Alex Blair

Articles

Medical Device Network •

Venezuela’s migration crisis and a Colombian ‘Smart Clinic’

“If one of my children gets sick, all three get sick. Sometimes, my boy would cry, asking for food but there was none. It was despair. There was not enough money.”

Yelimar’s story is one of 7.7 million. A Venezuelan migrant and mother of three, Yelimar was forced to flee her homeland on foot with her partner Víctor and children Abraham (one-year-old), Mia (three) and Víctor (four) – a perilous journey documented by the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants (R4V)
New Internationalist •

Political power play leaves Bolivians short of food and fuel

‘The never-ending queues for fuel, the waste and scarcity of food, the rising prices — the bloqueos are affecting the lives of all Bolivians,’ says Carla Torres, a café worker from the capital city of La Paz. Torres' words reflect the increasingly dire situation across the Andean country marred by economic decline and disruptive bloqueos (blockades) of crucial supplies in recent weeks. Devotees of ex-President Evo Morales, who is under investigation for alleged statutory rape and human trafficking, have threatened to paralyze the country with bloqueos should he be arrested.
Airforce Technology •

South Korea removes military headshots amid deepfake porn ‘epidemic’

South Korea has removed all intranet images of military and defence ministry officials in a bid to prevent deepfake porn, which is reportedly flooding the controversial social media platform Telegram.

Republic of Korea (ROK) Armed Forces officials said all ID photos have been made invisible on the military’s Onnara System intranet, the Korea Times reported.Artificial intelligence (AI) has increased the online prominence of deepfakes, which combine a real person’s face with a fake, sexualised...
Army Technology •

‘Guns for gold’: who is complicit in Sudan’s brutal war?

After nearly 18 months of displacement, starvation and genocidal violence, minimal attention has been paid to the bloody conflict still raging across Sudan – nor to the powers fuelling it.

An overarching narrative of ‘just another Sub-Saharan civil war’, this time between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries, has set in. Those arming both sides have largely avoided scrutiny for the inhumane conditions imposed on the Sudanese people, now the “lar...
Verdict •

Arms deals and sexual abuse material: why was Telegram’s co-founder arrested?

Whether it be the EU charging Elon Musk for letting disinformation run wild on X or Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s data-sharing scandal hearing in front of the US Senate, social media moguls are no strangers to confrontations with governments.

Until now, however, none had faced serious legal action – let alone law enforcement officers at an airport.On Saturday (24 August), French authorities bucked this trend and arrested Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov at Paris’ Le Bourget Airport.
Verdict •

37 countries have blocked X access since 2015. Will Brazil follow suit?

Elon Musk’s X currently finds itself in the crosshairs of an unprecedented number of governments.

Caught between the restrictions of authoritarian regimes and the investigations of democratic countries, X has found itself blocked to some extent or other by 37 countries since 2015.Unperturbed, Musk continues to clash with heads of state, from Venezuela’s ‘digital authoritarian’ election-fraud President Nicolás Maduro, to recently elected UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer amid a surge of far-right...
Army Technology •

Ukraine ‘successfully’ tests first indigenous ballistic missile

Ukraine has successfully tested its first indigenous ballistic missile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier today (27 August 2024).

The domestic-made ‘Palianytsia’ is a missile-drone hybrid designed to strike deep into Russian territory – an offensive strategy Ukraine has repeatedly implored its western allies to authorise.

“What developments does Ukraine have? Well, I thought it’s too early to speak about it but … there has been a positive test of the first Ukrainian ballistic missile”, Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Kyiv. “I congratulate our defence industry on this. I can’t share any more details about this missile”.
Army Technology •

Free speech or free arms trading? Social media fuels weapons sales

In the latest of a long string of deregulated controversies, multiple social media platforms are facilitating the trade of weapons by dealers linked with Yemen’s Houthi militia group, new investigations have uncovered.

At least 68 arms dealers based in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, are openly using X, Telegram and other social media platforms to buy and sell Kalashnikovs, pistols, assault rifles, grenades, grenade launchers, and even rocket launchers.  On Elon Musk’s X, many of the Yemeni accounts...
World Construction Network •

Who will fund Gaza’s reconstruction?

Ten months on and Israel’s aerial bombardment of Gaza shows no signs of abating – nor do ceasefire talks show any tangible sign of delivering an agreement.

Israel’s offensive has targeted residential areas, hospitals, schools, refugee camps, water and electricity infrastructure, churches, mosques and civilians themselves – a charge of which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stand accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Their campaign has now killed...
Army Technology •

Explainer: Germany seeks arrest of Ukrainian for Nord Stream pipeline attacks

German authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man accused of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines nearly two years ago.

Reports have emerged of ongoing conflict near the Russian border town of Sudzha, where Ukrainian forces have reportedly launched a rare cross-border attack.

Pro-Kremlin war bloggers have said Ukraine has seized the Sudzha gas distribution hub in a three-day offensive.
Power Technology •

Explainer: prices rise as Ukrainian forces seize key Russian gas hub

A surprise Ukrainian counter-incursion into the Kursk region has sent gas prices spiraling and thrown doubt over the supply of Russian natural gas into Europe.

Reports have emerged of ongoing conflict near the Russian border town of Sudzha, where Ukrainian forces have reportedly launched a rare cross-border attack.Pro-Kremlin war bloggers have said Ukraine has seized the Sudzha gas distribution hub in a three-day offensive.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed that geolocated foo...
Verdict •

Musk and Big Tech under fire as far-right misinformation fuels UK riots

“Civil war is inevitable”.

Yet another inflammatory post posted on X by the platform’s billionaire owner Elon Musk on Sunday (4 August) called into question the role that social media platforms have played in aggravating a wave of racially fuelled riots across the UK.Musk is under scrutiny after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, communications regulator Ofcom and human rights group Amnesty International accused social media firms of enabling misinformation and amplifying far-right calls to viol...
Investment Monitor •

Former Trump ambassador warns Venezuela’s Maduro may arrest opposition

More than a week has passed since President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory in Venezuela’s elections despite overwhelming evidence that former ambassador Edmundo González won – and protests look set to continue despite a crackdown by Venezuela’s police, military and intelligence agencies.

Dozens of countries have condemned Maduro, instead throwing their support behind the opposition alliance led by banned leader María Corina Machado and her chosen successor González.Following US Secretary of S...
Army Technology •

Iran to conduct ‘quadrilateral operation’ on Israel

Iran is likely to launch a large-scale drone and missile attack on Israel across four fronts in response to Israel killing Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, according to conflict analysts and Iranian state media.

Iran and its ‘Axis of Resistance’ could strike as soon as today (5 August), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly told G7 members. Tehran will coordinate Lebanese political militia Hezbollah, the armed Yemeni Houthi group, Iranian-backed Iraqi
Army Technology •

Maduro mobilises special military units amid ‘fraudulent’ Venezuela election

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has mobilised specialist military counterintelligence units to Caracas, in a bid to keep hold of power as international condemnation rains in on his ‘fraudulent’ election victory.

Over the past couple of days, footage has emerged of a large deployment of armed trucks, vehicles and personnel in the streets of Caracas. These appear to be part of the DAE, a Special Affairs Unit within the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DCGIM). The DAE is...
Army Technology •

Two days, two Hamas leaders assassinated: are ceasefire hopes in tatters?

Israel’s latest killing spree has eliminated several Hamas and Hezbollah leaders responsible for conflagrating the Gaza conflict – and shattered any last hope of a ceasefire in the process.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued an order to directly strike Israel after the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) assassinated Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh while he attended the inauguration of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran yesterday (31 July). Adding fuel t...
Airport Technology •

Venezuela blocks Panama and Dominican Republic flights in election spat

The Venezuelan government has suspended commercial flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic, two of several nations to condemn President Nicolás Maduro’s self-declared election victory.

All Venezuelan flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic will stop from 31 July at 8pm local time. Panama and the Dominican Republic are key stopover hubs for airlines connecting Venezuela with Europe, the US and the rest of the world. The suspension will disrupt regular routes operated...
Airport Technology •

Mass cancellations at Beirut airport amid Israeli airstrike fears

Multiple airlines have suspended flights in and out of Lebanon’s Beirut airport as insurance companies remove cover due to escalating conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah political militia.

“Due to the current developments in the Middle East, the airlines Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings of the Lufthansa Group have decided to suspend their flights from to/from Beirut up to and including 5 August,” a Lufthansa spokesperson told Airport Technology.On 28 July Israel’s Security Cabinet authori...
Verdict •

‘Digital authoritarianism’ – internet restrictions likely as Venezuela votes

So far, 2024 has been a year marked by unprecedented conflict, a rare convergence of electoral cycles and, increasingly, ‘digital authoritarianism’ – a pressing concern as Venezuelans head to the polls for presidential elections on Sunday 28 July.

Kenya, El Salvador and Comoros became the latest countries to impose internet shutdowns for the first time in their history, new investigations have uncovered. In total, nine nations imposed a total of 21 internet restrictions in the first half of 2...
Energy Monitor •

What will Biden’s green energy legacy be?

In a move hailed by Democrats as selfless but criticised by Republicans as pre-planned, President Biden on Sunday (21 July) announced he will not run in November’s elections, instead endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden’s decision follows months of declining support. Amid a disastrous debate performance against former President Trump and mis-introducing Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy as “President Putin” at the Nato summit in Washington, calls for the 81-year-old to step down grew uni...
Army Technology •

What geopolitical legacy will Biden leave behind?

In a move hailed by Democrats as selfless but criticised by Republicans as pre-planned, US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday (21 July) that he will not run in November’s election, instead endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden’s decision follows months of declining support. Amid a disastrous debate performance against former President Trump and mis-introducing Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy as “President Putin” at the Nato summit in Washington, calls for the 81-year-old to step do...
Power Technology •

Zelensky attends UK extraordinary cabinet meeting on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended an extraordinary meeting in London today (19 July), where Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his cabinet strategised fresh measures to disrupt Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’.

“I won’t allow Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers, and the dirty money it generates, to flow freely through European waters and put our security at risk”, Starmer said.The Ukrainian premier became the first foreign leader to visit Downing Street since Starmer’s Labour Party won the...
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