Under The Radar: News Articles Of The Week – 20th December 2022
General Geopolitics
· North African Country In US Crosshairs
· Tunisia IMF Deal Risks Further Poverty and Social Tensions
· Germany Greenlights Purchase Of US Fighter Jets
· Civilians Wounded As Fighting Erupts At Pakistan-Afghan Border
· Japan Unveils $320bn Military Build Up
· Public Hanging In Iran Seen As A Message
· India Test Fires Long-Range Missile Amid Tensions With China
· Iran Takes Hard Line Against Protests With Swift Second Execution
· Now Could Be Poland's Moment. But It Needs To Play By The Rules?
· Amid Geopolitical Struggles, Canada Has Critical Resources
· The Strange Case of Britain’s Demise
· Africa Has Lowest Travel Restrictions Since 2016 Due to Visa Improvements
· Police Officer Killed in Jordan as Fuel Price Protests Spread
· UN Body Votes to Remove Iran From Women's Commission Over Rights Violations
· Iranian Hard-line Figure Suggests Closing Strait of Hormuz Over Protests
· North Korea Tests High Thrust Solid Fuel Engine For Apparent ICBM Development
· NATO Agrees 2023 Budgets, Reflecting Higher Ambitions For New Security Reality
· NATO's Multinational Battlegroup in Bulgaria Reaches Full Capacity
· UK Military Publicly Admits Covert Operations In Ukraine For First Time
US Geopolitics
· Biden Gets Serious On Africa
· US Lawmakers Mull Restrictions On TikTok Over Security Concerns
· Biden Backs African Union Becoming Permanent G20 Member
· Building a US-Australia-Philippines Triad
Chinese Geopolitics
· China's Win-Win Arrangement With Saudi Arabia
· With Xi Visit, Saudi Arabia Seeks Economic Wins, and Some US Leverage
· Beijing Death Toll Mounts As COVID Sweeps Through
· China Deepening Its Military Foothold Along Indian Border at Pangong Tso
· The Year Shipping Made Do Without China
· What Happened to Chinese Leasing
· China Signals Support For Big Tech, Crackdown Ending?
· China Sees $10bn in LNG Tanker Orders in 2022
Russia-Ukraine Geopolitics
· Iran and Russia Accelerate De-Dollarization Push
· Russia Launches Widespread Missile Attack On Ukraine
· Zelensky Anticipates A Second Ground Assault On Kyiv
· Mail Bomb Wounds Russian Official In Central African Republic
· Russian Central Bank Leaves Rates At 7.5% As Inflation Risks Rise
· Ukrainian Offensive Must Be Continued
· 2022 Russia-Brazil Bilateral Trade Reaching Record Highs
· 12m Tons of Russian Goods to Transit Via Iran To India
· Kremlin Says Russia Will Draw Up Response To Latest EU Sanctions
· Russia Warns of "Unpredictable" Spiral If US Sends Patriot Missiles to Ukraine
· Russia Reaching Out to North Korea and Iran As It Burns Through 40-Year-Old Ammo Says Pentagon
· Major Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap
Financial Markets
· Sydney Based Researchers Announce Lithium-Ion Battery Rival
· Aluminium Follows Iron Ore In China-Fuelled Price Rally
· Italy Slams ECB Rate Hike In Face of Recession
· Mazars Halts Crypto Audit Work, Says Binance
· Musk Offloads Another $3.6bn Of TSLA
· UK Retail Sales Fell 0.4% In November
· Portugal's Central Bank Cuts 2023 Growth Forecast from 2.6% to 1.5%
· Austria Central Bank Predicts Mild Recession Then 0.6% Growth in 2023
· Valuation Math Suggests Difficult 2023
· Global Banks Support Biden's Move To "Defund The Dollar" - Dubbed Project Cedar
· The 2 Largest Foreign Holders Dumped US Treasuries In October, Record Annual Equity Outflows
· Costco To Hike Membership Fees As Soon As January
Energy
· Global Coal Consumption Heads to ATH
· Russia Takes Cautious Approach To Oil Price Cap
· Russia Eyes Increased Oil Production With Venezuela Projects
· EU Price Cap Could Force ICE To Relocate Its Gas Trading Hub
· California Approves Roadmap To Carbon Neutrality By 2045
· Windfall Tax Pushes Harbour Energy To Snub North Sea Licensing Round
· EU Clears Germany's Planned Takeover of Gas Giant Uniper
· Refilling UK Gas Stores in 2023 Will Be Tough Ask, Says Top Academic
· HSBC Cuts Off Financing For New Oil and Gas Projects
· Vietnam Seals $15.5bn Deal With Rich Nations To Exit Coal
· More Work For Aquadrill Drillship in US Gulf
· Shell and Eneco Emerge As Winners of Dutch Offshore Wind Tender
· Avoiding a Transatlantic Trade War Over Climate
Water
· Egypt Seeks US Help In Reviving Ethiopia Dam
· Mekong Dam In Laos Faces Economic and Regulatory Hurdles
· Central Asia's "Water Wars" Are Heating Up
Food
· EU Breaks Fertiliser Deadlock, Approves Ninth Russia Sanctions Package
· Somalia: Famine Averted But UN Warns of Catastrophic Situation
· How Should We Secure Global Trade in Agriculture
· Philadelphia Fed Admits US Jobs Overstated By At Least 1.1 Million
Jobs Market
· Employment Falls In Private Sector For First Time In 2 Years
· Initial Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Tumble To 3-Month Low
· Cuts - Axcella Therapeutics Cut 85% of The Workforce
Housing Market
· Realtor.com Report Weekly Active Inventory Up 55%, New Listings Down 16%
· IMF Warns 5%-20% Drop In Asian Property Prices Could Occur
Politics
· Le Pen's Far-Right Party Gaining Credibility
· More Than 13,000 New JFK Files Released; Hundreds Held Back
· Peru Judge Extends Ex-President Castillo's Jail Time By 18 Months
· Trump's NFT Collection Sells Out
Technology
· Twitter Pulls Its Spaces Group Audio Feature After Musk Run-In With Banned Journalists
· Scientist Has World's Worst Solution To Europe's Declining Population
· EU Commission Approve Germany's New Billion Euro EV Charging Scheme
· Advertisers Will Return To Twitter If Few Core Conditions Are Met
· Is Amazon Struggling To Hit 2-Day Delivery Commitments?
Other
· Smart Cities Present Risks But Opportunities For Inclusion
· UK Issues "Serious Shortage" Protocol For Penicillin
· Generative AI - What’s Left When The Hype Is Gone?
· Building Supply Chain Resilience
· Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough - What it Means For Space Travel - Fusion Propulsion Engines?
· Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Touted By White House, Drawing Praise and Some Skepticism
· Soyuz Capsule Leak at Space Station Prompts Russia to Postpone Another Spacewalk
· Malaysia Bans Camping For A Week After Landslide Kills 21 In Genting Highlands
· Ford Raises F-150 Lightning Prices Again, Now 40% More Expensive