FOCUS
July 3, 2022. By Shoba Suri, Aparna Roy, ORF. Thinking about the future of global food systems has now become more critical than ever. Climate change impacts—among them, shifts in soil quality, precipitation, pest regimes, seasonal growth patterns, along with land degradation and reduction in biodiversity—have impacted agricultural and aquatic food production systems across the world. Indeed, the causal links between climate change and food security are manifesting more clearly, particularly in the developing world, where nutrition deficiency is common, as is the predominance of rain-fed, farm-centred agricultural systems. This report reimagines the future of food, and how countries of the Global South, including India, can build resilient food systems. The Future of Food: Reimagining Climate-Resilient Food Systems in the Post-Pandemic World
AROUND THE WORLD
Australia
- July 4, 2022. By Peter Hooton, The Interpreter. The first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) took place in Vienna from 21 to 23 June. The new Australian government sent an observer, Susan Templeman MP, to the meeting, marking Australia’s first engagement with a treaty that is firmly opposed by the nuclear weapon states and their allies. This is good news for the Treaty’s many supporters in Australia, including the 55 former Ambassadors and High Commissioners (including myself) who, on the eve of the meeting, sent an Open Letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urging swift realisation of the Labor party’s pre-election commitment to have Australia sign and ratify the TPNW. Australia and the Nuclear Ban Treaty
- July 4, 2022. By Nicholas Filer, The Strategist. Many have heralded artificial intelligence as a force-multiplier for defence and intelligence capabilities. Do you want armed autonomous vehicles to comply with legal and ethical obligations as set out in the Royal Australian Navy’s robotics, autonomous systems and AI strategy? AI can help. Do you want to more effectively analyse intelligence to predict what an adversary will do next? AI can help. And AI’s proponents are right—it could, and likely will, do all of those things, but not yet. Artificial intelligence needs humanity
- July 4, 2022. By Huon Curtis and Blake Johnson, The Strategist. During her recent trip to Malaysia, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she wanted Australia’s full diversity to be reflected in the Albanese government’s approach to diplomacy. What would a First Nations foreign policy look like?
China – Hong Kong
- July 4, 2022. By Charles Parton, ,The Strategist. If norms exist in the Chinese Communist Party, perhaps Xi Jinping, the general secretary and de facto president of the People’s Republic of China, has established one by attending the inauguration of incoming chief executives. He last came to Hong Kong five years ago when Carrie Lam took up the post. Xi’s anniversary visit marks near-total CCP control of Hong Kong
India
- July 4, 2022. By Amita Batra, The Interpreter. Over the last few months, India has signed two trade agreements – a comprehensive economic parternship agreement with the United Arab Emirates and an “early harvest” scheme with Australia – while also initiating trade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Israel and the European Union. Simultaneously, India has sought a further review of its comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with Japan. The review process for its other regional free trade agreements (FTAs) and comprehensive economic cooperation/partnership agreements with ASEAN and South Korea were announced in 2016 and 2020 respectively. India’s trade policy needs to prioritise the region
Japan
- July 3, 2022. By Yasuyuki Todo, East Asia Forum. Global supply chains are being reorganised as Western countries attempt to decouple from the Chinese economy and firms are increasingly aware of the risks of supply chain disruption after COVID-19-related lockdowns. Many countries have implemented policies to support the restructuring of global supply chains and Japan is no exception. Japan’s post-COVID-19 approach to supply chains
Nepal
- July 1, 2022. By Rahul Bhonsle, VIF. Nepal Army has emerged as a capable provider for UN Peace Keeping missions. The country’s Peacekeeping contingents as well as leaders have demonstrated professional competence standing tall amongst contemporaries from other nations in multinational missions. Nepal Army and SPP – Multiple Nuances
Russia – Snake Island
- July 3, 2022. By Opinion: Why did Russia give up Snake Island ? The Russian Ministry of Defence made a surprise announcement on June 30, 2022, that the Russian armed forces had abandoned the famous Snake Island as a “gesture of goodwill”. The reason appear dubious considering previous Russian invasions of different territories. So what is the real reason for Russia giving up Snake Island?
USA
- July 3, 2022. By Adam Mazmanian, Defense One. The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on Wednesday to block Booz Allen Hamilton’s planned acquisition of signals intelligence vendor EverWatch because of competition concerns. The two firms were rivals in a planned National Security Agency services procurement called Optimal Decision. US Sues to Block Spy-Tech Deal
Zambia
- July 1, 2022. By Urvashi Narain, Ngao Mubanga, World Bank blogs. Designating terrestrial and marine landscapes as parks and protected areas is a central part of today’s conservation strategy to preserve biodiversity. As far back as 1996, the Zambian government reclassified the country’s tourism sector from a social category to an economic category. This was a strong recognition that the country’s rich biodiversity represented a significant tourism asset with considerable economic development potential. Protecting biodiversity to improve economic outcomes in Zambia
TOPICS
Climate Action
- July 1, 2022. By Jennifer J. Sara, World Bank blogs. Partway through 2022 and this is already shaping up to be a year of devastating climate impacts affecting lives and livelihoods around the world: from disastrous flooding in Bangladesh to scorching heatwaves in South Asia and Europe. Climate action is also in danger of stalling: the war in Ukraine, COVID-19, surging inflation, and food prices are further compounding efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Making every drop count: From water to climate
Cybersecurity
- July 4, 2022. By Phil Muncaster, Info Security. The British army’s Twitter and YouTube accounts were compromised by a malicious third party on Sunday and used to direct visitors to cryptocurrency scams. British Army Social Media Accounts Hijacked
- July 4, 2022. By Phil Muncaster, Info Security. The UK’s new data protection regulator has signaled a fresh approach to public sector enforcement which will see his office likely levy fewer financial penalties and lower sums. ICO Set to Scale Back Public Sector Fines
- July 4, 2022. By Phil Muncaster, Info Security. A former employee at HackerOne used their access to sensitive information at the bug bounty platform to generate personal profits, the firm has revealed. HackerOne Insider Defrauded Customers
Defense
- July 4, 2022. By Roketsan test-fires new coastal variant of Atmaca missile Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan test-fired the land-based variant of the Atmaca anti-ship missile against a sea target in the Black Sea on July 02, 2022. This was the first ever test of the land-based version of the missile.
- July 4, 2022. By Juho Lee, Naval News. South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD) announced on June 30th that it successfully conducted an “operational demonstration” of the anti-submarine warfare unmanned underwater vehicle (ASWUUV) off the coast of Tongyeong, South Korea. South Korea’s ASWUUV Conducts Operational Demonstration
Global Financial System
- July 4, 2022. By Valdai Discussion Club. Geopolitical risks that were unimaginable just a few years back are turning the idea of reliable currencies and global financial centres upside down. The countries that created and controlled the existing global financial system in mid-20th century, receiving global rent or seigniorage in the process, have dealt the most devastating blow to their own system, writes Valdai Club expert Alexander Losev. National Currencies in International Settlements
Global Supply Chains
- July 3, 2022. By East Asia Forum. It is hard to imagine a more thorough stress test for globalisation than the double whammy of a once-in-a-century global pandemic followed in short order by a land war between two of the world’s major commodity producers. The COVID-19 recession was one of the most unusual in modern economic history. Man is born free, and everywhere he is in global supply chains
- July 3, 2022. By Jayant Menon, East Asia Forum. The resilience of global supply chains in manufacturing has been under scrutiny following COVID-19 and geopolitical shocks. Global supply chains are robust or resilient when they can sustain economic shocks and continue producing an unchanged level of output. The operational and locational dimensions of resilience need to be appreciated amid calls for the ‘reshoring’ of production, which shortens supply chains by bringing them home to reverse the ‘export of jobs’. Supply chains are more resilient than they appear
Health & Tech
- July 1, 2022. By Shania Kennedy, Helath IT Analytics. A new study published this week in JAMA Network Open shows that a recently developed risk prediction model can identify term neonates at risk of perinatal arterial ischemic stroke (PAIS) using common clinical factors. Researchers Develop Risk Model to Predict Brain Injury, Stroke in Neonates
- July 1, 2022. By Shania Kennedy, Health IT Analytics. Houston, Texas-based Memorial Hermann Health System has announced a partnership with population genomics and viral surveillance company, Helix to launch an initiative focused on enhancing population health by utilizing genomic data. TX Health System Launches Population Health, Genomics Initiative
Migrations
- July 1, 2022. By Fay Faraday, World Bank blogs. For decades, country-specific, regional, and comparative research has identified the legal, political, economic, and social structures that create precarity for transnational migrants doing low-paid work. Similarly, research has recorded in detail the exploitation and rights violations that occur for migrants in precarious situations, including undocumented workers and temporary migrant workers. The focus here has typically been on the practices of recruiters and employers in perpetuating exploitation. The Empowerment of Migrant Workers in a Precarious Situation: The Role of Labor Inspection
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