ASIA, DIGITALE E SOVRANITA’ NAZIONALE

FOCUS

July 5, 2022. By Milton Mueller, East Asia Forum. Is there an Asian digital regime? There was, though it was closer to a global regime based on neoliberal principles of free trade and globally distributed supply chains in which Asia played a special part. But that order is disintegrating, as nations inside and outside Asia revert to a new form of neo-mercantilism focused on digital technologies. In this new model, national security seeks to displace trade and growth on the agenda. Asia and digital neo-mercantilism

AROUND THE WORLD

Argentina

• July 4, 2022. By World Nuclear News. Argentina is preparing to refurbish Atucha I, the first nuclear power reactor in South America, so that it may generate power for a further 20 years. A framework to regulate the work has been agreed. Refurbishment for Atucha 1 : Regulation & Safety

Australia

• July 4, 2022. By World Nuclear News. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is already working with Australia on the “complex” issue of ensuring nuclear safeguards in relation to its proposed acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS partnership, the organisation’s Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. IAEA working with Australia on safeguards for nuclear subs: Grossi : Regulation & Safety

Australia – Pacific

• July 5, 2022. By Sarah McCosker, Joanne Wallis, Melissa Conley Tyler, The Interpreter. One tool that is often overlooked in Australia-Pacific cooperation is the role of legal engagement, including support for local capacity and enhancing international legal cooperation. Pacific island countries are dealing with security issues at multiple levels. Nationally, countries are responding to challenges including illegal fishing, transnational crime and other threats, compounded by gender inequality. At a local level, community leaders and security agencies struggle to control violence and subnational conflicts. In some areas, law and order challenges and the proliferation of firearms mean that risks to individual safety are very real. Engaging with the Pacific: the legal angle

Australia – Vanuatu

• July 5, 2022. By Patrick Wall, The Interpreter. An ambitious plan to bring one of the world’s most pressing issues to the world’s highest court – which began as an idea that was kicked around by a few law students at the University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu – is now quickly gaining momentum. In September, Vanuatu will ask the United Nations General Assembly in New York to request that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) give an advisory opinion that “set[s] out with clarity the obligations of States under international law to protect the rights of present and future generations against the adverse effects of climate change”. From Port Vila to the Peace Palace

BRICS

• July 5, 2022. By David Uren, The Strategist. The virtual summit of BRICS leaders in Beijing late last month brought a slew of proposals to strengthen the group’s economic and geopolitical influence. Can BRICS become the anti-G7 that Russia and China want it to be?

• July 4, 2022. By Zongyuan Zoe Liu, East Asia Forum. When the inaugural BRIC summit took place in 2009, it was a moment of relative triumph for its members. While the West dealt with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — enjoyed temporary shelter from the turmoil. When South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, the BRICS agenda expanded beyond economic cooperation and now includes a wide array of global governance issues, including security. The second-coming of the BRICS

China – Pacific

• July 5, 2022. By Sue Ahearn, The Strategist. The first stop of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent Pacific trip was Solomon Islands, where journalists have been complaining about their treatment since the government swapped diplomatic allegiance to Beijing from Taipei in 2019. Media freedom has deteriorated, and journalists say leaders are now taking their cues from China. Chinese foreign minister’s visit helped erode Pacific media freedom

Ethiopia

• July 4, 2022. By Crisis Group. Ethiopia’s federal and Tigray regional governments are finally gearing up for direct negotiations. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert William Davison discusses why the feuding parties are edging toward peace and what the main obstacles are to achieving it. At Long Last, Ethiopia Prepares for Peace Talks

Europe

• July 5, 2022. By Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch. The European Parliament has given a final stamp of approval to two major pieces of regulation which will update the EU’s rules for digital businesses. European parliament backs ‘historic’ reboot to EU’s digital rulebook

France

• July 5, 2022. By HRW. As he enters his second term, French President Emmanuel Macron and the French government should ensure that human rights are central to all their policies, both at home and abroad. Human Rights Watch recommends 14 human rights priorities for the French president and government in this agenda. A Human Rights Agenda for France

India

• June 27, 2022. By Deepak Sriram Krishnan, Akhilesh Tilotia, Vaisakh Suresh Kumar, Anya Bharadwaj and Kajol, World Resources Institute. In this paper, we consider what India must do to meet its 30 GW offshore wind target. We attempt to answer this question by examining the existing situation in India regarding offshore-wind-related issues, analyzed under categories relevant to India (policy, finance, infrastructure, regulations, and environmental impacts)—and by drawing lessons from successful countries. Winds of Change: Learnings for the Indian Offshore Wind Energy Sector
• July 4, 2022. By Sambuddha Mitra Mustafi, ORF. In mid-May 2022, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele hosted what has been dubbed the first “Davos of Bitcoin”, in the presence of central bankers from 44 developing countries. Seen in isolation, this event may seem fringe and insignificant, but when seen in the context of the erosion of dollar dominance, high global inflation, great power conflict, and talks of changing world order, the Bitcoin event is a sign of the emerging interest around a contender for the next global reserve currency. The Bitcoin business: Securing India’s strategic interests

• July 4, 2022. By Deepak Sinha, ORF. A career in the military is like no other, entailing sacrifices in some cases even the ultimate, that has more to do with intangible factors such as dignity and honour than financial remuneration. It is thus short-sighted to make the Agnipath Scheme solely about reducing expenditure incurred by the military.  Given the huge impact it will have on India’s social fabric and the army’s ethos and functioning, the repercussions could be damaging. Given our fragile security environment and China’s aggressive designs, employing such a radical reform may not be prudent. History might repeat itself, as witnessed in 1962 when India was caught by surprise as Nehru and Menon initiated reforms that led to immense turbulence within the higher leadership and dissonance between the General Staff and line units during the Sino-Indian War. The Agnipath Scheme: Overcoming structural flaws

• July 5, 2022. By Roland Rajah, The Interpreter. One cost of the past two years of limited air travel is that it became too easy to lose touch with what was really happening in other countries. Having not returned in a number of years, a trip last month was a reminder that it’s always impressive to absorb, even fleetingly, how fast emerging economies such as India are changing, and notwithstanding the pandemic, largely improving. Better infrastructure, cleaner streets, more and better cars, fewer but better motorbikes, fancier shops and restaurants, way more mobile phones. The pace of change is well beyond what most people in rich countries like Australia are used to. India’s economy after Covid

Israel

• July 5, 2022. By Crisis Group. The fragile hybrid government in Israel lasted one year and seven days before falling apart. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Laure Foucher and USMEP’s Daniel Levy explain why a more homogeneous right-wing coalition is a likely outcome of fresh polls. Israel’s Governing Coalition Crashes, Setting Stage for New Elections

Japan

• June 29, 2022. By Kiyomi de Zoysa, World Resources Institute. Japan is a country that confronts a wide array of natural hazards — from earthquakes and tsunamis to frequent typhoons, deadly heatwaves and landslides. But the country has also been proactive in boosting its resiliency to these disasters. The world has a lot to learn from its experiences. Profiles of Adaptation: Japan

Myanmar

• July 4, 2022. By Nilanjan Ghosh, Prarthana Sen, ORF. The hydropower projects in Myanmar are riddled with challenges, therefore, a more holistic approach needs to be adopted, making sure all the stakeholders are on board. Dams as displacers: A heavy social cost to incur

Netherlands

• July 4, 2022. By World Nuclear News. A team of seven international experts visited the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten, the Netherlands, on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to examine the way in which operator the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) manages the ageing of its installations. IAEA assesses ageing management at Dutch research reactor : Regulation & Safety

North Korea

• July 4, 2022. By Genevieve Kotarska, RUSI. Given the threat posed to North Korea by climate change and Pyongyang’s willingness to cooperate on the issue, it could provide an opportunity to build bridges with the country. The North Korean Climate Conundrum

Russia – Turkey

• July 4, 2022. By World Nuclear News. The Atomenergomash factory in Volgodonsk, Russia is manufacturing the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel for Turkey’s Akkuyu 4. Hot metal for Akkuyu 4 : New Nuclear

Russia – Ukraine

• July 4, 2022. By  Peter Dickinson, Atlantic Council. The Mayor of Ukrainian Black Sea port city Odesa announced last week that he was making British Prime Minister Boris Johnson an honorary citizen. This was not the first time Ukrainian officials have sought to show their appreciation for the UK leader. A number of Ukrainian towns and villages have already announced plans to unveil Boris Johnson streets. Meanwhile, when the British PM survived a recent Westminster no confidence vote, senior government figures in Kyiv flooded social media with congratulatory posts. Why Ukraine loves Boris
• July 5, 2022. By Crisis Group. Since late February, when Russian forces crossed the Ukrainian border en masse, India has steered what it portrays as a neutral course on the war. It has abstained on UN votes condemning Russia’s invasion. New Delhi refuses to publicly blame Moscow for the crisis, even while emphasising India’s traditional respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has maintained India’s historically close ties to Moscow, increasing Russian oil imports and receiving Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a diplomatic visit in April. India’s Response to Russia’s War in Ukraine
• July 5, 2022. By Carl Bildt, Project-Syndicate, The Strategist. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions in Ukraine are not in doubt. He wants to end its status as an independent political entity and incorporate its territory within the Russian Federation. In his opinion, achieving this goal would undo two great historical errors committed in the last century: first, allowing a Ukrainian republic to exist within the Soviet Union, and, second, allowing this republic to become an independent nation-state. Europe’s fate is intimately linked to Ukraine’s survival

• July 5, 2022. By Rachel Stohl, Elias Yousif, Defense One. The donated weapons pouring into Ukraine—more than $6.1 billion so far from the U.S. alone—have been welcomed by Kyiv, but they also carry a variety of potential national security and strategic consequences. Defense planners, lawmakers, and the public should develop safeguards to keep these weapons from feeding future conflict, violence, and instability.  The Risks of US Military Assistance to Ukraine
• July 4, 2022. By Jack Watling and Nick Reynolds, RUSI. Based on fieldwork conducted in Ukraine, this Special Report outlines what is needed to defeat Russia’s invasion. Ukraine at War: Paving the Road From Survival to Victory

• July 5, 2022. By Andrey Sushentsov, Valdai Discussion Club. US President Joe Biden recently admitted that the conflict over Ukraine will become protracted, making it a kind of competition of wills between Russia and Europe. The conflict is really turning into a duel of endurance potentials: there is a determination on the Russian side to see things through to the end, there are no doubts about Ukraine’s determination to wage war, despite the large number of losses and the growing tension in society. Until the last Soviet cartridge is fired in Kyiv’s arsenal, until the mistakes of the command give rise to a cascade of tactical defeats at the front, and as long as their Western sponsors support them with weapons, Ukraine will fight. We can state that both sides consider temporary resources to be their advantage. Legitimation of War and Ukraine’s Potential for Endurance

South Africa

• July 5, 2022. By HRW. The South African government’s failure to ensure that abandoned coal mines are rehabilitated puts communities at risk of injury and death and risks polluting resident’s water sources, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. South Africa: Abandoned Coal Mines Risk Safety, Rights

South Korea – USA

• July 5, 2022. By Choong Yong Ahn, East Asia Forum. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol set the tone of South Korea’s new economic diplomacy by declaring he would ‘build a nation that espouses liberal democracy and ensures a thriving market economy’. Yoon’s commitment in his inaugural address on 10 May 2022 to ‘work together with like-minded nations that respect freedom’ is particularly important for Seoul to navigate turbulent economic competition in the Asia Pacific amid an ever-intensifying US–China rivalry. Yoon vows to build a value-based alliance with Washington

Syria

• July 5, 2022. By Crisis Group.  The UN Security Council is considering renewing an understanding whereby UN agencies transport aid to Idlib, an area held by Syrian rebels. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Richard Gowan, Dareen Khalifa and Ashish Pradhan explain why the arrangement remains essential. A Vital Humanitarian Mandate for Syria’s North West

UK 

• July 4, 2022. By World Nuclear News. Rolls-Royce SMR has shortlisted six potential locations in the UK for the first of three factories for the manufacture of its small modular reactor (SMR) power plants. The first plant will produce the vessels for the 470 MWe pressurised water reactor. Rolls-Royce narrows search for site of first SMR factory : New Nuclear

USA

• July 4, 2022. By World Nuclear News. Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) has executed of a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress to develop areas of mutual interest and cooperation in the nuclear fuel supply chain. It recently executed a similar LOI with Constellation Energy Generation. GLE working with US companies to support laser enrichment commercialisation : Corporate

• June 30, 2022. By World Resources Institute. The U.S. Supreme Court curtailed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate carbon emissions from the power sector. The Supreme Court ruled that the agency is not authorized to consider shifting generation from dirtier to cleaner power generating sources when establishing greenhouse gas emissions standards under the Clean Air Act provision in question. STATEMENT: US Supreme Court Curtails EPA’s Authority to Regulate Power Plant Emissions

• July 5, 2022. By Naval News. The U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program office (PMA-268) conducted its first lab integration event June 28-30 at Pax River to demonstrate how the MQ-25’s Ground Control Station (GCS) will command the unmanned aircraft in the carrier environment. MQ-25 team completes first lab integration event

Yemen’s Red Sea

• July 4, 2022. By Crisis Group. A floating oil storage facility in Yemeni waters is on the verge of breaking or blowing up. Time is running out to raise the remaining $20 million needed for a salvage operation to prevent ecological and economic damage of historic proportions. How to Avert an Imminent Disaster off Yemen’s Red Sea Coast

TOPICS

Climate action

• June 28, 2022. By Katie Reytar, Darby Levin, Elizabeth Goldman, Fred Stolle, Mikaela Weisse and Peter Potapov, World Resources Institute. We know that deforestation is an ongoing, devastating problem — satellite data has been tracking it closely for years. But another question has remained more elusive: How much new forest is growing?  Thanks to new data from researchers at the University of Maryland and WRI, we now have an answer:  Tree cover — lots of it —is cropping up all over the globe.   Where New Forests Are Growing

• June 28, 2022. By World Resources Institute. World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct is preparing new projections on water stress, demand and supply, expected by early 2023, thanks to support from inaugural Aqueduct Pro Sponsors Microsoft and Moody’s Analytics. These will be among the first water projections using the latest CMIP6 climate forcings from the Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Working Group II Contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. RELEASE: WRI Aqueduct Preparing Water Projections Using Latest Climate Data

Cybersecurity & Disinformation

• July 5, 2022. By Colin Tankard, Info Security.  Companies invest extensively in order to protect themselves from cyber-risks and threats; their future survival and reputation depend on it. However, they are only as strong as their weakest link, which, typically, is the supply chain, a fact their adversaries know only too well. Is There a Weak Link in Your Supply Chain?
• July 5, 2022. By Paul Sawers, TechCrunch. The U.K. government is pushing to make “foreign interference” such as disinformation a priority offence under its proposed Online Safety Bill, forcing technology firms to remove contravening content shared by foreign state actors. UK to combat Russia’s ‘hostile online warfare’ by forcing internet firms to remove disinformation
• July 5, 2022. By Harman Singh, Info Security. With greater threat comes greater responsibility. As 2022 is a year of heightened cyber risk, it’s vital to ensure that your organization takes the necessary steps to protect itself. 2022: A Checklist for the Year of Heightened Cyber Risk
• July 5, 2022. By James Coker, Info Security. An anonymous hacker has claimed to have stolen the personal information of 1 billion Chinese citizens, representing one of the biggest data breaches in history. Hacker Claims to Have Personal Data of 1 Billion Chinese Citizens
• July 5, 2022. By Benjamin David, Info Security. An investigation into cybersecurity at UK public services revealed a large disparity in defense budgets, hundreds of website vulnerabilities and staff email addresses and passwords at one council posted in full online. UK Councils and Hospitals Vulnerable to Cyber Hackers

• July 4, 2022. By James Coker, Info Security. NATO has announced plans to develop virtual rapid response capabilities “to respond to significant malicious cyber activities.”. NATO to Develop Rapid Cyber Response Capabilities

• July 5, 2022. By Bart Hogeveen, The Strategist. Small businesses are not immune to cybersecurity incidents. In fact, they’re often more vulnerable because they lack the time, resources and sometimes the skills to prepare for and defend against an attack, or to mitigate and remedy any consequences. Cyberproofing small and medium businesses—a small step with a big impact

Defense

• July 5, 2022. By Xavier Vavasseur, Naval News. Singapore’s ST Engineering was showcasing its brand new “Blue Spear” anti-ship missile at the Eurosatory 2022 defense exhibition held in Paris from June 13-17, 2022. ST Engineering showcases Blue Spear ASM at Eurosatory 2022

Digital & Tech

• July 5, 2022. By Kyle Wiggers, TechCrunch. Although finance teams ultimately control budgets within their companies, investment in technology under the chief financial officer’s purview had been limited — at least until recently. That’s the assertion of Tesorio CEO Carlos Vega, who observed that, prior to the pandemic, most cash management processes had been run in spreadsheets and Word documents. Tesorio’s tools aim to help businesses automate payments collection
• July 5, 2022. By Brian Heater, TechCrunch. Some drone industry consolidation this morning as Ondas Holdings, the company behind Waltham, Massachusetts–based American Robotics announced its plans to acquire Airobotics. It’s admittedly been a few years since we covered the latter, when the Israeli firm announced a combined $28.5 million A/B round. American Robotics’ owner set to acquire fellow drone firm, Airobotics
• July 5, 2022. By Manish Singh, TechCrunch. Twitter has sued the Indian government to challenge some of its takedown orders, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, further escalating the tension between the American social giant and New Delhi. Twitter sues India’s government over content takedown orders
• July 5, 2022. By Rita Liao, TechCrunch. Sequoia Capital’s China affiliate has pulled in $9 billion in fresh capital to back the country’s tech companies across all stages, The Information first reported. Sequoia Capital China raises $9B amid cooling tech sector
• July 5, 2022. By Catherine Shu, TechCrunch. In Indonesia, many logistics providers still use old-fashioned systems to track their operations and fleets, including pen-and-paper ledgers. McEasy wants to change that. The startup, which develops software-as-a-service solutions for the logistics and supply chain industry, has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding led by East Ventures. McEasy is digitizing Indonesia’s logistics, transportation and supply chain industries
• July 5, 2022. By Kyle Wiggers, TechCrunch. Onomondo, a startup offering a dedicated wireless network for internet of things (IoT) devices, today announced that it raised $21 million in a funding round led by Verdane with participation from Maersk Growth, People Ventures, and The Danish Growth Fund. In an email, CEO Michael Karlsen told TechCrunch that the new cash will be put toward productization, go-to-market efforts, and marketing as Onomondo scales its team from 50 people to around 100 by the end of the year. Onomondo secures cash to expand its wireless network for IoT devices
• July 5, 2022. By Paul Sawers, TechCrunch. Despite the economic downturn and perilous position many startups find themselves in, some industries are seeing continued momentum in terms of inwards investments — one of those is climate tech. Climentum backs startups with $157M to ‘accelerate Europe’s green transition’
• July 5, 2022. By Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch. YC-backed climate tech startup, Pina Earth, has closed a $2.5 million seed round of funding a year after being founded and a few months since it presented at the accelerator’s Winter 2022 Demo Day in March. Pina Earth gets seed backing to grow sustainable forestry carbon credits
• July 5, 2022. By Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch. Quantum computing has been making quantum leaps of progress in the last several years — going from theoretical concept to multiple testing environments, to help organizations prep for a time when quantum computers, and their unparalleled processing power, become a scaled reality. Now, UK-based Oxford Quantum Circuits is announcing £38 million ($47 million) in funding to fuel the growth of its own contribution to the space — a patented 3D processor architecture it calls Coaxmon, plus quantum-computing-as-a-service that will run on it. OQC says that this Series A is the largest to date for a UK-based quantum computing startup. UK’s Oxford Quantum Circuits snaps up $47M Series A for ‘QaaS’
• July 5, 2022. By Catherine Shu, TechCrunch. Live in India, Singapore-based MarketWolf has plans to introduce stock trading to first-time investors in more markets. The platform announced today it has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Singaporean venture capital firm Jungle Ventures and Mumbai-based Dream Capital. Returning investors 9Unicorns, iSeed, Crescent and Riverwalk also participated. MarketWolf is a trading-first platform for new investors
• July 5, 2022. By Rebecca Bellan, TechCrunch. Mumbai-based automaker Tata Motors wants to sell 50,000 electric vehicles by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, the company’s chairperson Natarajan Chandrasekaran said during a shareholders’ meeting on Monday. India’s Tata Motors wants to sell 50,000 EVs by end of fiscal year

Digital Health

• July 5, 2022. By Christine Hall, TechCrunch. Inspiration for a new company can come from many different places. For Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin, a biomedical engineer, it was while nursing her first child that she got the idea for harnessing the health benefits of breast milk, but in food and wellness supplements for adults. Maolac pours new funding into superfood mimicking breast milk health benefits
• July 5, 2022. By Shania Kennedy, Health IT Analytics. A study published in The Lancet Digital Health this month highlights how a decision-referral approach, in which radiologists work with artificial intelligence (AI) models to evaluate breast cancer screenings, achieves better results than clinicians or algorithms would have alone. AI for Medical Imaging Boosts Cancer Screenings with Provider Aid
• July 5, 2022. By Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch. Indian fitness platform, Ultrahuman, is expanding its wearable portfolio by launching a smart ring to boost its ability to provide tech loving ‘biohackers’ — and, it hopes, health-concerned Boomers — with more insightful metabolic insights. Ultrahuman busts out a smart ring to decode metabolic health

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