Author: Maahir Zaidaan

The cybersecurity agencies of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand) issued a warning on Tuesday that hackers were increasingly exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities to access their targets’ networks. It marks a significant departure from similar advisories issued in 2022 and 2021, when the agencies warned that malicious cyber actors were exploiting older software vulnerabilities more frequently than recently disclosed ones. In a co-authored advisory, the agencies list the top 15 most routinely exploited vulnerabilities of 2023, with CVE-2023-3519 — an issue affecting Citrix’s networking product NetScalers — being the most widely used. Reports around the time…

The train click-clacks along at a steady rhythm, passing through various shades of green. Lush rice fields morph into dense forests, while rivers glisten in the morning sun. The verdant, tropical landscape is briefly interrupted by colorful sparks of life in the form of towns and villages, where people are going about their morning routine — street vendors serving breakfast to commuters, women carrying fresh produce back from the market and kids gathering in their red and white school uniforms. This is the view from the Argo Wilis Panoramic, a bright and airy carriage on the Argo Wilis train. Running…

China rejected Philippine maritime claims on Sunday, saying new legislation “severely infringes on” Beijing’s territorial sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea, and vowing to protect its own interests. Philippine President Ferdinand Marco Jr signed two laws on Friday to define the country’s maritime entitlements and set designated sea lanes and air routes to reinforce sovereignty. “China firmly opposes this and will continue to take all necessary measures in accordance with the law to resolutely defend China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the foreign ministry said. Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, including areas…

The navies of Indonesia and Russia began their first joint military exercises in the Java Sea on Monday, the Indoneisan navy said. The drills will take place in the Java Sea near the Indonesian city of Surabaya until Friday, after Russian warships arrived on site on Sunday. Russia has sent three corvette-class warships, a medium tanker, a military helicopter and a tugboat, according to the Indonesian navy. “Russian warships came from afar to Indonesia and conducted joint exercises for the first time that seek to improve diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Russia, especially the navies,” Indonesian navy commander Denih Hendrata said. The statement quoted…

Malaysia remains open and welcoming to Chinese companies seeking to list on Bursa Malaysia whether for their first or second listing exercise, in line with both countries’ shared goals of fostering innovation and promoting high-value products and services. The Securities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) executive director of corporate finance and investments Datuk Zain Azhari Mazlan said the listings will certainly enrich Bursa Malaysia with a greater variety of stocks and broaden the investment opportunities available to investors. “Malaysia saw an influx of China-based companies seeking a primary listing via initial public offering (IPO) on Bursa Malaysia about 15 years ago from…

A follow-up report issued recently by the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Council assails Tajikistan’s government for failing to implement recommendations contained in an earlier survey concerning atrocities committed during the country’s civil war in the mid-1990s. The follow-up report relates to a mission conducted in 2019 by UN researchers intent on promoting the closure of old societal wounds left by the civil war. Among that mission’s recommendations was the establishment of a “a truth-seeking State policy” and the development of “specific mechanisms, supported by dedicated resources, for dealing with disappearances caused by and related to the civil war.” The Tajik civil war…

SINGAPORE: Four Southeast Asian countries – Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand – have become partner countries of BRICS, a group of emerging economies that is seen as a counterweight to the West. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday (Oct 24), the @BRICSInfo account said 13 nations have been added to the alliance as partner countries. The other nine nations are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Turkey, Uganda and Uzbekistan. They are not full members of the group, which was established in 2006 and initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2010,…

After Tajiks were charged with a deadly attack in Moscow, the country has cracked down on signs of Islam. But experts say it’s not addressing the causes of terrorism. People in Tajikistan were expecting a government crackdown after Tajik men were arrested and charged with a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall in March. But it still seemed excessive to Nilufar, a 27-year-old education professional, when she saw local authorities with scissors outside a K.F.C. in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, trimming beards that were deemed too long. Excessive, but not so surprising. In the span of a month, Nilufar herself…

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police detained another 155 suspects in the investigation into alleged child abuse at care homes linked to a Muslim conglomerate. A total of 77 women were among those arrested on Saturday (Sep 21) during raids on 82 welfare homes, clinics and businesses, reported local media. This brings the total number of arrests to 355, after the Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain announced earlier on Saturday that 200 had been detained so far in the ongoing probe known as Ops Global. The 200 included 31 members of Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB). Seventeen of them are key figures…

Brussels/Dushanbe (10/8- 75) Once more Tajikistan comes on the radar screen. Who will be the next president of Tajikistan? How is the ban on the hijab helping the deradicalization of Tajik society? What is the role of the Chinese and Russian influence? And how is the relationship with the European Union coming along? Every year we face a plethora of Tajik issues, for example corruption and drug usage involving officials, now the ban on face veils, or the newest version a ban on black clothes. The desecration of the grave of one of leaders and the promotions of killer squad…