Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Shashank Joshi,

filling in for Jason Palmer. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events

shaping your world. Last week one of America's largest fuel pipelines was shut down after

a cyber attack in which the company's data was held hostage for money. We look at the

growing scourge of ransomware attacks and why they're so hard to stop. And in China, the

dead are struggling to rest in peace. As old taboos fade, grave robbing has been on the rise.

For thousands of enterprising tomb raiders, it's become big business.

But first.

Yesterday, in the worst outbreak of violence in years, the Palestinian militant group Hamas

fired more than 200 rockets towards Jerusalem before Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza.

24 people, including nine children, were killed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel

does not seek escalation, but whoever chooses to escalate will feel the weight of our arm.

The conflict followed the annual Jerusalem Day March by Jewish Nationalists,

which commemorates Israel's capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.

Palestinians see it as a provocation, but the atmosphere this year was worse than normal

after a weekend of protests in which nearly 300 Palestinians and more than a dozen Israeli

police officers were injured. Tens of thousands of worshippers gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Saturday,

the holiest night of Ramadan. But police blocked busloads of Muslims on their way to the mosque,

citing unrest in the neighboring Shadejara district, over a court ruling on the possible

eviction of Palestinian families from their homes. Now tensions have boiled over.

The UN Security Council chaired an urgent meeting, but failed to issue a statement,

while international leaders, such as America's Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken appealed for calm.

...