From global think tanks – July 12, 2022

With The Science of Where Magazine

AROUND THE WORLD

Australia

• July 12, 2022. Robert Glasser, The Strategist. The most consequential gap in the climate policies of the Coalition government under Scott Morrison was not its weak commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or its reluctance to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables, but rather its neglect of the security threats posed by climate change. Australia must get review of climate-change security risks right

BRICS

• July 12, 2022. Shashi Tharoor, Project-Syndicate, The Strategist. The recent virtual BRICS summit, which brought together the heads of state and government of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, was interesting as much for what didn’t happen as for what did. The two-day gathering was marked by some constructive discussion but also platitudes and pablum, and concluded with a grandly titled but thoroughly anodyne ‘Beijing declaration’. Are the BRICS crumbling?

Europe

• July 12, 2022. Aura Sabadus, RUSI. While ending reliance on Russian gas may be difficult for Western allies, failing to do so may allow Russia to inflict more harm in the long term. Russia’s European Gas Endgame May Hurt Even More than a Total Curtailment
• July 11, 2022. Mateusz Kubiak, The Jamestown Foundation. On July 9, Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson announced that his country will return confiscated Nord Stream One turbines to Germany, providing Siemens with a temporary exemption from the existing sanctions regulations (La Presse, July 9). The equipment was seized by Canadian authorities, and the case has been used by Moscow to justify cutting natural gas supplies to Europe. According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov, the return of the turbines should allow Gazprom to boost gas flows via Nord Stream One (1prime.ru, July 8). However, this may only happen after July 21, as the pipeline is annually shut off from July 11 to July 21 for maintenance. Despite Return of Nord Stream One Turbines, Europe Still Fears Winter Gas Shortages

India

• July 12, 2022. By Niranjan Sahoo, ORF. The multiple crises besetting India’s justice delivery system are related to a large extent to what the Chief Justice calls “dilapidated” infrastructure. Indeed, it is empirically known that there is a positive correlation between adequacy of infrastructure—whether courtrooms, chambers, sanitation facilities, or digital connectivity—and productivity in the delivery of justice. This brief highlights the stark gaps in infrastructure in India’s district and subordinate courts, which struggle with pendency due to an acute shortage of basic infrastructure. It studies the shortcomings of the central scheme launched nearly 30 years ago to address precisely these gaps, and offers recommendations for overcoming the challenges. Improving India’s Justice Delivery System: Why Infrastructure Matters

Indonesia

• July 12,  2022. Andreas Harsono, HRW. One would hope that an educational institution that learned of sexual assaults on campus would focus on holding perpetrators accountable and preventing further incidents rather than targeting the messenger. Not so the State Islamic Institute in Ambon (Institut Agama Islam Negeri Ambon, IAIN Ambon) in Indonesia’s Maluku province, which instead of recognizing and valuing a student magazine’s groundbreaking and thorough investigation, ordered its shutdown. Indonesian Islamic College Bans Magazine Reporting Sexual Abuse

Iran

• July 12, 2022. HRW. Iranian authorities’ recent arrests of high-profile critics are part of a fresh crackdown on peaceful dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities arrested a reformist critic, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and two film directors, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, on July 9, 2022, followed on July 11, by another film director, Jafar Panahi. Iran: Arrest of High-Profile Critics

Israel – Saudi Arabia

• July 11, 2022. Bruce Riedel, Brookings. Saudi Arabia has taken a complex approach to the recognition of Israel by several Arab countries in the Abraham Accords. It has a long history of clandestine cooperation with Israel against mutual enemies. Recently, it has said public recognition of Israel will come only if there is movement to resolve the Palestinian conflict and create a two-state solution. But the kingdom has tolerated and even abetted the development of diplomatic and military ties between some of its closest allies and Israel. How to understand Israel and Saudi Arabia’s secretive relationship

Japan

• July 11, 2022. John Nilsson-Wright, Chatham House. While direct attacks on politicians are not unknown in postwar Japan, they are comparatively rare – it has been decades since politicians with a national standing as prominent as Abe have been the subject of such assassination attempts. Shinzo Abe: A confident actor leaves the world stage
• July 12, 2022. Aurelia George Mulgan, East Asia Forum. Tributes have been flowing for former Japanese prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was assassinated on 8 July. He is being remembered for his many policy achievements both domestic and foreign, for his global leadership and for the warm and memorable relations that he built with past and present world leaders — including Narendra Modi, Malcolm Turnbull, Donald Trump, Joe Biden Jr. and even Xi Jingping. Many key figures, including Vladimir Putin, whom Abe made a special effort to cultivate, have joined the chorus of those publicly mourning his passing. Shinzo Abe’s special legacy
• July 11, 2022. Christopher B. Johnstone, Nicholas Szechenyi, Yuko Nakano, CSIS. Japan, still in shock after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe on July 8, held an election for the House of Councillors (Upper House) on July 10. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito retained a majority in the chamber. The ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, will not face another national election for three years, opening a window of political stability for Kishida to advance a policy agenda emphasizing economic revitalization, increased defense spending, and robust diplomacy with the United States and other partners to address an array of regional and global challenges. Japan’s Upper House Election: Kishida Clears Another Hurdle

NATO – Turkey

• July 12, 2022. Galip Dalay, Chatham House. With NATO’s new Strategic Concept being designed to address a global security environment defined by the great power competition, it was key for Ankara to ensure that the issue of terrorism was not de-emphasized, and so the fact this remained a major part within it was a win for Turkey. Turkey gains much from NATO, but a rocky road lies ahead

Pacific Islands

• July 12, 2022. Jessica Collis, The Interpreter. “My fellow Micronesians,” a proud David Panuelo, President of the Federated States of Micronesia said last month, “A black cloud has disappeared from the Pacific.”. Pacific Islands Forum meeting: the black cloud returns

Russia – Ukraine

• July 11, 2022. Pavel K. Baev, The Jamestown Foundation. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has clearly lost momentum, but the intensity of its multi-prong confrontation with the West keeps rising. Russian military command announced an “operational pause” in Donbas after the hard battles for Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, implicitly admitting that a regrouping of battalions, which have not been rotated in four months of fighting, is necessary before the push to Slovyansk (Izvestiya, July 7). Russian Assault on World Order Falters and Fails
• July 11, 2022. Karolina Hird, Kateryna Stepanenko, Grace Mappes, and Frederick W. Kagan, ISW. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is likely continuing to grant Russian forces access to Belarusian airspace to demonstrate at least nominal support to Russian President Vladimir Putin without risking direct military involvement of Belarusian Armed Forces in operations in Ukraine.Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the Ukrainian General Staff Oleksiy Gromov previously reported on July 7 that the Belarusian government transferred use of the Pribytki airfield in Gomel Oblast to Russia. Independent Belarusian monitoring organization The Hajun Project similarly reported on July 11 that a Russian Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft flew into Belarusian airspace for the first time since April 4. The Hajun Project noted that the Belarusian government introduced new airspace restrictions along the border with Ukraine where the AWACS aircraft patrolled between July 10 and 11. Taken together, these data points likely indicate that Lukashenko is attempting to provide support to Putin’s war in Ukraine short of direct Belarusian military intervention in an effort to respond to the pressure Putin is likely putting on him. As ISW has previously assessed, the likelihood of direct Belarusian involvement in the war in Ukraine remains low due to the effect that might have on the stability and even survival of Lukashenko’s regime. Russian Offensive Campaign Update, July 11
• July 11, 2022. Atlantic Council. It’s the war that was both eminently predictable and roundly unpredicted. If ever there has been a conflict that underscored the urgent need in the policy world for strategic foresight, it’s the one currently raging in Ukraine. For months, our foresight experts have been projecting how the war could break out and, once it did, how it could unfold next. In this latest installment, Barry Pavel, Peter Engelke, and Jeffrey Cimmino revisit their March forecasts for four different scenarios. Four (updated) ways the war in Ukraine might end

South Korea – Indo Pacific

• July 11, 2022. Seungjoo Lee, East Asia Forum. Strategic competition between the United States and China has dramatically revealed the vulnerabilities of the ideological and institutional foundations of globalisation. The Biden administration is actively promoting the ‘reshoring’ of production to contain China and alleviate supply chain vulnerabilities. It is also fostering high-tech cooperation with allies and partners — a policy from which South Korea has emerged as a key player. South Korea ventures into its Indo-Pacific strategy

Sri Lanka – India

• July 12, 2022. N. Sathiya Moorthy, ORF. Less than 24 hours after the successful ‘struggle’, or ‘Aragalaya’ in Sinhala that had caused greater political uncertainty than earlier, Indian High Commissioner Gopal Bagalay was sitting with Sri Lankan Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, formally handing over a 40,000-tonne consignment of chemical fertilisers that India was supplying as a part of the line-of-credit to help tide over the island-nation’s unprecedented food crisis, which was only a part of the continuing economic calamity. According to reports, the minister was waiting for the formal diplomatic meeting before putting in his papers. What do Sri Lanka’s protests mean for India?

USA

• July 12, 2022. Natalie Alms, Nextgov. The White House filled in some of the blanks on the President’s Management Agenda last Friday with an update on flexing federal procurement muscles to advance administration priorities like addressing climate change.  White House Updates Acquisition, Business of Government Priorities
• July 11, 2022. Daniel K. Tarullo, Brookings. July 22, 2022 will mark the 90^th anniversary of President Hoover’s signing the legislation that created the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system. How to limit the risks to financial stability posed by the Federal Home Loan Bank System
• July 11, 2022. Ellory Monks and Shalini Vajjhala, Brookings. Over $850 billion in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is currently making its way to state and local governments. This investment has the potential to make communities safer, more equitable, and more resilient. And to achieve those outcomes, communities of all sizes—including thousands of small and medium-sized rural and lower-income municipalities—must successfully apply for, win, and manage large federal and state grants and loans. Transformative infrastructure funding is here. The application process for getting it still needs work
• July 11, 2022. Lisa A. Gennetian and Marta Tienda, Brookings.  The recently released 2022 Census statistics reveal two converging facts about the U.S. population: It is aging, and, simultaneously, becoming increasing racially and ethnically diverse. Indeed, according to a Census news release: “Hispanic (of any race) is the largest gaining and second-fastest-growing race or Hispanic origin category, increasing by 767,907 or 1.24% from 2020 to 2021.” These newly released statistics line up with projections beyond 2030 that consistently point to the continual growth of a racially and ethnically pluralistic U.S. population, comprised of Latinx and other non-Hispanic white groups. Based on sheer population size and growth, Hispanic children and youth will shape the U.S. economic and political landscapes for years to come. Investing in Latino children and youth—the future strength of the US

USA – Middle East

• July 12, 2022. Tobias Borck, RUSI. The global energy crisis and tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme loom large as the US president travels to meet Middle Eastern leaders. Biden Goes to the Middle East

TOPICS

Cities

• July 11, 2022. William H. Frey, Brookings. Much has been written about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on big-city populations. Brookings Metro’s recent analysis of large metropolitan area declines makes plain that during the prime year of the pandemic (from July 2020 to July 2021) there were outsized population losses in the nation’s biggest metropolitan areas. But more recent Census Bureau estimates focusing on cities (rather than metropolitan areas) show the pandemic’s impact to be even more dramatic, with unprecedented losses across the 88 U.S. cities with populations exceeding 250,000 residents. Big cities saw historic population losses while suburban growth declined during the pandemic

Cybersecurity

• July 12, 2022. Alex Meehan, Info Security. Lithuanian energy company Ignitis Group was hit by what it described as its “biggest cyber-attack in a decade” on Saturday when numerous distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks were aimed at it, disrupting its digital services and websites.  Lithuanian Energy Firm Disrupted by DDOS Attack
• July 12, 2022. Alex Meehan, Info Security. For online shoppers, Amazon Prime Day has become an annual retail event, an opportunity to pick up bargains and save money. However for hackers, it’s also an opportunity to target consumers eager to secure a deal. Spike in Amazon Prime Scams Expected
• July 12, 2022. Alex Meehan, Info Security. A new poll released by Ipsos has found that 84% of adults in the UK are concerned about harmful content online, while 68% want more action taken by social media platforms on hot button issues like racism, homophobia, self-harm and misogyny on their platforms. Majority Want Limitations on Social Media Content
• July 12, 2022. Andersen Cheng, Info Security. The journey to a more secure post-quantum future is gathering pace. In 2022, we have already seen the White House announcing two directives aimed at accelerating the quantum-proofing of IT infrastructure in federal agencies. Even more recently, the G7 committed to greater cooperation on the deployment of quantum-resistant cryptography to ensure secure interoperability between nations.  The Needle is Shifting on Post-Quantum Security – Here’s What You Need to Know
• July 11, 2022. Alessandro Mascellino, Info Security. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last Friday that a Florida resident named Ron Aksoy has been arrested and charged for allegedly selling thousands of fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco products over the course of 12 years. CEO of Dozens of Companies Charged in Scheme to Traffic An Estimated $1bn in Fake Cisco Devices
• July 11, 2022. Alessandro Mascellino, Info Security. Cybersecurity researchers from Resecurity said they have detected a substantial increase in the value of ransom demand requests by the BlackCat ransomware group. BlackCat Ransomware Increases Demands Up to $2.5m
• July 11, 2022. Alessandro Mascellino, Info Security. Python Package Index (PyPI), the official third-party open-source repository for Python projects, said it will enforce a mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA) policy for projects categorized as “critical,” from both ‘Maintainers’ and ‘Owners’. PyPI Repository Enforces 2FA for Critical Python Projects
• July 11, 2022. Mariam Baksh, Nextgov. The Federal Communications Commission should put national security concerns ahead of those internet service providers have expressed regarding measures to address vulnerabilities in the internet’s routing protocol, according to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.  CISA Urges FCC to Prioritize National Security in Internet Routing Probe

Defense, Military, Space

• July 12, 2022. Naval News. San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) departed from Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division on 11 July, en route to its commissioning site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. U.S. Navy’s latest San Antonio-class LPD leaves HII for commissioning
• July 12, 2022. Naval News. Austal USA celebrated the start of construction on the company’s first steel ship on July 11, 2022 – a U.S. Navy Navajo Class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship (T-ATS 11). Austal starts construction on the first steel ship
• July 12, 2022. Andrew Jones, Space News. China has set its sights on near-Earth object 202 PN1 as the target for a combined asteroid deflection and observation test mission due to launch in 2026. China to target near-Earth object 2020 PN1 for asteroid deflection mission
• July 12, 2022. Sandra Erwin, Space News. BAE Systems has delivered an undisclosed number of jam-resistant Global Positioning System receivers to Germany’s military forces, the company announced July 12. BAE Systems delivers jam-resistant GPS receivers to Germany
• July 12, 2022. Sandra Erwin, Space News. Space cybersecurity firm SpiderOak on July 12 announced the appointment of former DoD and military officials to its advisory board.  Space cybersecurity firm SpiderOak adds retired general Pawlikowski to its advisory board
• July 12, 2022. David Pugliese, Defense News. The Royal Canadian Navy will have to continue relying on allies and a private firm to refuel its ships at sea after a project to build a new fleet of supply vessels was hit with more delays. Canada’s new fleet of supply ships get hit by another delay
• July 12, 2022.  Megan Eckstein, Defense News. The U.S. Navy has long sought more flexibility in how its deployable ships are used, but it’s been hard to break out of the mold: the high-demand destroyers, for example, go through maintenance and training, most likely deploy as part of a carrier strike group, have a few months of free time upon their return, and then start the process all over again. Navy’s Atlantic fleet mulling new, high-readiness force
• July 12, 2022. Peter Layton, The Interpreter. China continues to double down on its dangerous intercept of an Australian maritime surveillance aircraft flying in international air space in the South China Sea. China’s Ministry of National Defence spokesman Senior Colonel Tan Kefei recently declared “it is completely unreasonable to send military planes to the door of others [and] those who come uninvited shall bear the consequences”.  Notably, this threat was not about flying through “the door” but near to it. China claims a huge sweep of the South China Sea under its so-called nine-dash line, and while found legally unsound by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, China remains fixated on trying to make its claim real. Answering China’s South China Sea flying safety challenge
• July 12, 2022. Jeff Foust, Space News. ABL Space Systems successfully test-fired the rocket it plans to launch on the company’s first flight in the next several weeks. ABL static fires rocket for first orbital launch attempt

• July 12, 2022. Jeff Foust, Space News. A test of the booster for SpaceX’s first orbital Starship vehicle July 11 ended with flames erupting unexpectedly from the base of the vehicle, triggering a fire at the pad. Starship booster test ends in fiery anomaly
• July 12, 2022.  Debra Werner, Space News. BlackSky Technology unveiled satellite tasking July 12 through Esri’s ArcGIS Online geographic mapping platform at the Esri User Conference in San Diego. BlackSky and Esri unveil tasking through ArcGIS Online
• July 12, 2022. Debra Werner, Space News. For years, consumers of Earth-observation data lamented the time required to task satellites to collect imagery of a specific site. Earth imagery companies reimagine satellite tasking
• July 12, 2022.  Megan Eckstein, Defense News. After two catastrophic collisions in 2017, the U.S. Navy moved forward with dozens of recommendations meant to ensure it couldn’t happen again. But during this process, something became clear: Despite spending billions of dollars on readiness initiatives, the Navy’s mishap rate hadn’t improved in the last 30 years. Council tests out-of-the-box ideas to boost at-sea safety
• July 11, 2022. Sandra Erwin, Space News. Former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Hyten said he worries the DoD bureaucracy and congressional overseers are making it difficult for the U.S. Space Force to acquire new technologies at the pace that is needed to keep up with adversaries.  Hyten: Space Force ‘hasn’t cracked the code’ on faster acquisitions

• July 11, 2022. Jason Rainbow, Space News. Japanese startup GITAI plans to demonstrate robotic arm capabilities externally on the International Space Station for the first time next year. Japanese startup to demo robotic arm onboard ISS in 2023
• July 11, 2022. Sandra Erwin, Space News. Some companies in the space industry may not survive the coming headwinds in the U.S. and global economies, United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said July 11. Space industry warned to prepare for impact from lurking recession
• July 11, 2022. Jeff Foust, Space News. A deep field of distant galaxies, some dating back to the first billion years after the Big Bang, is the first full-color image to come from the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA releases first color image from James Webb Space Telescope
• July 11, 2022. Jaspreet Gill, Breaking Defense. A senior Army official today floated the idea of a new, high-level Joint All Domain Command and Control-focused office, along with a large scale exercise, to help coordinate and focus the Pentagon’s efforts in its infamously nebulous and currently disparate JADC2 push. Army acquisition exec pushes for joint JADC2 office, large-scale exercise
• July 11, 2022. Robbin Laird, Breaking Defense. For years, there has been little room for argument that Finland is laser focused on how to defend its territory. The Finns have a long history of living with the Russians including a century of being part of the Russian Empire itself (1809-1917). Knowing the Russians as well as they do, they are organized to prepare when necessary to defend their nation against their big neighbor when a crisis erupts. Finland, in NATO and with the F-35, forms a powerful challenge to Russia
• July 11, 2022. Colin Demarest, Defense News. The Pentagon’s implementation plan for its military communications and data-sharing overhaul is a “living document” that will be amended as advances are made and the spectrum of threats worldwide changes, according to an acquisitions official. Pentagon’s secret JADC2 plan ‘evolving,’ official says, as lawmakers seek audit
• July 11, 2022. Burak Ege Bekdil, Defense News. The Turkish government has officially launched a competition for the local development of a turbofan engine that will power the country’s national fighter jet in the making, the TF-X. Turkey officially launches competition for TF-X fighter engine
• July 11, 2022.  Megan Eckstein, Defense News. The sprawling Rim of the Pacific 2022 exercise is not designed to counter or threaten China, according to the head of the U.S. Pacific Fleet — but it does focus on the skills and technologies that would be “most salient for potential conflict in the years ahead.”. Navy officials say Pacific exercise is not aimed at China, but it zeroes in on defending Taiwan
• July 11, 2022.  Zamone Perez, Defense News. French company Safran Electronics and Defense said it has agreed to buy positioning, navigation and timing specialist Orolia. Safran unit agrees to acquire Orolia to expand in PNT market
• July 11, 2022. Vivienne Machi, Defense News. The French Ministry of Defense approved the final phase of a new big-data and artificial-intelligence (AI) processing capability in development by Athea, a joint venture between Thales and Atos, to be delivered next year. France approves final phase of Artemis big-data processing platform
• July 11, 2022. Tara Copp, Defense One. Mere months ago, Ukraine’s space program struggled to compete for funding and wasn’t seen as integral to national defense–but that’s completely changed now, the former head of its space agency said at the Space Innovation Summit on Monday.  Five Space Lessons Russia’s Invasion Taught Ukraine
• July 11, 2022. Patrick Tucker, Defense One. Open source software has a mixed reputation for security, yet it drives commercial space enterprises such as SpaceX and Starlink—and increasingly, U.S. military space efforts. But Lauren Barrett Knausenberger, the Air Force’s chief information officer, says her service has taken steps to keep key data safe.  Space Runs on Open Source Software. The US Air Force Is Fine With That
• July 11, 2022. Jacqueline Feldscher, Defense One. U.S. military aid for Ukraine could dry up if Republicans retake control of the House or Senate in the November midterm elections, conservative analysts predict.  Will Republicans Cut Off Ukraine?
• July 11, 2022. Vladimir Socor, The Jamestown Foundation. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had blocked Ukraine’s membership track long before Russia’s 2022 re-invasion of Ukraine. The summit in Madrid (June 28–30) changed nothing in this respect. While the proverbial door remained open to Ukraine in theory, the path to it was blocked in practice by certain Western members, shaping the Alliance’s collective position on this issue at the lowest common denominator. Since US President Joe Biden’s administration joined the naysayers in 2021, NATO has stopped referencing Ukraine’s membership as an explicit goal in the Alliance’s official documents. It merely references, in the abstract, Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose its own security arrangements. Summit Shows NATO’s Limited Relevance to Ukraine (Part Two)

Digital & Tech

• July 12, 2022. Manish Singh, TechCrunch. Lightspeed has raised $500 million for its newest India and Southeast Asia fund, its largest for the regions, as it looks to make deeper investments in the South Asian market that is increasingly attracting global investors. Lightspeed raises $500 million for its new India and Southeast Asia fund
• July 12, 2022. Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch. Spotify is expanding the ability to post video podcasts for creators in six new countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. This marks the first time the audio streaming company is making this feature available in non-English speaking countries. Spotify is expanding video podcast publishing to creators in six more countries
• July 12, 2022. Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch. In a letter to SEC, Twitter’s lawyers from the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz said Elon Musk’s termination of the acquisition deal was “invalid and wrongful.”. Twitter lawyers say Musk’s termination of the deal is “invalid and wrongful”
• July 12, 2022. Paul Sawers, TechCrunch. Global venture capital firm Cathay Innovation has announced its third fund, targeting €1 billion ($1.05 billion) at a broad gamut of companies and technologies around the world. Cathay Innovation launches third multi-stage startup fund at $1B
• July 12, 2022. Kirsten Korosec, TechCrunch. Walmart said Tuesday it signed an agreement to buy 4,500 all-electric delivery vehicles from Canoo, the electric vehicle startup-turned-SPAC that last quarter warned it may not have enough money to stay in business. Walmart agrees to order 4,500 Canoo EVs for last-mile delivery
• July 12, 2022. Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch. TikTok has agreed to pause a controversial privacy policy update in Europe, which had been due to happen tomorrow, and would have meant the platform stopped asking users for their consent to be tracked to receive targeted advertising, TechCrunch has learned. TikTok ‘pauses’ privacy policy switch in Europe after regulatory scrutiny
• July 12, 2022. Kyle Wiggers, TechCrunch. After more than a year of planning and training, a volunteer-led project has produced an open source language model that they claim is as powerful as OpenAI’s GPT-3, but free and open for anyone to use (if they have the computing power). Dubbed Bloom, the model is available in open source along with the code and datasets used to create it. Brooklyn-based AI startup Hugging Face has released a free web app that lets anyone try Bloom without having to download it. A year in the making, BigScience’s AI language model is finally available
• July 12, 2022. Sayuri Shirai, East Asia Forum. Like many other central banks, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has conducted Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) experiments since 2021 to test the technical feasibility of the core functions and features of a retail CBDC ecosystem. The second phase of testing began in April 2022. Central Bank Digital Currency cast aside as cash reigns king in Japan
• July 12, 2022. Kyle Wiggers, TechCrunch. Edge computing is seeing an explosion of interest as enterprises process more data at the edge of their networks. According to a 2021 survey (albeit from an edge computing services vendor), 77% of companies said that they expect to see more spending for edge projects in 2022. But while some organizations stand to benefit from edge computing, which refers to the practice of storing and analyzing data near the end-user, not all have a handle of what it requires. Managing a fleet of edge devices across locations can be a burden on IT teams that lack the necessary infrastructure. Scale Computing secures $55M to help companies manage edge infrastructure
• July 12, 2022.  TechCrunch. Wheelocity, an early-stage supply chain startup that handles fresh food supplies for quick commerce platforms in India, has raised $12 million in a new financing round as it gears up to broaden its product offerings and expand workforce. Wheelocity raises $12 million for its supply chain network for fresh commerce in India
• July 12, 2022. Paul Sawers, TechCrunch. European insurance tech startup Wefox has raised $400 million in a series D round of funding, giving the German company a post-money valuation of $4.5 billion. This represents a 50% increase on last year’s $3 billion valuation at its series C round. Wefox grabs $400M at $4.5B valuation to buck the insurtech downturn trend
• July 12, 2022. Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch. Research examining default settings and terms & conditions offered to minors by social media giants TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram across 14 different countries — including the US, Brazil, Indonesia and the UK — has found the three platforms do not offer same level of privacy and safety protections for children across all the markets where they operate. Children’s rights groups call out TikTok’s ‘design discrimination’
• July 12, 2022. HRW. The overwhelming majority of education technology (EdTech) products endorsed by 49 governments of the world’s most populous countries and analyzed by Human Rights Watch appear to have surveilled or had the capacity to surveil children in ways that risked or infringed on their rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch released technical evidence and easy-to-view privacy profiles for 163 EdTech products recommended for children’s learning during the pandemic. Online Learning Products Enabled Surveillance of Children
• July 11, 2022. Alexandra Kelley, Nextgov. Adding new oversight and consumer protections are critical pillars of the Treasury Department’s new cryptocurrency framework, as digital money continues to rise in popularity. Treasury’s Cryptocurrency Framework Emphasizes Consumer Protection, International Collaboration

Energy

• July 12, 2022. World Nuclear News. NuScale Power and Paragon Energy Solutions have signed a patent licence agreement that will enable potential widespread use of the highly integrated protection system (HIPS) platform. The HIPS platform is a protection system architecture jointly developed by NuScale and Rock Creek Innovations, a company acquired by Paragon in December 2021. NuScale to make SMR safety platform widely available : Corporate
• July 12, 2022. World Nuclear News. Tularosa Basin Range Services (TBRS) has been awarded a contract worth up to about USD3 billion by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) to manage and operate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) transuranic waste disposal site in New Mexico. The contract replaces that held by Nuclear Waste Partnership, which expires at the end of September. Bechtel affiliate awarded WIPP management contract : Waste & Recycling
• July 12, 2022. World Nuclear News. Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a contract with Energoatom to provide AP1000 plant technical information to help with the Ukrainian firm’s feasibility study for the two new reactors planned for the Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant. Westinghouse and Energoatom push ahead on AP1000 plant licence process : Corporate

Global

• July 12, 2022. Amin Saikal, The Strategist. World politics has reached an ominous phase of polarisation. The struggle between the US-led democracies and the Russo-Chinese-led autocracies primarily underpins this development. Yet there’s also another dangerous dimension to it: the emergence of close relations between the autocratic powers and such extremist theocratic forces as the Taliban in Afghanistan. The West is facing a new alliance of autocracies and theocracies
• July 12, 2022. Valdai Discussion Club. On July 11, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion dedicated to the meeting of the G20 foreign ministers.  Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club, acted as moderator. He said, that this year, due to geopolitical problems, the work of the G20 had become too politicised, but this did not cancel the usual agenda of the forum, which this time focused on the formation of a global healthcare architecture, as well as the digital and green transformation. G20: Important World Issues and Attempts by the West to Impose Its Narrative
• July 11, 2022. Brookings. Douglas Rediker, founding partner of International Capital Strategies and a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, discusses a range of global economic challenges that G7 leaders tackled in their recent summit in Germany. These include a U.S. proposal to cap the price of Russian energy exports (and why Rediker is skeptical about it); Russia’s default on sovereign debt and the risk of debt default in developing countries; the role of Chinese lending in developing economies; and the enormous cost of rebuilding Ukraine and who might bear it. Post-G7 summit, a time of great uncertainty in the global economy

Health & Digital

• July 11, 2022. Shania Kennedy, Health IT Analytics. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has awarded nearly $8 million to expand the INSIGHT Clinical Research Network, a Weill Cornell-led database containing EHR and clinical trial data from 15 million patients at five of New York City’s most prominent academic medical centers. NY Health Consortium Receives $8M to Expand Patient Data Network
• July 11, 2022. Lauren C. Williams, Defense One. The Army wants to dramatically change the way it provides health care to soldiers by accelerating research in a variety of emerging technologies, from using quantum computing that can better detect and treat chronic illnesses to developing synthetic blood, according to newly released plans.  Army’s New Plan to ‘Transform’ Soldier Health Care with Technology
• July 11, 2022. Samantha Lai, Brookings. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency orders and pandemic-era flexibilities for telehealth are quickly expiring, thus ending the many conveniences of telehealth that people benefited from. Moreover, the digital divide reared its ugly head, and there are thousands of citizens—especially those on the wrong side of health equity—who do not have either broadband or an internet-enabled device to partake in this digital health care economy. TechTank Podcast Episode 48: How do we center equity in the future of telehealth?