Argus Geopolitical Intel

TECHNOLOGY: Twitter CEO announces bans on all political advertising By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom While Facebook recently ruled out a ban on political ads, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced that his network is to ban ALL political advertising worldwide from the 22nd November saying that such "reach" "should be earned not bought" Full details of the blanket veto are expected to be announced by the 15th November. News of the ban divided US political camps for the 2020 election. Reacting to the move, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg defended his company's policy, as of course he would. Mr Dorsey explained his position in a thread of tweets. Internet political ads, he said, presented "entirely new challenges to civic discourse". "While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics" company CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted. "In a democracy, I d...

Cybersecurity firm exposes huge security breach across the medical industry. By NewsDdesk Team City of London Newsroom Technology is moving at a fast pace and the security systems don’t seem like they can keep up. This is especially troubling when dealing with a company that is supposed to protect sensitive user data. The health industry is no exception, as companies share data with third-party providers around the world. This can be especially troubling since medical data should be kept private. However, Cybersecurity sepcialists WizCase have found several leaks that seriously raise questions regarding how our medical data is handled and secured in this technological era. Cybersecurity company WizCase recently found database leaks from several different medical websites from around the world. The unsecured data includes prescriptions, medical observations, lab visits, Social Security Numbers, and in many cases, full names and addresses. The following databases were found in the conte...

SYRIA: Russia and Turkey agree mutual forward action on  Kurdish forces By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom Russian president Vladimir Putin and Turkeys president Erdogan have agrred what is being hailed as an "historic" deal to keep Kurish forces from Turkey´s border with Syria with the aim of creating a "safe zone" in the area The deal sets out plans for joint Turkish-Russian patrols along the border next week in a deal that was seen as impossible just a few weeks ago with both sides supporting opposite sides in the Syrian civil war. It comes during a lull in Turkey's offensive to drive Kurdish forces out who Turkey have always regarded as terrorists. The deal will see Syrian and Russian forces immediately oversee a withdrawal of Kurdish forces. The agreement was announced after six hours of talks on Tuesday between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian host, Vladimir Putin, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. A ceasefire brokered by the U...

CYBERSECURITY: Iranian hackers counter-hacked by notorious group. By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom An Iranian hacking group has been hacked itself by a notorious Russian hacking group UK Security Services have revealed.The Iranian group known to sources as "OilRig" has had its own operations counter-hacked by the Russian-based "Turla" group. The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) a division of GCHQ, the UK spy and listening headquarters uncovered the "counter hack" as long ago as 2017 but only now have revealed the information. The notorious Cyber actors Turla group acquired Iranian tools and infrastructure to conduct attacks on dozens of countries. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and US National Security Agency (NSA) have shown that the group targeted victims and adopted techniques used by suspected Iran-based hacking groups. Victims, the majority of whom were based in the Middle East, saw documents extracted from various sec...

Brexit: Johnson returns to London to begin charm offensive By: Newsdesk Team City of London News Centre UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has returned to London from the EU 27 Summit with a deal but now the hard work really begins as he and his team of sycopohants begin a charm offensive in an attempt to persuade MPs to back his Brexit deal today ahead of the so called "Super Saturday" in what could be one of the most important Commons sessions of the entire Brexit process and if, as seems increasingly likely a deal is not agreed, he will be sent sent packing. Mr Johnson has insisted he is "very confident" MPs will back his deal but this is "A" typical of his "bluff and bluster" approach to everything political and personal. However, there seems to be little support for the deal with DUP leader Arlene Foster saying that "as things stand" they will be supporting the new deal. This negativity has also been echoed by the opposition Labour P...

Brexit Latest Update: Talks enter last day before crunch EU summit By: Geo´ Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom  Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to update the cabinet later today on the progress of the negotiations, which continued through the night. Meanwhile UK and EU grandees will resume Brexit talks this morning in the hope of reaching a deal that can be agreed by leaders at the next key summit of EU27 leaders tomorrow. [Thursday, 17th October] Reports that a deal was imminent, amid suggestions that the UK had made concessions over the Irish border, however, Number 10 said there was "more work still to do" although it said that "constructive" progress was being made. The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will update the bloc on the state of the negotiations later when he briefs EU commissioners and ambassadors.

BREXIT: 'Long way to go' as UK edges ever closer to crashing out of EU   By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has thrown down the gauntlet to MPs, telling them to either back any deal he brings back from Brussels or admit they are trying to stop Brexit. At the start of a pivotal week, maybe the most pivotal ever, ‌in UK Politics, the Prime Minister told his in Cabinet in a conference call there was still a 'long way to go' to hammer out an agreement. Mr Johnson is hoping to put the agreement to a vote of MPs this weekend as the Commons sits on a Saturday for the first time since the Falklands War. But he faces the threat of a rebel plot to hijack legislation so that any deal is subject to approval in a second referendum. In a briefing to his Cabinet colleagues, yesterday, Mr Johnson said if MPs who are against No Deal now oppose his new deal they will be 'exposing their true aim of wanting to stop Brexit altogether'. Meanwh...

Syrian Civil War: Dozens killed as Turkeys assault moves forward By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom Casualties are increasing as Turkeys cross-border offensive on Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria continues. Latest reports say that at least 11 civilians have died and dozens of fighters from the Kurdish-led SDF and pro-Turkish factions have been killed with the first death of a Turkish soldier also being reported. Meanwhile Republicans in the US House of Representatives have announced plans to introduce a sanctions bill against Turkey, and President Donald Trump has offered to mediate. Turkey moved into northern Syria on Wednesday after the president Donald Trump pulled US troops out of the area. Follow us on Twitter @ Geo_NewsDesk for Breaking news on this story.

UK: Borrowing is expected to top £50bn next year By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom The institute of fiscal studies has said that any form of "No-deal Brexit" would result in UK borrowing rising to £100Bn [GBP] with total debt rising to the equivalent of 90% of national income. IFS Director, Paul Johnson said "the government is now adrift without any effective fiscal anchor" he went on say "Given the extraordinary level of uncertainty and risks facing the economy and public finances, it should not be looking to offer further permanent overall tax giveaways in any forthcoming Budget." "In the case of a no-deal Brexit, though, it should be implementing carefully targeted and temporary tax cuts and spending increases where it can effectively support the economy." "...The authoritative Think Tank has also warned that the Government should not even be considering any permanent tax cuts..." But even before the cost of a possible no-dea...

SYRIA: US turns back on Kurdish "allies" By: Newsdesk Team City of London News Centre Washington has announced that it is stepping aside for an imminent Turkish operation against Kurdish-led forces within Syria that have until now been a key US ally in Syria, in sharp contrast to US President Donald Trump statement at the beginning of the year when he threatened to "devastate Turkey economically" if it attacked Kurdish forces, however the White House statement, which followed a phone call between President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, makes no reference to the Kurdish fighters of the YPG. The Kurdish militias played a major role in defeating the Islamic State (IS) group, but Turkey regards them as terrorists. The main Kurdish-led force has condemned the pullout and accused the US of "abandoning" its fighters. "...The US contingent which is made of of hundreds of troops near the Turkey-Syria border has already begun to withd...

ENERGY: Ramp up nuclear power to beat climate change, says UN nuclear chief Reported By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom Cornel Feruta, the acting Director-General of the agency, was speaking in Vienna, at the opening of the first-ever International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power. It brought together some 550 participants from 79 countries, and 18 international organizations, to exchange science-based information, and hold objective discussions on the role of nuclear power in mitigating the climate crisis. The IAEA pointed out that nuclear power contributes around one-third of all low carbon electricity, producing practically no greenhouse gases, and some 10 per cent of the total electricity produced worldwide. "...Radioactive waste and security concerns must be addressed..." However, the IAEA accepted that there are persistent public concerns about the potential dangers to health and the environment caused by radioactive waste from nuclear p...

BREXIT: Johnson - "Its my way or no way" last ditch offer to EU By: Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom The UK prime minister Boris Johnson will address the Tory conference today [Wednesday, 2nd October] to outline details of his "final" negotiating offer to the EU before submitting his new proposals, intended to form the legal text of a new Brexit deal, to Brussels. While Johnson maintains his proposals have been drafted in pursuit of a "fair and reasonable" Brexit compromise, however his critics, of which he has many, say this is designed to be unacceptable to the EU edging the UK towards a "no deal" brexit. Only by leaving the EU on 31 October can the UK "move on", he will argue. On the eve of his speech, Mr Johnson told a conference fringe meeting in Manchester, hosted by the DUP, that he hoped to reach a deal with the EU over the course of "the next few days". The government has insisted it will not negotiate a further ...

China celebrates 70 years of Communist Rule with awesome military parade Newsdesk Team City of London Newsroom China chose to celebrate 70 years of Communist Rule with the biggest military parade in Tienanmen Square since its founding. China seized the opportunity to "flex its muscles" by flaunting its latest missile armory including one with nuclear-capability all headed by a huge display of "boots on the ground" resources. In a brief opening address President Xi Jinping said "no force" could shake China as he oversaw the spectacular show of might. he went on to say that "No force can ever stop the Chinese people and nation from marching forward," said the Chinese leader in a brief opening address. GEO´ SPECIAL REPORT: China's Military Might Click Here to Download