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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

What's going on in the World Today 130520

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USA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

EUROPE

Regional Implications of Moldova's Political Deadlock

Germany Tries to Mend Relations With France

Migration and Remittances in the Eurozone Periphery

Amid the Crisis, the EU Adds Another Member

ASIA

U.S. Directly Blames China’s Military for Cyberattacks
Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets


WASHINGTON — Three months after hackers working for a cyberunit of China’s People’s Liberation Army went silent amid evidence that they had stolen data from scores of American companies and government agencies, they appear to have resumed their attacks using different techniques, according to computer industry security experts and American officials.

The Obama administration had bet that “naming and shaming” the groups, first in industry reports and then in the Pentagon’s own detailed survey of Chinese military capabilities, might prompt China’s new leadership to crack down on the military’s highly organized team of hackers — or at least urge them to become more subtle.

But Unit 61398, whose well-guarded 12-story white headquarters on the edges of Shanghai became the symbol of Chinese cyberpower, is back in business, according to American officials and security companies....

The hackers were behind scores of thefts of intellectual property and government documents over the past five years, according to a report by Mandiant in February that was confirmed by American officials. They have stolen product blueprints, manufacturing plans, clinical trial results, pricing documents, negotiation strategies and other proprietary information from more than 100 of Mandiant’s clients, predominantly in the United States...

...But in the weeks that followed, the group picked up where it had left off. From its Shanghai headquarters, the unit’s hackers set up new beachheads from compromised computers all over the world, many of them small Internet service providers and mom-and-pop shops whose owners do not realize that by failing to rigorously apply software patches for known threats, they are enabling state-sponsored espionage.

“They dialed it back for a little while, though other groups that also wear uniforms didn’t even bother to do that,” Kevin Mandia, the chief executive of Mandiant, said in an interview on Friday. “I think you have to view this as the new normal.”

The hackers now use the same malicious software they used to break into the same organizations in the past, only with minor modifications to the code.

While American officials and corporate executives say they are trying to persuade President Xi Jinping’s government that a pattern of theft by the P.L.A. will damage China’s growth prospects — and the willingness of companies to invest in China — their longer-term concern is that China may be trying to establish a new set of rules for Internet commerce, with more censorship and fewer penalties for the theft of intellectual property....

The Trust Deficit How the U.S. 'pivot' to Asia looks from Beijing.

North Korea: 3 Short-Range Missiles Fired May 18, 2013

North Korea fired three short-range missiles May 18 off its east coast, the South Korean Defense Ministry said, Reuters reported. The purpose of the launch is unknown, though short-range missile launches are not uncommon for North Korea. A Japanese government source said none of the missiles landed in Japanese territorial waters. In the past few months, North Korea had been threatening nuclear war with South Korea and the United States.

South Korea: Dozens Of Missiles Deployed To Border Islands May 19, 2013

South Korea has deployed dozens of Israeli-designed Spike missiles and their launchers to the Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands, a South Korean military spokesman said May 19, The Australian reported. According to the spokesman, the missiles are capable of destroying North Korea's underground facilities and moving targets. North Korea launched a short-range missile earlier in the day, and three short-range missiles on May 18.

China's Opportunities in Taiwanese-Philippine Tensions

Taiwan's Balancing Act in the South and East China Seas

AFRICA

BP Puts Pressure on Algeria's Energy Industry

Nigeria Deploys Troops Against Islamist Militants

Mali Receives Foreign Funds for Use in Its Unstable North


South Africa: Work Stops At Platinum Mine May 14, 2013

Operations at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine in South Africa have stopped after workers refused to go underground, Bloomberg reported May 14. Unrest at the mine in North West province began after a union said a local organizer was shot dead near the mine on May 11.

RUSSIA

U.S.-Russian Relations and the Syrian Crisis

IRAN

Iran: Registration Opened For Presidential Candidates May 7, 2013

Iranian authorities on May 7 opened up registration for candidates in the June 14 presidential election, AP reported. A number of candidates considered loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are likely to run. Frontrunners will probably include Khamenei adviser Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and former nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani

Iran: Nuclear Inspectors Allowed If Protocol Is Signed May 18, 2013

Iran will allow international inspectors to visit its Parchin nuclear facilities if the International Atomic Energy Agency agrees to sign a protocol with Tehran, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Reza Sajjadi said May 18, Xinhua reported. The protocol would "explain all the so-called suspicion" about Iran's nuclear program and close the case on Iranian nuclear aims in the U.N. Security Council. International observers grew suspicious of Iran's nuclear program again after Iranian Atomic Energy Organization head Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani on April 16 said Tehran may need to enrich uranium beyond the current 20 percent level.

IRAQ

Turkey: First PKK Contingent Withdraws To Iraq May 14, 2013

The first group of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, to withdraw from Turkey under the tenets of a peace process arrived in northern Iraq on May 14, Al Jazeera reported. Thirteen men and women arrived in the vicinity of Heror on the Turkish-Iraqi border. It is too soon to tell whether Ankara's latest cease-fire with the PKK will hold.

ISRAEL

Syria: Surface-To-Surface Missiles Deployed, Prepared To Strike Israel May 19, 2013

Satellite images reportedly show that Syria has deployed surface-to-surface Tishreen missiles in preparation for a strike on Tel Aviv, should Israel launch another attack on Syrian territory, The Sunday Times reported May 19. An Israeli official has said the Syrian regime would face crippling consequences if it strikes Israel. The Israeli airstrikes in Syria, though preventive measures, could have the unintended consequence of turning the Syrian civil war into a wider international conflict.

Israel: Troops Fire Into Syria In Response To Gunfire In Golan Heights May 21, 2013

Israeli troops fired at a target in Syrian territory on May 21 after gunfire hit Israeli forces in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said, Reuters reported. Incidents involving Syrian gunfire into Israel have recurred in the past months, and Israel's Army Radio said this was the third cross-border shooting in a week.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan: Obama Decreases Funding Request May 18, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama decreased his funding request for the war in Afghanistan by 10 percent in a letter to Congress on May 17, Reuters reported May 18. Obama asked for $79.4 billion to fun overseas contingency operations in fiscal year 2014, which begins on Oct. 1. His original request had been $88.5 billion. The move reflects the administration's plans to draw down from Afghanistan. Obama is set to announce in the next few weeks how many combat troops the United States will leave in Afghanistan in 2014, according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. However, Afghan President Hamid Karzai sees that he must have U.S. security support in order to keep shaping his desired outcome in Afghanistan.

MIDDLE EAST

UK to double aid to Syrian opposition http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/13/uk-aid-syrian-opposition

Barack Obama and David Cameron seek to project united front during joint press conference in Washington


The US is working with Britain to strengthen elements of the Syrian opposition, Barack Obama has told a White House press conference with David Cameron, where the two leaders sought to project a united front in seeking a political solution on Syria.

The British prime minister said in a US radio interview that Britain had not ruled out taking tougher action against Bashar al-Assad's regime, but later told reporters that his government has not made a decision to arm the Syrian opposition....


Why There Is No Military Solution to the Syrian Conflict

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Argentina's Currency Challenges

Brazil's Petroleum Sector Resumes Licensing Activities

MISC

The Arctic's Untapped Energy Resources

The Growing Importance of the Arctic CouncilAmid the Crisis, the EU Adds Another Member


Except where noted courtesy STRATFOR.COM

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