⚠️ Confirmed: Metrics show a loss of internet connectivity in parts of #Caracas, Venezuela, corresponding to power cuts during the US military operation which landed strikes on the capital and captured and removed President Maduro from the country #3Ene

Meanwhile, in #Iran …

Data centre implications …

I’ve seen several examples of AI images from #Iran protests. BBC Verify are covering it here:

Digital themes here - looking at AI use in newsrooms and podcast production arab.news/g6b5p

#Malaysia online regulation tightening

AI browsers anybody? I’ve started tentatively using them. This article explores implications of Comet ++

UNICEF estimates that nearly one million children in Gaza require psychosocial assistance ⬇️

#Iran protests continue:

Egyptian dissident apologises for tweets as Tories push for UK deportation www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Government condemns Egyptian activist’s ‘abhorrent’ social media posts www.lbc.co.uk/article/gove...

Her husband's kidnapping became Malaysia's biggest mystery. Then came a stunning confession www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

US launches strikes against Islamic State in Nigeria www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@lbc.co.uk British online campaigner vows to fight US deportation threat

There’s plenty to take away from this interesting case from Turkey …

Refers to online magazines

One for my reading list from @marcowenjones.bsky.social

Rights groups condemn new record number of executions in Saudi Arabia www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A great initiative

New Analysis on my Substack: I Detected Over 5,000 Bot-Like Accounts Amplifying UAE-Aligned STC Narratives in Southern Yemen open.substack.com/pub/marcowen...

AI coder risk

"Coders, repair technicians and freelance workers are labouring under impossible conditions to keep the besieged enclave connected to the outside world." #Gaza tech in focus here @aljazeera.com

Interesting: a new Qur'an Reciters Museum in Cairo (info via Instagram)

digital Islamic banking

Social media companies attempt to detect and remove this type of astroturfing for violating their inauthentic behavior policies, which is why Doublespeed uses a bank of phones to emulate the behavior of real users. @evystadium.bsky.social explains more here: www.404media.co/hack-reveals...

AI-generated influencers

Paperback Writer. Pleased to finally get hold of the PB version of ‘Islamic Algorithms' (Bloomsbury). Bookpage: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/islamic-a... “…a must-read for those fascinated by the intersection between Islam, Muslims and all things metaverse” M. Dhanoya, LSE Religion and Global Society

Not many motorways where/when I was growing up, so definitely the “landed in the hay” line was the one to use.

a small step in the right direction Erasmus scheme to return for UK students, BBC understands www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

To claim the coveted Christmas #1 spot on the UK's Official Charts, it needs 100,000 downloads

Australia's domestic intelligence agency, ASIO, examined one of the Bondi Beach gunmen six years ago over his close ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State (IS) terrorism cell, the ABC understands. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

"Family friend, sources in Russia and Syria, and leaked data help give rare insight into life of dictator’s reclusive household." Some social media references in this article.

it's actually worse. not only are AI aggregators (including Musk's lobotomized Grok) spreading this myth, it's entirely based upon an 'article' written by AI originally posted by a website with an Icelandic ISP

Four sources close to the situation claim OpenAI has become hesitant to publish research on the negative impact of AI. The company says it has only expanded the economic research team’s scope.

Data #Indonesia

AI browser privacy concerns

VERY important to make clear that the passer-by who disarmed one of the Bondi Beach shooters is a Muslim named Ahmed el-Ahmed. He probably saved many lives

Online elements here ‘He was an Uber driver in the US. Now he's scared of jihadists after deportation to Somalia’

OMG! - Brave bystander disarms one of the two shooters at Bondi beach. This man and the woman behind him are heroes 👏 The attack on a Jewish festival 'Chanukah by the Sea' is absolutely disgusting As democracies we stand up for the rights and safety of all people in our society

#GenZ212 #Morocco “GenZ212’s members are unsafe at home and online. Discord – a gaming platform where some 200,000 young Moroccans have united – has been infiltrated by state officials who track their plans and even pose as activists to slow momentum.”

#Iran #crypto analysis/opinion