If you love reading stories set in the present world, featuring characters that feel real and relatable, chances are you’ve already read contemporary fiction even if you didn’t realise it. But what exactly is contemporary fiction?
In simple terms, contemporary fiction refers to stories that are set in the present time or very recent past, dealing with real-life situations, emotions, and everyday human experiences. These stories feel like they could happen right now or may be happening around us already. #reading #writing #fictionwriting #story #emotion #blog
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How do cyber operations from groups in Iran and Vietnam compare in tactics and targets?
While both Iranian and Vietnamese cyber groups engage in state-sponsored cyber operations, their primary motivations, geopolitical contexts, and consequently, their tactics and targets, differ significantly.

Iranian Cyber Groups (e.g., APT33/Elfin, APT34/OilRig, APT35/Charming Kitten, MuddyWater)
Main Motives:
Iran's cyber activities are strongly driven by its geopolitical aspirations, regional rivalries (especially with Saudi Arabia and Israel), and desire to counter international sanctions. Their motivations include:

Espionage: Gathering intelligence on political, military, and economic developments, particularly in the Middle East, U.S., Europe, and Israel.

Disruption and Retaliation: Disrupting critical infrastructure, especially against perceived adversaries (e.g., in response to sanctions or political actions). They are willing to engage in destructive attacks.

Influence Operations: Spreading propaganda, manipulating public opinion, and sowing discord in rival nations.

Intellectual Property Theft (Secondary): While they do engage in this, it's often more opportunistic or tied to specific military/dual-use technologies rather than broad economic development.

Internal Control: Surveillance and repression of dissidents, both domestically and abroad.

Tactics:
Iranian groups often leverage a blend of technical sophistication and social engineering.

Aggressive Spear-Phishing & Social Engineering: Highly sophisticated and persistent phishing campaigns are a hallmark. They often impersonate legitimate entities (journalists, academics, government officials, recruiters) to build trust and trick targets into revealing credentials or downloading malware. They're known for using compromised accounts for further phishing.

Exploitation of Known Vulnerabilities: They are quick to exploit newly disclosed vulnerabilities (N-days) in widely used software and internet-facing systems (VPNs, firewalls, Exchange servers) to gain initial access.

Living Off The Land (LotL) & OSINT: They frequently use legitimate system tools (PowerShell, RDP, Mimikatz) and open-source intelligence (OSINT) to evade detection and understand victim networks.

Web Shells & Backdoors: Deployment of web shells for persistent access and custom backdoors.

Destructive Malware/Wipers: Iranian groups have a history of deploying destructive malware (e.g., Shamoon, ZeroCleare) to wipe data and disable systems, particularly against targets in the energy and industrial sectors.

Hybrid Operations: Increasingly, they combine hacking and data theft with information operations, leaking stolen data online, and using social media for amplification and harassment.

Ransomware (Collaborative/Opportunistic): While not their primary goal like North Korea, some Iranian groups have been observed collaborating with cybercriminal ransomware affiliates or directly deploying ransomware for financial gain or disruption.

Targets:
Middle East Region: Heavily focused on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (especially Saudi Arabia, UAE), Israel, and other regional rivals.

Government & Military: Foreign ministries, defense contractors, intelligence agencies, and government officials, particularly those involved in nuclear policy, sanctions, or regional security.

Energy Sector (Oil & Gas): A long-standing target for both espionage and potential disruption, reflecting Iran's strategic interests.

Critical Infrastructure (OT/ICS): Increasing focus on industrial control systems and operational technology, potentially for pre-positioning or disruptive attacks.

Telecommunications & Financial Services: For intelligence gathering and network access.

Journalists, Academics, Dissidents, Human Rights Activists: Both within Iran and among the diaspora, for surveillance and repression.

Vietnamese Cyber Groups (e.g., APT32/OceanLotus, APT30/Naikon)
Main Motives:
Vietnamese cyber operations are strongly linked to national economic development, protecting sovereignty claims (especially in the South China Sea), and maintaining political stability.

Economic Espionage: Stealing intellectual property, trade secrets, and competitive intelligence to support Vietnamese industries and accelerate economic growth. This is a very significant motivation.

Political Espionage: Gathering intelligence on foreign governments, political organizations, and diplomats relevant to Vietnam's geopolitical interests, particularly concerning regional rivals and partners.

Surveillance and Monitoring: Tracking and monitoring political dissidents, journalists, NGOs, and foreign entities perceived as a threat to the ruling party or national stability.

South China Sea Disputes: Gaining intelligence on rival claimants and international actors involved in the South China Sea disputes.

Tactics:
Vietnamese groups often demonstrate high levels of sophistication and persistence, with a focus on long-term access and stealth.

Sophisticated Spear-Phishing: Highly customized and contextualized spear-phishing emails, often impersonating trusted contacts or organizations, are a primary initial access vector.

Watering Hole Attacks: Compromising websites frequented by specific targets and implanting malware to infect visitors.

Custom Malware and Backdoors: Development and use of sophisticated custom malware (Remote Access Trojans, info-stealers) designed for covert data exfiltration and persistent access.

Exploitation of Zero-Day and N-Day Vulnerabilities: While less frequent than Iranian groups' aggressive N-day exploitation, they are capable of exploiting zero-days.

Supply Chain Attacks: There have been instances where Vietnamese groups have targeted software or hardware vendors to compromise their clients downstream.

Leveraging Cloud Services: Using legitimate cloud services for command and control (C2) or data exfiltration to blend in with normal network traffic.

Evasion Techniques: Employing various techniques to avoid detection by security software, including code obfuscation and anti-analysis checks.

Targets:
Southeast Asian Governments: Particularly those involved in the South China Sea disputes, for political intelligence.

Foreign Businesses & Multinational Corporations: Across various sectors (e.g., automotive, media, hospitality, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, e-commerce) for economic espionage and IP theft.

Political Dissidents & Human Rights Activists: Both domestic and international, for surveillance and control.

Journalists and NGOs: Especially those reporting on Vietnam or human rights issues.

Critical Infrastructure (Limited Public Reporting): While less publicly highlighted than Iranian or Chinese groups, there have been some reports of Vietnamese groups targeting critical infrastructure, but often for intelligence gathering rather than overt disruption.

Comparison Summary:
Feature- Iranian Cyber Groups----
Primary Motive- Geopolitical influence, regional rivalries, countering sanctions, disruption, espionage, retaliation.
Willingness for Disruption- High – known for destructive attacks/wipers.
Key Regions of Focus- Middle East (GCC, Israel), U.S., Europe.
Tactics Emphasis- Aggressive spear-phishing, N-day exploitation, LotL, web shells, destructive malware, information operations.
Financial Crime- Opportunistic ransomware or collaboration with criminals.

Vietnamese Cyber Groups-
Primary Motive-
Economic development (IP theft), political espionage (Sovereignty, South China Sea), internal control.
Willingness for Disruption-
Lower – focus on stealth, long-term access, and data exfiltration, less on overt disruption.
Key Regions of Focus-
Southeast Asia (ASEAN), U.S. (related to economic/political ties).
Tactics Emphasis-
Sophisticated spear-phishing, custom malware, watering holes, supply chain (less common), long-term stealth, cloud usage.
Financial Crime-Less prominent, but some engagement in cybercrime for revenue.

Export to Sheets-
In essence, Iranian groups are more overt and willing to engage in destructive actions driven by immediate geopolitical tensions, while Vietnamese groups are generally more focused on stealthy, long-term espionage and IP theft to support national development and strategic interests in their region.

Focus Nigeria-
Should education be completely free and compulsory until a certain level?
The question of whether education should be completely free and compulsory up to a certain level is a widely debated topic, but the consensus among international human rights bodies and most developed and many developing nations is a resounding "yes" for at least primary education, and increasingly for secondary education.

Here's a breakdown of the arguments for and against, and the general global trend:

Arguments for Free and Compulsory Education (Up to a Certain Level):
Human Right: International human rights law, enshrined in documents like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), recognizes education as a fundamental human right.
Primary education is explicitly stated as needing to be compulsory and free, with secondary and higher education progressively made free.

Increased Access and Equity:

Breaks the Cycle of Poverty: Financial barriers are a major reason why children, especially from low-income families, do not attend school. Free education removes these barriers, allowing all children, regardless of socioeconomic background, to access learning opportunities.

Reduces Inequalities: It helps to level the playing field, giving marginalized groups (girls, rural children, minorities) a better chance at education and future opportunities.

Societal Benefits:

Economic Growth: A more educated populace leads to a more skilled workforce, higher productivity, increased innovation, and greater economic competitiveness. Educated citizens are more likely to find employment, earn higher wages, and contribute more taxes, stimulating the economy.

Improved Health Outcomes: Educated individuals (especially women) tend to make more informed health decisions, leading to better public health outcomes, lower child mortality rates, and improved maternal health.

Reduced Crime and Social Stability: Education is correlated with lower crime rates. It fosters critical thinking, civic responsibility, and social cohesion, contributing to a more stable and peaceful society.

Active Citizenship: An educated populace is more likely to be engaged in civic life, understand their rights, and hold their leaders accountable, strengthening democratic institutions.

Child Protection: Compulsory education keeps children in schools and out of exploitative labor, reducing child labor and protecting them from harmful practices like early marriage.

National Development: Education is a cornerstone of sustainable national development across all sectors – agriculture, health, technology, governance, etc.

Arguments Against (or Challenges to) Fully Free and Compulsory Education:
Financial Burden on Governments: Providing truly free and quality education for all is incredibly expensive. It requires massive public investment in infrastructure, teacher salaries, learning materials, and technology. This is a significant challenge for developing countries with limited tax bases.

Quality Concerns:

Overcrowding: If not managed properly, universal free education can lead to overcrowded classrooms, diluting the quality of instruction.

Resource Strain: Spreading limited resources across a much larger student population can lead to inadequate supplies, poor facilities, and overworked teachers.

Reduced Accountability (Perceived): Some argue that if education is free, students might take it less seriously, and parents might be less invested, potentially leading to lower academic performance. However, this is often debated and depends heavily on the quality of the system.

Opportunity Costs for Families:
Even if tuition is free, there are indirect costs (uniforms, books, transport, food). For very poor families, the opportunity cost of sending a child to school (i.e., the income the child could have earned) can still be a significant barrier.

Curriculum Relevance (if not updated): Making education compulsory without ensuring its relevance to the job market or societal needs can lead to graduates who are educated but still unemployable, creating frustration.

Global Trend and Conclusion:
Globally, almost all countries have laws for compulsory education, and a significant majority provide free primary education. There's a growing trend towards making secondary education free and compulsory as well, recognizing its increasing importance in a knowledge-based economy. For instance, India's National Education Policy 2020 aims to make education free and compulsory for children aged 3 to 18.

For Nigeria, the argument for making education completely free and compulsory until a certain level (at least up to senior secondary school) is overwhelmingly strong.
It is not just an aspiration but a fundamental necessity for social equity, economic development, and national stability. The challenges, primarily funding and quality control, are significant but must be overcome.
These are investments that yield substantial long-term returns in human capital and national prosperity. The current system where primary education is nominally free but plagued by hidden costs, and secondary education often carries fees, still leaves millions of children out of school and perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality.

"What they don't teach you" on religion- For the general public: Why is religious literacy crucial for peaceful coexistence and informed civic engagement in a diverse world?
The question of "What they don't teach you" about religion, particularly for the general public, directly hits upon why religious literacy is not just a niche academic interest but an absolutely crucial skill for peaceful coexistence and informed civic engagement in our diverse, interconnected world.

Here's why:

1. Fostering Peaceful Coexistence: Bridging Divides and Reducing Conflict

Deconstructing Stereotypes and Prejudice:

What's Often Taught (or Inferred): Simplistic, often media-driven caricatures of religious groups (e.g., all Muslims are extremists, all Christians are judgmental, all atheists are immoral).

What's Untaught (and Crucial): The vast internal diversity within every major religion (different sects, denominations, interpretations, cultural expressions), the existence of peaceful and compassionate majority adherents, and the historical and political factors that often fuel extremism more than theology itself.

Why it's Crucial: Without this, the general public falls prey to misinformation and prejudice. Religious literacy allows individuals to look beyond headlines, challenge harmful stereotypes, and recognize the humanity in those with different beliefs. This directly reduces the likelihood of "othering," discrimination, and religiously-motivated violence or tension.

Understanding the Roots of Global Conflict:

What's Often Taught: Geopolitical conflicts are presented primarily through political, economic, or nationalistic lenses.

What's Untaught (and Crucial): The deep and often complex ways religious identity, historical grievances, theological interpretations, and religious leadership intertwine with political and economic factors to drive or exacerbate conflicts globally (e.g., in the Middle East, South Asia, parts of Africa).

Why it's Crucial: To genuinely understand and respond to global crises, the public needs to grasp the religious dimensions at play. Ignoring them leads to ineffective policies, misjudged interventions, and a perpetuation of conflict due to a lack of fundamental understanding of the actors' motivations and worldviews.

Promoting Effective Interfaith Dialogue:

What's Often Taught: Little about other religions beyond basic facts, leading to a perception that different faiths are fundamentally incompatible.

What's Untaught (and Crucial): The common ethical concerns, shared human experiences, and often similar underlying quests for meaning that exist across diverse religious and secular traditions. Also, how to engage in respectful dialogue without proselytizing or being dismissive.

Why it's Crucial: In pluralistic societies, friction is inevitable without dialogue. Religious literacy provides the tools to engage across belief systems, find common ground on shared values (e.g., justice, compassion, care for the environment), and work together on community issues, fostering social cohesion.

2. Informed Civic Engagement: Navigating a Complex Society

Understanding Domestic Politics and Policy Debates:

What's Often Taught: Political issues are framed as purely secular matters of policy and economics.

What's Untaught (and Crucial): The powerful role of religious lobbying groups, the influence of faith-based organizations on social policy (e.g., healthcare, education, social welfare), and how religious values inform voters' choices and politicians' positions on a vast array of issues (e.g., abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental regulations, foreign aid).

Why it's Crucial: A religiously illiterate public cannot fully grasp the motivations behind certain political movements or legislative efforts. They may misinterpret policy debates or be unable to critically evaluate the arguments presented, hindering their ability to vote and participate effectively in a democracy.

Navigating Rights and Responsibilities in a Pluralistic Society:

What's Often Taught: Basic concepts of freedom of speech and religion.

What's Untaught (and Crucial): The complexities of religious freedom (e.g., balancing individual religious rights with public good, "reasonable accommodation" vs. discrimination), the historical evolution of church-state separation, and the diverse ways different societies approach religion in the public square.

Why it's Crucial: The general public needs to understand why certain religious groups act or advocate in particular ways, and how their rights intersect with the rights of others. This is essential for preventing clashes over public space, school curricula, workplace policies, and ultimately, for upholding a truly inclusive and equitable society.

Critical Media Literacy:

What's Often Taught: How to identify basic bias in news.

What's Untaught (and Crucial): How religious narratives are often oversimplified, sensationalized, or misinterpreted in media coverage; how to discern between genuine religious expression and the political manipulation of religious identity.

Why it's Crucial: In an age of widespread misinformation, religious literacy empowers individuals to critically evaluate news stories, recognize loaded language, and demand more nuanced reporting on religious issues, protecting them from being swayed by harmful narratives.

Appreciating Cultural Heritage and Diversity:

What's Often Taught: Culture is often presented broadly, without diving into its foundational elements.

What's Untaught (and Crucial): The immense influence of religion on art, architecture, music, literature, holidays, and social customs around the world.

Why it's Crucial: Understanding this enriches cultural appreciation, whether visiting a historic site, reading a classic novel, or participating in a festival. It allows the public to appreciate the depth and beauty of human creativity and tradition, fostering a richer civic life and more respectful interactions with diverse communities.

In conclusion, for the general public, religious literacy moves beyond mere curiosity; it is a practical necessity for navigating the complexities of modern life. It equips individuals with the understanding, empathy, and critical thinking skills needed to contribute to a society that is not only tolerant but genuinely capable of peaceful coexistence and robust, informed democratic engagement in a truly diverse world.

How has North Korea allegedly used cybercrime (crypto theft, ransomware) to fund its regime?
North Korea has allegedly leveraged cybercrime, particularly cryptocurrency theft and ransomware, as a crucial and increasingly preferred method to fund its regime and, specifically, its illicit weapons programs.
This strategy is a direct response to the crippling international sanctions imposed on the country.

Here's how they've allegedly done it:

1. Circumventing Sanctions for Hard Currency:
Financial Isolation: North Korea faces severe international sanctions that cut off its access to traditional global financial systems. This makes it extremely difficult for the regime to acquire the foreign currency (like U.S. dollars or Euros) needed to import goods, technology, and components for its military and luxury items for its elite.

Cryptocurrency as an Alternative: Cryptocurrencies operate largely outside traditional banking regulations and centralized financial institutions. This makes them an attractive alternative for a sanctioned state. By stealing crypto, North Korea effectively generates hard currency that is harder to trace and block.

Funding WMD Programs: UN reports, U.S. government assessments, and cybersecurity firm analyses consistently state that the proceeds from these cybercrimes directly fund North Korea's prohibited weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, including nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Some estimates suggest cybercrime accounts for a significant portion, potentially 40% to 50% or more, of the regime's foreign currency income.

2. Cryptocurrency Theft: The Primary Goldmine
Massive Scale: North Korean hacking groups, notably the Lazarus Group and its sub-units like BlueNoroff, have stolen billions of dollars in cryptocurrency. For example, UN experts reported investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023, valued at approximately $3 billion. The FBI recently attributed a single $1.5 billion hack against Bybit in February 2025 to North Korean actors.

Targeting Crypto Exchanges and DeFi Platforms:

Direct Hacks: They target centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, exploiting vulnerabilities in their security systems to steal large amounts of various cryptocurrencies.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Exploits: As the crypto landscape evolved, North Korean hackers shifted to more vulnerable DeFi platforms and "bridges" (which facilitate asset transfer between different blockchains). Notorious examples include the Harmony Horizon Bridge ($100 million+) and the Sky Mavis Ronin Bridge ($600 million+). DeFi platforms often have less stringent security and regulatory oversight, making them "softer targets."

Sophisticated Social Engineering: They employ elaborate social engineering tactics to gain initial access:

Fake Job Offers: Creating fake companies, LinkedIn profiles, and seemingly legitimate job opportunities to trick employees of crypto firms into downloading malicious software or revealing credentials.

Impersonation: Impersonating venture capitalists, recruiters, or other legitimate business contacts.

Deepfake Technology: Increasingly, they use AI-enabled deepfake technologies in video calls to disguise their appearance and build trust with targets.

Laundering Stolen Funds: After stealing the cryptocurrency, they employ sophisticated laundering techniques to convert it into fiat currency (like USD). This involves:

Mixing Services: Using "crypto mixers" like Tornado Cash (which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for its role in laundering North Korean funds) to obscure the origin of the stolen assets.

Chain Hopping: Moving funds across multiple different blockchains to complicate tracing efforts.

Dispersing Funds: Spreading stolen assets across thousands of addresses to make tracking harder.

Conversion to Fiat: Eventually converting the "cleaned" crypto into traditional currencies through various brokers, often in countries with weaker anti-money laundering regulations.

3. Ransomware Attacks: Another Revenue Stream
Extortion and Disruption: Groups like Andariel, a Lazarus sub-group, have deployed ransomware (e.g., Maui ransomware) against a range of targets, including U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.

Demanding Crypto Payments: Ransomware payments are typically demanded in cryptocurrency, providing another direct avenue for generating funds that are difficult to trace.

Double Extortion: Beyond just encrypting data, some groups engage in "double extortion," threatening to leak stolen sensitive data if the ransom isn't paid, increasing pressure on victims.

4. Illicit IT Worker Schemes:
While not strictly "cybercrime" in the hacking sense, this is a related and significant revenue stream that leverages North Korea's cyber talent.

Disguised Workers: North Korean IT workers, often highly skilled in programming and software development, fraudulently obtain remote freelance jobs globally, using false identities and documentation.

Funneling Wages: The wages earned from these legitimate-looking jobs are then funneled back to the North Korean regime, providing another source of foreign currency. Some reports indicate these workers also insert backdoors or malware into corporate systems they work on, potentially enabling future cybercrime or espionage.

In essence, North Korea has become an innovator in state-sponsored cybercrime out of necessity. Facing stringent sanctions, its regime has adapted by exploiting the nascent and less-regulated cryptocurrency ecosystem to generate a consistent and substantial stream of revenue, directly funding its strategic weapons programs and circumventing international efforts to curb its proliferation activities.

It costs you nothing to make another happy -
and you gain your true self through the act of spreading joy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Taiwan's cyber forces will not be intimidated by China's threats of a bounty for the arrest of 20 people Beijing says are Taiwanese military hackers, and China's legal system has no jurisdiction on the island, its defence ministry said.

China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has over the past five years increased its military and political pressure against the island. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

Last week, the public security bureau in the Chinese city of Guangzhou said the hackers were part of the Taiwan military's Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command, and published their pictures, names and Taiwan identity card numbers, offering rewards of more than $1,000 for their arrest.

On Wednesday, China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the government will "pursue the matter to the end, and will not be lenient", using legal channels to "crack down" on their activities.

Late Wednesday, Taiwan's defence ministry's electronic force command said China was continuing to use "fictitious cyber hacking incidents to distort the facts" and offering cross-border rewards.

According to Taiwan's constitution, China's communist party has no legal jurisdiction over the island and its laws have "no real binding force" on Taiwan's people, it said in a statement.

"The Chinese communists have invoked their domestic laws and regulations to systematically manipulate public opinion, with the intention of creating long arm jurisdiction and undermining the morale of our military," it added.

"The officers and soldiers of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command will not be affected by this, and will continue to defend the digital frontier and ensure national security through the solid defence of information."

Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of staging not only widespread hacking attacks against it, but also of spreading fake news via social media and other means to undermine confidence in the government.

China can shrug off U.S. tech controls, thanks to open-source design and chip packaging techniques, says Huawei’s founder.

Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, has borne the brunt of U.S. restrictions since 2019, when Washington barred it from acquiring advanced components. Export controls passed in 2022 further constrained Huawei’s ability to get advanced chips.

But despite U.S. pressure, Huawei is returning to the forefront of China’s tech sector, with new successes in smartphones, AI processors, and EVs. Observers, in and out of China, see Huawei as proof that the country can succeed even if cut off from advanced technologies produced in the West.

Yet Huawei’s founder is cautioning against reading too much into the tech giant’s progress. Ren Zhengfei, in a Tuesday interview with People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, said that the U.S. was overstating Huawei’s successes. He suggested the company’s chips were still a generation behind those of the U.S.

“Huawei is not that great. We have to work hard to reach [the U.S.’s] evaluation,” he said.

Nevertheless, Ren batted away concerns that U.S. export controls will constrain the growth of both Huawei and the Chinese tech sector.

The Biden administration argued that chip export control measures would slow China’s tech development and maintain the U.S.’s edge in industries like AI. U.S. rules now bar Chinese companies from buying the most advanced chips, as well as the equipment and software needed to design and manufacture them.

Yet Ren countered that chip packaging and stacking techniques could help Chinese semiconductor firms keep up with the most advanced chips. (Stacking involves bundling multiple chips into a package to get higher performance.)

Ren also argued that an increasingly open-source environment will benefit the country in the future.

Chinese tech companies are reportedly embracing RISC-V, an open-source platform that can be used for chip design.

Several of China’s leading tech companies, like e-commerce giant Alibaba and startup DeepSeek, have also made their AI open-source, allowing other developers to download, run, and tweak the models themselves. That has encouraged more widespread adoption, including outside China.

Export controls to the fore
Ren’s comments come as export controls start to dominate U.S.-China trade conversations.

Trade officials from both countries are meeting in London for a second day of trade talks. The U.S. has accused China of slow-rolling its shipments of rare earths, critical minerals used in an array of sophisticated products, including smartphones and cars.

China holds a dominant position in the production of rare earths. Beijing restricted exports of these metals in April, requiring companies to apply for a license to export rare earths out of the country. These regulations are snarling supply chains for some manufacturers, particularly in the auto industry.

It’s an odd reversal of positions for the U.S., which increasingly uses export controls to leverage its edge in strategic technologies. Chinese officials have long complained about U.S. tech export restrictions, arguing–among other things–that they undermine globalization and threaten China’s development.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is taking part in the London talks, which could be an indication that some U.S. restrictions could be up for negotiation.

Mission To Mars: Trump-Musk Ugly Spat Could Jeopardize Red Planet Mission, Renowned Mars Expert Says

Robert Zubrin quite literally wrote the book on why humanity should go to Mars — so why has the renowned aerospace engineer soured on Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur leading the charge?

In an interview, the 73-year-old founder of the Mars Society delivered a blistering critique, accusing the world’s richest person of undermining the mission through divisive politics and a bleak vision of the Red Planet as an escape from Earth rather than a journey of hope.

“On one level, he’s absolutely instrumental in opening up this opportunity to get humans to Mars, both through the development of Starship and also the inspiration that has caused,” Zubrin told AFP, referring to Musk’s prototype rocket.

“But for it to succeed, it has to go beyond these — this initiative cannot be seen as a Musk hobbyhorse or a Trump hobbyhorse — it must be seen, at a minimum, as America’s program, or preferably the Free World’s program.”

Zubrin’s 1996 book “The Case for Mars,” since updated numerous times, laid out a practical blueprint for reaching and settling the Red Planet using existing technologies and local resources — with the ultimate goal of transforming the atmosphere for long-term human habitation.

Supporter Turned Critic
The book won praise from Musk himself, who once posed with Zubrin at SpaceX’s Starship facility in Texas and called it “worth reading.”

But today, Zubrin — who co-authored the Mars Direct plan in 1990, has published hundreds of papers, and invented several advanced propulsion concepts — sees troubling signs.

While he described Musk as a “tremendously talented and forceful person,” he said his success has bred “hubris and arrogance,” comparing him to Napoleon as he thumped his fist for emphasis.

He was especially critical of Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump during the 2024 election and his role as the administration’s cost-slashing chainsaw wielder.

“This combination of Trump and Musk is not going to persist forever,” Zubrin warned, in an interview conducted before the pair’s relationship imploded Thursday in a spectacular public row.

“And if this program is identified as their deal, it will be crushed as soon as opposing forces have sufficient power.”

During their fight on Thursday, Trump called Musk “crazy” and threatened to terminate his government contracts worth billions of dollars.

Zubrin also condemned Trump’s efforts to gut NASA’s space science budget — a move he sees as fundamentally at odds with the exploratory spirit of the Mars endeavor.

The Mars Sample Return mission — aimed at retrieving specimens collected by the Perseverance rover — is among the biggest science projects on the chopping block.

Although the mission, developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency, has suffered delays and budget overruns, Zubrin said that eliminating it entirely rather than reforming it would be a mistake.

“This threatens to brand this program with the mark of Cain of original sin — that this program is born with the blood of the murder of Space Science on it.”

Where Zubrin still sees promise is in Starship — Musk’s massive prototype rocket aimed at making life multiplanetary, though the vessel’s repeated test explosions show there’s a long way to go.

He diverges with Musk over how it should be used. Starship is far too large to serve as a Mars ascent vehicle, Zubrin said.

The Mars expert has proposed a vessel he calls Starboat — a compact lander that could shuttle between planetary surfaces and orbit, using a fraction of the propellant and surface power.

But his sharpest critiques are philosophical.

He rejects Musk’s portrayal of Mars as a refuge from a dying Earth — a vision that echoes the works of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.

“We’re not going to Mars out of despair,” Zubrin said. “We’re going to Mars out of hope… to establish new branches of human civilization which will add their creative capacity to that of humanity as a whole.”

He sees Mars not as a refuge but as a renewal, where a campaign beginning with robotic missions in the late 2020s and culminating in human landings by 2033 could inspire bipartisan support, showcase American ingenuity, and restore national purpose.

“If we do the kind of program that I advocated… we will once again, as we did in Apollo, astonish the world with what free people can do,” he said. “We’ll make it clear that freedom, not authoritarianism, is the future of the human race.”

China’s Mining Plan In Myanmar Faces Massive Protest; Locals Block Roads, Threaten To Seize Chinese Equipment.

Hundreds of protesting Myanmar tribespeople march up a hillside to a cavernous facility where a Chinese joint venture’s giant milling machines stand ready to grind up the rocks of their ancestral homeland for lead ore.

Demand for the heavy metal is forecast to rise, driven by its use in the batteries needed for the global energy transition.

However, its extraction can pollute the environment, and the Pradawng tribespeople carry banners reading: “No transparency, no responsibility.”

“We don’t have any plan to exchange this inheritance from our ancestors for money or riches,” said 24-year-old protest leader Khun Khine Min Naing.

“This land is the dignity of our tribe.”

Since a 2021 coup, Myanmar has been riven by civil war and shattered into a patchwork of loosely governed territories ripe for exploitation by unregulated miners.

And neighbouring China is keen to scoop up the minerals and metals Myanmar can supply.

The Pradawng — a little-known subtribe of the Kayan ethnic group — claim around 3,000 members and a 381-year lineage in Shan state, in Myanmar’s east.

They say Myanmar firm Four Star Company and a Chinese partner have planned a mega-project mining lead upriver from their village, Thi Kyeik, in Pekon township.

Heavy machinery began to be installed in February, but the tribe say they were not consulted on the scheme and fear it will taint the area with hazardous chemicals.

Locals have blockaded roads to turn back vehicles, and threatened to seize mining equipment, defying possible violent backlash in a country where the right to assemble often depends on the whims of armed guards.

“We are only asking for Indigenous rights that we should own,” Khun Khine Min Naing told AFP, demanding mine plans are rolled back until the war is over and they can be scrutinised by a civilian government.

– Natural Resources –
Lead is a toxic metal, most commonly mined for use in lead-acid batteries.

Extracting it can pollute local soil and water supplies, with children particularly vulnerable to exposure, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We don’t want to leave this land environmentally damaged for the next generation,” said Khun Khine Min Naing. “We don’t want to be regarded as historical criminals.”

The Pradawng say Four Star Company has been active locally for two decades and is linked to the local ruling Kayan New Land Party, whose armed wing maintains a ceasefire with Myanmar’s military.

The firm could not be reached for comment.

Their Chinese partner company is harder to identify, and locals say its involvement was only revealed when its representatives attended a joint event with Four Star Company intended to address community backlash.

China shares a 2,100-kilometre (1,300-mile) border with Myanmar and has long been a lucrative market for the country’s natural resources, including jade, gemstones, teak logs and metal ores.

It accounts for nearly 98 percent of Myanmar’s lead ore and concentrate exports, according to 2023 World Bank data.

The figures say 49,000 tonnes worth $20 million were exported to China that year, but that is likely far short of the true amount.

The lack of a central authority means tracking the real scale of mining operations across Myanmar is difficult.

But satellite imagery analysis of one hotspot on the Myanmar-China border by the Britain-based Centre for Information Resilience showed the expanse of mining operations there nearly doubled in size between 2018 and 2024.

– ‘Only stones for our children’ –
Rechargeable lead-acid batteries are widely used in vehicles, including EVs where they provide auxiliary power, as well as for storing power generated by renewable technologies such as wind and solar.

The metal — identified by the WHO as “one of 10 chemicals of major public health concern” — sells for around $2,000 per refined tonne on the global market.

But the Pradawng people suspect they will see none of the profits.

Along with health risks, locals fear environmental damage, with villagers saying increased mining in recent years has led to more flooding and mudslides that carried off entire homes.

Mu Ju July, 19, ekes out a living picking through mine slag heaps for scraps of lead to sell.

A flurry of prospecting could be a windfall for her, but she worries it will squander the livelihoods and homes of future generations.

“If we allow them, we will be okay for only one or two years,” she said.

“It will leave only stones when the time comes for our children.”

IDF Spokesperson Effie Deffrin says aid distribution is undermining Hamas as the IDF presses ahead with expanded operations.

IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen.Effie Deffrin said on Tuesday evening that Hamas’s grip on the Gaza Strip is weakening, as Israeli forces continue operations both above and below ground. “Hamas is losing control. It continues to operate against its own civilians,” Deffrin told the media. He emphasized that “the distribution of food severely harms Hamas and its rule. Tens of thousands of meals are distributed daily to Gazans,” he said.

Deffrin slammed Hamas for spreading false reports about IDF activity near aid distribution sites, which have been parroted by world media.

“[Hamas] spreads false information, which some Western media outlets have disseminated.”
“In recent days, armed individuals have attacked Gazans. In southern Khan Yunis, they harmed civilians who came to collect aid,” Deffrin said.

On Tuesday morning, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claimed that 24 Palestinians were killed by IDF fire while waiting near the aid distribution center in the Rafah area. Over the weekend, Hamas circulated a similar report claiming that 31 were killed.
Deffrin responded: “The report from the weekend was false,” noting that earlier on Tuesday, IDF soldiers fired warning shots near suspects about half a kilometer from the aid centers. “We do not prevent Gaza residents from reaching the distribution centers; it is Hamas that prevents them,” he clarified.

Deffrin also addressed criticisms of the IDF’s slow response to the incident, saying: “It takes time to investigate matters, but we will not report half-truths. Even if it takes time, we owe the truth first and foremost to our soldiers.”

China said that the United States needs to “stop spreading disinformation” and correct “wrongful actions” as the trade tensions between the two countries continue.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian claimed the U.S. “falsely accuses and smears” China and that Washington has taken “extreme suppression” measures. He listed “chip export controls, blocking EDA sales and announcing plans to revoke Chinese students’ visas” as actions that have “seriously disrupted the consensus and hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests.”

“China firmly opposes them and has lodged strong protests with the US,” Lin wrote in a Tuesday post on the social media platform X.

Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely talk “soon” — a conversation that will include discussing critical minerals.

China criticises Rubio remarks on 1989 Tiananmen protests-
The United States, in its commemoration of the Tiananmen protests in 1989, "distorted" historical facts and attacked China's political system, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

China has lodged a complaint to the U.S. side, Lin Jian, spokesperson at the Chinese ministry, said at a regular news conference.

Chinese tanks rolled into the square on June 4, 1989, and troops opened fire to end pro-democracy demonstrations. The Communist Party has never released a death toll, though rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands.

"Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

"The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he

Hamas trying to incite Gazan population to storm Israeli border, military officials fear

The military has allocated intelligence resources and reserve forces, and clarified open-fire orders for senior IDF commanders on the ground.

Senior IDF officials held a security assessment to discuss an extreme scenario in which Hamas could incite the population in central and southern Gaza to storm the Israeli border during a military assessment, Walla reported on Wednesday.

In response, the military has allocated intelligence resources and reserve forces, and clarified open-fire orders for senior commanders on the ground.

The military assessment also discussed Hamas’s efforts to prevent the distribution of food packages by an American company at three locations in Rafah.

During the discussion, officials noted that tens of thousands of food packages have already been distributed to representatives of families of 50 people each. Each package is designed to last five days.

Hamas has reportedly deployed armed operatives along pedestrian routes to intimidate civilians and prevent them from approaching the distribution centers. In some cases, according to the IDF spokesperson, Hamas terrorists fired live rounds at civilians to deter them. Despite this, residents have found ways to bypass the blockades—from the shelter areas to the distribution centers—in order to receive the food packages.

At the same time, Hamas has been waging a psychological warfare campaign, spreading false information to discourage the public from accepting the aid.

“Hamas understands it is no longer the sole authority in Gaza,” a security official said. “As time goes on, we’ll refine the distribution sites to serve more people and establish additional sites.” The official declined to specify who is funding the packages brought into Israel.

IDF believes more Palestinians will head to southern Gaza to obtain aid.
According to Southern Command estimates, more Palestinians are expected to head south to obtain food aid. The assessment also raised several extreme scenarios, including the possibility that Hamas would attempt to attack distribution centers using operatives without clear organizational ties. To mitigate such threats, the IDF has deployed reserve forces in the area.

In addition, Walla has learned that UN officials in the Gaza Strip have refused for over a week to transfer 390 trucks from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the central Gaza Strip.

A security source involved in the process said that Hamas is pressuring the UN not to cooperate, hoping to collapse the American company’s distribution initiative in the south. Initially, UN officials cited legal difficulties in collecting and transporting the humanitarian aid, but according to the security source, the defense establishment believes these are merely excuses.

At this stage, the American company has not set up distribution centers in the north or center of the Gaza Strip, in order to encourage residents to move to shelter areas in the south.

“India Lost 120 Aircraft, Pakistan Winning”! How Islamabad Lied During The 1971 War Before “Bitter Facts” Shocked Pak- TRUE or FALSE? (Part 1)

“The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history,” is a famous quote by German philosopher Georg Hegel.

In somewhat similar vein, another German philosopher who was contemporary with Hegel – Karl Marx – warned us that “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second time as a farce.”

Though written almost two centuries ago, both these quotes ring equally true in today’s world as well, more so in the case of Pakistan. This country seems almost hell bent on repeating its past mistakes to the detriment of its future.

While ‘Narrative Warfare’ has its place in modern hybrid warfare, and can act as a morale booster despite battlefield losses, it can also create a ‘fog of war,’ so blinding that one literally becomes the victim of its own propaganda, and fails to learn critical lessons, until it’s too late and ‘all is lost.’

It’s tragic enough to repeat this mistake once, but it becomes a farce when one insists on repeating this mistake again and again.

As Karl Marx warned us: “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second time as a farce.” But as Marx’s fellow countryman and a contemporary of his, Hegel warned us that despite the costs of not learning the correct lessons from history, “the only thing we learn from history,” is that “we learn nothing from history.”

German Invincibility And Two Back-To-Back World War Defeats
Ironically enough, the warnings of Marx and Hegel were not heeded even in their own country, Germany.

Germany was convincingly routed in the First World War. However, instead of soul-searching and learning the right lessons, Germany sought to come to terms with its defeat through myth-making.

Now, this myth-making is remembered as the “Stab-in-the-back” myth. In the aftermath of the humiliating 1918 defeat, an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory was promulgated and widely believed by the German masses.

It sought to make sense of the German defeat by propounding that Germany could never be defeated.

According to this theory (and belief system), Germany was defeated not on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by certain citizens on the home front – especially Jews, Communists, and revolutionary socialists.

Further, it claimed that the German race is invincible and can never be defeated on the battlefield. The defeat in the First World War has hurt German pride, and this myth of German invincibility and the “Stab-in-the-back” theory helped a defeated people come to terms with their loss.

The “Stab-in-the-back” theory was an integral part of Nazi propaganda. This myth-making, or constructing alternative facts/history, not only led Germany into another defeat, this time even more devastating and humiliating than the first time, but also created conditions for the worst genocide of our times – the mass killings of Jews, Romanians, Poles and Communists at the hands of Nazis.

However, what is surprising is the sway this myth of German invincibility held over the German masses even until the last days of the Second World War, when both the Eastern and Western fronts had collapsed and the Soviet Red Army was knocking on the doors of Berlin.

Germans failed to see the reality until it was too late, and all was lost. The German homeland was now divided into two halves, East Germany and West Germany.

Myth-Making In Pakistani National Psyche And The 1965 War
The myth of German invincibility had striking parallels in the Pakistani national psyche in the 1960s. Over 800 years of history were narrated in a selective manner to suit a particular agenda.

Missing from this selective history in Pakistan was the reality of India at the eve of British invasion in 18th century when most of the Indian hinterland was under Maratha sway and most of the Pakistani Punjab, Multan, Sindh, and Kashmir, right up till the borders of Tibet in the East and Afghanistan in the West was under the Sikh kingdom.

In the first week of June 1965, a high-ranking Pakistan Army officer wrote an article in the Dawn newspaper recommending that the Pakistani strategy should “obviously be to go for a knock-out in the Mohamed Ali Clay style,” a reference to the American boxer, often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.

British Army historian Brian Cloughley writes in his book – A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections – that an official military directive from that time stated, “as a general rule, Hindu morale would not stand more than a couple of hard blows delivered at the right time and place.”

Wars fought 1000 years ago in West Asia were cited as evidence of an impending Pakistan victory. “Hus ke liya hai Pakistan, ladh ke lenge Hindustan” (We achieved Pakistan, laughing, we will take India fighting) was the war cry in Pakistan.

Believing in their absolute invincibility, Pakistan, like Nazi Germany, became a victim of its own propaganda and launched ‘Operation Gibraltar,’ named for a famous Moorish military victory in Medieval Spain. Pakistani war-fighting units were named after legendary warriors of the Islamic past – Suleiman, Salahuddin, and so on.

As it happened, Pakistani plans came to naught. During the 1965 war, even though Pakistan had the element of surprise, India was able to occupy nearly four times more land than Pakistan.

India was able to occupy 1920 sq miles of Pakistani territory, most of it in the fertile plains of Punjab and the strategic Haji Pir Pass in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). In comparison, Pakistan was able to occupy roughly 540 sq miles of Indian territory, most of it in the barren no-man’s lands of Rajasthan, though Pakistan had the advantage in the Chumb sector.

However, as India agreed to establish the status quo ante after the ceasefire, in Pakistan, the 1965 war was always taught and remembered as a victory. This myth-making was considered essential by the Pakistani defense establishment to maintain the morale of the society.

Though, as Marx had warned, this failure to learn from history led to Pakistan’s catastrophic defeat in the 1971 war, the humiliating surrender of 93,000 soldiers, and the loss of the country’s eastern half, which became a separate country in Bangladesh.

1971 War Amid Plethora Of Pakistani Lies
The importance Pakistan has always placed on winning the narrative war, even at the expense of battlefield victories, is best exemplified by a critical analysis of The Dawn’s front pages during the 13-day 1971 war.

The Dawn is widely regarded as Pakistan’s most respected newspaper internationally.

A critical analysis of these front pages from the newspaper’s war days reveals how the Pakistani people were kept in the dark about the actual battlefield situation until it was too late, and everything was lost.

In fact, reading these articles, any person would have believed that Pakistan was headed for a grand victory over India. These newspaper clippings also reveal Pakistan’s mastery of a hybrid ‘Narrative Warfare’ from an early era.

On December 4, 1971, the Dawn reported that “West Pakistan attacked at 7 points”. Then it says, “It’s Now all-out war.” Further, the newspaper reports that in response to the Indian attack, “PAF bombed 7 Indian airfields including Agra.” It created an impression that India was the aggressor.

Were there voices among Europeans who opposed colonization, and how were they treated?

European voices who opposed colonization—including activists, missionaries, politicians, writers, and everyday citizens. These anti-colonial Europeans were often marginalized, ignored, or even silenced because their views challenged powerful economic and political interests.

Who Opposed Colonization?
1. Human Rights Activists & Abolitionists
Opposed the brutality, forced labor, and racism of colonial regimes.

Spoke out especially after witnessing atrocities or reading first-hand accounts.

E.D. Morel and Roger Casement exposed King Leopold II’s atrocities in the Congo Free State—leading to international outrage.

2. Anti-Imperialist Politicians & Thinkers
Criticized colonization as morally wrong, economically exploitative, or a betrayal of democratic values.

Some were socialists, liberals, or early feminists who saw empire as oppression.

J.A. Hobson (British economist) argued that imperialism only benefited wealthy elites and harmed the working class.
Bertrand Russell, the philosopher, also opposed empire and war.

3. Christian Missionaries (A Minority)
A few missionaries spoke against slavery, forced labor, and abuses they witnessed in the colonies.

Some defended the dignity and autonomy of African peoples.

John Harris and his wife Alice campaigned against atrocities in Congo and were part of the Congo Reform Association.

4. Writers & Artists
Some European authors criticized colonization in their books and poetry.

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1902) portrayed the horror of Belgian Congo, though it remains debated for its own racial lens.

How Were They Treated?
1. Marginalized or Dismissed
Many were called “unpatriotic” or accused of helping enemies of the empire.

Their work was censored, ignored, or mocked by colonial governments and pro-empire media.

2. Harassed or Imprisoned
Some, like Roger Casement, were even executed (he was hanged for treason after also supporting Irish independence).

Whistleblowers in Africa sometimes lost funding, faced smear campaigns, or were expelled.

3. Influenced Later Anti-Colonial Movements
Though often sidelined, their reports, writings, and activism inspired future African leaders, reformers, and international human rights campaigns.

Conclusion:
Yes, many Europeans opposed colonization—on moral, economic, and political grounds.
But they were often silenced or sidelined by powerful pro-empire institutions.
Still, their voices laid the groundwork for future anti-colonial thought and global solidarity movements.

By Jo Ikeji-Uju
https://afriprime.net/page...

How Britain’s biggest companies are preparing for a Third World War. (Part 2) Continue reading...

In the case of a major British supermarket, how might executives plan for, say, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?

The first question is how involved the UK expects to be, says Crump. But if Britain, as might be expected, sides with the US at least in diplomatic terms, “we’re not buying anything from China”.

That immediately has implications for a company’s supply chains – are there any parts of the supply chain that would be crippled without Chinese products?

But as the recent cyber attack on Marks & Spencer has demonstrated, attacks on critical digital infrastructure are also a major risk to supermarkets in the event of a war with China or Russia.

“If you look at a retailer, the vulnerability is not necessarily whether or not they can transport stuff to the shop, even in a war zone,” says Crump. “The problem becomes when you can’t operate your systems.

“If you can’t take money at the point of sale, or if you have no idea where your stock is because your computer system has been taken down, you’ve got major problems and you can’t operate your business.”

Workforce gaps
In a scenario where Britain becomes involved in a war itself, Crump says employers may also suddenly find themselves with gaps in their workforces.

He believes things would need to get “very bad indeed” for the Government to impose conscription, which applied to men aged 18-41 during the Second World War.

But he points out that the calling up of British armed forces reservists would be very likely, along with the potential mobilisation of what is known as the “strategic reserve” – those among the country’s 1.8 million veterans who are still fit to serve.

There are around 32,000 volunteer reservists and an undisclosed number of regular reserves, former regular members of the armed forces who are still liable to be called up.

“There’s a big pool of people we don’t tap at the moment who are already trained,” explains Crump.

“But there would be consequences if the entire reserve was called forward, which would have to happen if we entered a reasonably sized conflict. It would certainly cause disruptions.

“The medical services are hugely integrated with the NHS, for example, and we saw the effects of them being called forward with Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Food supplies
The sort of supermarket chaos that erupted during the Covid-19 pandemic would also return with a vengeance if a significant conflict broke out.

During that crisis, grocers had to limit how many packs of loo rolls and cans of chopped tomatoes shoppers were allowed to take home, among other items, because of supply chain problems.

“If we’re in a conflict, that sort of supply chain activity would increase,” notes Crump.

“So you don’t necessarily have rationing imposed, but there might be issues with food production, delivery, payment and getting things to the right place.

“In a world where we don’t have our own independent supply chains, we’re reliant on a lot of very interconnected moving parts that have been enabled by this period of peace.

“We’ve never been in a conflict during a time where we’ve had ‘just in time’ systems.”

Spanish blackouts: A dry run
Crump brings up the recent blackouts in Spain and Portugal. British grocers initially thought their food supplies would be completely unaffected because truck loads of tomatoes had already made their way out of the country when the problem struck.

But the vehicles were electronically locked, to prevent illegal migrants attempting to clamber inside when they cross the English Channel and could only be unlocked from Spain – where the power cuts had taken down computer systems and telecoms.

“People in Spain couldn’t get online, so we had locked trucks full of tomatoes sitting here that we couldn’t open because of technology,” Crump says.

“No one had ever thought, ‘But what happens if all of Spain goes off the grid?’ And I’m sure the answer would have been, ‘That’ll never happen’ anyway.”

This tendency towards “normalcy bias” is what Crump tries to steer his clients away from.

While it isn’t inevitable that war will break out, or that there will be another pandemic, humans tend to assume that things will revert to whatever the status quo has been in their lifetimes, he says. This can mean we fail to take the threat of unlikely scenarios seriously enough, or use outdated ways of thinking to solve new problems.

“We’ve had this long period of peace and prosperity. And, of course, business leaders have grown up in that. Military leaders have grown up in it. Politicians have grown up in it. And so it’s very hard when that starts to change.

“People have grown up in a world of rules. And I think people are still trying to find ways in which the game is still being played by those old rules.”

Unsurprisingly, given his line of work, Crump believes businesses must get more comfortable contemplating the unthinkable.

“Go back a decade and most executives did not want to have a crisis because a crisis is bad for your career, so they didn’t want to do a test exercise – because you might fail,” Crump adds.

“But the whole point is that you can fail in an exercise, because it’s not real life.”

At least, not yet.

Chinese public security authorities attributed a cyberattack on an unnamed technology company to the Taiwan government on Tuesday, prompting the latter to blame China for spreading disinformation over such breaches.

The "overseas hacker organisation" behind the attack was "supported by" Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), authorities in the capital of southern Guangdong province.

Taiwan's National Security Bureau in turn accused the Communist Party of China (CPC), which it called "a source of global information security threat", of peddling false information about cyber breaches.
China "manipulating inaccurate information to confuse the outside world, so as to cover up the related cyber hacking acts" and shift the focus of attention.
Chinese state police investigation found the hacker organisation targeted network systems in more than 10 provinces in China in recent years, including military, energy, hydropower, transportation and government networks.

Human rights and UN tell Hamas to release all kidnapped, SURRENDER and make peace.
Tens of thousands of red-clad protesters marched through the Dutch capital on Sunday to demand their government do more to halt Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Human rights groups and aid agencies — including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders — estimated the peaceful crowd at more than 100,000 people, and the streets of The Hague were packed with the old, young and even some babies on their first protest.

“We hope this is a wake-up call for the government,” said teacher Roos Lingbeek, attending the march with her husband and their 12-week-old daughter, Dido, who slept in a carrier as her parents brandished a sign simply reading: “STOP”

The march took the young family past the Peace Palace, headquarters of the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, where last year judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in

China struck a defiant stance on Tuesday in response to American concerns about Beijing's efforts to expand its influence in the resource-rich South American nation of Chile, escalating tensions over a Chinese astronomical venture in Chile’s arid north.

At a press conference Tuesday in Chile's capital of Santiago, China's ambassador to Chile, Niu Qingbao, lambasted the United States for “interfering in Chile’s sovereign right to independently choose its partners” and spreading "disinformation about the project.”

The astronomy project stems from a 2023 agreement between China's state-run National Astronomical Observatory and Chile's Catholic University of the North to work on a powerful space observatory in the country's vast northern Atacama Desert. The proposed high-resolution telescope would be able to observe near-Earth objects, which are classified as asteroids or comets.

But the project quickly became entangled in China's spiraling rivalry with the Trump administration.

Europe needs cluster munitions to defend itself from Russia, two military analysts say.
If the US backs away from NATO, European militaries will need them to knock out Russian air defenses.
Bomblets can degrade air defenses by spreading damage. They also endanger civilians.

Cluster munitions have earned a reputation as one of the ugliest weapons. By scattering lots of small bombs over a wide area, they killed and maimed so many civilians that more than 100 nations —

But if Europe is serious about defending itself from a potential Russian invasion, it will need to bring back cluster munitions, a British think tank warns.

The problem is that Europe lacks the ground forces to stop a massive Russian invasion. NATO would need to compensate — as it did during the Cold War — with airpower to pound Russian troops and supply lines to give its much smaller armies a fighting chance. The Warsaw Pact fielded 295 divisions and 69,000 tanks as compared to NATO's 170 divisions and 28,000 ta

The Chinese government is accusing the U.S. of “blackmail” after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Beijing a threat to the Panama Canal, asserting that Washington along with Panama “will take back” the waterway from Chinese influence.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said Hegseth had “maliciously attacked China” with his comments and was sabotaging China-Panama cooperation.

“Everyone knows who wants to control the Panama Canal,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters. “The U.S. side should take a look in the mirror to see who really threatens the sovereignty, security, and development of other countries.”

Lin also accused the U.S. of “spreading rumors and sowing discord,” calling on Washington to “stop deliberately linking China to the canal issue to find excuses for the U.S.’s desire to control the Canal.”

Austrian authorities said that they uncovered a Russian-steered campaign aimed at spreading disinformation about Ukraine following the detention in December of a Bulgarian woman accused of spying for Russia.

Austria's domestic intelligence agency unearthed evidence of the operation as it analyzed devices found in a search of the woman's home, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. It said the investigation showed that a few weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a cell working for Russian intelligence was set up.

The group was active online but also used stickers and graffiti with content such as far-right symbols and nationalist statements meant to look like pro-Ukrainian activists were responsible for them.

The Bulgarian suspect, whose name wasn't released, is believed to have played a significant role in the effort and acted as an intelligence contact, the ministry said, adding that she has admitted working for the cell, particularly in

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope."

🔹 Simple Life Explanation:
Imagine you’re reading a book, and the current chapter is tough. You might feel lost, but the author (God) already knows the ending—your story has a good future! Trust that He’s leading you toward something great.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said vitamin A may help with the measles outbreak.
Vitamin A is used worldwide to treat children with measles, but it doesn't prevent infection.
Researchers have raised concerns that touting vitamin A mirrors anti-vaccine talking points.

In his response to the US measles outbreak, the new secretary of health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has raised eyebrows by touting vitamin A as a possible treatment.
At least 146 people have been sickened and one child has died from the disease, which is spreading in West Texas and New Mexico.

Kennedy, who has opposed vaccine mandates, addressed the outbreak in an op-ed for Fox News. While he acknowledged that the MMR vaccine protects against the disease, he did not explicitly urge Americans to get vaccinated, saying "the decision to vaccinate is a personal one."
Kennedy also said the CDC released new guidance on using vitamin A as a potential treatment for measles, adding that a well-balanced diet "remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses." In a subsequent Fox News interview, he suggested treating measles with cod liver oil, a supplement high in vitamin A and vitamin D.

It didn't go down well with public health workers.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said President Trump is helping to achieve former Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin’s dream with his recent actions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war.

Emanuel joined Tuesday’s “Hooks on Tap” podcast with Democratic strategists David Axelrod and Mike Murphy to discuss Trump’s handling of peace talks and the concern spreading through Europe as he blames the war on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Murphy argued that Russians are currently doing “funny dances” because they are happy that Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in negotiations with Russia while Ukraine was largely sidelined in recent days.

“Their number one goal since the second World War is to split up NATO and screw up the Atlantic alliance, which of course Trump is a huge asset for,” Murphy said.
Emanuel interjected and agreed with Murphy.

“Since Joseph Stalin, that has been the singular goal, and an American president achieved Joseph Stalin’s wet dream,”

Britain and Europe are using Islamic extremist to clamp down on Christian rights with intimidation.
Hundreds of people have been charged with online “speech crimes” amid claims from the Trump administration that civil liberties are under threat in Britain.

Almost 300 people have been charged with spreading illegal “fake news” or sending “threatening communications” since the Online Safety Act came into force in 2023. Dozens have received convictions under the act.

Multiple people were charged under the law following last summer’s rioting in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The riots also led to what are believed to have been among the first convictions under the new rules.

Data from the Crown Prosecution Service, disclosed to The Telegraph under a Freedom of Information request, shows that 292 people have been charged with communications offences since the law came into effect in October 2023.

In just one speech by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week, the most powerful member of NATO has thrown the world’s biggest military alliance into disarray, raising troubling questions about America’s commitment to European security.

Hegseth told almost 50 of Ukraine ’s Western backers on Wednesday that he had joined their meeting “to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.”

“The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must — and we are — focusing on security of our own borders,” he said.

Reading the riot act to U.S. allies, Hegseth said that Ukraine will not get all its territory back from Russia and will not be allowed to join NATO, which would provide the ultimate security guarantee to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin never attacks it again.

If you are reading this then don't just believe it because most main stream American Tv hates anything about Trump. Trump is a God's candidate to "Make America Great Again"
If foreign leaders have learned anything about Donald Trump’s presidency, it may be that they’re better off as America’s foe than its friend.
So far, Trump has insulted Canada, played hardball with Denmark over the future of Greenland, cowed Colombia into repatriating undocumented immigrants on his terms and threatened to wrest from Panama the eponymous canal that is a source of great national pride.

All are U.S. allies or partners to varying degrees. The State Department’s own website hails Panama as a democratic “partner” that works with the United States to “advance common interests.”
The website of the U.S. Embassy in Colombia included reports touting a counternarcotics strategy the two countries had devised — or at least it did during Joe Biden’s presidency. The web pages are no longer available on the si

Government lies... Believe them?
Imagine emergency system run by lesbians with woke mindset.
Why hydrants ran dry as firefighters battled California's deadly fires.
As crews have fought the fast-spreading fires across the Los Angeles area, they have repeatedly been hampered by low water pressure and fire hydrants that have gone dry. These problems have exposed what experts say are vulnerabilities in city water supply systems not built for wildfires on this scale.

The water system that supplies neighborhoods simply doesn't have the capacity to deliver such large volumes of water over several hours, said Martin Adams, former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
The limitations of local water systems complicated firefighting efforts in Pacific Palisades, where scores of fire hydrants were left with little or no water, and in Altadena and Pasadena, which are served by different utilities and where firefighters say they have grappled with low water press

Elon Musk launched into a foul-mouthed X tirade directed at a student who called him out for allegedly spreading disinformation.
“Elon Musk is rapidly becoming the largest spreader of disinformation in human history, hijacking political debates in the process,” wrote Joni Askola, a Finnish graduate student and activist for defense of Ukraine. “The EU must take action!”

“F u retard,” came Musk’s response, containing a slur used against people who have mental disabilities. He then replied saying “yes” to another person who said: “We could have avoided a lot of disasters by simply telling leftist retards to stfu.”

Musk appears to have made a conscious choice to reintroduce the word into right-wing parlance of late, often using it on his X platform.

This is despite his Dec. 29 plea for more “positivity” on the platform. “Please post a bit more positive, beautiful or informative content on this platform,” he said.