Politics

• [New] The All Progressives Congress (APC) stands the opportunity to mainstream well over 10,000 youths in politics and government by fixing the age of councillorship candidates to 30 years and below and the age of chairmanship candidates of local governments to 40 years and below. / The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News
• [New] South Australia's Defence and Space Landing Pad program has received a boost, with the state government saying it will deliver AU$860,000 over three years for the program that is used to support international defence and space companies that bring new, sought-after capability to South Australia. / ZDNet
• [New] In taking a forward-looking approach into what the future of South Australia will look like, the South Australian government has announced it will bolster investment in tech-focused sectors such as defence, space, and cybersecurity as it hands down the 2021-22 Budget. / ZDNet
• [New] The Labour-led Welsh government is to freeze new road-building projects as part of its plans to tackle the climate emergency, and an external panel will review all proposed schemes. / The Guardian
• [New] The Bomb-Making Materials Awareness Program is a national program to help businesses and their employees more easily identify homemade explosives precursor chemicals, identify IED components, and recognize suspicious purchasing behavior that could indicate potential bomb-making activities. / Cybersecurity&Infrastructure Security Agency
• [New] Beijing will encourage more Chinese businesses to invest and start new businesses in the African nation, and is ready to further cooperate in areas such as health, agriculture and public livelihoods. / China Daily
• [New] The offshore wind industry is facing a pivotal moment as governments around the world, excluding China, target installed capacity of 170 GW by 2030, up from just 24 GW today. / Reuters
• [New] A Silver Tsunami looms in the United States: the current population of older adults aged 65 years and older is 48 million, and that population is expected to nearly double to 88 million by mid-century. / Center for Science, Technology & Society
• [New] Battery electric vehicles could account for all new sales of units in the 27-nation European Union by 2035 - if policymakers introduce tighter CO2 targets and strong support for infrastructure to charge cars. / Asia Times
• [New] 80% of new build homes in Scotland currently are timber frame, and the Welsh Government has committed to all affordable housing being built with timber frame by 2022. / UK Construction Online
• [New] Last week, the Biden administration said it's going to treat ransomware attacks as a national security threat, using intelligence agencies to spy on foreign criminals and contemplating offensive cyber operations against hackers inside Russia. / Micro Focus Community
• [New] Some Chinese nationals shared dual concerns for both their safety in China and the possibility that geopolitical tensions could see them barred from re-entering the U.S. / ChinaFile
• [New] Taiwan has reportedly donated aid directly to the Malaita provincial government, initially without the knowledge of the national government, resulting in threats of a criminal investigation. / The Interpreter
• [New] Fraud has reached epidemic levels in the UK over the past 12 months, costing up to £190 billion a year and constituting what the Royal United Services Institute has called a national security threat in need of an urgent institutional response. / The Conversation
• [New] Several governments in Europe are coalescing around 2030 for the abolishment of new gas car sales, and several American states have announced a 2035 end date (though we are hoping that date gets pushed forward to meet or beat the European consensus). / Electrek
• [New] The government of New South Wales in Australia will remove stamp duty on electric vehicles to boost their popularity. / TESMANIAN
• [New] More nations in Latin America are indicating interest and will potentially follow suit. / The Fintech Times
• [New] The UK Government is now under increasing pressure to devise a robust regime for protecting human health that will meet the current standards, and ensure improved air quality for the future. / Insights
• [New] Taiwan's government has said it will adjust the operations of its office in Hong Kong after authorities there demanded that Taiwanese officials sign a document supporting Beijing's claim to Taiwan under its one-China policy. / Al Jazeera
• [New] For China, the negative effects of the US withdrawal far outweigh the potential advantages it could bring to the Westphalian notion and general increase of Chinese power in West Asia. / Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies
• [New] SEOUL-Covid-19 vaccine rollouts have accelerated in many Asia-Pacific countries in recent weeks, overtaking the pace of doses being administered in the U.S. and other Western nations and increasing the chances of a sooner-than-expected easing of some pandemic restrictions. / WSJ
• [New] Firm targets WHO's global targets are to vaccinate at least 10% of the population of every country by September, at least 40% by the end of 2021, and 70% by the middle of 2022. / Saudigazette

Last updated: 23 June 2021