ATHENS — Greece has arrested a 38-year-old man as part of a Europol crackdown on international cybercrime, during which authorities dismantled malware infrastructure that has infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide, police said.

The pan-European law enforcement cooperation agency Europol said on Thursday that in the latest phase of “Operation Endgame” across 10 countries, including the United States, it targeted infostealers Rhadamanthys, the Remote Access Trojan VenomRAT, and the botnet Elysium.

The malware infrastructure dismantled this week consisted of hundreds of thousands of infected computers containing several million stolen credentials, Europol said. Many of the victims did not know that their systems were infected.

In total, 1,025 servers were taken down or disrupted worldwide and 20 domains were seized.

The man, an Albanian national arrested in Athens on November 3, is allegedly the creator and seller of VenomRAT since 2020, Greek police officials said. He was detained on a European arrest warrant issued by France.

“The main suspect behind the infostealer had access to over 100,000 crypto wallets belonging to these victims, potentially worth millions of euros,” Europol said.

Greek police said that the malware was designed to steal information through keystroke recording and the remote use of web cameras, text infiltration, and cryptocurrency wallet hacking. The price for its use ranged from 150 euros a month to 1,550 euros a year.

After searching the man’s residence they said they found versions of malware source code, evidence pointing to the management of a website promoting the malware, suspicious emails, and cryptocurrency accounts.

They have confiscated seven hard drives, three USB sticks, and a digital wallet with cryptocurrencies worth $140,424 among other items, police said in a statement.

A Greek police official said that the digital infrastructure for the operation of the malware was hosted on a server of a company based in France, while French and US authorities have also launched investigations. — Reuters

BEIJING — Japan will suffer a “crushing defeat” by the Chinese military if it tries to use force to intervene over Taiwan, China’s defense ministry said on Friday, ramping up the rhetoric over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about the island.

Takaichi sparked a diplomatic row with Beijing with comments in parliament last week that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and trigger a military response from Tokyo.

China’s top diplomat in Osaka shared a news article about Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan on X and commented “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off”, prompting a protest from Japan’s embassy in Beijing to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said that Ms. Takaichi’s words were extremely irresponsible and dangerous.

“Should the Japanese side fail to draw lessons from history and dare to take a risk, or even use force to interfere in the Taiwan question, it will only suffer a crushing defeat against the steel-willed People’s Liberation Army and pay a heavy price,” Mr. Jiang said in a statement.

Chinese state media has also weighed in with a series of vitriolic editorials and commentaries lambasting Ms. Takaichi, given lingering grievances about Japan’s wartime past and China’s extreme sensitivity over anything Taiwan-related.

Ms. Takaichi’s remarks were by no means an “isolated political rant,” the Communist Party’s People’s Daily said earlier on Friday in a commentary.

Japan’s right wing has been trying to break free from the constraints of their post-World War Two constitution and pursue the status of a military power, said the commentary published under the pen name “Zhong Sheng”, meaning “Voice of China” and often used to give views on foreign policy.

“In recent years, Japan has been racing headlong down the path of military buildup,” the paper added.

“From frequent visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, to denying the Nanjing Massacre, to vigorously hyping the ‘China threat theory,’ Ms. Takaichi’s every step follows the old footprints of historical guilt, attempting to whitewash a history of aggression and revive militarism.”

World War Two, and the Japanese invasion of China which preceded it in 1931, remain a source of ongoing tension between Beijing and Tokyo.

Beijing claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims and says only its people can decide the island’s future.

Taiwan sits just over 110 km (68 miles) from Japanese territory and the waters around the island provide a vital sea route for trade that Tokyo depends on. Japan also hosts the largest contingent of US military overseas.

Meanwhile, Japanese broadcaster NTV reported on Friday the Chinese embassy in Tokyo had instructed its staff to avoid going out due to concerns about rising anti-China sentiment.

In a regular news conference, Japan’s top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara reiterated the country’s position on Taiwan, telling reporters that Tokyo hopes for a peaceful resolution of the issue through dialogue.

‘SELF-DIRECTED FARCE’
China has also cranked up its rhetoric against what it calls “diehard” Taiwan independence separatists.

On Friday, the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office criticized Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Puma Shen, who visited Berlin earlier this week. Mr. Shen said China was threatening to try to get him arrested while abroad, but that he was not frightened.

“Taiwan independence advocates are already at the dusk of their days and at a dead end,” the office’s spokesperson Chen Binhua said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

A day earlier, Chinese police issued a wanted notice and offered a $35,000 reward for two Taiwanese social media influencers they accused of “separatism”.

The two influencers took to social media to poke fun at the wanted notice.

One of them, the rapper Mannam PYC, posted a video on Friday where he tried to turn himself in to police in Taiwan.

“Why won’t the Taiwan police arrest me? Does that mean everyone supports Taiwan independence?” he wrote, sarcastically.

China’s legal system has no authority or jurisdiction in Taiwan. — Reuters

WHEN Thailand cut power supply to Myanmar across its western border this year, it intended to curb online scam centers linked to regional networks trafficking hundreds of thousands of people.

However, the move also hit the wider community, pushing hospitals and some offices to install solar panels, said Zaw, a rescue worker in Myawaddy town just across the Thai border. Homes, too, made the switch.

“Three out of four people now rely on solar panels, with businesses using multiple panels,” said Mr. Zaw, who did not want to disclose his full name, fearing retribution.

Myanmar’s electricity supply has deteriorated since the 2021 military coup and ensuing civil war, exposing millions to chronic blackouts, with a cash-strapped government hit by Western sanctions unable to maintain power infrastructure.

The World Bank estimated the country’s operating power capacity plunged to 2015 levels in 2024, describing electricity supply in conflict-affected areas as “catastrophic”.

Chinese firms have helped fill the gap, supplying cheap solar panels.

NATURAL GAS SHORTAGE SAPS GENERATION
Light intensity data – a proxy for economic activity and electricity access – analyzed by the United Nations revealed an average 8% annual decline after the 2021 coup.

The drop is largely due to a shortage of natural gas, Myanmar’s main generation fuel, as domestic production has declined and the government has halted imports of liquefied natural gas due to a foreign exchange shortage, the World Bank said in a June 2024 report.

Former US President Joe Biden’s administration froze about $1 billion of Myanmar assets and imposed sanctions, some of which have been eased by the Trump administration. Western sanctions have restricted access to technical support, spare parts, and expertise to maintain infrastructure, such as transmission lines damaged in the civil war.

Myanmar’s junta said earlier this year generation capacity had plunged by nearly half from pre-2021 levels. Data on the Ministry of Electric Power’s website shows output has not changed much since 2018.

The information ministry did not respond to detailed questions on power supply and demand, and the junta’s spokesperson did not answer calls from Reuters.

CHEAP SOLAR PANELS FROM CHINA
To combat the power crisis, households and businesses are embracing solar, according to interviews with a dozen residents, business owners and panel and battery sellers across the Southeast Asian country.

“Unlike most of Asia, where we’re seeing corporate demand drive solar growth, energy security concerns and fuel shortages are the key drivers in Myanmar,” said Linda Zeng, renewables analyst at Fitch Solutions unit BMI.

Solar panel imports from China, Myanmar’s largest supplier, more than doubled in the nine months through September to about $100 million, according to Chinese customs data. Shipments have risen over eightfold from pre-pandemic levels, the data showed.

Shops, restaurants, and workshops seeking reliable power for lighting, refrigeration and electronic payments, as well as water kiosks, clinics, and schools increasingly use small solar systems, said an official from an international development agency working in Myanmar.

“I have about 10 refrigerators. The electricity here is not regular, so I had to use solar panels,” said an ice cream seller from the ancient city of Mawlamyine, who declined to be named due to fear of retribution.

Household solar installations have surged from a few hundred in 2019 to roughly 300,000 in 2025, as users switch from diesel generators to solar panels with storage, said Ken Pyi Wa Tun, chairman of Parami Energy, which sells solar panels and diesel generators in Myanmar.

“A household solar-plus-battery-plus-inverter can be acquired for under $1,000 and power essentials, run for four to five hours and power 2 AC units,” Ken Pyi Wa Tun said.

While that is too expensive for most homes, it is cheaper than the roughly $7,000 for a small diesel generator, plus fuel costs of $50 to $100 per week, he said, predicting solar could potentially power 2 million to 2.5 million Myanmar households.

IT’S NOT ABOUT CLIMATE GOALS
Myanmar’s surging solar imports mirror a trend of increased solar adoption to escape erratic power supply in lower- and low-middle income countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.

They are among the fastest-growing markets for panel exports from China, the world’s dominant solar manufacturer, data from energy think-tank Ember showed.

“If the grid is not reliable or the prices too high, then people will do it themselves. And now they can, thanks to solar,” said Richard Black, director of policy and strategy at Ember.

Solar adoption, driven by necessity rather than policy, could disrupt traditional utility models, challenge forecasts about fossil fuel demand and complicate grid management, analysts say.

In Pakistan, a surge in affluent residents ditching the country’s costly grid power by installing solar panels has forced utilities to raise prices even further for remaining customers.

Diesel imports by Myanmar declined 11% in the first 10 months of 2025, data from analytics firm Kpler showed, while solar panel purchases grew.

“It is not like we are using them for clean energy or for some environmental reasons. We are a country with civil war. We are just using them out of necessity,” said a resident in the Bago region. — Reuters