Operation Tram, run by Interpol, used national wildlife enforcement authorities, police, customs and specialised units from 18 countries to uncover illegal trade, including medicines containing – or purporting to contain – illegal ingredients such as tiger, bear and rhinoceros.

“This operation has again proved that while environmental criminals may cross borders and display high levels of organisation, so too will the international law enforcement community in its efforts to apprehend those criminals,” said David Higgins, manager of the Interpol Environmental Crime Programme.

“The important cultural, historical and religious values of traditional medicines is recognised by the law enforcement community,”  said UK police spokesperson Chief Constable Richard Crompton. “However, the increased use of endangered species in medicines can no longer be tolerated as it places extreme pressure on their very survival and existence.”

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“As the economy recovers, businesses still have to go back and do business,” he noted. “‘I think what you’re seeing now is certainly a trend, or have seen in the last 12 months, a trend in reduction in corporate spend but that will turn around and we’re starting to see signs of that already.”

His view supports a recent survey conducted by aviation consultants Ascend, where results showed a 10 percent increase in the number of corporate travellers expecting to fly more this year, to 35 percent of 250 respondents.

Borghetti admits that corporate travel suffered during the global financial crisis but was confident it could reclaim pre-GFC levels based on previous experience.

“In my 36 years of experience I’ve seen situations like this happen before,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is look back to the Asian crisis and ask some of the Asian carriers how much their business traffic died during that period but then how quickly it came back.”

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UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, will deliver the keynote address at the official opening of ITB on March 9, while other activities throughout the event will include a debate about the role of tourism enterprises in driving local economic growth; a discussion of tourism trends including sustainable initiatives around the world; and a meeting regarding the Protection of Children in Tourism.

For more information about the event, see the ITB website. For details on UNWTO activities, see www.UNWTO.org.

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According to Farm Weekly, Chile lost 12 percent, or 125 million litres, of its 2009 vintage, as well as some of its short term capacity to produce wine.

“Without wishing to take advantage of an export rival’s devastation, Australia has large surpluses in stock and growing capacity to help meet any new shortfalls,” said managing director of Angove Wines, John Angove.

However, according to a joint statement by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, Wine Grape Growers’ Australia and the Federal Government last year, Australia’s overcapacity is not the only thing stifling our wine trade: “A strong dollar and our industry’s cost competitiveness have been more significant.”

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The Singapore branch will also host the first Miss Pole Dance Singapore in July and provide help with choreography for the Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony, which will occur in August.

Co-founder of Bobbi’s Pole Studio Vanessa Brecht said the two Asian countries did not have strip clubs so pole dancing was viewed as sport, without the sexual overtones it has here.

However, even in Australia pole dancing is no longer the sole domain of the sex industry, with the activity becoming a growing fitness trend. Dozens of studios have opened nationwide in just five years, and Australia has built a global reputation as leaders in the industry, particularly in the education of instructors.

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In the meantime, earnings for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years will remain steady at around $29 billion, according to the latest issue of ABARE’s Australian Commodities.

“The projected increase in farm export earnings will be supported by recovering world economic growth and is under the assumption of favourable seasonal conditions in Australia,” said Phillip Glyde, executive director of ABARE.

Barley, rice, raw cotton, sugar, wine, live cattle and dairy products are the agricultural commodities forecast to experience a rise in 2010/11 export earnings.

“However, an expected increase in world grain supplies is likely to continue placing downward pressure on prices in the short term,” Glyde noted.

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As well as funding, Australia will provide emergency supplies including portable generators to provide power and lighting to affected communities, and will consider sending a team of structural engineers to carry out damage assessments on public buildings and infrastructure affected by the earthquake.

“We will coordinate our efforts with the Chilean authorities, the United Nations and other Latin American countries,” said Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith. He reported that “Foreign Minister Fernandez expressed his gratitude for Australia’s solidarity with and assistance to Chile and its people at this time.”

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has predicted that its economy will be negatively affected after the government undertook assessment of key aspects of infrastructure. One important port Huachipato, was declared “unusable” and “the rail system is not working, neither are some industries such as the Huachipato steel complex, due to serious damage,” she added. “The reconstruction task will be enormous.”

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“The proposed free-trade agreement will strengthen economic ties between Singapore and the EU, provide new opportunities for traders and consumers alike, and contribute to generating growth in our economies,” said Gucht.

Lim added that the FTA is a major undertaking considering the EU is Singapore’s largest trading partner and foreign investor. “Singapore looks forward to working closely with the EU to develop an ambitious agreement that will benefit businesses from both sides,” he said.

The 27-nation bloc will no doubt hope to use the FTA with Singapore as a gateway to the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations.

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Wang Hongjiu from Shandong Lei Gong Group and Tan Yixin from Shougang Group (Capital Steel), both in charge of their respective organisations’ importing departments, will be charged: one for bribery and the other for infringing business secrets.

The Rio Tinto four were formally indicted last month, and the two new detainees will join them when China sets the trial date. Lawyers acting on behalf of the Rio Tinto four have already received documents containing evidence against their clients and are currently preparing a defence.

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“The study looks deeply at the current drivers, decision-making processes, risk and barriers that Australian exporters and offshore investors face regularly,” said Australian Institute of Export executive director Ian Murray.

The 2010 GRi is the third year of the survey and will glean information to give Australian business and government a comprehensive picture of the opportunities and challenges on the path to participating in today’s global supply chains, and provide insights comparative to 2008 and 2009.

“I encourage exporters to participate, as the results help in the development of programs that assist SME exporters,” said Murray.

Participants will receive a customised benchmark report which compares key aspects of your export and globalisation strategies with the aggregate results from your industry sector, as well as Australian businesses overall. You will also have access to the full survey results.

See EFIC’s Global Readiness index site at www.efic.gov.au/gri. The online survey should take no more than 10 minutes and is open until March 31.

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