United States

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Cyber

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Pro-Palestinian hacktivist group BlackMeta claimed responsibility for a large-scale distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack on the Internet Archive's "Wayback Machine" that lasted five hours, and the group implied plans to carry out another attack on Oct. 10, according to Oct. 9 posts on its X account.

U.S.: Pro-Palestinian Hackers Claim DDoS Attack on Internet Archive Amid Data Breach, Website Defacement

The U.S. Justice Department made broad recommendations for remedying the ongoing antitrust case involving Google’s search engine and its business practices and said it was "considering behavioral and structural remedies," indicating that the department was considering pursuing a breakup in court, NPR reported on Oct. 9.

U.S.: DOJ Considers Breakup of Google in Antitrust Case

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began an mpox vaccination campaign in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, Voice of America reported on Oct. 6.

Congo: Mpox Vaccination Campaign Begins

Egypt

Politics

Egypt's supply ministry developed plans to decrease the cost of subsidized bread by cutting wheat imports and adding cheaper ingredients such as corn and sorghum, Reuters reported on Oct. 3.

Egypt: Cairo Proposes Lowering Bread Costs by Supplementing Wheat Imports

United Kingdom

Russia

Military & Security

The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency sanctioned 16 members of the Russian cybercriminal group Evil Corp and released new details about the gang's operations and ties to the Russian government, BBC reported on Oct. 1.

Russia: U.K. Sanctions Evil Corp Members and Reveals Ties to Russian Government and LockBit

Colombia

Ecuador

Energy

Colombia's Mines and Energy Ministry suspended electricity exports to Ecuador amid low rainfall and hydroelectric reservoir levels, El Colombiano reported on Sept. 30.

Colombia, Ecuador: Drought-Related Energy Crisis Will Pose Further Operational Risks

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a highly anticipated bill on artificial intelligence safety that, if passed, would have been the most ambitious and sweeping AI-oriented legislation in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 29.

U.S.: California Governor Vetoes Sweeping Artificial Intelligence Bill

China

Taiwan

One of China's newest models of nuclear-powered Zhou-class submarines appears to have sunk at a shipyard in Wuhan sometime in late May or early June, according to satellite imagery and reporting by The Wall Street Journal on Sept. 26.

China: Another Apparent Nuclear-Powered Sub Incident Highlights Taiwan Difficulties

The world is connected, but even the broadest topics deserve an individual look. Below are our latest and most relevant science and technology analyses. 

Technology

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Asia-Pacific

Europe

Eurasia

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Agriculture

COVID-19

Supply Chains

_Energy

Environmental Issues

Globalization

The 4th Industrial Revolution

Assessments

Ethiopia

Sudan

Algeria

Bahrain

Iran

Iraq

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Oman

Qatar

Syria

Turkey

Yemen

The Geopolitics of Water

Population growth, security vacuums, bad governance and climate change will increasingly strain the desert region's already scarce water supplies, raising the risk of social unrest, interstate conflict and violence from non-state actors.

In the Middle East, Water Will Increasingly Become a Weapon and Driver of Conflict

Media

Podcasts

Why is semiconductor production limited to a handful of regions?

Applied Geopolitics: U.S.-China Strategic Competition: The Role of Technology

Chile

Chile's rising water stress threatens agriculture and mining, but desalination efforts offer hope for mitigating severe impacts.

Water Stress in Chile Threatens Agriculture and Mining

A man in Beirut, Lebanon, holds a walkie-talkie after removing its battery on Sept. 18, 2024, during a funeral for people killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded across the country the previous day. 

Few security services are willing and able to replicate Israel's unprecedented assault on Hezbollah's electronics, but many will find ways to tamper with devices for mass surveillance by exploiting complex global supply chains.

Israel's Pager Attack Renews Focus on Supply Chains' Physical Security

Brazil

Mexico

France

Ukraine

Forecast Webcast

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Join our analysts for this webcast recording exploring key topics identified in RANE's 2024 Fourth-Quarter Geopolitical Forecast.

2024 Fourth-Quarter Geopolitical Forecast Webcast

Global Elections

Snapshots

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as an ambulance rushes wounded people to a hospital in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

A widespread pager attack against Hezbollah raises tensions between Israel and Lebanon as their border conflict expands.

All Eyes Turn to Israel Following Hezbollah Pager Explosions Across Lebanon and Syria

Netherlands

The United States and the West are likely to continue tightening export controls on China's semiconductor and other high-tech industries to close loopholes exploited by Chinese companies.

Tightened Western Tech Export Controls on China Signal More to Come

U.S.-China Relations

Cambodia

Japan

Germany

Uzbekistan

Turkmenistan

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Afghanistan

The escalating impacts of climate change and water scarcity will inflame tensions between Central Asian countries, raising the risk of violent state conflict in the coming decades. 

The Looming Threat of Central Asian 'Water Wars'

Israel will continue using its advanced desalination technology to foster better relations with Arab neighbors, but the Gaza conflict currently limits the success of this water diplomacy and will ultimately hinge on Tel Aviv's future political and military actions in the region.

How Israel Will Leverage Desalination in Its Regional Normalization Efforts

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Chad

Mali

Mauritania

Niger

Nigeria

Environmental conditions in the Sahel are likely to worsen due to desertification, rapid population growth and political instability. 

The Role of Desertification in Conflict in the Sahel

A Google sign is displayed outside the company's offices in New York City on Jan. 25, 2023.

Google's antitrust loss shows U.S. regulators can successfully challenge Big Tech, but without major reforms, such rulings are unlikely to weaken the tech sector's mega-corporations or prevent the creation of new ones.

 Washington's Antitrust Push Is Unlikely To Threaten U.S. Tech Firms' Global Dominance

China's water security plans could see it become a world leader in water management technologies, but they also risk impeding Beijing's efforts to defuse debt bombs and attract foreign investment. 

In China, Water Security Comes With High Costs

Environment, Science & Technology

SITUATION REPORTS

U.S.: Pro-Palestinian Hackers Claim DDoS Attack on Internet Archive Amid Data Breach, Website Defacement

U.S.: DOJ Considers Breakup of Google in Antitrust Case

Congo: Mpox Vaccination Campaign Begins

Egypt: Cairo Proposes Lowering Bread Costs by Supplementing Wheat Imports

Russia: U.K. Sanctions Evil Corp Members and Reveals Ties to Russian Government and LockBit

Colombia, Ecuador: Drought-Related Energy Crisis Will Pose Further Operational Risks

U.S.: California Governor Vetoes Sweeping Artificial Intelligence Bill

China: Another Apparent Nuclear-Powered Sub Incident Highlights Taiwan Difficulties

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