OLAF helps to stop illegal export of hazardous industrial waste from Albania
OLAF
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has supported Albanian authorities in uncovering and stopping the illegal export of hazardous industrial waste from the port of Durrës, Albania to Thailand, highlighting the growing global threat posed by illegal waste trafficking.
The investigation began in 2024 when OLAF alerted the Albanian customs authorities to a shipment suspected of containing large quantities of misdeclared hazardous waste. Export documents described the cargo as iron oxide. However, subsequent laboratory analysis later established that the cargo, in fact contained a toxic by-product of steel production.
Summary of AI roundtables – February 2026
Bank of England
The Bank of England held roundtable meetings with representatives from regulated firms on the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML), to better understand the constraints that firms may be facing.
As per the Bank’s approach to innovation in AI, DLT and quantum computing, we seek to engage with innovators and industry practitioners in various ways to better understand the latest technological developments and their implications for the financial sector. This includes via biennial AI surveys of the UK financial sector, the AI Consortium (a successor to the AI Public-Private Forum), the Cross Market Operational Resilience Group AI Taskforce, and the Bank’s Market Intelligence function.