Argus Geopolitical Intel

Pakistan says it has shot down two Indian military jets and captured a pilot in a major escalation between the nuclear powers over Kashmir. India said it had lost one MiG-21 fighter and demanded the immediate and safe return of its pilot. Pakistani PM, Imran Khan said the two sides could not afford a miscalculation with the weapons they had. India and Pakistan - both nuclear-armed states - claim all of Kashmir, but control only parts of it. They have fought three wars since independence from Britain and partition in 1947. All but one were over Kashmir .

Image Credit. Pixabay/Michael Siebert Russia's lower house, the Duma , has passed the first reading of a bill which would give the Government the power to control the country's Internet. The so-called 'Internet Sovereignty Act' would require Russian companies to host data locally and make it mandatory for Russia's Internet traffic to be controlled centrally, within the country. The law states that it is designed to stop Russia being shut out of the Internet by American companies, and instead, allow Russia to control its own fate, however, lawyers fear that the government will use the act to crack down on freedom of speech.

Image Credit: Creative Commons Under a new contract, Leonardo will continue to support the delivery of cyber-security capabilities to the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) for a further 18 months. Leonardo has signed an 18-month contract with the NCI which will see it continue to deliver cyber-incident detection and management capabilities. The new NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) Cyber Security Support Services (CSSS) contract provides continuity of service to the NCIRC Full Operational Capability (FOC) contract which ends in February 2019.

Saudi Arabia has pledged investment deals worth $20bn with Pakistan which is currently seeking to bolster its fragile economy. The deal includes funding for an $8bn oil refinery in the city of Gwadar . Pakistan is suffering from a massive financial crisis, with only $8bn left in foreign reserves and is eager to secure new international backers.

Image Credit: Creative Commons A new poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre has found that Russians are confident their country is well prepared to deal with any level of cyber attack far more so than Britons or Americans. After Israel, Russia is the second most self-assured, with 63 percent believing they are prepared for a major cyber-attack. Meanwhile, in the US only 53 percent believe they can hold their ground in a cyber war and in the UK just 46 believe the country is ready. The poll data, released recently, was taken from 27,612 respondents in 26 countries last summer. As the pace and magnitude of cyber-attacks have increased around the world, a new survey shows that people in multiple countries think it is likely that government data, public infrastructure and elections will be targeted by future hacks.

Image Credit: Creative Commons At least 20 people have been killed in a car bomb attack in the Colombian capital of Bogotá , with dozens more injured in the blast which happened at 09:30 (14:30 GMT) today in the south of the city. The grey Nissan Patrol entered the compound of the General Santander police academy where a promotion ceremony for cadets was being held. When the car was challenged by guards at a checkpoint, the driver accelerated and hit a wall, at which point the car exploded. At this time no known terror groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.  

Image Credit: Creative Commons Nine people have been arrested in Kenya following the attack on the luxury DusitD2 hotel complex in the capital Nairobi that killed at least 21 people. All the terrorists who initially stormed the hotel and business complex have all been killed, officials say, and a major manhunt is under way to find those who helped organise it. Somalia-based Terror group al-Shabab says it was behind the attack.