Argus Geopolitical Intel

OPINION: GEOPOLITICS - Five big questions as America votes: China By Atlantic Council via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com As part of the Atlantic Council’s Elections 2020 programming, the New Atlanticist will feature a series of pieces looking at the major questions facing the United States around the world as Americans head to the polls. The COVID-19 global pandemic crisis has seen US-China relations deteriorate to perhaps their lowest point since the aftermath of Tienanmen Square. As China adopts a more assertive diplomatic, economic, and military footing in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the United States has been accelerating efforts to coordinate a global response to China’s rise. With the US presidential election less than a week away, these developments raise important questions about the nature and trajectory of US-China strategic competition in the post-pandemic world and how the next US administration should approach the challenge posed by China. Below are the five major questions ...

BOOK REVIEW: “The Purity Ruse: Consciousness, Empowerment & Feminine Identity” Book Review by Max Chambers www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com   Click here to Register below to join the webinar    The Observer Research Foundation is hosting the Kolkata Friday Afternoon Talk (FAT) series online. For our next virtual interaction, we invite you to join us for an online event “The Purity Ruse: Consciousness, Empowerment & Feminine Identity” which is a discussion on Koral Dasgupta's book Ahalya: The Sati Series . This discussion will take place on ORF's digital platform on October 30th, at 5:00 PM to 6:15 PM IST Please note that registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. If your registration is successful, you will receive a confirmation email and a link through which you can join the discussion.   Click here Buy the Book now on Amazon        Click here to Register below to join the webinar               ...

The Belt and Road Initiative: Challenges and Opportunities Amid COVID-19   By Marsh.com via PRChannel www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Heading into 2020, there were nearly 3,000 active Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, involving more than 2,600 companies, with a combined value of close to USD4 trillion. Although this represents significant progress for the BRI, in the seven years since the project launched, it has arguably never faced a more challenging risk environment. Managing political, economic, and investment risks has been made more difficult by COVID-19. In this white paper , we outline the opportunities and challenges facing investors in the BRI, and provide updates on recent developments in the following countries:  •    Malaysia •    Bangladesh •    Philippines •    Indonesia •    Myanmar In addition, we rank the contractual agreement repudiation risk for the BRI countries given the impact...

Science, unity and solidarity, key to defeating COVID: Guterres Posted by: PR Channel Team www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Better preparation, listening to the science and acting together in solidarity, are some of the main ways that countries across the world can overcome the on-going COVID-19 crisis, the UN chief told the World Health Summit on Sunday.   In a video message to the Berlin-based summit is backed by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), involving 100 countries, and around 2,500 participants, geared towards improving health worldwide and respond to global health challenges. Secretary-General António Guterres in his video message, ran through the many disruptive effects of the coronavirus pandemic beyond the loss of more than 1,147,000 lives as of Sunday, and 42.5 million cases. Around 500 million jobs have disappeared, with a monthly loss to the global economy of around $375 billion. Gender-based violence has skyrocketed, and mental illness “is a crisis within a crisis”...

COVID: Vaccine Readiness prompts more Geopolitical Posturing   By Iain Fraser - Consultant Editor www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com While hopes spike for the approval of a Coronavirus Vaccine before the end of this year, sparked by US infectious disease supremo Dr Anthony Fauci´s recent comments, the death of a Brazilian national during third-phase clinical trials on the so-called "Oxford Vaccine" could well be the knell of death for the vaccine currently being developed by Astra Zeneca and the University of Oxford well certainly for the foreseeable future any way. Dr Fauci the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases sparked huge optimism when he said last Sunday that it should be known by late November, early December whether a vaccine "safe and effective". Fauci´s comments were further bolstered after news that the NHS in the UK is preparing to start immunising frontline staff with a vaccine within weeks.   To make a point of record it s...

Members Reinforce IRENAs Position at the Heart of Geopolitics of Energy Transformation By David Matthews - Climate & Energy Correspondent www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed at 07:09 on 211020 “We may never see oil demand return to 2019 levels,” said Dr. Thijs De Graaf, lead author of ‘A New World’ – an influential report published two years ago by the IRENA-convened Global Commission on the Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation, and participant at the second meeting of IRENA Collaborative Framework on the geopolitics of energy transformation. “Oil reserves in the ground can no longer be viewed as money in the bank,” he explained, highlighting that changes witnessed so far this year to energy demand and energy use as a result of the measures enforced to control the spread of COVID-19, may have irreversibly changed the energy landscape. Kingsmill Bond, Energy Strategist at Carbon Tracker, agreed the pandemic is likely to have brought forward the peak for fossil fuels and a...

VIRTUAL EVENT: Geopolitics - We Need to Talk About China Posted by: PR Channel Team www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Thursday 22nd October - 3pm UK / 10am NYC   Register Here    Host Pensavvi - The International Network for Professional Investors   Speaker Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry CBE PhD Managing Director, Merl House Strategic Forecasting and Risk Issues to be addressed     China and COVID-19     Xi Jinping and Manifest Destiny     What is China up to with its assertiveness and aggressive diplomacy.     Is Taiwan safe?     Socio-economic conditions in China     Economic model after COVID About Chris Parry As Director General, Development, Concepts & Doctrine at the Ministry of Defence, Chris Parry had national responsibility for determining the future security environment out to 2030. His organisation maintained a world-class risk analysis and assessment facility, leading ma...

EUROPEAN GEOPOLITICS: BREXIT - Why NO DEAL Brexit was always on the cards By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com #Geopolitics #GeopoliticalNews #GeopoliticalMatters #Brexit #NoDealBrexit #Opinion   Well it finally happened - The UK is to leave the EU after 47 years as a leading member of Union with No Deal after Prime Minster Boris Johnson said last Friday [16th September 2020] that there was no point in continuing negotiations telling UK businesses that it was now time to prepare for a no-deal brexit.   The incumbent Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove reiterated the Governments position by issuing a statement shortly after the PMs comments saying “Make no mistake, there are changes coming in just 75 days and time is running out for businesses to act,”    Negotiations between the UK and the EU finally stalled primarily over the UK and the Unions diametric position over fishing access although competition issues are also b...

GEOPOLITICS: Putin’s pipeline is a strategic weapon. It must be stopped Newsteam - City of London www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com #Russia #Ukraine #EuropeanUnion #Geopolitics #EnergySecurity #NordStream2 ATLANTIC COUNCIL - A cross-party group of 29 Ukrainian MPs has issued the following joint letter raising the alarm over the international security implications of Russia’s unfinished Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. The Kremlin is on a roll. So far this year, it has used dubious means to entrench its rule, likely poisoned one of its main critics, and now works to suppress protests in Belarus—all while gaslighting the transatlantic intelligentsia regarding the aims of its fledgling economic weapon: the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom owns 100% of the project. The company has dumped billions of dollars to build these unnecessary pipelines, placing lavish orders with European suppliers. Will Gazprom ever get the money back? The Kremlin couldn’t care less. The ...

CORONAVIRUS: TWINDEMIC - Europe wide Covid countermeasures deployed as second spike grips union By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical News Team via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com  Google Indexed at 12:15 on 141020 #Coronavirus #Covid_19 #CovidInEurope #Geopolitics #GeopoliticalMatters #GeopoliticalNews Renewed Covid countermeasures are being deployed across Europe putting hopes of a much needed post-covid recovery firmly on hold while individual member states deploy various regional and partial lockdowns and with some mooting possible curfews. The virus has risen again, with renewed vigour with hospital admissions up and the m-rate (mortality) rising too across the union and the UK. It is an unenviable catch 22 situation where all governments balance their responsibilities to safeguard their nationals at the same trying to avoid uncharted economic meltdown with individual countries striving to find the most effective combination of measures including  local lockdowns, test-and-trace init...

CORONAVIRUS: HERD IMMUNITY - Policymakers warned that COVID-19 strategy is Unethical  By Newsteam - Geopolitical Journalists  via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com    Using the principle of so-called “herd immunity” to stem the COVID-19 pandemic is “unethical” and “not an option” countries should pursue to defeat the virus, the UN health agency chief warned on Monday.   “Herd immunity is a concept used for vaccination, in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), told the agency’s regular press briefing in Geneva.    “Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a strategy for responding to an outbreak”, the WHO chief said, calling it “scientifically and ethically problematic”. To obtain herd immunity from measles, for example, about 95 per cent of the population must be vaccinated.  ...

BELARUS CRISIS: ATLANTIC COUNCIL - Putin’s fear of democracy is fuelling the crisis in Belarus Ukraine Alert by Peter Dickinson via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Russia announced this week that it has placed Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on its wanted list. The move is a further blow to the protest movement in Belarus, which has spent much of the past two months denying an anti-Russian agenda and seeking to involve the Kremlin in efforts to resolve the present crisis. This has proven futile, largely because Moscow regards any attempts to promote democracy in its neighbourhood as intrinsically anti-Russian. The Russian Interior Ministry has yet to provide details of any criminal charges against Tsikhanouskaya, while Russian media have reported that her listing appeared automatically in line with the terms of the Union State agreement between Russia and Belarus. Even if it is purely symbolic, Tsikhanouskayas criminal status underlines Moscow’s uncompromising approac...

VIRTUAL EVENT: The Future of Geopolitics: What Will a Post-Covid World Look Like? Harvard Kennedy School - Center for Public Leadership via www.GeopoliticalMatters.com VIRTUAL EVENT: The Future of Geopolitics: What Will a Post-Covid World Look Like? Date: Thursday, October 15, 2020, 12:30pm to 1:30pm Location: Virtual Event. Susana Malcorra, Dean, IE School of Global and Public Affairs; Hauser Leader, CPL THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 12:30-1:30 P.M. ET Click Here to PRE-REGISTER - (Required) As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, many wonder what the world will look like once a widely-adopted vaccine brings the disease under control. Will world powers reach out to one another in shows of multilateralism and cooperation? Or will isolationist and protectionist policies rule the day?   In discussion with Wendy Sherman, Susana Malcorra will share predictions for these scenarios and their potential repercussions. Malcorra is dean of the IE School of Global and Public Affairs. Previously, she...

NATIONAL SECURITY: HUAWEI - Parliamentary inquiry claims Clear Evidence of Collusion By Iain Fraser - Defence & Security Journalist www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com A parliamentary inquiry by the House of Commons defence committee has confirmed that there is "clear evidence of collusion" between Huawei and the "Chinese Communist Party apparatus The inquiry concluded that the government needs to bring forward the deadline already set for the Chinese firm´s 5G equipment to totally removed from the UKs 5G Network. This, the latest in a serious of allegations poses a further challenge to its business model. Huawei invested heavily in their technology and are still seeking a return on that investment, While their options in the UK are now limited, they have changed focus and are now touting their 5G telecoms infrastructure to other parts of Europe and beyond. "It is clear that Huawei is strongly linked to the Chinese state and the Chinese Communist Party, despite its stat...

US ELECTIONS -  Five big questions as America votes: The Geopolitical impacts of technology Posted By: Max Chambers - Editor via PR Channel www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com As part of the Atlantic Council’s Elections 2020 programming, the New Atlanticist will feature a series of pieces looking at the major questions facing the United States around the world as Americans head to the polls. Rapid developments in technology impact social, political, and economic issues both locally and globally. As the US presidential election nears, it is critical for Americans to consider the ways technology can both provide solutions and create challenges in the future. Below are the five major questions facing the United States on the geopolitical impacts of technology as the US elections approach, answered by five top experts: 1. What future does the US want for data and how we ensure data benefits both individuals & communities? 2. What future does the US want for data, trust, and increasing resi...

CLIMATE CRISIS: IRENA - Renewables Could Cover More Than One-Third of Energy Demand By David Matthews - Climate & Energy Correspondent via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com The latest report from the International Renewables Energy Agency (IRENA) report explores cost-effective growth of renewables in Central and South Eastern Europe to save costs, enhance energy security and supply affordable energy to all citizens in the region Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2 October 2020 Within ten years, the economies of Central and South Eastern Europe* could cover 34% of their rising energy demand cost-effectively with renewables, a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) finds. The Renewable Energy Roadmap for the Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity initiative (CESEC), released today at the meeting of CESEC Ministers hosted by the European Commission and the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, shows that accelerating the take-up of r...

EUROPEAN GEOPOLITICS: ECFR - Europe’s double bind Commentary by Mark Leonard, European Council on Foreign Relations via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com The covid-19 pandemic has exposed a gap between European aspirations and actions. If European leaders are serious about defending rules-based multilateralism and securing the European Union’s interests in the twenty-first century, they will need to start coming to terms with today’s geopolitical realities. Covid-19 has made a mockery of the world’s great powers. US President Donald Trump promised to “make America great again”, but his administration’s handling of the pandemic has been anything but great. Chinese President Xi Jinping has often spoken of a “Chinese dream”, yet his own response to the crisis has relied on algorithmic authoritarianism. And Europeans who often pay lip service to multilateralism have met the pandemic with closed borders and national solutions, rather than leading a global response. In fact, in Europe’s case, covi...

CLIMATE CRISIS: CDF and IRENA Collaborate to Boost Low-Carbon Investments By David Matthews - Climate & Energy Correspondent www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) to support a transition from fossil-fuel dependency to a more resilient and sustainable low carbon economic development model in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The partnership will focus on reducing the region’s economic and social vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change, and liberating the region from a dependency on volatile and expensive fossil fuel imports. The Latin America and Caribbean region has the potential to source up to 85 per cent of its power from renewables by 2030. Doing so would significantly improve energy security and reduce energy system costs. The two organisations will also work enhance business competitiveness in the region. Cooperation will suppo...