Argus Geopolitical Intel

CLIMATE CRISIS - ENERGY: Renewable energy continues to bring Socioeconomic Benefits  By NewsTeam - City of London via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com IRENAs annual jobs review confirms long-term growth trend and calls for strong policy action to maximise employment benefits in response to COVID-19   Renewable energy continues to bring socioeconomic benefits by creating numerous jobs worldwide, according to the latest figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) today.   The seventh edition of Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review shows that jobs in the sector reached 11.5 million globally last year, led by solar PV with some 3.8 million jobs, or a third of the total. “Adopting renewables creates jobs and boosts local income in both developed and developing energy markets,” said IRENAs Director-General Francesco La Camera. “While today we see a handful of countries in the lead, each country can harness its renewable potential, take steps to leverag...

The Art of Geopolitics Part 1 - Introduction Via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com

BREXIT: PM Sends Gove to Brussels to get a deal as deadline looms By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalists www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has dispatched Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove to Brussels at the start of a week of talks about the UK's future relationship with the EU. The deadline for a deal is two and a half weeks away - Sources have told me that PM Johnson has told Gove to "get a deal!" Mr Gove will meet European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič to discuss implementation of the Brexit divorce deal ahead of formal negotiations which will resume tomorrow [29th September 2020] as the two sides attempt to agree a post-Brexit trade deal. However, before the bunting comes out, lets not forget that the last set of talks ended acrimoniously when the UK government introduced the Internal Market Bill which would allow the UK to override parts of the original Brexit divorce deal - known as the withdrawal agreement with the very s...

GEOSEAS: The Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of the Arctic - Analysis By Dan Carter - NewsTeam www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com The latest project papers from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) presents a thought provoking theories from Senior Research Fellow, Andreas Østhagen on the Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of Maritime Spatial Disputes in the Arctic (GEOSEAS). They argue that to understand geopolitical challenges in a changing Arctic, we first need to understand the dynamics of emerging spatial disputes over maritime space and related marine resources and outline exactly why the Arctic is being targeted in the Geopolitical ambitions of the words controlling nations including the US and of course China. The past decade's rapid technological changes and the growing preoccupation of states with maritime space are prompting a rethink of how we view conflicts and dispute management at sea.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the Arctic. Examples include overlapping continental-shelf c...

Lessons from Belarus: How the EU can support clean elections in Moldova and Georgia By Andrew Wilson - European Council on Foreign Relations via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com The election fraud in Belarus in August 2020 sparked the biggest protests in the country’s history. Ultimately, the demonstrations may usher in a completely new political system and sense of national identity. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka may retain power by sacrificing national sovereignty to Russia, with massive implications for the security and well-being of all Belarus’s neighbours. In a new policy brief, ECFRs Senior Policy Fellow Andrew Wilson argues that the European Union could play a more significant role in upcoming elections in Moldova and Georgia. The bloc has greater leverage to prevent fraudulent activity in these two Eastern Partnership countries, as it has a much closer relationship with them than with Belarus. Conversely, given that influence, the elections will be a more direct test of the EU’s ...

KYC - KNOW YOUR CLIENT – Introduction, legislation & Compliance By Matrix Intelligence Limited - Corporate Intelligence Experts, London via wwwGEOPoliticalMatters.com ” Effective anti-money laundering & combating the financing of terrorism regimes are essential to protect the integrity of markets & of the global financial framework as they help mitigate the factors that facilitate financial abuse.” Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF What Is Know Your Client? [KYC] Matrix is often asked this question - essentially Know Your Client or Know Your Customer is an industry-standard, usually but not restricted to the Banking and Investment industries that ensures the thorough identification and confirmation of a potential customer’s identity and establishing that both the source and that said funds and investments are from legal sources. While KYC policies differ from industry to industry they generally incorporate the following four key elements within their framewor...

CHINA: CLIMATE CRISIS - China stuns international community with carbon neutrality statement By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist, Malaga, Spain www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York via video-link, Chinese premier Xi Jinping said that China is aiming to "hit peak emissions before 2030 and for carbon neutrality by 2060" The announcement is obviously being regarded as a significant step in the fight against climate change. China is the world's biggest source of carbon dioxide and is responsible for around 28% of global emissions. With global climate negotiations stalled and this year's conference of the parties (COP26) postponed until 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, there had been little expectation of progress on the issue at the UN General Assembly. China's president also called on all countries to achieve a green recovery for the world economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Xi went on to say: "We aim to ...

CYBER BREACH: Unsecured Server Exposes Bing Mobile App Data By Chase Williams via GEO´ PRChannel www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com        Google Indexed at 08:26 on 220920                The WizCase online security team, led by white hat hacker Ata Hakcil, uncovered a massive data leak in a server owned by Microsoft logging data related to its Bing mobile app, available in both Google Play and App Store. After the investigation led to the Microsoft Bing App, Hakcil confirmed his findings by downloading the app and running a search for “Wizcase.” While looking through the server, he found his information, including search queries, device details, and GPS coordinates, proving the exposed data comes directly from the Bing mobile app. Hakcil and his team discovered a 6.5TB server and saw it was growing by as much as 200GB per day. Based on the sheer amount of data, it is safe to speculate that anyo...

CORONAVIRUS: Rolls-Royce considers raising £2.5bn as the virus continues to wreak havoc By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist Malaga, Spain www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Rolls-Royce is rumoured to be considering raising £2.5bn to boost its finances as it does not expect demand to return to pre-pandemic levels for five years. The firm, which makes the benchmark for Aircraft Engines is apparently "evaluating" raising the sum and is looking at a number of options which could include a rights issue or potentially other forms of equity issuance. The Financial Times recently reported that Rolls-Royce was considering raising £2.5bn and is in talks with a number of sovereign wealth funds including Singapore's GIC. However, the fact that the UK Government holds a "golden share" in Rolls-Royce which prevents the company, which is deemed to be of strategic interest to the UK - from coming under foreign control so that might put the cosh on any such involvement. While Roll...

Geopolitics in a time of great distraction - The National Security Podcast Asia & Pacific Policy Society via PR Channel Team - GEOPoliticalMatters.com In this episode of National Security Podcast, Chris Farnham is joined by Jacob Shapiro to discuss some of the important geopolitical issues flying below the media radar. With the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s rise fuelling tensions across the region, and unfolding chaos in the United States, this year could not be more action-packed for national security policymakers. Still, there are a number of other enormously important issues and trends in the world that barely get a mention. In this episode of National Security Podcast, we chat with Jacob Shapiro about the geopolitical issues that are changing the world. We discuss the breakdown of the global food supply, examine why previously tight relations between Latin American countries are breaking down, tackle whether peace is really breaking out in the Middle East, and ask what is Open-RAN...

UK secures first post-Brexit trade deal with Japan By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist Málaga Press & Technology Centre Britain has secured its first big post-Brexit trade deal with Japan which it has lauded as “historic” as it continue to struggle to agree any trade pact with its closest trading partners in the European Union. Since formally leaving the EU in January, Britain has focused on negotiating new trade deals with countries around the world although experts say they are unlikely to replace exports lost to the EU if a deal cannot be reached with Brussels. In an announcement on Friday [11th. September 2020] British trade minister Liz Truss said “This is a historic moment for the UK and Japan as our first major post-Brexit trade deal” “The agreement we have negotiated - in record time and in challenging circumstances - goes far beyond the existing EU deal, as it secures new wins for British businesses in our great manufacturing, food and drink, and tech industries.” T...

GEOPOLITICAL NEWS: European Economic Reporting - The week ahead - Analysis By Iain Fraser Málaga Press & Technology Centre It’s a busy week ahead on the European economic data front. In the 1st half of the week, Eurozone industrial production, wage growth, and economic sentiment are due out together with Germany’s ZEW economic sentiment figures which are expected to be a key factor on Tuesday. On Wednesday, trade data for the Eurozone is due out. Barring particularly dire numbers, the trade data should have a min or impact on the EUR. Later this week, the finalised August inflation figures for European member states and the Eurozone are also due. Following sensitivity to the preliminary figures, expect the EUR to be highly sensitive to any revisions during the week. For the UK and Sterling [GBP] It’s a particularly busy week ahead on the economic calendar. In the 1st half of the week earnings and employment figures are due out and I expect the unemployment rate and claimant count ...

GEOPOLITICAL NEWS: AmCham Shanghai Annual Report - Analysis By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist Málaga Press & Technology Centre Majority of U.S. firms in China and vice-versa inclined to stay despite huge Geopolitical concerns. The American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai's annual report released last Wednesday [9th September 2020] showed that 92.1 percent of its 346 members surveyed said they do not have plans to leave China. However, 5.1 per cent of companies with global revenues over 500 million U.S. dollars plan to leave the country. Two surveys show that most U.S. firms in China and Chinese firms in the U.S. are adapting to the volatile geopolitical situation and very few companies have plans to leave or move their production and supply chains to other countries. Among the respondents, almost two-thirds said China-U.S. tensions were their biggest worry, the first time bilateral issues have led the poll, and well ahead of the second biggest concern: domestic competition...

The Geopolitical News Roundup By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist Reporting for Friday, 11 September 2020 Today's Roundup of the Leading Geopolitical News Welcome to my roundup of the latest Geopolitical News. Mitigating Geopolitical Risks For Your Global Team - Forbes By Jacob William a Forbes Councils Member We are now global villagers, living beyond geographies, thanks to the virtual world in the cloud. Businesses are compelled to face the risk of the unknown, uncertain and unpredictable events transpiring all over the world ... Read Full Story Analysis: UK economy is up, up - but not away - BBC By Faisal Islam - BBC Economics Editor Up, up, but not away. The UK economy continued a sharp recovery from lockdown in July, growing by a bumper 6.6% in the month. But the rate of recovery was a little slower than in June, raising some concerns about the ongoing strength of the bounce back ... Read Full Story EU ramps up no-deal preparations as it weighs UK's Brexit ultimatum -...

GEOPOLITICS: Eternal Brexit - Analysis By George Friedman posted on September 10, 2020 via GEOPoliticalMatters.com In 2016, the British government called for a referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. The British people voted to leave. Since then, there has been a struggle in Britain to reverse the decision and a struggle between Britain and the EU on the terms of the departure. It’s now 2020, and the process still isn’t finished. Given that the EU is based merely on a treaty – not a federation – sovereignty is a matter for individual states, not the “government” in Brussels. Treaties are arrangements between nations,not a merger of nations, and therefore are reversible. Since we are about to see a new and presumably final round of negotiations on the divorce, with the EU now calling for a rapid resolution, even as the Irish question is now the blocker, the real issue is how this matter has dragged on so long. To anyone who has been divorce...