Food security solutions

Farmers are adopting precision agriculture , using data collected by GPS, satellite imagery, internet-connected sensors, and other technologies to farm more efficiently. While these practices could help increase crop yields and reduce costs, the technology behind the practices is creating opportunities for extremists, terrorists, and adversarial governments to attack farming machinery, with the aim of disrupting food production. advertisement Food producers around the world have been under increasing pressure, a problem exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and rising fuel and fertilizer costs. Farmers are trying to produce more food but with fewer resources, pushing the food production system toward its breaking point . In this environment, it’s understandable that many U.S. farmers are turning to modern information technologies to support decision-making and operations in managing crop production. These precision agriculture practices lead to more efficient use … [Read more...] about Why the rise of precision agriculture exposes our food systems to new threats

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): NCT Group of Companies (NCT), and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) — through its enterprise and public sector business solution arm, TM One — have signed a collaboration agreement for the integration of end-to-end digital solutions for NCT’s landmark Selangor Smart Industrial Park (SSIP). In a joint statement on Tuesday (Aug 9), both parties said the collaboration is aligned with NCT’s aspirations to establish dynamic and future-ready property developments, while redefining Malaysia’s industrial park concept, with SSIP on track to become the first Managed Industrial Park (MIP)-certified park in Malaysia. “The SSIP will offer a differentiated experience with the latest in smart innovations and by effectively implementing end-to-end digitisation across all [of] its facilities that will enable more efficient, modern and sustainable operations. “In addition to the digitalisation of business and residential facilities, the SSIP will also include … [Read more...] about NCT, TM collaborate to future-proof SSIP via integrated digital solutions

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline President Joe Biden will announce an end to all U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen on Thursday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, backing away from a practice favored by former President Donald Trump but opposed by some members of both parties on humanitarian grounds. Key Facts Biden will announce this policy shift in a speech at the State Department, Sullivan said at a Thursday morning White House press briefing, adding Biden wants the United States to play a more active role in diplomatic efforts to end the Yemeni Civil War. This decision will hold up a sale of Raytheon precision-guided bombs to the Saudi military negotiated by Trump last year, Sullivan said, adding Saudi officials “understand our reasoning and rationale for it” (Biden temporarily froze the sale last week). Sullivan said the shift only applies to the six-year-old civil war between the … [Read more...] about Biden Will Cut Off U.S. Involvement In Yemen’s Civil War, White House Says

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Already under fire for security lapses and facing scrutiny over its links to China, Zoom made the startling decision earlier this month to ban three users organizing memorials to mark the Tiananmen Square massacre at the request of Beijing. It’s now reversed the decision, according to a company post released late Thursday. But it’s still going to help China block accounts of users in the country. Though the tech giant neglected to use the words “Tiananmen Square” in its post, it acknowledged that the Chinese government had been in touch earlier this year to warn about four Zoom-hosted commemorations of the famous pro-democracy protests in 1989. China wanted the groups and the administrators banned. Astonishingly, Zoom chose to monitor the metadata for the calls from the U.S. so it could tell if anyone from mainland China was participating. And when it discovered that people from mainland China were joining three of the … [Read more...] about Zoom Promises To Do Better After Banning Tiananmen Square Protests—Then Builds Tech To Help China’s Censorship

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Both oil and gas exported from Russia bring in significant revenue that can be used to support the Russian war in Ukraine. But the export revenue from oil sales is much greate r than export revenue from gas sales. If the West stops buying oil this really hurts Russia – more than if the West stopped buying gas. Back in May, the EU agreed to ban all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, at least those that are delivered by sea. That was a good move. Russia threatens to cut gas supplies to the European Union. Russia has realized that cutting natural gas doesn’t affect their export revenue (like oil does) but it affects the economies of EU countries a lot more. Russia supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year , with Germany, Italy, and Netherlands the top three importers in actual volumes of gas. Germany had imported more than 50% of its gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. By the end of June, … [Read more...] about Russia Threatens, EU Reduces, US Industry Helps To Untangle The Natural Gas War In Europe.

Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (The Edge filepix) - A + A KUANTAN (Aug 9): The economic development in the west side of Pahang, including the districts of Lipis, Raub, Jerantut dan Bera, which forms Pahang Barat Plus, is among the focus of the Joint Committee for Industrial Coordination (JBI) between the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Pahang government. Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said efforts to develop the economy and lure investors to the districts involved were being done through the creation of the Pahang Barat Plus Economic Region, which will focus on five clusters including tourism, agriculture, timber and services, that will directly contribute towards the creation of more job opportunities. “The creation of new economic region clusters in the west side of Pahang is also in line with the national investment policy, as we … [Read more...] about Economic development in Pahang Barat Plus among focus of MITI-Pahang JBI

Small business owners spent much of the last two years trying to move forward as the ground shifted beneath their feet. From extended closures and supply chain issues to labor shortages and changing health regulations, the far-reaching effects of COVID-19 brought one unprecedented challenge after another. advertisement Early in the pandemic, the global B2B marketing team at American Express recognized this turbulent new landscape and responded by creating an education platform called Business Class. The platform quickly grew into a widely used source of information and support. It’s a big reason why American Express earned a spot on Fast Company ‘s 2022 list of Best Workplaces for Innovators. A NEW LEARNING PLATFORM “When the financial crisis happened, our small businesses needed customers, so we created Small Business Saturday to encourage people to visit local stores,” says Clayton Ruebensaal, executive vice president of Global B2B Marketing at American … [Read more...] about A big assist for small businesses

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Panama Canal is a conduit for 6% of the global maritime traffic. But climate change is disrupting that trade. While high temperatures and little rain are the primary causes, four hurricanes over seven years have been equally devastating. The Panama Canal is in the midst of Panama’s rainforests, which cover 68% of its land or nearly 12.7 million acres. Both depend on precipitation for survival. If the rainforests do not get ample rainfall, it trickles down to the canal. The bad news is that the canal’s authorities say that 2019 was the fifth most arid in 70 years, with rainfall 20% less than the average, all compounded by depleted reservoirs. Indeed, water levels fell in 2015 and 2016 , and shippers had to reduce the amount of cargo on their vessels — money down the drain. “The Panama Canal is the only interoceanic commerce route whose operation depends on the availability of freshwater, making it the most … [Read more...] about Climate Change Threatens Panama Canal And Global Maritime Trade

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The growth trajectory of the largest national entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — has many concerned, understandably so. But state and local unfunded pension liabilities must also be counted among the major challenges to U.S. fiscal health. According to Pew research, unfunded state pension liabilities reached a combined $1.25 trillion in 2019. Other projections that assume more modest investment returns find total unfunded state pension liabilities today in excess of $8 trillion . The trillions of dollars in growing unfunded public pension liabilities, for which taxpayers are ultimately on the hook, is a problem that could soon be exacerbated by a new federal tax in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that will diminish state and local pension plan returns. “We should not increase taxes, and we did not increase taxes,” Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) said about the IRA on NBC’s Meet the … [Read more...] about Stock Buyback Tax Will Harm State & Local Pensions

Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author and editor of 24 books, including, " The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment ." Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer . The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) President Joe Biden delivered a bold speech on Thursday night , calling for a ban on assault weapons and other gun policies, including strengthening background checks and enacting new "red flag" laws. "Enough, enough," he told the nation, urging Congress to take action after a slew of mass shootings rocked the country. "We can't fail the American people again." The speech comes at a difficult moment for Biden. The administration is facing multiple escalating crises, which are slowly undermining his leadership and political strength. There's the Russian war in Ukraine, inflation and stock market turbulence, mass … [Read more...] about Opinion: How Biden can avoid Carter’s one-term presidential fate