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GLOBAL ECONOMY: OECD GDP growth slows to 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019 Syndicated by GEO´ PRChannel Team Málaga Technology Centre Growth of real  gross domestic product  (GDP)  in the OECD area slowed to  0.2% in the  fourth  quarter of 2019, compared with 0.4% in the previous quarter, according to provisional estimates. Among the Major Seven economies with data available for the fourth quarter of 2019, only the United States saw GDP increase (up 0.5%, unchanged from the previous quarter). GDP  contracted  sharply  in Japan (by  minus  1.6%,  following October’s  increase  in  consumption  tax) and also contracted in Italy (by minus 0.  3%) and France(by minus 0.  1%).  GDP growth  slowed  to  zero  in the United  Kingdom and Germany (following  growth  of  0.5%  and 0.2% respectively in the previous quarter) and also slowed in the euro area a...

AWAITING TRIAL: MH17 - Public meeting and film screening Syndicated by: Iain Fraser - Consultant Editor Málaga Technology Centre   AWAITING TRIAL: MH17 - Public meeting and film screening Main Hall, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL Tuesday, March 3, 2020 6:00pm for 6:30pm  A public meeting and film screening will take place at Conway Hall on 3 March, ‘MH17 – Awaiting Trial’, in advance of the trial in absentia of three Russians and one Ukrainian in The Hague, beginning on March 9. The investigative documentary MH17 - Call for Justice documentary, produced by Bonanza Media, will be presented by its authors, Dutch journalist Max van der Werf and Russian journalist and film director Yana Erlashova, who will also present new and important information on the case. Two special guests will also speak, Colonel Mohd Sakri bin Hussin, the Malaysian army colonel who went to Donbass to pick up flight MH17’s black boxes and arrange the return of the Malaysians who died; and A...

COVID 19 Latest - The Geopolitical effect as virus approaches pandemic status By: Iain Fraser - Editor-at-Large Málaga Technology Centre Since   the   emergence   of   COVID-19  the world has witnesses public stigmatisation among specific populations, which has the potential to contribute  to  more  severe health problems, ongoing transmission, and difficulties controlling the virus with the worst-hit countries intensifying their efforts to contain the deadly virus as the number of cases globally passes 80,000 with Italy and Iran struggling to contain new outbreaks. The Geopolitical Effect While public health is the most important factor, Covid-19 presents economic policymakers with a a completely different set of problems. Central banks across Asia are easing monetary policies while governments prepare new contingency schedules to limit the economic fallout. However, Covid-19, is not a conventional Geopolitical threat. Efforts...

ENERGY: Saudi Arabia plans $110bn investment in Al-Jafurah gas field By Yasmine El Tohamy - Jeddah Syndicated by: GEO´PRChannel - Málaga Technology Centre Last September [2019] Saudi Arabia reached an important milestone in its Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan, which aims to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from its petrochemical revenue base. The country finalized its entry into the JP Morgan suite of emerging market (EM) indices. It was the finale in a series of announcements by the major indexes, including MSCI, S&P and FTSE, confirming that Saudi Arabia met their inclusion criteria. This is a testimony to the work of The Capital Markets Authority and Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, Tadawul, which have driven the effort to modernize the Kingdom’s capital markets infrastructure and make it more investor friendly. Saudi’s inclusion as an EM allows its entry to ETF’s, opening the country to billions of dollars-worth of outside investment, which would be otherwise closed to it. An e...

US ELECTION: US spy chief warns Russian "interference" program is already underway By: GEO´ Newsteam City of London Newsroom US intelligence officials have warned that Russia is planning to facilitate a second term for incumbent president, Donald Trump in a closed-door briefing to the House Intelligence Committee. Last week's briefing, led by top election security official, Shelby Pierson, and first reported by The New York Times , outlined the scope of Russia´s program including hacking, weaponizing social media and attacks on election infrastructure in a bid to secure a second term for incumbent US president, Donald Trump. Sources say that the "program" has been underway for several months. The briefing said Russia clearly favours Trump, but that helping Trump wasn't the only thing they were trying to do as it was also designed to raise questions about the integrity of the elections process. The prospect of further interference in 2020 will test the robust...

Trump and geopolitics drive gold not just the coronavirus By Arkadiusz Sieroń via FX Street Syndicated by GEO´ PR Channel Team Coronavirus, China's Economy and Gold Prices The number of cases of coronavirus reported by the WHO have increased from 45,171 cases and 1,115 deaths by February 12 to 51,867 cases and 1,669 deaths by February 16, 2020. However, the number of new cases is slowing down, which suggests that the epidemic could reach a turning point within weeks. This is of key importance not only for the global health but also for the global economy, as the sooner the epidemic is over, the quicker China's economy will recover. As a reminder, the quarantines of the whole cities like Wuhan and other compulsory measures disrupted the supply chains and hampered the Chinese economy. "... Coronavirus, the topic du jour. It is still the major threat for the global health and economy. But we should not forget about other geopolitical and economic developments. What do they i...

BREXIT: Path to trade deals will not be an easy one as France puts spanner in works While the UK's chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, pursues a trade deal based on the agreement between the EU and Canada in 2016, the path to such an accord will not be an easy one after the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that the two sides would "rip each other apart" as each sides moves toward advantage over the other, intimating that it is unlikely the UK will be able to achieve a free trade agreement by the end of 2020. The UK government has already said that it wanted a deal agreed on "friendly co-operation between sovereign equals" at the same time ruling out any form of legislative alignment with the EU. The United Kingdom formally left the EU a fortnight ago but is still operating as if it were still a full member under the transition period agreement which ends on 31 December this year. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last Sunday [16 Fe...

CYBER SECURITY: 1,000s of Plastic Surgery Patients Exposed in Massive Data Leak Led by Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, vpnMentor’s research team recently discovered a breached database belonging to plastic surgery technology company NextMotion. NextMotion provides clinics working in dermatology, cosmetic, and plastic surgery with digital photography and video devices for their patients. The compromised database contained 100,000s of profile images of patients, uploaded via NextMotion’s proprietary software. These were highly sensitive, including images of patients’ faces and specific areas of their bodies being treated. This breach made NextMotion, its clients, and their patients incredibly vulnerable and represented a significant lapse in the company’s data privacy policies. Based in France, NextMotion was established in 2015 by a team of plastic surgeons to offer clinics: “digital & cutting edge technology tools that will help solve the before & after imaging issues, reassure your ...

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Coronavirus must generate ‘solidarity not stigma’ Syndicated by GEO' PR Channel Team Málaga Press & Technology Centre The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told journalists via VTC from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, that countries globally are in “a better state of preparedness for COVID-19, the coronavirus, than they were just a week ago”. Investing in preparedness is the smartest way to ensure that the coronavirus and other disease outbreaks are “identified and stopped quickly”, the UN health agency said on Friday. It is not uncommon for case definitions to change as more information becomes available. And WHO is seeking clarity on how clinical diagnoses are being made so that other respiratory illnesses, including influenza, are not getting mixed into the COVID-19 data. “In total, there have been 1,381 deaths in China, including 121 reported today”, he stated, adding that outside the ...

CORONAVIRUS: Marked spike in reported cases and deaths By: Iain Fraser - Editor at Large GEO´ European News Centre Málaga The coronavirus is continuing to wreak havoc around the globe with some 242 deaths recorded in the Chinese province of Hubei as of yesterday [Wednesday, 13/02/2020] the deadliest day so far since the outbreak was first reported. There has also been a huge increase in the number of cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed with the virus. Although, Hubei has started using a broader definition to diagnose people, which does account for the rise in cases. Until yesterday's increase the number of people diagnosed in Hubei [where the outbreak emerged] was stabilising, however, the new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the Chinese national death toll above 1,350 with 60,000+ infections in total. "... Meanwhile, China has sacked two top  officials in Hubei province, which accounts  for more  than 80% of overall Chinese infections and now including clinic...

WION Global Summit 2020: Navigating and Negotiating Global Imperatives, Dubai  Global Summit Venue - Oberoi Hotel, Dubai. Thursday, March 5, 2020 from 09:30 Posted by: GEO´ Diary Team Through this platform, we understand and identify the steps towards long-term solutions, define the problems and analyse the potential towards quality decision making -- the urgency of good governance and leadership in today's time. This year we highlight the critical challenges of climate change, global governance, economic slowdown, and global crisis that threatens to become the new normal. "...WION stage this platform for global thinkers to  engage in dialogue on common global agenda affecting  the world - news that shook the world." We engage with highly interactive panellists in the field of international and strategic affairs with the objective of ideas and deliberation on effective solutions addressing the most challenging issues facing the world and explore smart diplomatic solution...

The "Davos of global geopolitical security"  14 - 16 February, Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Munich  Posted by: GEO´ Diary Team -  London News Centre Munich Security Conference 2020 The 56th Munich Security Conference dubbed the "Davos of global geopolitical security", will take place at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich from this coming Friday, February 14 to Sunday February 16. For these days, Munich will again be at the centre of international diplomacy and will welcome world leaders from politics, academia, and civil society.  "...The world´s leading forum for debating international security policy" During its main conference in February, the MSC assembles more than 450 senior decision-makers as well as thought leaders from around the world, including heads of state, ministers, leading personalities of international and non-governmental organizations, high-ranking representatives from business, the media, academia, and civil society to debate pressing issues of...

GEO´_Compass™ - Country Report Myanmar 2020 Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Formerly Burma) is a country in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.  As of 2017, the population was about 54 million. Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Formerly Rangoon). Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.  To receive the full Report direct to your inbox please Click Here to Register Free