<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Strategic Desk : Marius Torres ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Marius Torres is a contributor to The Strategic Desk, specialising in international economics and global economic affairs. Read Marius’s latest work below.]]></description><link>https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/s/marius-torres</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JTCC!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F050533af-7eb6-4b8e-8638-028a1da66b1e_1254x1254.png</url><title>The Strategic Desk : Marius Torres </title><link>https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/s/marius-torres</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2026 06:04:52 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Glodi  Ntoya]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[glodintoya@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[glodintoya@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Glodi  Ntoya]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Glodi  Ntoya]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[glodintoya@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[glodintoya@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Glodi  Ntoya]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Reading Competency and Future Quality of Work]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;The hidden link between education, technology and the adaptability of tomorrow&#8217;s workforce.&#8221;]]></description><link>https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/p/reading-competency-and-future-quality</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/p/reading-competency-and-future-quality</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Glodi  Ntoya]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2026 07:03:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:2161867,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/i/218071164?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AwyG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2b442b4c-afd4-4386-8279-a1b96ec487ce_1536x1024.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image buttonBase-GK1x3M"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="icon-noB79L"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image buttonBase-GK1x3M"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2 icon-noB79L"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><p>An educated workforce is indispensable for a thriving society. You may have learned in Economics 101 that labour is a factor of production and therefore central to a country&#8217;s growth and development. Nevertheless, we live in an age when information is becoming an important commodity alongside minerals and fossil fuels. How we access, consume, and use in&#8230;</p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Battery Electric Vehicle has a Dirty Story, and it Starts Underground]]></title><description><![CDATA[When you see a battery electric vehicle (BEV) charging, as shown above, emissions reduction becomes possible.]]></description><link>https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/p/battery-electric-vehicle-has-a-dirty</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thestrategicdesk.com/p/battery-electric-vehicle-has-a-dirty</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Glodi  Ntoya]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:02:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg" width="1290" height="611" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:611,&quot;width&quot;:1290,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:291647,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://glodintoya.substack.com/i/207092458?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zyEl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc236f63-2b21-4e80-ad89-bbad2be26c5f_1290x611.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image buttonBase-GK1x3M"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="icon-noB79L"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image buttonBase-GK1x3M"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2 icon-noB79L"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Source : BYD Website </figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p><span>When you see a battery electric vehicle (BEV) charging, as shown above, emissions reduction becomes possible. BEVs are marketed as zero-emission vehicles, and by 2050, global BEV demand is expected to increase by 956 million.</span><sup>[1]</sup><span>Nevertheless, the story of BEV production begins in the nickel mines of the Philippines, which continues t&#8230;</span></p>
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