Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

These days, what could reasonably be called a space race is being run by billionaires.

Today, it's Amazon Supremo Jeff Bezos taking off.

But there's another quieter trend going on in orbit.

African countries are launching left and right.

And Australia is being hit by a crippling plague, of mice.

The critters tend to come and go with cycles of drought and rain,

but this time around, they're back in force,

nibbling at crops, at grain stores, and even at people in their beds. But first...

The Chinese government stands accused of involvement in a global hacking campaign.

What's notable is who is doing the accusing.

America and its Five Eyes intelligence partners,

Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as the European Union, Japan, and NATO.

In a statement released on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, quote,

The United States and countries around the world are holding the People's Republic of China accountable for its pattern of irresponsible, disruptive, and destabilizing behavior in cyberspace,

which poses a major threat to our economic and national security.

The coalition's charges come after a huge attack on Microsoft earlier this year that affected tens of thousands of organizations.

President Joe Biden accused China's Ministry of State Security of, at the very least, complicity in the hacking.

My understanding is that the Chinese government, not unlike the Russian government, is not doing this themselves,

but are protecting those who are doing it, and maybe even accommodating them being able to do it.

...