Iran will hold a run-off election to choose a new president on Friday 5th July after the two leading candidates failed to secure a majority. Hardliner Saeed Jalili and rival Masoud Pezeshkian, who is seen as reformist, are both hopeful of becoming the second most powerful leading in the Islamic republic. Candidates need to win 50 per cent of the vote but the pair both hovered around the 40 per cent mark – with Mr Pezeshkian finishing narrowly ahead. Two security force members were killed after unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying election boxes in Sistan-Baluchestan province, according to state…

Prof. Venter said Ramaphosa’s structuring of the Cabinet, with DA deputy ministers in ANC-led ministries and vice versa, introduces a system of internal checks and balances.

It’s inspiring being a student of Latin America during the 80s and 90s that people stood up so clearly and so unanimously denouncing this coup. I think that’s very positive. We need to recognise that. This is not the 1970s in which militaries can intervene with impunity.

Offshore wind farms located in the North Sea are becoming increasing vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to a new report. Wind farms located in remote areas rely heavily on digital connections to communicate with land-based systems. But many are equipped with out-dated technology and lack proper security measures, according to a report from the Alan Turing Institute Centre for Emerging Technology and Security (CETaS). Anna Knack, lead researcher for CETaS and report author, said: “As offshore wind becomes a larger part of the UK’s energy supply, it is essential that more is done to protect it from disruption and cyberattacks.”…

Bolivian authorities have arrested General Juan José Zúñiga after armoured vehicles rammed the doors of the government palace in La Paz. The rebellion, led by Zúñiga, aimed to overthrow President Luis Arce’s government under the guise of “restoring democracy.” However, the insurrection quickly unravelled, with Zúñiga’s forces pulling back after just three hours. President Arce condemned the move as an “irregular mobilisation,” and the country’s former President Evo Morales called it a “coup.” The BBC characterised the attempt as “a short-lived and ill-judged military uprising rather than any wider unravelling of power.” Despite its failure, the coup has raised concerns…

Iran and Niger cemented a secret ‘yellow cake’ uranium deal in late April for the delivery of 300 tons of uranium in exchange for drones-and-surface to air missiles.  

Ukraine has launched an internet-based tool to expose propaganda and help counter Russian disinformation, according to Volodymyr Borodiansky, media executive and former Ukrainian Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. War of Words uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse over 100,000 hours of video content across Russian political talk shows and news content.    The tool, which is updated daily, tracks everything that has been said on Russian TV, Telegram channels, and RuTube, since 2012. This gives users easy access to a vast archive which can be searched by keyword, and filtered by date, media type, source, program, speaker, and more.…

Sir Iain Duncan Smith is a long serving Tory MP and a vocal critic of the Chinese state. He has been sanctioned by China for describing the treatment of the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of Xinjiang as a “genocide”. In this article, which first appeared on his personal website, Sir Iain discusses the threat currently posed by China and asks whether World War Three has already begun.The threat posed by the axis of totalitarian states is the dog that hasn’t barked during the general election. There are fewer than three weeks to go…

It doesn’t have to be exact numbers, but it’s got to reflect the fact that the DA is a 22% party and not a 2% party. And the fact that the ANC is a 40% party and not a 70% party.

A NATO-style form of collective defence is the best protection against cyber security attacks by hostile states and organised crime gangs, experts have warned. Governments and corporations of all sizes risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in cyber attacks by hackers weaponising artificial intelligence (AI) to penetrate even the most secure computer systems. Cyber security experts are now urging governments and corporations to work together creating a form of collective self-defence where information on hacks are shared to help protect against future attacks. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have all been accused of mounting complex cyberattacks against the…

Lagos has a vulnerable population, an attack on a church, mosque, market, or bus stop could result in mass casualties.

China could deploy fully autonomous military weapons onto the battlefield within two years, according to a leading weapons expert. Defence analyst Francis Tusa said China was not hindered by the ethical concerns surrounding so-called killer robots and was developing autonomous weapons systems much faster than any other country. He said that the communist country’s huge investment in military technology meant that the People’s Liberation Army was developing AI-based autonomous weapons four to five times faster than potential adversaries. In an interview with National Security News (NSN), Tusa said: “We’re at the start of a race in truly autonomous systems. “I…