Month: December 2023
the Three Brotherhood Alliance in Myanmar’s civil war
Operating close to the border with China, in an unruly jungle area informally considered part of China’s sphere of influence in Myanmar, the Three Brotherhood Alliance swiftly became the biggest security challenge to the junta yet. With no discouragement from China and even modest help, Burmese analysts allege its forces claim to have seized over
Attack on Shipping in the red sea
Missiles and drone attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen on ships passing through the narrow strait of Bab al-Mandab, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, apparently in support of Palestinians in Gaza, look like the latest blow to the shipping industry and to its customers. Until the Suez Canal opened in
Big tech and geopolitics effects on internet
Submarine cables used to be seen as the internet’s dull plumbing. Now giants of the data economy, such as Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, are asserting more control over the flow of data, even as tensions between China and America risk splintering the world’s digital infrastructure. The result is to turn undersea cables into prized
Insomniac ransomware hack
PlayStation studio Insomniac said its team was “saddened and angered” by the recent “criminal cyberattack”. Employee data, company emails and early details of an upcoming Wolverine game were among sensitive stolen info published by a hacking group. Developers behind the Spider-Man 2 video game were left “extremely distressed” by a huge ransomware attack on the
Pornhub to pay sex trafficking victims
Pornhub’s parent company has agreed to make payments of $1.8m (£1.42m) to the US government to resolve allegations of profiting from sex trafficking. The charges stem from its hosting of content and accepting of payments from a third party, Girls Do Porn (GDP). There were more than 400 victims in total, and in 2021 GDP
Ethiopia’s Financial reforms to working with BRICS and western financial institutions
Ethiopia was invited to join the emerging-markets bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) at the end of August 2024.BRICS provides great opportunities in human resource development, information and technology development as well as development finance.Ethiopia needs to reform its financial system to create vibrant financial markets comparable to member states in
Hijacked Ruen cargo vessel
The European Union’s maritime security force says it’s monitoring a Maltese-flagged merchant ship that was hijacked last week in the Arabian Sea off the Horn of Africa. The EU naval force EUNAVFOR said it was working with local Somali authorities to monitor the vessel, which was hijacked last Thursday, adding that the identity and demands
More soldiers for Ukraine
Ukraine has been engaged in a life-or-death struggle with Moscow for the better part of nearly two years and the country’s manpower shortages were commented upon by the only man who sees the issue clearly. At least that’s how it appeared when Zelensky remarked that military leaders proposed the mobilization of between 450,000 to 500,000
Hyperloop One Shutdown
A trial of the system f took place with two company employees in 2020 – the first successful passenger ride using hyperloop technology. The pod reached a top speed of 107mph (172km/h) on the 500m test run. But the company announced a change in strategy in 2022, saying it would focus on transporting cargo instead
The curbs on video gaming industry China
China is the world’s largest gaming market, and Tencent is the global leader in the sector in terms of revenue. The company dominates the Asian market and has invested in game studios across the world. Beijing first moved against the gaming sector in 2021, ruling that online gamers under the age of 18 would only