Argus Geopolitical Intel

German auto space bets future on hydrogen cars - GEO´ Analysis By Iain Fraser - GEO´ Reportage Editor - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 220921 at 11:11 The German auto space is betting it´s future on hydrogen cars according to Reuters. While Battery is currently the flavour of the month, industry analysts are suggesting that the potential of hydrogen is vast and is that hydrogen fuel the clear way forward for clean auto energy.  This is a view shared by key German automakers including BMW (BMWG.DE) and Audi (VOWG_p.DE) who are both developing hydrogen fuel-cell passenger vehicle prototypes alongside their battery powered production lines as part of their regime to abandon mainstream fuels as they hedge their bets and try and second guess arch competitor Tesla. VW's premium Audi brand told Reuters it had assembled a team of more than 100 mechanics and engineers who were researching hydrogen fuel cells on behalf of the whole Volkswagen group, and had built a f...

EXCLUSIVE: Chance for breaking the Cycle of Violence in Afghanistan?  By Professor Ijaz Khan via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 291221 at 11:01 CET Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan; The US and NATO have left after being defeated; Afghan National Army has collapsed; there is some resistance in Panjsher. The region and the world powers are adjusting to these facts for a new geopolitical game/ conflict in Afghanistan. But what is new about these facts? Violent changes with outsiders supporting different parties have been the history of Afghanistan and not just of the past 40 years. This cycle of violence with a few years of relative peace (in the sense of absence of violence) is known as the story of Afghanistan and educates most studies, including good academic ones. The same history provides context for most current analysis and probable future scenarios based on it. This small essay attempts to see a probability of that historic cycle of violence ending and ...

EUROPOL strikes back at Ransomware Gang responsible for attacks against critical infrastructure  By Iain Fraser - Cybersecurity Journalist via GEOPoliticalMatters.com In an operation co-ordinated by Europol and carried out in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats ( EMPACT)  a total of 12 highly targeted individuals who are alleged  to have been responsible for wreaking havoc across the world with ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure, have been targeted in a joint-operation by law enforcement across eight countries culminating in in Ukraine and Switzerland  The network of cyber actors known for specifically targeting large corporations, effectively bringing their business to a standstill represented a dangerous combination of aggressive disruption and high-stake targets believed to have affected over 1,800 victims in 71 countries.  As the result of the strike over USD $45,000 in cash was seized together w...

Information Commissioners Office still failing to collect fines as 74% remain unpaid By Henry Cazalet - The SMS Works Posted via GEO´ PR Wire - Gibraltar Friend Henry Cazalet of The SMS Works   has released his latest findings in his ongoing quest to highlight the lack of enforcement by the Commissioner against transgressors - while it beggars belief, the report makes for very interesting reading and leaves many questions unanswered. Henry and his team have been tracking the ICO’s troubles with fine collection since 2018. The ICO’s fine collection woes just seem to get worse and worse. Another year on and the ICO still hasn't found a way of improving their performance on debt collection - In fact, it seems to be getting worse! Last years report identified just 32% of the monetary value of ICO fines issued had been paid, in this latest update, that figure has slumped to just 26%. In the period from Jan 2020 to September 2021 the ICO has handed out 47 fines to companies that have bro...

GEO´ Climate & Energy Desk Editor - David M Reports Live from the Glasgow Event.  With additional Analysis by GEO´ Reportage Editor Iain Fraser. You can also follow their tweets @ Geo_Newsdesk  using #COP26 Image Credit: IAEA Imagebank

TECHNOLOGY: Musk announces corporate HQ move to Texas  By GEO´ Newsteam - Gibraltar Newsroom  www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 081021 at 10:00  Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk took to the company´s annual shareholders meeting in Austin, Tx to announce that the electric motor manufacturers is to move its corporate headquarters from California to Texas in what is seen by industry analysts as a snub to local government in Alameda county, California where the futuristic Tesla is currently based.  He gave several reasons for the move, telling shareholders its Californian factory in Fremont was "jammed" however, the billionaire technology entrepreneur has had an fractious relationship at times with California. "There's a limit to how big you can scale it in the Bay Area. In Austin our factory is like five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown," he said.  Another strategic reason is of course that California is also a difficult place for his e...

AUKUS: What the U.S.-British-Australian Security Pact Means for Europe - Analysis Posted by GEO´ PRWire with Analysis by Iain Fraser, Reportage Editor - Gibraltar www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com Google Indexed on 011021 at 09:53 By sweeping France aside, the Biden administration has indicated that they neither trust nor value their European allies when it comes to China. Such misgivings raise serious questions about the state of transatlantic relations and the durability of NATO. In this in-depth article Carnegie Europe´s Rosa Balfour During the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the complaint from some European NATO members of insufficient consultation by the U.S. administration may have come across as petulant. Four weeks later, the AUKUS—a security pact between Australia, the UK, and the United States, whereby Canberra acquires U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and scraps its submarine agreement with France—dispels any doubt. Whether the failure to warn France of the imminent agreement ...