“First they stole my idea, and then they poisoned others with it” is what owners of intellectual property (IP) are expected to say when their rights are infringed. If you believe that this is an overstatement, and that you are immune to this problem, think twice.
READ MOREForget about foreign conflict, instability and terrorism: cyber security attacks are quickly becoming the biggest threat to European democracies. Over the past ten years, we have witnessed a steady and worrisome increase in online criminal activity, with cases of theft, espionage and data extraction on the rise. What were once merely disruptive threats have now become destructive attacks. Dealing with cyber attacks will require more than legislative proposals and “mainstreaming cybersecurity”.
READ MOREOn 5 June, Qataris residing in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) woke up to learn that they were asked to pack and leave within 14 days. They were expected to quit their jobs, pull their children out of school, bid their friends and families goodbye, and go back to Qatar. A diplomatic row that should have been confined to political salons has instead exploded into an identity crisis.
READ MOREMany have rushed to blame religious conservatism for a surge in terror attacks, citing Islamist extremism as the root of increased violence. Conflating the issues of terrorism and religious conservatism is not only simplistic, it is also dangerous and short-sighted. It alienates those very same communities who are our best allies in curbing the spreading of home-grown terror. An effective answer to domestic terrorism should focus on socioeconomic issues, not on religious conservatism.
READ MOREWhen the EU reported on it revised external policies in its neighbourhood, did it deliberately overlook its shortcomings and meagre deliverables? Is the EU shying away from following a harder line with southern neighbours to achieve the agreed-upon objectives of political reform? Worst still, is the maintenance of the status quo a goal in itself?
READ MOREIzumo is a Japanese 249 meter-long warship that can operate up to nine helicopters. It’s the largest warship to be dispatched in the South China Sea and symbolizes the shift of Japanese politics from a pacifist approach to a more aggressive one. Izumo will counter the menaces in the South China Sea, but it will definitively shake up political relations as well.
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