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Europe strikes back at Belarus - Atlantic Council on GEO´ Fast Thinking by Atlantic Council Related Experts: Hanna Liubakova , Benjamin Haddad , Daniel Fried Posted By: PR Channel Team - Gibraltar www.geopoliticalmatters.com How do you respond to air piracy by Europe’s last dictator? After Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair passenger jet flying through their airspace to land so they could imprison dissident blogger Roman Protasevich, world leaders are scrambling to put the screws on the country’s president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Europe has imposed economic sanctions and restrictions on Belarusian planes, while US President Joe Biden has indicated that he will follow suit. Why did Lukashenka take such an aggressive step? What made Europe act with unusual swiftness and boldness? Will Vladimir Putin feel the heat? Our experts break it all down. Learn More /  About Attlantic Council Shaping the global future together - Driven by our mission of “shaping the global future togeth...

Country Report KENYA 2021 - GEO Compass By GEO´ Newsteam - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 260521 at 07:30 Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in Africa with 47 semi-autonomous counties governed by elected governors. At 580,367 square kilometres, Kenya is the world's 48th largest country by total area. With a population of more than 52.2 million people, Kenya is the 27th most populous country. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi while its oldest city and first capital is the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu City is the third largest city and a critical inland port at Lake Victoria. Other important urban centres include Nakuru and Eldoret. To receive the full Report direct to your inbox please Click Here to Register Free

The Geopolitics of Albania 2021 - GEO´ Compass  Report Compiled by: David Cartwright - Newsteam www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed at 07:10 on 161020 ALBANIA: Located on Southeastern Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, is a small country with Adriatic and Ionian coastlines and an interior crossed by the Albanian Alps. The foreign relations of Albania are conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana. The current minister is de jure Prime Minister Edi Rama due to president Ilir Meta's rejection of the role to be held by the de facto minister, Gent Cakaj, a result of 'a lack of experience' from the latter. Albania is a sovereign country in Southern Europe, and the Mediterranean that declared its independence on 28 November 1912. Its foreign policy, has maintained a policy of complementarism by trying to have friendly relations with all countries. Since the collapse of Communism in 1990, Albania has extended its responsibilities and position in European and inte...

GEOPOLITICAL NEWS: International Energy Agency launches it´s #NetZero2050Roadmap By GEO´ PRChannel Team - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 180521 at 07:03 Pathway to critical and formidable goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 is narrow but brings huge benefits, according to IEA special report The @IEA has, this morning, released the world’s first comprehensive roadmap for the global energy sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The special report shows the pathway to net zero by 2050 is narrow but still achievable if governments act now.  The world has a viable pathway to building a global energy sector with net-zero emissions in 2050, but it is narrow and requires an unprecedented transformation of how energy is produced, transported and used globally, the International Energy Agency said in a landmark special report released today. Climate pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – would fall well short of what is required to bring global...

GEOPOLITICAL NEWS: Afghanistan: What now to avoid disaster? Posted By PRChannel Team - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Afghanistan: What now to avoid disaster? New Atlanticist by James Cunningham, Hugo Llorens, Ronald E. Neumann, Richard Olson, and Earl Anthony Wayne. Related Experts: James B. Cunningham, Earl Anthony Wayne Bitter fighting lies ahead in Afghanistan, with the coming withdrawal of all US and NATO forces from the country. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) will go from doing most of the fighting to all of it, as well as all of the dying, which they have already been doing in recent months. But as US President Joe Biden has said, the United States still has interests worth supporting in the country, and there are actions the coalition must take rapidly to improve the chances that a twenty-year struggle will not end in complete defeat for the laudable aims the United States and its allies have pursued. The decision to withdraw is not one some of u...

VIRTUAL EVENT: Protecting EU citizens’ rights after Brexit: the view from the Independent Monitoring Authority By PRChannel Team - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Friday 14 May 2021, 13:00 - 14:00 This is a live online event. Please do not travel to the Institute. Register for the event here The future of EU citizens living in the UK was one of the big sticking points of the Brexit talks. In the 2019 Withdrawal Agreement, the UK agreed to establish an Independent Monitoring Authority to oversee the protections of the rights of EU citizens living in the UK before the end of the transition period. What are the IMA’s priorities?  What are its concerns?  What progress has been made and what are the key challenges ahead? Five months after the IMA’s launch, and with the 30 June deadline for EU citizens to register for settled, or pre-settled, status fast approaching, the IfG is pleased to welcome the new IMA chair and members of its senior team for a wide-ranging discussion on...

Ransomware scourge prompts US to issue emergency legislation By Iain Fraser - Managing Editor www.GEOPoliticalmatters.com Google Indexed on 100521 at 08:51 The US has been forced to issue emergency legislation yesterday (9, May 2021) after a ransomware attack on the largest fuel pipeline in the US was hit by a ransomware cyber-attack. The Colonial Pipeline carries 2.5 million barrels a day a total of 45% of the East Coast's supply of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel which has been completely knocked offline by an "organised crime group" in a cyber attack last Friday (7, May 2021) but my thinking is the attack was more likely orchestrated by a state actor and of course whenever that is the case there are usually on two key culprits - Russia & China, experience tells me Russia. Putin has long favoured using "shadowy" groups that can be passed off as CCG (Cyber Crime Group) hackers rather than state actors and my money is on Russia. The Ransomware Scourge The cybe...

Spooks warn of smart-city cyber vulnerability. By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist www.GeopoliticalMatters.com Cyber Spooks National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have warned that Smart cities are a target for hackers and especially worrying "state actor" hackers such as Russia and China causing concern for responsible councils. The NCSC - an arm of GCHQ - has published guidance for local authorities on how to secure what they call "connected places". It says that while this advanced technology helps improve urban services it renders it liable to hackers to either disrupt or gather intelligence. The smart-city concept is well intentioned and can reap a host of benefits in terms of checking traffic congestion and implementing an effective traffic plan. But this growing dependency on technology also brings risks. The NCSC is warning of possible "destructive impacts" if systems were switched off which, in some cases, could even "endanger" reside...

A Thousand Hezbollahs: Iraq’s Emerging Militia State - Newlines Institute Posted By: PRChannel Team - Gibraltar www.geopoliticalmatters.com Intelligence Briefing This intelligence briefing provides extensive, never before reported details on how Iran-linked Iraqi militias are creating a new order to dominate a strategic region of the country that connects Iraq and Syria. Iranian-linked militia groups are taking advantage of the vacuum caused by the collapse of ISIS’s caliphate to begin building security, social, political, and economic structures to dominate this strategic area of Iraq. ■ The militias’ infiltration into police and security forces has allowed militias to control Iraqi citizens’ movements, trade, occupation, and other aspects of private life. Some factions threaten journalists, block roads to important commercial areas to hamper business, and even take scores of residents from villages to unknown locations.  ■ Militias have used threats and acts of violence to get th...

G7: Johnson and Blinken discuss 'close alignment'  By Newsteam - Gibraltar www.geopoliticalmatters.com UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the opportunity of the G7 to discus the "close alignment" between foreign policy in London and Washington during their meeting earlier, No 10 has confirmed. It came as G7 powers met in London for their first face-to-face meetings in over two years. The group is discussing challenges including climate change and threats to human rights. The talks, held amid tight Covid restrictions, will finish on Wednesday. The G7 group - the world's seven largest so-called advanced economies - is made up of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The PM and Mr Blinken agreed UK-US co-operation would be "instrumental" in tackling Covid-19 and also welcomed their nations' joint work on areas like trade and defence. However there was much cnfusion this morning a...

G7: Raab to lead discussions on critical global issues By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist & Analysis www.geopoliticalmatters.com The UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab will lead discussions today with the meeting of the #G7 foreign ministers from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the EU.to dicuss "critical global issues" at the meeting in London.   In what is the first major in-person diplomatic gathering since the pandemic began and the first gathering of G7 Foreign Ministers since 2019, Dominic Raab will lead discussions on pressing geopolitical issues that threaten to undermine democracy, freedoms and human rights. This includes relations with Russia, China, and Iran, as well as the crisis in Myanmar, the violence in Ethiopia, and the ongoing war in Syria. After the talks the foreign ministers will hold a dinner discussion with guest nations Australia, India, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and Brunei. It is believed Mr Raab will use the even...

Atlantic Council launches New Atlanticist Posted BY PRChannel Team GEOPoliticalMatters.com The Atlantic Council has launched the New Atlantacist a blog showcasing expert analysis from the Atlantic Council community on the most important global issues. Featuring breaking news reactions, opinion pieces, explainers, and focused analyses, New Atlanticist provides a comprehensive look at the top global headlines and the challenges facing the international community. Subscribe About Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the Atlantic Community’s central role in meeting global challenges. The Council provides an essential forum for navigating the dramatic economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century by informing and galvanizing its uniquely influential network of global leaders. The Atlantic Council—through the papers it publishes, the ideas it generates, the future leaders it develops, and t...