🔥 Haiti Left in the Dark

Good Morning. In a high-profile diplomatic meeting in Manila, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s ‘Ironclad’ commitment' to defend the Philippines amid South China Sea disputes with China.

During his visit, Blinken emphasized the mutual defense treaty obligations between the U.S. and the Philippines, stressing the importance of the region's security and economy.

THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

Haiti Plunged Into Darkness As Armed Groups Target Power Stations

Darkness reigns in Haiti as armed groups have focused attacks on four power substations, plunging parts of the nation into blackout, Haiti’s power company announced on Monday, March 19.

Terror of Bandits: The nation’s utility company attributed “terror of bandits” to crippling electrical facilities, and announced that the groups had left the power facilities “completely dysfunctional.” Attackers made off with electrical installations, batteries, and office equipment in whole power plant raids.

Lights Out At U.S. Embassy: Among the many locations in Port-au-Prince that lost power because of these attacks, the entrance to the U.S. Embassy was impacted.

Haiti continues to roil over with rising political tensions, civil unrest, and acts of violence.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & DIPLOMACY

Counterterrorism

• Gunmen kidnapped over 100 people, including women and children, from Kaduna State, Nigeria, over the weekend, amid rising kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs.

• Hamas leader Marwan Issa, the group's deputy military commander, was killed in an Israeli air strike on a tunnel complex in Gaza, according to White House official Jake Sullivan and Israeli media.

• The United States military destroyed seven missiles, three drones, and three weapons storage containers in Yemen to counter threats by Houthi rebels to merchant and Navy ships, operating in self-defense as stated by CENTCOM.

• Ugandan security forces warned of potential attacks in urban areas and public spaces by Islamic State-linked ADF militants who recently entered the country.

• German police arrested two Afghan nationals in Thuringia, accused of planning an attack on the Swedish parliament as supporters of Islamic State ideology. The suspects, identified as Ibrahim M. G. and Ramin N., have been aligned with IS ideology since at least 2023.

• The Somali government reported that a joint military operation with "international partners" killed nearly 40 al-Shabab militants in the Lower Shabelle region, specifically in the villages of Baldooska and Baghdad.

Military & Defense

• The United States and Japan proposed a U.N. Security Council resolution emphasizing adherence to a treaty that prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons in Space, targeting concerns over Russian developments in Space-based anti-satellite nuclear weaponry.

• Russian combat aircraft have significantly escalated their bombing campaign against Ukraine, dropping over 3,500 bombs this year and marking a sixteen-fold increase in intensity, as stated by Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk.

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a live-fire exercise of nuclear-capable "super-large" multiple rocket launchers aimed at South Korea's capital.

• Admiral Alexander Moiseyev has been appointed as the acting commander-in-chief of the Russian navy following the dismissal of his predecessor, due to Ukrainian attacks on the Black Sea Fleet.

Cybersecurity

• A malicious email campaign is targeting hundreds of Microsoft Office users in US-based organizations. The campaign works to deliver a remote access trojan (RAT) that evades detection, partially by showing up as legitimate software.

• Trend Micro reports that an advanced persistent threat (APT) actor, likely linked to the Chinese government and known as Earth Krahang, has compromised dozens of foreign government entities globally.

• Brazilian authorities, with the assistance of Interpol's cybercrime unit, have arrested five suspects linked to the Grandoreiro banking Trojan operation, known for its malware that masquerades as reputable organizations through phishing emails.

Counterintelligence & Espionage

• A top NSA official indicated that Russia, known for attempting to influence U.S. elections since 2016, will aim to undermine political support for Ukraine in this year's election cycle.

• A Chinese billionaire, Hui Qin, pleaded guilty to making over $10,000 in illegal campaign donations to two New York politicians, including Mayor Eric Adams, as per court proceedings in Central Islip federal court.

• A man claiming to be investigative journalist Mohamed al-Alawi falsely reported on YouTube that the mother-in-law of Ukraine's president bought a villa near Angelina Jolie's in El Gouna, Egypt, a claim debunked by Ukraine and the villa's owner.

• Moldova expelled a Russian diplomat in response to Russia opening polling stations in Moldova's Transnistria region for its presidential election, intensifying tensions between the pro-Western Moldovan government and Russia.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his security services to track down and "punish" Russians who have joined Ukrainian army regiments, emphasizing a commitment to identify and penalize them without any statute of limitations, regardless of their location. This directive was issued during a meeting with the FSB's board.

Transnational Organized Crime

• Gunmen looted homes in Laboule and Thomassin, previously peaceful upscale neighborhoods in Haiti's capital, causing residents to flee and seek police help through radio pleas.

• During a visit to Marseille, President Macron announced the detention of nearly 100 people in raids aimed at combating drug trafficking, as part of a larger "unprecedented operation" across France. This crackdown, described as an "XXL" cleanup, will extend to about 10 French cities.

• Colombia's Attorney General's Office arrested a former Navy employee, Jair Alberto Alvarez Valenzuela, for allegedly assisting drug cartels in shipping cocaine to Central America and the U.S., exploiting his position and technical expertise.

• Iraq's former defense minister, Najah al-Shammari, who has dual Iraqi-Swedish citizenship, was arrested in Sweden for allegedly receiving benefits illegally.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Nvidia, a U.S.-based tech giant popular for its GET FORCE RTX, has reportedly benefited from the AI industrial boom, and has become the third-most valuable entity in the United States.

Shares Skyrocket: Nvidia’s shares have reportedly surged to over 240% over the past year.

Human-like Bots: Nvidia has also laid out its plans for a series of new chips aimed at assisting the creation process of humanoid robotics.

In other news…

🤖 Gitai’s robotic arm has completed a successful tech demonstration outside of the International Space Station, Gitai’s CEO announced.

🌔 China’s Moon power plans have posed concerns for the US Space Force, with Space Force personnel are reportedly wondering what new orbits will mean for “potential attack vectors” on United States satellites.

DEALS & FUNDING

Ethos Fund has, in recent closing on an inaugural fund with $12 million in capital commitments, successfully completed its first fund to bridge the United States and Vietnamese tech ecosystems.

Building Bridges: The Ethos Fund’s founders launched the project with the aim of building express bridges between the U.S. and Vietnamese tech infrastructure.

Two-Years in the Making: The fund was initialized two years ago, and worked to build startup opportunities between the two nations.

In other news…

🪪 Data security firm BigID has raised $60 million in a growth fund that reportedly values that company at over $1 billion.

✈️ Airbus has decided not to move ahead with a deal to buy Atos’ cybersecurity unit. Following this decision, Atos shares have tanked.

🛰️ The European Union has agreed with the U.S. deal to launch satellites with SpaceX. The EU moves to obtain the right to post security guards at a U.S. spaceport in order to protect its Galileo satellites.