Muhammed Ahmed 'Abd Al-Razziq, a Canadian and Sudanese citizen, for his connections to al Qaeda recruiter Abu Zubayda to for providing administrative and logistical support to al Qaeda. This designation, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, prohibits transactions and freezing assets in the US.
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp22.htm http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=8141e29b-293b-446e-9397-9fcb8c8b7e6f&rfp=dta

Treasury also designated two additional Iranian companies, Sanam Industrial Group and Ya Mahdi Industries Group, for their ties to missile proliferation.
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp17.htm

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released "Information Technology Management: Observations on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN's) BSA Direct Retrieval and Sharing (BSA Direct R&S) Project", following its cancellation last week in the wake of serious development and implementation problems. GAO found that FinCEN's inconsistent application of IT investment management processes contributed to project management failures that were not addressed at the executive level.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-947R
http://www.fincen.gov/bsa_direct_nr.html
http://www.fincen.gov/bsa_direct_report_071306.pdf
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AML/CFT Modalities
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This article discusses "Money laundering risks facing Indian casinos":
http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8009

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an advisory warning that Mexican financial institutions, including casas de cambio, may misuse their relationships with US financial institutions to launder money.
http://www.occ.gov/ftp/bulletin/2006-30.txt

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4. Emerging Threat Monitor

For detailed analysis, background information and source documents consider subscribing. Subscriptions to Emerging Threat Monitor can be purchased at our online store:
TAMNI Publications

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ETM Corruption and Transnational Crime
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India's Central Bureau of Investigation has filed corruption charges against former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bangaru Laxman.
http://cbi.nic.in/PressReleases/PRelease2006/p19_1Jul06.htm

Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Agency reports that three-quarters of reported cases involved civil servants, most connected to false claims.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/7/21/nation/20060721155040

The ongoing corruption investigation in Marbella, Spain, has led to the arrest of former mayor Julian Munoz, who is suspected of bribery and embezzlement.

Former Brocade Communications CEO Gregory Reyes and VP Human Resources Stephane Jenson have been charged in the US with criminal and civil securities fraud for backdating stock option grants.
http://sanfrancisco.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2006/sf072006.htm
http://sanfrancisco.fbi.gov/securitiesfraud.htm
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-options21jul21,0,4394345.story
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ETM Economies and Financial Systems
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G8 participants recommitted to fulfill the development agenda of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha round, acknowledging the failure to close the gaps between developed and developing countries.
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/16.html

The World Economic and Social Survey 2006 recommends improving the trade environment both through freer market access and reduction of rich country farm subsidies, and by giving developing countries better opportunities to participate in world service markets, including those that entail mobility of low-skilled labor.
http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/

China's economy grew 10.9 percent the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2005, but the government says that measures n place to slow growth are starting to take effect.
http://english.people.com.cn//200607/19/eng20060719_284700.html
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ETM Environment and Climate Change
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Rising sea levels are threatening Pacific Ocean mangroves.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=483&ArticleID=5312&l=en

The diversity of bees and the flowers they pollinate has declined significantly in the Netherlands and UK over the past 25 years. If these findings are reproduced in other regions, pollination could be at risk and have widespread consequences on the reproduction of wild flowers and crops.
http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/press_releases/current/bees.htm

The UK's Butterfly Conservation charity says that disappearing habitat has led to a fall in butterfly species

The Sustainable Development Commission reports that homes already build represent 99 percent of total housing stock in the UK. Environmental targets will only be met if households cut the amount of resources they consume, and retrofitting existing technologies is the most cost-effective way to achieve this.
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/

Particulate matter in the air is linked to serious health problems including asthma and premature death. The Clean Air Act requires the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPS) to periodically review air quality levels and set safety standards. In 2002, the National Academies recommended 34 improvements to how EPA regulates air pollution. EPA has applied in full or in part 22 of these recommendations, but the remaining 12 have not been applied, including EPA's assumption that each component of particulate matter is equally toxic. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works last week held a second hearing to review these issues and the EPA's proposed revisions to the Particulate Matter Air Quality Standards. Note the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that was prepared in support of this investigation.
http://epw.senate.gov/hearing_statements.cfm?id=258766
http://epw.senate.gov/hearing_statements.cfm?id=258490
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-780
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ETM Human Rights
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US soldiers report that torture and other abuse against detainees were authorized and routine, even after Abu Ghraib. "No Blood, No Foul: Soldiers' Accounts of Detainee Abuse in Iraq" is a new report from human Rights Watch that includes interviews as well as memoranda and sworn statements from declassified documents.
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/19/usint13767.htm

Child labor has taken on a particularly horrifying face in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where thousands of children working in the diamond industry are being accused of witchcraft.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54634

A joint Italian-Polish operation has led to the arrest of 20 people responsible for keeping 119 Poles in forced labor camps in southern Italy.
http://www.polskieradio.pl/polonia/article.asp?tId=39393&j=2

The European Court 0f Human Rights has ruled that 13 years of pretrial detention with little or no review was a violation of reasonable time rules. Turkish national Resul Baltaci had been held since 1992 on suspicion of lending aid and assistance to the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK). Under the courts judgement he was awarded costs and damages.
http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item=2&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=&sessionid=7827880&skin=hudoc-pr-en

An undercover investigation by The Sun newspaper has revealed a UK-Czech gang that sold babies. British police have arrested three men and rescued a baby girl being sold for GBP 79,000.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006330160,00.html

The European Court of Human Rights overturned a UK ruling that the police raid of a family during a search for criminals did not breach human rights because they could not prove malice. The Court ruled that proving malice was too great a hurdle and that although there was no malice the raid was a breach to the rights for private and family life, and the right to an effective remedy. Gerard and Moira Keegan were awarded damages and costs.
http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item=3&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=&sessionid=7827880&skin=hudoc-pr-en

The Inter-American Press Association reports a sharp deterioration in press freedom in Venezuela, including restrictive legislation, prosecution of journalists in the courts, and harassment of news media.
http://www.sipiapa.com/espanol/pressreleases/chronologicaldetail.cfm?PressReleaseID=1698

India's burgeoning blogger community is up in arms over a government directive that has blocked websites, similar to measures taken in China. Calls for internet information providers to end support for internet censorship are increasing.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT300162006
http://irrepressible.info/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5194172.stm
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ETM Infectious Diseases
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Acknowledging the global threat of infectious diseases, the G8 agreed to address global surveillance and monitoring; avian influenza and human pandemics; HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria; eradicating polio; halting the spread of measles and other preventable diseases; access to prevention, treatment and care; and the health consequences of disasters. Participants committed to various investments to achieve these goals.
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/10.html
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2006/s11/en/index.html

Indonesia has recorded its 42nd avian influenza fatality, now equal to Vietnam, however Vietnam has recorded no deaths this year.
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_07_20/en/index.html

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has named its first medical director, Mark Goldberger, for emerging and pandemic threat preparedness.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01413.html
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ETM Legal Systems
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Indonesia has passed a landmark witness protection law, establishing the Witness and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK) to protect witnesses and victims.
http://www.republika.co.id/koran_detail.asp?id=257154&kat_id=59 (in Indonesian)

The UK Home Office has launched a Criminal Justice Review to "ensure that courts and the parole system consider the rights of crime victims and the law-abiding public above all else". Key proposals include longer penalties, more judicial discretion, introduction of violent offender orders, unanimous Parole decision requirements, and repatriation of foreign nationals
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/crime-justice-review

The US Voting Rights Act has been renewed for 25 years. It was passed in 1965 to bolster the 1964 Civil Rights Act by removing the right of states to impose restrictions on who could vote in elections. Many southern states had imposed literacy tests, a poll tax, or other measures to prevent black or poor citizens from voting. Although renewed several times, this year a number of Republicans had opposed its renewal, saying that it was no longer needed, and its renewal was uncertain.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/21/news/vote.php
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_b.htm
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ETM Natural Resources
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The Least Developed Countries Report 2006 warns that although the economies of the 50 least developed countries grew at 5.9 percent in 2004, this growth was due to high demand for natural resources and aid, but has not translated into increased employment or poverty reduction.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=7011&intItemID=3881&lang=1

Chad and the World Bank have reached agreement about application of oil revenues. The Memorandum of Understanding commits the government to spend 70 percent of its budget to poverty reduction programs and integrate a long-term poverty reduction strategy into law. The World Bank had suspended loans in January when the government had scrapped long-term measures under a 1999 agreement that was meant to avoid the "oil curse" in which a few are enriched while the majority languish in poverty.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20994138~menuPK:34463~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources is setting up an integrated system for monitoring companies involved in exploiting natural resources.
http://www.upi.com/Energy/view.php?StoryID=200-4094r
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20060719144541.shtml
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ETM Populations
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Writing in Science magazine (20 July), University of Cologne scientists report that "radiocarbon data from 150 archaeological excavations in the now hyper-arid Eastern Sahara of Egypt, Sudan, Libya and Chad reveal close links between climatic variations and prehistoric occupation during the past 12,000 years". Gradual desiccation led to a mass exodus to other parts of Africa, and helped "trigger the emergence of pharaonic civilization along the Nile, influenced the spread of pastoralism throughout the continent, and affects sub-Saharan Africa to the present day". The researchers point to the close link between human settlement and climate, seen today by such conflicts as that in Darfur, caused by environmental degradation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5192410.stm
http://www.uni-koeln.de/pi/i/2006.095.htm (in German)

Demonstrating these links today, the UN Environment program held a workshop in Sudan to address restoration of natural habitat and environmental management.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=483&ArticleID=5313&l=en

The EU reports significant differences in causes of death among the Member States.
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/06/96&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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ETM Social Responsibility
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BP has reached a settlement with Colombian farmers, in which the oil company will establish an Environmental and Social Improvement Trust Fund to redress any harm caused by oil pipeline construction associated with erosion.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article1190528.ece
http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/I/hria_response_Tangguh_HRIA_1737.pdf

"Human Capital: Trends in Executive and Judicial Pay" is a new report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report provides trend data for basic pay rates of selected federal executive and judicial plans 1970-2006, elements of total compensation, and principles for possible restructuring. GAO explains that although human capital is essential to the success of government transformation, in many cases the classification, development and employee motivation is not designed to help employees achieve maximum results. The government as a whole faces challenges in offering competitive compensation to senior leaders that face statutory salary caps.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-708
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ETM Technology
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Hewlett Packard has announced a wireless data chip with a built-in antenna the size of a grain of rice that can store up to 512 KB data. It can be embedded in almost any physical object, while transferring data at speeds much faster than current short-range radio systems such as RFID or Bluetooth. Powered by induction, it is likely to take at least two years before it will be commercially available.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2006/060717a.html

The Tokyo Institute of Technology launched the first manned flight powered by dry cell batteries.
http://english.people.com.cn//200607/17/eng20060717_283842.html

US President Bush issued the first veto of his presidency, thereby continuing a ban against federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Although the debate focused on the value of a potential life against an existing life, the issue has expanded to incorporate US commitment to innovation, the economic impact of lost biotechnology investment, and potential political repercussions in upcoming elections.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060719-5.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5197926.stm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001978.html

This article explains the significance of magnetoresistive random-access memory.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/5202486.stm
This was first reported in the Newsletter on 16 July:
Freescale has unveiled a magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) chip that can store data as a hard disc does.
http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?nodeId=015424&tid=FSH
http://www.mram-info.com/
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ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
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At the G8, Russian President Putin and US President Bush announced the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. The G8 also issued a statement on non-proliferation.
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/5.html
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/7.html
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/20.html

No progress has been made in resolving disputes over Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs.

The impact of arms abandoned after the fall of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin includes "death, hunger and paralyzing insecurity". In the poorest northeastern region of Karamoja, local pastoralists "quickly found that the Kalashnikov was more effective than the spear. Cattle raiding would never be the same again".
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54675

Pakistan's Foreign minister Khursid Mahmood Kasuri reiterated their desire for the US to treat them equally with India in the area of nuclear cooperation. The US has arranged to sell $5 billion F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
http://www.dawn.com/2006/07/19/nat2.htm
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/563496.html

Japan and the US have agreed to begin deploying US Patriot Advanced Capability 3 ballistic missile interceptors in August.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2006/7/0720.html

Armenia and Andorra have ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
http://www.ctbto.org/press_centre/press_release.dhtml?item=277
http://www.ctbto.org/press_centre/press_release.dhtml?item=278

Italy has agreed to provide medical and logistical support to any Chemical Weapons Convention member state that needs assistance following a chemical threat or attack.
http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2006/PR38_2006.html

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5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor

Critical Infrastructure Monitor gives you the background and analysis missing from these news briefings. Subscriptions can be purchased from our online store:
TAMNI Publications

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CIM Agriculture and Food
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Britain's Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) opened a consultation on genetically modified crops to address strict standards including separation distances to separate GM fields from unmodified crops.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2006/farm-0721.htm

California is increasing state funding for agricultural inspections after finding that the Department of Homeland Security's focus on terrorist threats has limited their efficacy in addressing more conventional threats.
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060723/BUSINESS/607230307/1003/business
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CIM Banking and Finance
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The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been planning a unified currency and common fund transfer network, but are rethinking their plans following the revelation that information could be handed over to the US government.
http://www.itp.net/news/details.php?id=21417

US federal regulatory agencies are soliciting comments on a proposed rule regarding identity theft red flags and address discrepancies.
http://www.occ.gov/toolkit/newsrelease.aspx?JNR=1&Doc=ENPMHTXW.xml
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CIM Chemical
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The U. S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued its final report and recommendations regarding the 6 October 2005 fire and explosions at the Formosa Plastics Corporation, USA, plant in Point Comfort, Texas, and a related safety video. The investigation determined that the Olefins II Unit, which converts either natural gas liquids or naphtha into products such as propylene and ethylene, may not have exploded if it had been equipped with automated shutdown valves. Operators were unable to reach manual valves. Stopping the polypropylene flow could have limited the size of the fire. Other vulnerabilities notes lack of physical guards to reduce being hit by a vehicle and lack of fireproofing on some steel supports.
http://www.csb.gov
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CIM Cybersecurity
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Oracle has issued a security update that includes 65 patches to address flaws in the database, application server, and e-business suite.
http://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/security/critical-patch-updates/cpujul2006.html

Microsoft has warned of a security loophole in PowerPoint that permits remote access and installs keylogging software.
http://blogs.securiteam.com/?p=508

H. D. Moore has created a search engine tool to identify malicious software.
http://metasploit.com/research/misc/mwsearch/index.html
http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=23075
http://www.websense.com/securitylabs/alerts/alert.php?AlertID=547

McAfee Avert has launched a new journal, Sage. The inaugural issue addresses risks presented by open source in developing malicious software.
https://secure.nai.com/apps/downloads/free_evaluations/survey.asp?code=MW100

The UK Chief Surveillance Commissioner suggests that police use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras could breach human rights law according to some reports
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1029662006)
http://www.spy.org.uk/spyblog/2005/11/anpr_automatic_number_plate_re.html
http://www.surveillancecommissioners.gov.uk/

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reports that more than half of all online images of child abuse they have identified can be traced to the US, due to the country's large number of Internet Service Providers and high levels of traffic. Russia was second, with just under 15 percent.
http://www.iwf.org.uk/corporate/page.160.htm

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the Multimodal Biometric Application Resource Kit to support better biometric systems reliably measured.
http://www.itl.nist.gov/iad/894.03/nigos/nigos.html.

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued "Information Technology: Agencies and OMB Should Strengthen Processes for Identifying and Overseeing High Risk Projects". GAO's calls for the federal government to strengthen oversight were rebuffed by de facto federal CIO Karen Evans. However, the numbers support GAO's position, with nearly 80 percent of self-identified high-risk projects suffering performance shortfalls.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-647
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9001937
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CIM Defense Industrial Base
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The UK will purchase a fleet of next-generation Nimrod aircraft from BAE Systems, thereby ensuring 700 jobs in northern England.
http://www.baesystems.com/fias2006/news/news215a.htm
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/RafGetsexceptionalNewNimrod.htm
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CIM Energy
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The G8 agreed the following key areas of activity to enhance global energy security:
* increasing transparency, predictability and stability of global energy markets;
* improving the investment climate in the energy sector;
* enhancing energy efficiency and energy saving;
* diversifying energy mix;
* ensuring physical security of critical energy infrastructure;
* reducing energy poverty;
* addressing climate change and sustainable development
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/11.html

Canada and Russia concluded an energy cooperation agreement.
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/9.html

Oil experts warn that the current oil price of $80 per barrel of crude could exceed $100 per barrel if Middle East unrest continues or spreads further.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development hosted a meeting to investigate whether African countries can play a role in the electronics sector. They plan to begin with a prototype for production of energy-saving light bulb production, in partnership with Philips and the UN.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=3893&lang=1
http://www.philips.co.za/

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) explains that in fiscal year 2005, federal and Native American lands supplied about 35 percent of the oil and 26 percent of the natural gas produced in the US. Companies that lease these lands pay royalties based on a percentage of the cash value or as a percentage of the actual oil and natural gas produced as royalties in kind. Although prices have increased, substantially, royalties have not. "Royalty Revenues: Total Revenues Have Not Increased at the Same Pace as Rising Oil and Natural Gas Prices due to Decreasing Production Sold" explains that the lower rate of increase is connected to declining volumes produced.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-786R
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CIM Government Facilities
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The US Department of Defense has been made responsible for disposing properties under the Base Realignment and Closure process under and permit state or local governments and certain nonprofits to obtain surplus real property for public use. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report "Federal Real Property: Most Public Benefit Conveyances Used as Intended, but Opportunities Exist to Enhance Federal Oversight: recommends coordination between the General Services Administration (GSA), which is responsible for the public benefit conveyance (PBC) program,. GAO also recommends development of uniform standards guidance and measures to ensure compliance monitoring policies are followed.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-511
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CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
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The G8 welcomed the report of the Nuclear Safety and Security Group, which was issued in May. They join the call for all States to join the two recent instruments to combat nuclear terrorism and reaffirmed the importance that national regulators have sufficient authority, independence, and competence to provide effective nuclear regulation.
http://en.g8russia.ru/docs/24.html

The US National Nuclear Security Administration repatriated from Argentina more than 3 kilograms of US-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) contained in 24 research reactor fuel assemblies. Next, Argentina's RA-6 research reactor will be converted from HEU to use low-enriched uranium.
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/newsreleases/2006/PR_2006-07-19_NA-06-29.htm

Prime Minister John Howard plans to study the possibility of uranium enrichment in Australia. Opposition Green party leader Bob Brown says that enrichment would increase the chance of a terrorist attack, present a massive waste problem, and have other serous consequences that warrant public debate and a public vote.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Uranium-enrichment-a-terror-risk-Greens/2006/07/19/1153166436255.html

Japan's Chubu Electric Power Company's nuclear power plant in Hamaoka was forced to lower output when jellyfish blocked a filter in a seawater cooling system. The jellyfish mass was removed and output returned to normal after a few hours.
http://www.chuden.co.jp/

The UK newspaper the Daily Mirror undertook an undercover investigation in which a reporter was able to place a fake bomb on a train transporting nuclear waste.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/archive/archive/tm_objectid=17422378%26method=full%26siteid=94762-name_page.html

Greenpeace published detailed timetables for trains carrying nuclear waste across the UK, potentially opening a way for terrorists to take advantage of the information.
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?&ucidparam=20060721083707
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CIM Public Health and Healthcare
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Last year's G8 meeting, with its focus on Africa, emphasized preventable diseases associated with poverty. A Lancet editorial discusses how health has fallen behind as a priority, and how G8 leaders can bring it back into focus.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS014067360669048X/fulltext

Canada has fallen back on a promise to tackle the health gap between the indigenous population and the rest of the country.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673606690570/fulltext

Kenya and Malawi have both launched campaigns to promote HIV testing.

In South Africa new HIV infections increased only marginally over the last year, raising hopes that the pandemic is stabilizing.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=278391

The UK Parliament's Health Select Committee released its third report on National Health Service charges ranging from parking fees to dental care. They find the system in disarray and call for a review of the entire system that will identify alternatives and analyze the associated costs and benefits.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmhealth/815/81502.htm
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CIM Transportation
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The EU has proposed common rules for air services to ensure non-discriminatory and transparent pricing, and would make illegal hidden charges.
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/06/294&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

In the Philippines, Manila International Airport Authority successfully completed second phase airport security procedure testing.

The US Transportation Security Administration issued revised guidelines for airport construction.
http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2006/press_release_1005.shtm

Nigeria and the US held talks regarding security in the Gulf of Guinea, emphasizing the value of mutual cooperation. The US is also assisting with enhancements to airport security.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/july06/17072006/f217072006.html

Political implications of Gwadar Port in Balochistan, Pakistan, are discussed in this article:
http://www.ipcs.org/whatsNewArticle1.jsp?action=showView&kValue=2087&status=article&mod=b

Two truck drivers waiting for their cargo in Beirut were killed during an Israeli offensive. Ports and all transit routes are blockaded. Although commercial shipping is assisting with mass evacuation, regular business is severely disrupted, and cargo interests face a 5-times increase in war risk insurance premiums.

The US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on the Federal Transit Administration's State Safety Oversight program, which is responsible for rail transit systems except commuter rail. In 2004 this involved 3.25 billion trips (from 9.4 billion in total).
http://www.house.gov/transportation/highway/06-07-19/06-07-19memo.html
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CIM Water
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Australia is undertaking a feasibility study to see if a 1200 km water pipeline could help cope with future effects of climate change.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19885259-29277,00.html

India's Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) ha developed a proposal to secure water installations in Delhi against potential terrorist threats or biological contaminants.
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=310914&sid=REG

Water pipelines to Ashraf City, Iran, were blown up for the second time in three days.
http://www.ncr-iran.org/content/view/2024/69/

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6. Disaster Reduction Monitor

News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. Disaster Reduction Monitor subscriptions and other titles can be purchased here:
TAMNI Publications

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DRM Incidents
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A 7.7 earthquake struck off the Indonesian coast, triggering a tsunami in Java that killed more than 650 people. Hundreds are still missing, and tens of thousands have been displaced. Although the tsunami early-warning system is supposed to be in place, those affected said there was little or no warning, and confusion over whether an event would occur. Currently scientists require as much as an hour to analyze sensor data and send out a warning, but the time between the earthquake and the tsunami was only 20 minutes. Additional seismological stations will be installed, but the entire network will not be completed until 2009.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/22/indonesia.earthquake.ap/
http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-07-22T072301Z_01_SP266283_RTRUKOC_0_US-TSUNAMI-INDONESIA.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=33900&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html"

Tropical Storm Bilis (14 July) is now found to have killed more than 500 people. It caused massive flooding in southern China and displaced three million people. The number of fatalities is more than double the original estimates, leading to accusations of a coverup.

Hundreds are dead or missing in North and South Korea following heavy rains that caused landslides and heavy flooding.

A building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria, has killed at least 25 people. Fifty people have been rescued. The number in the building is unknown.

Severe heat across the US has claimed at least 22 lives in ten states.

Severe heat across Europe is leading to severe problems ranging from melting roads to forest fires. At least 20 deaths in France have been linked to the heat, as well as two deaths in each of Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Heavy rains on Japan's southern island of Kyushu triggered floods and landslides that killed three people. Flooding across the country has killed 21 in the past week, and more ran is expected.

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake in China's southwestern Yunan province has killed at least 18 people.
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DRM Response and Recovery
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Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised both full recovery from this week's tsunami and an investment to accelerate tsunami warning systems.
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/22/eng20060722_285680.html

Pakistan and the UN have launched a radio program to update people displaced by the October 2005 earthquake disaster on issues and policies affecting their return and recovery. This is the most immediate and accessible medium for a region with a low literacy rate.
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=44be3e8a4

Attorney General Charles Foti with the US state of Louisiana has charged a doctor and two nurses with second-degree murder in connection with allegations of euthanasia and negligence in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.ag.state.la.us/ViewPressRel.aspx?RelID=473
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-katrina21jul21,0,646469.story

The Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security released a new survey of high-risk hurricane areas in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. It found that 33 percent of residents said if government officials said they had to evacuate due to a major hurricane this season, they would not or are unsure if they would leave. 68 percent say their home is well-built and they would be safe there. 54 percent feel that roads would be too crowded, and 36 percent feels that evacuating would be dangerous. 31 percent worry that their possessions would be stolen or damaged.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hurricane/topline.doc (survey data)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hurricane/charts.ppt (powerpoint slides)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press07202006.html (press release)

The US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on "DHS Purchase Cards: Credit Without Accountability". The Department of Homeland Security was found to have a weak control environment that has contributed to fraudulent, improper, and abusive use of purchase cards. These findings were made following investigations into the response to the 2005 hurricane season.
http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=377
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DRM Risks
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Experts attending the Northeast Hurricane Conference in New York forecast a one-in-nine chance of a major hurricane hitting the Northeast in the coming years and projected a doomsday scenario of a 30-foot-high storm surge and endless power outages for New York if a major hurricane hits the city. Such a storm may have as much as six hours notice, but it would take 18 hours to evacuate one million people from the city. Normally it would take a Category 3 storm to generate a 13-foot storm surge, but in Manhattan it can happen with only a Category 1.
http://www.iii.org/media/met/nehurricane/
http://www.namic.org/topnews/060721st1.asp

University of Calgary researchers have found that global warming is making long-term weather patterns that spark major forest fire cycles more frequent. The mechanisms they identified will also make it easier to predict major forest fires in North America.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/july06/Forest%20fires.html
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DRM Mitigation
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America First Insurance has released a disaster planning tool, "Open for Business" to help small businesses plan for and recover from disasters.
http://www.ibhs.org/policyholder/general.asp

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has demonstrated its new operations center and completed phase two testing of the new digital emergency alert and warning system. Fact sheets for the various components can be downloaded from the FEMA website (or requested through our document deliver service):
http://www.fema.gov

Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the difficulties of community evacuation and raised questions about how hospitals and nursing homes plan for evacuations, and how the government assists. The Government Accountability Office report "Disaster Preparedness: Limitations in Federal Evacuation Assistance for Health Facilities Should Be Addressed" calls for the Department of Homeland Security to clearly delineate federal assistance and the needs of those in hospitals and nursing homes during evacuations.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-826

The US Department of Homeland Security has updated the emergency preparedness web site:
http://www.ready.gov

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7. Recommended Reading

Following the failed round of WTO talks, the G8 meeting, and an ongoing effort at WTO to meet the Doha objectives, it seems like a good time to take a look at how donor nations approach poverty reduction.

Former World Bank official Robert Calderisi has written a polemic, "The Trouble With Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working" (Palgrave Macmillan) that insists the continent's problems are of its own making: corruption, dictatorships, bureaucracy, etc. He suggests a radically different approach to development, cutting aid, and requiring strict oversight and democratic reform.
http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/product.aspx?isbn=1403971250
Summary article:
http://www.newstatesman.com/200606260016
Author interviews:
http://www.globalisationinstitute.org/podcasting/interviews/interview-with-robert-calderisi,-author-of-the-trouble-with-africa-20060410643/
http://gfh.squarespace.com/interview
Review:
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2006/07/05/caldirisi/index_np.html

William Easterly's "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good" (Penguin Press) takes a similar approach, harshly critical of the established humanitarian aid industry, and its lack of accountability or results. The New York University economics professor argues for home-grown solutions rather than development from above, and emphasizes the need for accountability.
http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781594200373,00.html
Reviews:
http://www.powells.com/review/2006_05_26.html
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_14/b3978114.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/books/review/19postrel.html?ex=1153800000&en=3e55c8ffcaf48d73&ei=5070
http://www.cfr.org/publication/10405/world_of_hurt.html

Famed economist Jeffrey Sachs takes a positive approach. "The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time" (Penguin Press) offers a brilliant, ambitious plan to eliminate extreme poverty by focusing on investment in the one billion poorest in a way that will enhance the global economy and embrace globalization.
http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/endofpoverty/
Article and excerpt:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050314/
Interview:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/2005/05/jeffrey_sachs.html
Reviews:
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/articles/050411crbo_books
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25562-2005Mar10.html

Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and UK researcher Andrew Charlton, wrote "Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development" (Oxford University Press). This free-trade critique follows his best-selling "Globalization and its Discontents", offering a trade regime focused on the interests of poor countries and how to help them prosper. They share with Sachs the belief that poverty reduction is good for the world, and well worth the changes necessary in richer countries.
http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Economics/International/?view=usa&ci=9780199290901
Lecture:
http://murphy.tulane.edu/events/yates-lecture/651.php?summary#event-summary
Reviews:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/books/review/02reich.html?ex=1153800000&en=34fa74fe57744dd4&ei=5070
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/reviews/article334756.ece
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060301fabook85222/joseph-e-stiglitz-andrew-charlton/fair-trade-for-all-how-trade-can-promote-development.html

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8. Asset Management Network News

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