It was supposed to be yet another sign of China’s new industrialised dawn, but has ended in acrimony and embarrassment for all concerned. The Beijing Transit Elevated Bus (TEB), or ‘straddling bus’, a bold plan to allow public transport to run over cars, thus reducing travel time and congestion, has this week been revealed as […]
China: Mutiny On The Buses Read More »
Twenty years ago, Hong Kong was officially handed over to China for forty years of “one country, two systems”. To say that things have not been entirely plain sailing since is something of an understatement. Far from merely signalling the final death of the British Empire, the handover was supposed to signify an end to colonialism
Hear No Evil, Xi No Evil? Read More »
Despite Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s 30-year long presidency full of claims that he would route out the evil of corrupt public officers and ‘unmask the thieves,’ very little has changed in this regard. Government employees and officers are still deeply embedded in the system of dirty deals, stealing government funds, misusing public assets, abusing
Uganda: Dirty Deeds (Not) Done Dirt Cheap Read More »
The Risk Rating for Tanzania is 2.5: Moderate. Minor elements of terrorism and civil unrest. High possibility of corruption. The republic of Tanzania is investing in new markets and has met with some success in diversifying its economy. Many have attributed the economic success of Tanzania in comparison to its sub-Saharan neighbours to its political
Security Brief: Tanzania Read More »
Overview A cyber-attack utilising ransomware similar to the Wanna-Cry attack on NHS facilities seen on the 12th of May was launched last night. The targets this time have included Russian oil producer Rosneft, DLA Piper, one of the largest law firms in the world and Danish shipping company Maersk. The affected systems include email and
Cyber Intelligence Alert Read More »
Already a byword for insecurity and danger, the Middle East has this past month been plunged into further crisis by a number of issues. Qatar and six other states have all but come to blows, internal tension is brewing in Iran between the political and religious hierarchy, and an unexpected change in Saudi succession could
Middle East: The end of Ramadan brings fresh problems Read More »
Even the most casual of Middle East watchers cannot have failed to spot the sudden boiling over of the diplomatic crisis in Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have accused this tiny peninsula of directly funding Islamist terrorism and have closed their airspace, expelled their diplomats and ordered Qatari citizens to return
The Qatar Crisis & Its Implications Read More »
The Iranian news agency, Tasnim has just reported a shooting and hostage situation at the Iranian parliament and that twelve people are reportedly dead. However, there are conflicting reports across several state news agencies as to how many attackers were involved, whether one of the attackers blew themselves up with explosives, or whether security forces
Iran: an escalation of terrorism? Read More »
Greece today finds itself in the unenviable position of having to sell off yet more State assets as part of a desperate battle just to stay afloat under the ridiculous pressure of international bailout terms. Germany (as part of the EU and in conjunction with the ECB) utterly refuses to allow Greece any form of
Perhaps, Greece needs debt forgiveness? Read More »
Current events in the Philippines have brought to the fore once again the spread of extremism and radicalism from its heartland, and further destabilized the already shaky foundation of a complex and dangerous environment. The city of Marawi has for the past week effectively been a warzone, as the Philippine army battles Islamist militants in
The Philippines: Revival of contagion Read More »