Kazakhstan

Cyber

Environment, Science & Technology

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced the opening of an artificial intelligence lab in Astana, Kazakhstan, to develop new AI services for the app's more than one billion users, KazTAG reported on Oct. 2. 

Kazakhstan: Telegram Opens AI Lab in Astana as Oil Wealth Fuels AI Ambitions

United States

Politics

During the government shutdown that began on Oct. 1, the United States' premier cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), will retain only 889 employees or roughly a third (35%) of its 2,540 employees, while the remainder will be furloughed, The Washington Post reported the same day.

U.S.: Government Shutdown Imperils Country's Cybersecurity Preparedness

Taiwan

Economics

Taiwanese Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun on Oct. 1 rejected a recent request by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for Taiwan to move to the United States at least 50% of its production capacity for the semiconductor chips it sells to the United States, saying that the issue ''was not discussed in this round of negotiation, and we will not agree to such a condition,'' Bloomberg reported.

Taiwan, U.S.: Taipei Rejects Washington's Pitch To Onshore More Chip Capacity 

United Kingdom

Military & Security

The United Kingdom issued a new order to Apple to create a backdoor allowing officials to access its encrypted cloud storage, with the order limited to British users' accounts, The Financial Times reported on Oct 1.

U.K.: London Orders Apple To Allow Access to British Users' Cloud Storage

Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban shut down Afghanistan's fiber-optic telecommunications network indefinitely amid a push in recent weeks to limit activities it deems immoral, resulting in disruptions to internet access, mobile and landline phone services, as well as television and radio transmissions, AFP reported on Sept. 30.

Afghanistan: Taliban Imposes Nationwide Telecommunications Blackout

South Korea

Energy

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's Cabinet announced that it would dissolve the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and replace the Korea Communications Commission with a new regulator, Yonhap News Agency reported on Sept. 30.

South Korea: Ministry Revamp Strengthens President, Portends Greater Spending

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new artificial intelligence law, creating one of the most robust regulatory frameworks in the country aiming to oversee the nascent technology, The New York Times reported on Sept. 29.

U.S.: California Passes Landmark AI Legislation

The Trump administration is discussing a plan requiring chip manufacturers to produce the same number of semiconductors in the United States that their customers import from overseas producers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 26. 

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Plan To Boost Domestic Semiconductor Production

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

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Globalization

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Assessments

Global Trade

While countries will likely increasingly pursue trade deals with digital clauses, the slow pace of regulatory development, coupled with a global tendency toward protectionism, will impede the push toward building out more streamlined digital economy agreements.

The Geopolitics of Trade: The Role of Digital Trade in Modern Free Trade Agreements

Turkey

This aerial photograph shows dry areas near the Alacati Kutlu Aktas Dam in Izmir, Turkey, on July 30, 2025. 

The absence of a national water strategy leaves local authorities and businesses exposed to the mounting pressures of climate change, inefficient agricultural practices and population growth.

Water Scarcity Likely to Worsen With Climate Change, Deepening Turkey's Economic Challenges

Columns

On Security

An aerial view of the IAD71 Amazon Web Services data center is seen on July 17, 2024, in Ashburn, Virginia. 

Social Issues

AI's displacement of workers, the environmental impact of data centers and fears of pervasive surveillance are creating a potent mix of grievances likely to fuel violent extremism against targets associated with the technology.

The Coming Violent Backlash Against AI

An H1B visa (for specialty workers) stamp is seen in a passport.

The sudden implementation of a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas will disproportionately harm smaller companies and universities and weigh on the U.S. economy.

The H-1B Fee Will Undermine U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness

Snapshots

China

Flag of China on a red-painted printed circuit board.

Advancements in China's semiconductor sector are reducing Chinese companies' reliance on foreign technology, enabling them to push back more firmly against Western hegemony.

China's Chip Advances Increase Beijing's Leverage in Talks With the U.S.

U.S.-China Relations

From left to right, Small Business Administration administrator Kelly Loeffler, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin listen as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

As federal agencies tasked with countering foreign threats are defunded and social media giants relax their rules, the U.S. information space is becoming significantly more vulnerable to state-sponsored manipulation.

U.S. Digital Defenses Weaken, Opening the Door for Nation-State Operations

Media

Podcasts

Essential Geopolitics: What Gabbard's ODNI Cuts Mean for Corporate Security

On Geopolitics

A portrait of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan is seen in the background as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 2025.

In just seven months in office, the Trump administration has pursued a series of highly unconventional economic policies that, taken together, amount to the deepest government interventionism into the U.S. economy of any president since the Reagan era.

The Visible Hand: Trump's Interventionism Reshapes American Capitalism

The Geopolitics of Trade

Geopolitical, security and environmental risks threaten to disrupt trade through crucial waterways, including the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the Suez Canal, the Danish and Turkish straits, and the Panama Canal.

The Geopolitics of Trade: Threats to Maritime Chokepoints Endanger Global Trade, Part 2

Norway

The building housing Norway's parliament is seen on May 17, 2025, in Oslo.

The Sept. 8 vote could result in another left-wing coalition focused on welfare and climate, a right-wing coalition focused on tax cuts and oil production, or perhaps even an unprecedented grand coalition between the country's two largest parties.

Norway's Legislative Elections: Potential Outcomes and Their Implications

Global Elections

A person holds a smartphone showing an interface introducing OpenAI's new GPT-5 model in the ChatGPT app in front of a blurred OpenAI logo on Aug. 9, 2025, in Chongqing, China. 

Despite users' disappointment with the lack of conversational improvements, GPT-5 signifies a shift in AI development from basic chatbots to more advanced agentic systems, capable of complex, multi-step tasks.

GPT-5 and the Evolution of AI

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the "Winning the AI Race" summit hosted by All‑In Podcast and Hill & Valley Forum at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on July 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

Relaxed U.S. export controls on key semiconductors will enable Chinese companies to accelerate their advancement of AI-focused chips.

Environment, Science & Technology

SITUATION REPORTS

Kazakhstan: Telegram Opens AI Lab in Astana as Oil Wealth Fuels AI Ambitions

U.S.: Government Shutdown Imperils Country's Cybersecurity Preparedness

Taiwan, U.S.: Taipei Rejects Washington's Pitch To Onshore More Chip Capacity

U.K.: London Orders Apple To Allow Access to British Users' Cloud Storage

Afghanistan: Taliban Imposes Nationwide Telecommunications Blackout

South Korea: Ministry Revamp Strengthens President, Portends Greater Spending

U.S.: California Passes Landmark AI Legislation

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Plan To Boost Domestic Semiconductor Production

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