3 things you must know this week…

1) After a week of political chaos and violent clashes between police and protesters, the Bulgarian government announced its resignation on Thursday. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said in his address to parliament that he would not participate in a government under which police are beating people. The protests he is reffering to were set off by electricity price increases, austerity measures, and corruption scandals. Tempers flared further when Finance Minister Simeon Djankov stepped down on Monday. Analysts view Djankov’s resignation as an admission that the government’s austerity policy has not worked. Even though the country’s fiscal responsibility has prevented it from seeking a bailout, it is still the poorest country within the European Union.

2) On Tuesday, an American cyber security firm, Mandiant, released a report which linked one of the world’s most prolific groups of hackers, known as the “Comment Crew” to the Chinese government. The firm tracked individual members of the group to Chinese military headquarters. The firm was not able to place the location of the hackers inside the building, but argued that there is no other explanation for why so many attacks come out of one small area. Mandiant said that the group is believed to have systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations around the world. Of that, 115 attacks targeted organizations within the United States. China has vehemently denied any government sanctioned hacking and questioned the validity of Mandiant’s report.

3) On Tuesday, Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigned after failing to form a new government. In his address, Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said that the next government must strive to restore the people’s confidence in the political system. Mr. Jebali resigned despite comments by his Islamist Ennhada saying that all parties involved in the coalition wanted him to remain in office. Jebali’s resignation was part of the continuing turmoil originating from the assassination of popular opposition leader Chokri Belaid two weeks ago. While street violence has calmed, negotiations have failed to agree on what a new government would look like. Analysts fear that this continuing political standoff and the stagnant economy could cause more mass protests and violence in the country that inspired the Arab Spring.

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