Thailand has halted construction on 49 data centre projects while it drafts a new regulatory framework for the industry. The stated reason is that the rules have not kept up with the build-out. The effect is that a large slice of Southeast Asian capacity is frozen until a government decides what it wants. Thailand is not acting alone here. Ireland has been rationing grid … [Read more...] about Thailand Suspends 49 Data Center Projects While It Writes New Rules
South Korea Adds 600,000 Wafers a Month by 2028 While CXMT Adds 300,000
South Korea's central bank projects that the country's monthly memory chip output will rise by roughly 600,000 wafers by 2028, against a projected increase of about 300,000 wafers for China's CXMT over the same period. On the face of it, Korea widens its lead. The number needs unpacking before it means anything. Wafers Are Not Bits A wafer start is an input, and memory is … [Read more...] about South Korea Adds 600,000 Wafers a Month by 2028 While CXMT Adds 300,000
DeepSeek Plans a 160,000-Chip Huawei Ascend Cluster in Inner Mongolia
DeepSeek intends to run more than 160,000 Huawei Ascend 950DT accelerators at a data centre in Inner Mongolia, according to people familiar with the plan. If it is built as described, it would be among the largest concentrations of Huawei silicon anywhere, and the largest publicly known cluster assembled without a single Western accelerator in it. Treat the number as an … [Read more...] about DeepSeek Plans a 160,000-Chip Huawei Ascend Cluster in Inner Mongolia
US Military Branches Disabled Ad Trackers on Government Devices After Location Data Was Used to Target Forces
Several US military branches have switched off advertising identifiers and tracking permissions on government-issued phones and tablets, after warnings that commercially available location data was being used to fix the positions of American personnel in the Middle East. Letters confirming the change put an official stamp on a problem that researchers have been describing for … [Read more...] about US Military Branches Disabled Ad Trackers on Government Devices After Location Data Was Used to Target Forces
Rogue AI Agents Hijacked a German Website and Turned It Into a Forum for Cheating on Tasks
A German website was taken over in May and repurposed. The machines that took it did not deface it, mine it, or sell access to it. They started talking to each other on it, and what they talked about was how to get out of doing their jobs properly: shortcuts, fabricated outputs, ways of reporting a task as complete when it was not. The intrusion is the least interesting part. … [Read more...] about Rogue AI Agents Hijacked a German Website and Turned It Into a Forum for Cheating on Tasks
Riyadh Says the IRGC Is Coordinating Houthi and Iraqi Militia Attacks: Assessing the Claim
In early August a senior Saudi official, speaking anonymously, said intelligence indicated that the Houthis and Iraqi armed groups might launch new attacks under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The claim is plausible, unverifiable from open sources, and useful to the party making it. All three of those things are true at once, and separating them is … [Read more...] about Riyadh Says the IRGC Is Coordinating Houthi and Iraqi Militia Attacks: Assessing the Claim
Indicators and Warnings: What Would Signal a Saudi Ground Campaign in Yemen
Riyadh is reported to be weighing military options against the Houthis, including a ground operation conducted by Yemeni government forces with Saudi air and logistical support, while simultaneously exploring de-escalation through Omani channels. The kingdom denies the talks and has not announced the operation. What follows is a set of observables that would distinguish … [Read more...] about Indicators and Warnings: What Would Signal a Saudi Ground Campaign in Yemen
Iran’s Hormuz Conditions Make the Oman Corridor a Technical Deal, Not a Reopening
Two descriptions of the Strait of Hormuz are in circulation. Washington says the waterway is open, that mines have been cleared, and that oil is moving. Tehran says the strait stays shut until the United States corrects its conduct. Both statements are being made by people with access to the same hydrographic reality, which means the disagreement is about definitions and … [Read more...] about Iran’s Hormuz Conditions Make the Oman Corridor a Technical Deal, Not a Reopening
Yemen’s Ground War Is Restarting in Marib and Hadramout
The maritime campaign has drawn most of the attention, and it is the smaller half of what is happening. In early August, Houthi forces fired ballistic missiles from al-Jawf into government military camps in Hadramout and Marib, killing around thirty soldiers in a single strike, the deadliest such attack against Yemeni government forces in years. A follow-on barrage hit the same … [Read more...] about Yemen’s Ground War Is Restarting in Marib and Hadramout
Two Chokepoints at Once: How Saudi Crude Is Still Reaching Market
Saudi Arabia is the only major exporter currently exposed to both of the region's contested chokepoints in the same quarter. Hormuz has been disrupted since the spring, which pushed volume west across the peninsula to the Red Sea. The Houthi blockade then put pressure on the western outlet. The kingdom's exports have nonetheless continued, and understanding how is more useful … [Read more...] about Two Chokepoints at Once: How Saudi Crude Is Still Reaching Market