Today’s news: Pyongyang laundered $147.5 million in stolen cryptocurrencies in March alone. Rosewood trade from Mozambique to China funds Islamic State militants. YouTube blocks “Glory to Hong Kong” videos at the request of the local government. Israel and Egypt blame each other for the closure of the Rafah border crossing and the blockage of aid.
INDONESIA
Thirty-five people still missing after flash floods that have devastated the province of West Sumatra in recent days. Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to 58. At least 249 houses, 225 hectares of land including several rice fields, 19 bridges and most major roads were damaged in three districts and one city in the country.
NORTH KOREA
In March, North Korea laundered $147.5 million through the Tornado Cash platform, according to the analysis of UN sanctions monitors. The experts investigated 97 alleged North Korean cyberattacks against cryptocurrency companies between 2017 and 2024, with a total value of about $3.6 billion. In 2024 alone, observers said they examined “11 cryptocurrency thefts worth $54.7 million.”
CHINA – MOZAMBIQUE
Smuggling of wood from Mozambique forests to China helps finance Islamic State insurgency in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. It is an illicit trade valued at $23 million a year, according to a four-year investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency. Mozambique rosewood, despite being protected by international treaties, is sent to China for the construction of luxury furniture.
HONG KONG
YouTube assured yesterday that it will abide by a ruling from the Hong Kong Court of Appeal that will block access within the city to a series of videos banned by the Government to repress dissent. The ruling refers in particular to the ban on the use of the anthem “Glory to Hong Kong”, written during the 2019 protests as an alternative to the Chinese anthem. Some investors have expressed concern, but this is not the first time big IT companies have removed online content to please local government.
GAZA – ISRAEL
Israeli tanks entered the city of Rafah yesterday, reaching some residential areas where more than a million people had taken refuge. Meanwhile, Israel and Egypt blame each other for continued border crossing closureas the humanitarian crisis worsens. Israeli airstrikes do not stop either. Yesterday Fierce clashes broke out in Jabaliaa vast refugee camp.
RUSSIA
In recent days, more flooding has occurred in the northeastern region of Jacuzia in Siberia, as temperature fluctuations and ice breaking have caused the Lena River to overflow in several places, invading some villages, so more than 120 homes have been evacuated and residents rescued by helicopter, while many try to travel by boat.
KAZAKHSTAN
The Kazakh State Commission for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repressions of the 1920s-1950s has announced the conclusions of its work, with the rehabilitation of 311,000 people, the publication of 72 volumes of documentation, including more than 6 millions of disaggregated materials, and now historians intend to “rewrite the country’s history.”
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