Argus Geopolitical Intel

PYONGYANG: Kim keen to re-open lines of communication with Seoul - Analysis By GEO´ Newsteam with Analysis by Iain Fraser - GEO´ Reportage Editor, Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 300921 at 09:56 North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has mooted his willingness to restore communications with Seoul in an effort to try and drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington as the U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency closed meeting on Thursday at the request of the United States, United Kingdom and France on North Korea’s recent tests. The move is seen by observers as a clear attempt to secure Seoul's support to secure relief from crippling U.S. led economic sanctions and other concessions in the week that saw a series missile tests, the first for six months. Kim also seized the opportunity to turn up the rhetoric and reiterate his criticism of United States dismissing offers from Washington to restart dialogue with Washington, the first for the Biden administration, as...

LATEST GEOPOLITICAL NEWS: Goldman slashes China growth forecast over power shortages By Iain Fraser - Consultant Editor, Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 280921 at 10:59 Wall street grandees Goldman Sachs have become the latest financial institution to cut its growth forecast for China, as the country struggles with energy shortages. Goldman´s revised forecasts of the super-economy suggests that the economy will rise by 7.8% this year, down from its previous forecast of 8.2% citing an overall decline in industrial output caused by power outages, adding that this alone is causing "significant downside pressures". It estimates as much as 44% of China's industrial activity has been affected. While China is juggling output versus its green credentials the country remains highly dependent on coal for electricity generation currently using about as much coal as the rest of the world put together but it's also a world leader in wind and solar productio...

VIRTUAL EVENT - CLIMATE: Getting cities to net zero - Institute for Government on GEO´  Posted via GEO´ PRWire www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com VIRTUAL EVENT - CLIMATE: Getting cities to net zero - Institute for Government on GEO´ Event Supported by Gowling WLG   This event will take place live on: Tuesday 12 October 2021, 12:30 - 13:30   Click Here to Register FREE Hitting the UK’s net zero target depends on the transformation of the UK’s cities. Many had already declared climate emergencies and set ambitious emissions targets before the pandemic, while big changes in the last 18 months – less commuting, more walking and cycling – have had big implications for urban areas. But to help people permanently shift to low-carbon lifestyles requires local leaders to develop long-term approaches to infrastructure, taxes and regulations. What needs to be done to ensure long-term transformation?  Which pandemic-enforced changes should remain in place?  How can cities and cent...

RUSSIA ELECTION 2021: Putin's United Russia party looks set for another landslide victory - Analysis By Iain Fraser - GEO´ Reportage Editor, Malaga City www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Putin's United Russia party looks set for another landslide victory in the country's parliamentary elections, despite a drop in support. Initial results showed that with 64% of votes counted, United Russia had won nearly 48%, followed by the Communist Party with about 21%. The interim figures reveal that despite Mr Putin's party easily retaining its majority in parliament, it did lose some ground. In 2016, the party won 54% of the vote. The party claimed victory a few hours after the polls closed yesterday (Sunday, 20th September 2021) - A senior United Russia official, Andrei Turchak, said his party would win more than 300 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. Putin's most vocal critics were barred from running in the election, and candidates who were allowed to stand were heavily vetted. ...

LATEST GEOPOLITICAL NEWS: China applies to join Asia-Pacific trade pact to boost regional gravitas - Analysis By GEO´ Newsteam - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 170921 at 09:09 Reuters has reported that China has filed an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the commerce ministry said, as the world's second-biggest economy looks to bolster its clout in trade. The move comes the day after the historic security alliance AUKUS between the US, UK and Australia was unveiled was announced. Accession to the CPTPP would be a major boon for China following on from the the signing of the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement last year. The CPTPP previously known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was signed by 11 countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan and New Zealand in 2018. Britain is currently in negotiations to enter the trade pact, while ...

THE AUKUS PACT: Australia, UK & US Announce historic military pact to counter China threat -  Analysis By Iain Fraser - GEO´ Reportage Editor www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 160921 at 10:42 The UK, the US and Australia have announced an historic military pact in the Asia-Pacific, in an effort to counter the increasing threat posed by China. Known as AUKUS the military alliance announced yesterday (16/08/2021) by the leaders of the three countries is the biggest strategic defence partnership among the three countries in decades will enable Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time using technology provided by the US but will also extend to co-operation in artificial intelligence, cyber and quantum technologies in an agreement that is far reaching than the Five Eyes alliance. China was quick to respond to the AUKUS announcement. Its embassy in Washington reacted by accusing the countries of a "Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice...

LATEST GEOPOLITICAL NEWS - UK: Inflation soars to 9-year high - Analysis By GEO´ Newsteam - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 150921 at 10:46 UK inflation has hit a nine-year high. Consumer prices rose by 3.2% in annual terms last month after a 2.0% rise in July, the highest rate since March 2012 according to figures released by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 3.0% in the 12 months to August 2021, up from 2.1% in the 12 months to July. The increase of 0.9 percentage points is the largest increase ever recorded in the CPIH National Statistic 12-month inflation rate series, which began in January 2006; however, this is likely to be a temporary change. The 1.2 percentage point rise in the annual rate of inflation in the space of a month marked the sharpest such increase since detailed records started in 1997 ...  Click Here  to have our Full Analysis sent direct t...

COVID 19 LATEST: COVID cases in southeast China more than double as Delta spreads - Analysis By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 140921 at 11:11 REUTERS has reported new Covid infections in the south-eastern province of Fujian have almost doubled as the Delta variant takes further hold. The National Health Commission in Beijing said 59 new locally transmitted cases were reported for Sept. 13, up from 22 infections a day earlier. All of them were in Fujian, a province bordered by Zhejiang to the north and Guangdong to the south. Fujian's outbreak began in Putian, a city of 3.2 million, with the first case reported on Sept. 10. Preliminary tests on samples from some Putian cases showed patients had contracted the highly transmissible Delta variant. In a little over four days there were In just four days, a total of 102 community infections have been reported in three Fujian cities, including Xiamen, a tourist and transport hub with a...

REPORTAGE: LATEST GEOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS - BREXIT: The hard reality of Brexit - Analysis By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 130921 at 10:22 A little over eighteen months since the UK formally left the European Union, the grim reality of Brexit is hitting hard and not least the food supply chain leaving empty supermarket shelves. Of course the pandemic affected food supplies across Europe as borders closed across the Union but there are no reported problems anywhere else in the union just the now Brexiled UK. Of course the incumbent Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has again tried to hoodwink the British electorate blaming shortages in the labour market, especially, lorry drivers but the true reality is that that the true costs of Brexit is now biting hard. In my analysis I examine the facts behind the shortages Learn More/...  Click Here  our my Full Analysis direct to your mailbox or smart device. Image Credit: Oast House Archiv...

EXCLUSIVE - AFGHANISTAN CRISIS: Interpreting Taliban Cabinet By Professor Ijaz Khan By Professor Ijaz Khan www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed 0n 100921 at 11:25 The composition of the 33 member Taliban Government is well known. It is not inclusive is also not contested as well as it reflects the more hardliners, old guard is well established and has been commented by many. Why it is so and what it means for domestic, regional and international scenario needs further debate and understanding. The answer to why will answer the three questions.  The general expectations were, Taliban will announce a cabinet which will have some non Taliban, as well as will be representative of all the ethnic identities of Afghanistan, even If that was just symbolic. But most were taken by surprise by when they announced an exclusive Taliban government. Again the wider expectations/opinions, of Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar heading it has been proved wrong. Instead they announced an exclusive Talib...

LATEST GEOPOLITICAL NEWS: Biden and Xi speak for first time in seven months - Analysis By Iain Fraser - Reportage Editor www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed 0n 100921 at 11:22 US President Joe Biden and Chinese premier Xi Jinping have spoke for the first time in seven months in an effort by the White House to restore some kind of equilibrium to their relationship. US - China relations have been fraught with overall disagreement over trade, corporate espionage and of course the pandemic. In a statement the White House said both leaders had "discussed the responsibility of both nations to ensure competition does not veer into conflict" in what was only their second call between them since President Biden took office. "The two leaders had a broad, strategic discussion in which they discussed areas where our interests converge, and areas where our interests, values, and perspectives diverge," the White House Statement added. "This discussion, as President B...

VIRTUAL EVENT: The UK border: will supply chain problems get worse? Institute for Government Posted via GEO´ PRWire - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 070921 at 11:22 From disrupted supply chains to a shortage of lorry drivers, Brexit and Covid have combined to cause major problems at the UK border. Nando’s, McDonald’s and the Co-op are just three of the firms to have been affected. As pandemic-related travel problems continue, the true impact of post-Brexit border rules has yet to hit. Full border checks on EU imports to Great Britain will only come into effect later this year, while extensive controls on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland may be introduced in the autumn. Businesses and individuals are currently left in limbo as negotiations between the UK and EU continue over how the Northern Ireland protocol will operate long-term. Register for event Will border disruption worsen as the year goes on? How ready are business and government for t...

CLIMATE CRISIS: Air quality improvements from COVID lockdowns confirmed Posted via GEO´ PRWire - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 060921 at 10:01 COVID-19 lockdowns brought rapid and “unprecedented” improvements in air quality in some parts of the world - but not enough to halt climate change caused by global warming, UN weather experts said on Friday. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s Air Quality and Climate Bulletin, South East Asia saw a 40 per cent reduction in the level of harmful airborne particles caused by traffic and energy production in 2020. China, Europe and North America also saw emissions reductions and improved air quality during the pandemic’s first year, while countries such as Sweden saw less dramatic improvements because existing air quality contained comparatively lower microparticle levels (PM2.5) of harmful sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3). Atmospheric experiment Dr Ok...

CORONAVIRUS LATEST: WHO launches Pandemic & Epidemic Intelligence Hub to detect and prevent future pandemics via GEO´ PR Wire - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 020921 at 08:38 A new centre in Berlin, Germany, launched on Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to help countries better assess and respond to global disease threats in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, will bring together diverse partnerships from several disciplines, and the latest technology, so that data and intelligence are shared for the common good. Critically, it will support experts and policy-makers worldwide to be able to forecast, detect and assess epidemic and pandemic risks so that they can respond rapidly to future public health emergencies. Leveraging innovation “The world needs to be able to detect new events with pandemic potential and to monitor disease control measures on a real-time basis to create effective pa...