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Published on Apr 8, 2016
A controversial nude portrait of Donald Trump by artist Ilma Gore has gone on display at a London gallery. Report by Lydia Batham.
Published on Apr 8, 2016
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that coalition forces are causing the Islamic State group (IS) to lose considerable ground and resources in Iraq. (April 8)
Podcast: Putin's Beautiful Launderetteby support@pangea-cms.com (Brian Whitmore)
While the Panama Papers have taught us a lot about how the rich and powerful hide their money from tax collectors, and have already claimed the scalp of Iceland's prime minister, in Russia they showed us something else entirely.
The Early Edition: April 8, 2016 by Nadia O'Mara
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
IRAQ and SYRIA
The next round of Syria peace negotiations is being pushed back two days to next Wednesday, the UN saidyesterday, amid renewed violence between the Syrian government and rebel forces. Meeting with Arab allies in Bahrain yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry saidthat the discussions are “the key test of the seriousness of the Assad regime, of Russia and Iran, to support what we have put into words.” [Wall Street Journal’s Felicia Schwartz]
Syria’s President Assad is showing no willingness to compromise as the resumption of the peace talks approaches, reports Samia Nakhoul. [Reuters]
Kerry also made an unannounced visit to Baghdad today to meet with Iraq’s prime minister, his first visit to Iraq in 18 months. [Washington Post’s Carol Morello; AP]
Syrian rebels have re-taken the “strategically important” town of al-Rai from Islamic State, part of the advance on Aleppo. [BBC]
Russia has replaced fighter jets with gunships since it announced its withdrawal from Syria on March 15, reports Justin Bronk, and while the ceasefire between Assad forces and rebel forces around Aleppo largely holds out, the focus has shifted to the “actual stated aim of Russia’s original intervention,” Islamic State. [Al Jazeera]
US-led airstrikes continue. US and coalition forces carried out eight airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on April 7. Separately, partner forces conducted a further 19 strikes against targets in Iraq. [Central Command]
EUROPEAN TERROR THREAT
A man held in connection with the Paris attacks since November is to be released on Friday, Belgium’s federal prosecutor has confirmed. [Reuters]
Belgian prosecutors have released new footage of the “man in the hat,” suspected of leaving an explosive at Brussels Airport on March 22, in a fresh appeal to the public for its help in finding him. [AFP; Reuters]
Danish police arrested four suspected Islamic State recruits near Copenhagen yesterday; authorities arrested a further two individuals in connection to ammunition and weapons discovered in a related search. [Reuters]
German police have detained two men suspected of preparing a “serious act of violence” in Munich and nearby Fuerstenfeldbrueck yesterday. [AP]
Salah Abdeslam, the key suspect in the November Paris attacks, is to be extradited to France from Belgium in “a few weeks” after a delay to allow Belgian investigators to carry out further questioning. [Reuters]
The UK is to establish a “counterterrorism hub” in mainland Europe, following similar hubs in the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson has confirmed. [Wall Street Journal’s Jenny Gross] UK Foreign Secretary confirmed this during a speech delivered at the London Lord Mayor’s Easter Banquet yesterday.
“How is it that people who were born here in Brussels, in Paris, can call heroes the people who commit violence and terror?” Government official Yves Goldstein blames the failure of the Belgian government to challenge the growth of ethnic ghettos for the nation’s radicalized youth. [New York Times’ Steven Erlanger]
The radicalization of Najim Laachraoui was “invisible,” writes Alissa J. Rubin, exploring how the Belgian student became an Islamic State bomb maker. [New York Times]
AFGHANISTAN
US airstrikes have killed at least 17 civilians in the Afghan province of Paktika, according to local officials. The official US and Afghan government claims differ, saying that only militants were killed in the strikes. [New York Times’ Farooq Jan Mangal and Mujib Mashal]
The NATO training mission is running out of time to prepare Afghan troops to fight the Taliban insurgency alone and there is “still so much work to do,” according to Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Chung who is leading a team of US trainers in Helmand province. Corruption and sporadic leave have damaged efficiency and undermined morale among the Afghan troops. [Reuters’ James MacKenzie]
The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has similar reservations in relation to US efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. After 15 years and billions of US dollars the reconstruction is in “a perilous state.” [CNN’s Nicole Gaouette]
CYBERSECURITY, PRIVACY and TECHNOLOGY
The method of unlocking iPhones used by the FBI will not work on newer models, FBI Director James Comey said at an encryption and surveillance conference on Wednesday. Models from the iPhone 5s onward are immune, which means that the FBI will still “likely have to lean on Apple to help them access the devices involved in other cases,” suggest Narottam Medhora and Dustin Voltz. [Reuters]
The White House has denied reports that it will not support a bill that would require companies to allow law enforcement agencies access to encrypted data. [The Hill’s Katie Bo Williams] The Hill has obtained a copy of a Discussion Draft of the bill.
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CLASHES
Armenian separatists have rejected Azerbaijan’s offer to cease fighting, says Azerbaijan. [Al Jazeera]
“A new all-out Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the stuff of nightmares.” Thomas De Waal anticipates the damage that would be done by the “sophisticated weaponry” both sides now have, the possibility of Russia and Turkey being “sucked into a proxy war,” and the wider destabilizing impact on other nearby countries. [New York Times]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Secretary of State John Kerry in Bahrain. In Bahrain to meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Kerry called on Iran to “join in efforts” with its neighbors in the Middle East to establish peace in the region. He also confirmed that the Council were beginning to assess whether a NATO-Gulf Cooperation Council partnership would bolster regional security. [Washington Post’s Carol Morello]
Kerry also tried to reassure his hosts that Iran was not “as dangerous as ever” despite the nuclear agreement, arguing that when the deal was concluded, “the crisis was the potential of a nuclear weapon.” Although Iran’s missile launches, arms shipments to Yemen and involvement in Syria have since “accelerated,” without nuclear fuel the nation is now less of a threat than it was. [New York Times’ David E Sanger]
The Senate passed several measures strengthening airport security yesterday, its first legislative response to the terrorist attacks in Brussels last month. The measures are expected to pass next week. [New York Times’ Jennifer Steinhauer] Meanwhile, the US is under pressure from the EU to add more of its members to the list of countries whose citizens can travel to the US without a visa, threatening to impose visa requirements on US citizens seeking to enter the EU if it does not do so. [New York Times’ James Kanter]
Islamic State have claimed responsibility for a string of bombings in Egypt’s Sinai peninsulayesterday, that left two dead and at least 15 injured. [The Daily Beast]
The number of Islamic State fighters in Libya has doubled over the past 12-18 months, the outgoing commander of AFRICOM said yesterday. He said that there are between 4000-6000 militants there now, mainly situated in Sirte. [NBC News’ Courtney Kube]
The Obama administration and the chief of US Pacific Command have denied a media report that the White House issued a “gag order” preventing officials from discussing the South China Sea during the Nuclear Security Summit last week. [Washington Posts’ Dan Lamothe]
Few top officials face criminal prosecution for breaching rules or laws on handling classified information, despite the “long history of top officials getting scrutiny over classified information.” NPR provides the story.
Boko Haram is turning its female captives into terrorists; Dionne Searcey discusses one of the “most baffling” of the terror group’s horrors at the New York Times.
North Korea “attempted” to launch a ballistic missile from a submarine on Wednesday, sailing toward the East Sea but turning back without firing, according to NK News, a website that monitors North Korea. [Al Jazeera]
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The Early Edition: April 7, 2016 by Nadia O'Mara
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
IRAQ and SYRIA
Mosul offensive. The Iraqi army has been forced to halt its campaign to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State while it waits for more forces to arrive, the army’s commander said this morning. The campaign has suffered numerous setbacks, and has so far recaptured just three villages in the Makhmour area. [Al Jazeera;Wall Street Journal’s Ben Kesling]
An Iraqi Shi’ite paramilitary group has pledged to support government forces in retaking Mosul. Politicians are objecting that this could prompt sectarian fighting in the city. [Reuters]
The US plans to increase the number of “fire bases” in northern Iraq in preparation to support the Iraqi army in its advance on Mosul, likely to be “the biggest battle of the war” with Islamic State, reports Nancy A Youssef. [The Daily Beast]
Islamic State has seized “dozens” of workers following an attack on a cement factory to the east of Damascus, Syria, amid heavy fighting in the area over the past few days. [BBC]
Islamic State commander, Abu Sakkar is believed to have died at the hands of a rival group on Tuesday in the northwestern Idlib province of Syria. [Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor]
President Obama’s “pride” in his policy not to bomb Syria is misplaced, says Fred Hiatt, who suggests that, given the consequences for Syria’s population, Obama is in reality “trying to convince himself” that he made the right decision. [Washington Post]
German police have arrested a Syrian man on suspicion of war crimes in Syria, Germany’s federal public prosecutor has confirmed. The man, apprehended yesterday, allegedly tortured prisoners in Aleppo and looted and sold artworks. This is the latest of a number of recent arrests in Germany. [Wall Street Journal’s Zeke Turner]
US-led airstrikes continue. US and coalition forces carried out four airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on April 6. Separately, partner forces conducted a further 19 strikes against targets in Iraq. [Central Command]
“PANAMA PAPERS”
Law firm Mossack Fonseca continued to do business with Iranian state-owned oil firms despite UN and US sanctions, the Panama Papers have revealed. Juliette Garside et al set out the details. [The Guardian]
The Russian government have dismissed the Panama Papers as “a giant smear campaign” to discredit President Putin in the lead up to the elections this year, reports Matthew Chance, while critics say that the absence of any direct references to Putin himself among the papers “shows how corruption really works in Russia.” [CNN]
Relatives of three of the five most powerful members on the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, including President Xi Jinping, have controlled offshore companies that feature in the leaked documents. [New York Times’ Michael Forsythe]
Britain needs its own FBI to enforce anti-money laundering regulations, suggests the Guardian, now that the Panama Papers have “drawn attention to how little action there has been” to combat corruption in the country.
A full list of the revelations so far has been provided by the Guardian.
CYBERSECURITY, PRIVACY and TECHNOLOGY
The FBI “purchased” a tool in order to gain access to the iPhone owned by one of the San Bernardino shooters, the head of the FBI said yesterday. [Fox News]
The White House will not support draft legislation that would empower judges to order technology companies to assist law enforcement in cracking encrypted data, close sources have reported. [Reuters]
Facebook posts suggest the social networking site has hosted large-scale sales of military weapons to terrorists, in violation of the company’s recent ban on private weapons sales. [New York Times’ C J Chivers]
“Oh, now he’s interested in privacy.” Edward Snowden, who is critical of recent efforts in the UK to broaden the government’s surveillance powers, was prompted to Tweet his disdain for British Prime Minister David Cameron following revelations that his late father had not paid British taxes since the 1980s. [Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor]
IRAN
Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council today to try to generate support for resolving conflicts in the region, a hard task given that the six-member group consider that the US is not doing enough to deter Iran, the country they see as their biggest threat. [CNN’s Elise Labott]
The US should send Iran a real message that its attempts to exploit loopholes in the nuclear agreement – particularly by testing ballistic missiles – will not be tolerated, says the Washington Post editorial board, which favors the approach being discussed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker and Democrat Ben Cardin over the Obama administration’s “waffling.”
Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Mark Kirk introduced legislation yesterday to prevent foreign banks from being able to make currency exchanges for Iran that involve US dollars. [The Hill’s Jordain Carney]
EUROPEAN TERROR THREAT
One of the Brussels bombers was a previous EU Parliament employee, working there as a cleaner for one month six years ago, a spokesperson for the EU assembly said today. [Reuters]
Belgium’s prime minister called on security services throughout Europe to cooperate by sharing information as an “absolute priority” in combating terrorism, yesterday, but did not announce any domestic reforms following the bombing attacks in Brussels two weeks ago. [Wall Street Journal’s Natalia Drozdiak]
EGYPT
Top administration officials are concerned for the safety of US forces based in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, considered vulnerable to attack by Islamic State. Even so, the State Department said yesterday that it will not be withdrawing troops from the area. [Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson and Jennifer Griffin]
Egyptian investigators are expected to pass on evidence in relation to the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni at a meeting with their Italian counterparts in Rome today. [BBC]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
US bombs were used by the Saudi-led coalition in its attack on a market in Yemen last month, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, released yesterday. [New York Times’ Kareem Fahim and C J Chivers]
The National Salvation Government has reneged its earlier statement that it would step aside, suggesting a split inside the authority that currently governs from Libya’s capital, Tripoli. The U-turn represents a set-back for the UN-backed unity government. [Al Jazeera]
Suspected militants attacked a Pakistani security post on the Afghan border today, resulting in the deaths of 12 militants, the uninjured remainder fleeing back toward Afghanistan. Also on Thursday, a bomb at a checkpoint near Peshawar killed a police officer. [AP]
Should the US offer refuge to those who stood up to the Taliban in Afghanistan and who are currently at risk in the dangerous environment left following America’s invasion almost 15 years ago? Various experts consider this question for the New York Times.
Plans to assemble a crew of trainers capable of instant deployment whenever needed to assist allied local forces were set out by NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg yesterday, speaking to Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council. [Wall Street Journal’s Paul Sonne]
The Prosecutor for the ICTY will appeal the court’s recent acquittal of Serbian politician Vojislav Šešelj, who had been accused of war crimes, he announced yesterday, having reviewed the written reasons given for the March 31 verdict. [UN News Centre]
Tensions in the South China Sea are mounting further, notes the New York Times editorial board, citing developments such as the “growing security cooperation” between Japan and the Philippines in the face of China’s “sweeping territorial claims and bullying tactics.”
The US “continues to stockpile land mines” and “reserves the right to use them on the Korean Peninsula,” even as Secretary of State John Kerry honored International Mine Awareness Day on Monday, highlighting US contributions to the removal of land mines worldwide and announcing a new plan to disarm Islamic State explosives in Ramadi, Iraq, reports Alex Emmons. [The Intercept]
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The Early Edition: April 6, 2016 by Nadia O'Mara
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
“PANAMA PAPERS”
Mossack Fonseca was the victim of an external hack, one of its founding partners said yesterday. Ramon Fonseca added that “we have a theory and we are following it,” though he did not elaborate. [Reuters’ Elida Moreno and Enrique Pretel]
Mossack Fonseca “missed multiple red signals” and was even “slow to close down some of the companies” belonging to alleged insiders in Zimbabwe’s Mugabe regime who were eventually blacklisted by the UN and Europe, the Panama Papers have revealed, allowing them to continue to do business for years after questions were first raised, reports Juliette Garside et al. [The Guardian]
China has censored news of the Panama Papers, authorities sending out instructions to various media sites on Monday to remove the story. The Wall Street Journal editorial board suggests that this is a sign that the Chinese government has something to hide.
President Obama has called for international tax reform following the leak during an unscheduled appearance in the White House briefing room yesterday. [The Guardian’s Rupert Neate and David Smith]
Americans are conspicuously absent from the leaked papers, writes Jon Schuppe, who sets out the possible explanations for this. [NBC News]
The leaked Panama Papers reveal a “sprawling web of corruption,” writes the New York Times editorial board. “Politicians, dictators, criminals, billionaires and celebrities” have managed to amass vast wealth and then conceal it. The question is, “after these revelations, will anything change?”
IRAQ and SYRIA
Russia’s claims that its airstrikes in Syria targeted Islamic State are “inaccurate on a grand scale,”according to a report released by the US-based Atlantic Council on Tuesday. The report says that minimal damage was inflicted on Islamic State during almost six months of airstrikes, and suggests that the actual focus of Russian intervention was on pushing back rebel groups in support of the Assad government. [The Guardian’s Ewen McAskill; Al Jazeera]
The Syrian government and its allies launched a large attack on insurgents south of Aleppo overnight, aiming to recapture the town of Telat al-Eis. It has been described as the heaviest attack in the area since the ceasefire came into effect in February. [Reuters]
Islamist rebels who shot down a government fighter jet yesterday have captured the pilot, a member of Nusra Front stated in a video posted online. [New York Times’ Ben Hubbard and Hwaida Saad]
While the ceasefire in Syria has officially lasted for five weeks now, it is important to remember what the accord has failed to accomplish, say the Washington Post editorial board. Offensives by the Assad regime against rebel forces continue, and access by humanitarian aid continues to be blocked.
Eric Fair, a US army veteran who was involved in the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Fallujah, Iraq, responds frankly to questions on that experience by The Daily Beast’s Matt Gallagher.
US-led airstrikes continue. US and coalition forces carried out six airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on April 5. Separately, partner forces conducted a further 19 strikes against targets in Iraq. [Central Command]
CYBERSECURITY, PRIVACY and TECHNOLOGY
What secrets does the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, now unlocked, actually hold? This is a question the FBI’s top lawyer has not shed much light on while the examination is on-going. While he told privacy professionals in Washington on Tuesday that data had been extracted, he would not say whether the data had proved useful. [New York Times’ Eric Lichtblau; Wall Street Journal’s Devlin Barrett]
The Pentagon’s “Cyber Command” has been given its first assignment: online attacks to disrupt Islamic State, according to Defense Secretary Ash Carter. [Financial Times’ Geoff Dyer]
Whatsapp has announced it will introduce end-to-end encryption from Tuesday, a move that has been welcomed by free speech campaigners but is likely to aggravate law enforcement agencies, particularly the US Department of Justice, given recently expressed concerns over “unreachable” information on devices, suggests the BBC.
EU privacy regulators are due to produce an opinion next week on the Privacy Shield agreementwhich concerns US-EU data flow and would permit Facebook, Google and a host of other companies to continue to legally handle Europeans’ data. [The Hill’s Katie Bo Williams]
GUANTANAMO BAY
Legislation was introduced by GOP Senator Kelly Ayotte yesterday that would permanently prohibit the closing of Guantánamo Bay by making the ban on transferring detainees to US soil permanent and introducing a ban on releasing them to other countries. [The Hill’s Jordain Carney]
Six former Guantánamo Bay detainees’ conduct in Uruguay has been “abysmal,” former president Jose Mujica, who oversaw their resettlement in 2014, told reporters yesterday. He did not provide details, but stated that their conduct had damaged efforts to resettle others in South America. [AP]
EUROPEAN TERROR THREAT
France’s President Hollande has urged Germany to assign greater resources to its military and to intervene outside Europe, telling reporters at German paper Bild that France and Germany must “not rely on another power, even a friendly one, to do away with terrorism.” [Reuters]
Terrorists may have infiltrated Europe by hiding among asylum seekers, EU border force Frontex’sannual risk analysis has warned, echoing previous observations and citing as evidence the November Paris attacks. Two of the perpetrators of that attack came to Europe via a smuggling boat from Turkey. [The Guardian’s Patrick Kingsley]
HILLARY CLINTON EMAIL CONTROVERSY
State Department lawyers are attempting to limit the sorts of questions watchdog group Judicial Watch can ask former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her former aides in relation to her use of a private email server, asking a federal judge yesterday to grant the group “limited discovery.” [The Daily Beast’s Shane Harris]
Conducting the investigation well comes before finishing it promptly, FBI Director James Comey told local law enforcement representatives in Buffalo, New York, on Monday. There is therefore no guarantee that it will be wrapped up before the political conventions this summer, reports Eliza Collins. [Politico]
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CLASHES
The ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh was “generally maintained” overnight, the Nagorno-Karabakh military stated this morning. [Wall Street Journal’s Nathan Hodge; Reuters]
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to meet his Armenian counterpart on April 8 in Moscow. [Reuters]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Exiting the nuclear deal with Iran could prompt Tehran’s return to its nuclear weapons program,which could lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, a State Department official warned yesterday in response to GOP presidential candidates’ repeated criticism of the deal. [CNN’s Nicole Gaouette]
NATO could do more to support countries’ counter-radicalization programs, the alliance’s top representative in the UK General Sir Adrian Bradshaw has told reporters. He said that part of NATO’s approach should involve promoting efforts in countries such as Jordan to prompt other countries to follow similar strategies. [BBC]
The National Salvation government, one of Libya’s rival governments, has resigned, a move that will benefit the UN-backed unity government as it attempts to assert itself in the capital, Tripoli. [AP; BBC]
A police colonel has been killed in Saudi Arabia in a shooting attack by the Islamic State. This is the latest in a series of attacks in Saudi Arabia by the militant group. [New York Times’ Ben Hubbard]
Italy will take “immediate and proportional” measures against Egypt if it fails to discover the true reasons behind the death in Cairo of Italian student Giulio Regeni, in February, Italy’s foreign minister declared yesterday. [New York Times’ Declan Walsh and Nour Youssef]
Despite the fact that al-Shabaab is “not having a good week,” analysts are unsure whether the current strategy of airstrikes by the African Union and the US will prove effective in destroying the group, which has a ready source of replacement fighters, reports Jeffrey Gettleman. [New York Times]
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended the Japan-US alliance as contributing to the “peace and stability” in the South China Sea and in Japan. Prime Minister Abe stated that he “cannot conceive” of any point in the future when a US military presence in Japan “wouldn’t be necessary.” He also warned against the “naked nationalism” touted by presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has recently questioned US military policy in Japan. [Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker and Peter Landers]
“These people don’t deserve to be our citizens.” Turkish President Erdogan told lawyers in Ankara that Turkey should consider stripping PKK supporters of their citizenship. He ruled out reviving peace talks with the PKK on Monday. [BBC]
The new Taliban leader has sought to bring dissenters into line by appointing critics to senior leadership council positions, including the brother and son of the movement’s founder, Mullah Muhammad Omar, two of the group’s “most influential skeptics.” [New York Times’ Mujib Mashal and Taimoor Shah]
The ICC has dropped its case against William Ruto, deputy president of Kenya, who was charged with crimes against humanity in respect of the 2007-8 post-election violence. The ICC cited “a troubling incidence of witness interference and intolerable political meddling” as the causes of the mistrial. [New York Times’ Marlise Simons and Jeffrey Gettleman]
Osama bin Laden was a “gold bug,” a 2010 letter uncovered as part of the trove of documents, seized from his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan in 2011 and declassified last month, reveals. The letter shows that he instructed al-Qaeda’s general manager to set aside a third of a $5 million ransom the group had obtained for purchasing gold bars, out of a belief shared by many US financial experts at the time that the price of gold was set to rise. Matthew Rosenberg discusses this glimpse into al-Qaeda’s financial management. [New York Times]
North Korea has developed a multiple rocket launch system and could use it to attack South Korea, South Korea’s defense minister stated today. This comes a day after South Korean officials warned that they believe the North is now capable of attaching nuclear warheads to medium-range missiles. [Washington Post’s Anna Fifield]
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Today's Headlines and Commentary by Elina Saxena
The cessation of hostilities in Syria is looking increasingly unstable. In what Reuters described as "the fiercest government assault in the area" since the cessation of hostilities began last month, the Syrian army has launched a major attack on insurgents south of Aleppo. Reuters writes that the “fighting south of Aleppo in recent days has put further strain on the already widely violated ceasefiredeal brokered by the United States and Russia with the aim of launching a diplomatic process towards ending the five-year-long war.”
Following yesterday’s shooting down of a Syrian warplane in the same region, the Wall Street Journalwrites that “Syria’s five-week truce was left in tatters as Islamist rebels shot down a government warplane and captured its pilot near Aleppo while the regime and its allies vowed to launch a new offensive to drive all opposition fighters from the northern city.” The recent violence and violations of the ceasefire agreement are expected to cast a pall on the next round of peace talks between the government and opposition parties scheduled to begin next week in Geneva.
Today's long read: the Atlantic Council released a report on Russia’s military support of the Assad regime, writing that “Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria was built upon deception.” The authors, in no uncertain terms, state that “Russia launched air strikes on hospitals, water treatment plants, and mosques. Russia used cluster bombs. Russia almost exclusively targeted non-ISIS targets.” In their forward, the authors write that they “used the power of digital forensics to expose the details of Russia’s aerial and ground attacks in Syria using information entirely from open sources, available to be viewed and verified by anyone.” Responding to the publication, Russia claims that the report is “inaccurate on grand scale.” The Guardian has more.
The al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front confirmed that their spokesman, Abu Firas al-Suri, was killed in a U.S. airstrike on Sunday. As the Nusra Front faces increasing challenges in Syria, the Daily Beastwrites that "tensions between Syrian al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and the mainstream opposition in Syria’s rebel north are at an all-time high." The ongoing standoff between the two groups in Idlib province has "highlighted splits between opposition Syrians—between those who want a free, democratic Syria and those who want justice through the rule of Islamic law."
As the Syrian army makes gains against the Islamic State, ISIS militants are striking Syrian government-held areas near Damascus. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "Islamic State attackers, using five bomb-laden cars, also struck military positions near the Dumeir military airport 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Damascus, killing 12 soldiers."
Over in Iraq, Islamic State fighters are fending off Iraqi forces, whose progress against the militants has been impeded by the now familiar tactics of "hundreds of roadside bombs, car bombs and heavy mortar fire.” On Monday, Iraqi forces entered the small, strategic town of Hit which connects Islamic State supply lines between Syria and Iraq. Further progress has been thwarted, however, by fierce resistance and poor weather as thousands of civilians remain trapped by the fighting.
CNN writes that “President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he was looking for ways to scale up the battle against militants in Iraq and Syria ahead of a White House meeting with top U.S. military brass.” Meanwhile, Senator John McCain has suggested that the U.S. effort against ISIS is “another slow, grinding failure” like the Vietnam War. The Senator wrote that conversations with military commanders “have led me to the disturbing, yet unavoidable conclusion that they have been reduced from considering what it will take to win to what they will be allowed to do by this administration.”
CNN also reports that the Obama administration is considering withdrawing U.S. forces from a base in the Sinai Peninsula amid mounting ISIS threats. The move would affect some 700 U.S. troops who are monitoring compliance with the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Libya’s self-declared National Salvation Government announced that it would step down, paving the way for the U.N.-backed unity government, the Government of National Accord (GNA), to take control, the BBC reports. Allaying international concerns that the GNA’s arrival in Tripoli might be sabotaged by the rival government, the National Salvation government said that it was backing down in order to avoid further bloodshed, saying in an official statement that "we are stopping our work as an executive power, as the presidency and ministers of the government.” The National Salvation government has been one of the two competing governments vying for power since 2014, with the other rival administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk.
After the GNA arrived in Tripoli last week, Agence France-Presse writes that the "UN-backed unity government moved to cement control over the country's finances and institutions [...] after the rival administration in Tripoli ceded power in a boost to efforts to end years of chaos.” According to AFP, the unity government ordered the Central Bank and the Audit Bureau to freeze state accounts except to issue salaries for government workers. Despite these developments, the GNA continues to face opposition from a rival administration in Tobruk, which is still backed by the country’s internationally recognized parliament, Voice of America tells us. VOA adds that the “GNA is meant to be sharing power with the two rivals under a political deal brokered by the U.N. and Western powers.” The U.N. brokered unity administration faces numerous challenges as it attempts to gain control of the country’s government, not least of which include gaining legitimacy from the country’s own House of Representatives.
A State Department official told lawmakers that “the Obama administration is not planning to allow Iran access to the U.S. financial system or use of the U.S. dollar for transactions,” Reuters writes. In an effort to allay lawmakers’ concerns about recent reports that Iran could have access to the U.S. financial system and other concerns related to the nuclear deal, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday.
According to the Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposednew terrorism laws which would strip suspected terrorist supporters of their Turkish citizenship. Amid the uptick in terrorist attacks across Turkey, Reuters tells us that “rights advocates fear that anti-terrorism laws, already used to detain academics and opposition journalists, will now be used in courts to further stifle discussion of issues such as the Kurdish conflict.”
After four days of fighting, parties on both sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict agreed to a ceasefire yesterday, a move which, the New York Times suggests, "[puts] to rest, at least for now, fears that the outbreak of ethnic strife might spiral into a wider war." The Times tells us that “mediators, including the United States, France and Russia, issued statements commending the halt in clashes along the line of contact of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan.” Throughout the four days, the Azerbaijani military reported that 16 of its soldiers were killed in the fighting and the Karabakh army claimed to have lost 29 soldiers. An additional 101 soldiers have been reported as injured with another 28 missing. The Times notes that the conflict “appeared to end as it had begun,” with no real final settlement in sight. Reuters adds that residents in the region fear a renewal of fighting despite the truce.
In Afghanistan, Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour appointed the brother and the son of deceased Taliban founder Mullah Muhammad Omar to leadership positions, in a move “expected to help bring other dissenters into line right as the Taliban’s annual offensive is expected to pick up momentum in Afghanistan.” In his efforts to consolidate power and unify the Taliban, Mansour has “brutally quashed breakaway groups and sought to buy the support of other skeptical commanders, all while maintaining a publicity campaign that has portrayed the Taliban as united under his command,” the Times writes.
A special anti-terrorism court in Mumbai sentenced Muzammil Ansari, the mastermind behind a series of attacks in Mumbai between 2002 and 2003, to life in prison. Ansari was convicted along with nine others for the blasts which left 12 people dead while seriously injuring 27 others.
According to the Washington Post, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo warned that North Korea has developed "a large-caliber multiple launch rocket system and could use it to strike South Korea as soon as this year." Han cited North Korea’s recent testing of 300-millimeter rockets as evidence of the country’s advancement n developing multiple launch rocket systems. The concerns follow a statement from South Korean officials suggesting they now believe that their northern neighbors have developed the ability to “mount a nuclear warhead on a medium-range missile” as well as yesterday’s reports of “suspicious activity” coming from a North Korean nuclear facility.
Foreign Policy reports that "Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, the prime minister of Iceland, resigned as public anger mounted over revelations that, rather than disclosing his stake in an offshore shell company, he had sold it to his wife for $1,” noting that “the head of Iceland’s government is the first public figure to face the consequences of the exposé from Panama.” Reuters has more on the aftermath of the leak.
Ramon Fonseca, a partner at Mossack Fonseca, declared that the company was the victim of a hack. The law firm has fled a complaint with the Panamanian attorney general. Meanwhile, the Hillnotes that the Panama Papers are a win for encryption supporters, writing that “privacy advocates are touting the so-called Panama Papers as a key example of how encryption can protect courageous whistleblowers and other vulnerable individuals.”
The State Department has designated Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in the Paris attacks, as a terrorist, barring Americans from dealing with him and enabling the government to block any of his assets under U.S. jurisdiction. Abdeslam was captured in Brussels last month and currently awaits extradition to France.
Investigators have now cracked the iPhone of Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino suspects. But the FBI has yet to say if federal investigators discovered any new information on the device. Yesterday, FBI lawyer James A. Baker said that the FBI had uncovered the data and was analyzing it but did not disclose whether the information uncovered by the phone was “useful.”
The popular messaging app Whatsapp announced yesterday that it is now fully encrypted across all platforms. The feature allows only the sender and the recipient of a message to view its content. ThePost writes that despite being "good news for users who care about security and privacy, including journalists and dissidents," the move"represents the intensification of a trend toward ubiquitous encryption that has posed challenges for law enforcement in the United States and around the world."
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain (R-AZ) is looking to make the U.S. Cyber Command a standalone organization, elevating Cyber Command to its own combatant command center, Bloomberg News reports. Senator McCain told reporters that, "if you look at the dimensions of threat, it certainly deserves to have the highest level of attention and coordination in government." The Senate Armed Services Committee will consider the proposal to split CyberCom from the National Security Agency. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced a Pentagon proposal to increase to dedicate $35 billion in cyber investments over the next five years.
Republican Senators are once again looking to place more restrictions on President Obama's ability to transfer Guantánamo Bay detainees. According to the Hill, Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced a proposal to bar permanent closure of the detention center by making "permanent a current ban on bringing detainees into the United States" and blocking "the White House from releasing detainees to other countries through September 2017." Ayotte has been joined by other Republican lawmakers who have signed on to her proposal.
The Associated Press reports that Senegal has agreed to accept two former Guantánamo detainees for humanitarian reasons. The two former detainees, Salem Abdu Salam Ghereby and Omar Khalif Mohammed Abu Baker Mahjour, were held for almost 14 years without charge and were formerly members of the Libya Islamic Fighting Group.
AP also tells us that former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has called the conduct of six former Guantánamo detainees "abysmal," suggesting that their behavior has discouraged other countries in the region from accepting former detainees of the facility. The AP writes that "they have frequently complained about not getting enough state help while refusing to work" and that "two of the men married local women only to quickly separate amid domestic abuse allegations."
Parting Shot: The Post writes that despite terror attacks and crime syndicates that have shaken the Pakistani city of Peshawar, “if asked their greatest fear, many residents cite one of the world’s other menaces: rats.” Peshawar has been plagued with giant rats in recent years, likely stemming from the overcrowded nature of the city, where open sewage drains run through packed neighborhoods. It's no laughing matter though, and residents claim that eight children have been killed by rats in the past year. In efforts to combat the menace, the city has set a 25 rupees bounty for each dead rat.
ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare
Ben posted an epic battle between a Finnish chainsaw drone and the "high-tech" weapon which took it down.
Ammar Abdulhamid asked how the attempt by Syrian Alawites to distance themselves from the regime affects the conflict.
Cody noted that two more Guantánamo detainees have been released.
Cody also shared NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers' testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the future of CyberCom.
Paul Rosenzweig alerted us to a hack that appears to reveal the personal information of every Turkish citizen.
Soli Ozel and Sezin Oney argued that the refugee deal between the EU and Turkey exposes the EU's insincerity with respect to its own values and principles.
Carrie Cordero considered the value-add of the proposed McCaul-Warner Digital Commission.
Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us onTwitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.
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· · · · · · · · ·
Wednesday evening finds me at Kenyon College, at a conference on privacy, where I will speaking tomorrow on a combination of this paper and some work I have been doing recently on sexualextortion online. This evening, however, FBI Director James Comey gave a keynote address that turned into one of the best engagements I have seen on the subject of encryption. Comey's speech was excellent and interesting, but what made the event special was the unusually good questions from students and members of the local community and his engagement with them.
Here are some items of particular interest from the speech, as I reported them on Twitter:
Here is the video of the event, which we will podcast as well. I recommend watching it in its entirety.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Today's Headlines and Commentary by Alex R. McQuade
Belgian security forces have unveiled new video footage of one of the Brussels airport bombing suspects. Agence France-Presse shares that the newly released video surveillance footage is a fresh appeal for help in finding the suspect. Additionally, AFP tells us that “police have been desperately searching for the man ever since he was filmed next to the two suicide bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport.”
Speaking of those suicide bombers, Reuters reports that one of them actually worked for the European Parliament at one point. According to EU spokesman Jaume Duch Guillot, “one of the perpetrators of the Brussels terrorist attacks worked for a period of one month for a cleaning company which was contracted by the European Parliament at the time.” Another EU official identified the employee as Najim Laachraoui, one of the bombers that attacked Brussels airport last month.
Yesterday, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called for more coordination between authorities across Europe to combat terrorism. The Wall Street Journal tells us that Prime Minister Michel did not offer any new plans for domestic reforms but stressed the need to share more information to try to prevent future attacks. In his address, the Belgian leader stated, “the absolute priority should be to improve the exchange of data, or information, so that we can prevent any further attacks.”
Iraqi forces have stumbled early in their campaign to retake Mosul from the Islamic State. The Wall Street Journal shares that “the rapid start and stop on the road to Mosul—an Islamic State stronghold since 2014—has raised questions among local leaders and military officials about whether the mission began prematurely and can succeed without a major boost from additional troops.” Yet, Al Jazeera reports that the campaign to retake Mosul has been paused “until more forces arrive to hold ground.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is planning to expand “fire-bases” in Iraq to aid in the Mosul fight. The Daily Beast writes that “the bases will be there to support local Iraqi forces. But they’ll also put U.S. troops near the front lines of what will likely be the biggest battle of the war with the self-proclaimed Islamic State.”
The Washington Post reports that Islamic State commander Abu Sakkar is believed to be dead. According to a report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Sakkar was gunned down by a rival rebel group on Tuesday in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib. The Post writes that Abu Sakkar gained notoriety by taking a bite out of a heart or lung from a Syrian regime soldier’s corpse. In the video of the gruesome event, Sakkar stated “I swear we will eat from your hearts and livers, you dogs of Bashar.”
“At least 200 people are reported missing after a suspected attack by the so-called Islamic State on a cement factory near Damascus,” according to the BBC. Islamic State operatives reportedly kidnapped the workers from the dormitory where they were staying on the outskirts of the capital. One of the factory’s administrators indicated that no one was able to contact the workers since the assault on Monday.
Some U.S. officials are concerned of an Islamic State attack on American forces in the Sinai Peninsula. Fox News reports that the Islamic State fighters near the Sinai Peninsula may be chasing American troops. Fox News has more here.
The United States has struck Jabhat al Nusra for the second time this week. The Washington Post tells us that “U.S. aircraft destroyed a car carrying ‘core al Qaeda’ members in northwestern Syria, Tuesday night, according to Pentagon officials. It is the second strike against the group’s affiliate in Syria in less than 72 hours.” However, it is unclear if the strike eliminated any al Qaeda leadership figures.
Vice News presents their investigation detailing the United Kingdom’s covert war in Yemen. Vice News examines the “successful cooperation between British and American intelligence agencies” combating al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. You can read the report here.
In other counterterrorism news stemming from the U.K., the British government “has announced plans to create a new range of criminal offenses which will aim to lock down suspected terrorists, including Islamic State sympathizers, if they are released on bail.” The Telegraph tells us that “the move comes after Britain’s most senior counterterrorist police officer described the bail arrangements as ‘weak and toothless’ in the wake of controversy over the new ‘Jihadi John.’” Read more on that story here.
Libya’s new unity government backed by the United Nations “has been thrown into chaos” as the head of its rival authority in Libya refused to cede power. Al Jazeera reports that “contradicting an earlier announcement that his National Salvation Government was ready to step aside, Tripoli’s unrecognized Prime Minister Khalifa Ghweil urged his ministers not to stand down in a statement on Wednesday.” Al Jazeera writes that “the move derails a United Nations push to end the instability that has ripped Libya apart for five years.”
In Bangladesh, another liberal blogger was killed in the latest string of murders targeting secular activists by suspected Islamist militants. Reuters tells us that “postgraduate law student Nazimuddin Samad, 28, was attacked as he was returning from class at his university in the capital, Dhaka, late on Wednesday, police said.” Additionally, Reuters writes that “last year, suspected militants killed five secular writers and a publisher, including a Bangladeshi-American activist. A banned Islamist militant group, Ansarullah Bangla Team, claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.”
Secretary of State John Kerry met with Gulf state ministers today amid regional conflicts which cloud the United States’ relationship between the countries. CNN reports that Secretary Kerry “faces an uphill battle as he tries to shore up support for resolving key conflicts in the region from the six-members Gulf Cooperation Council, a group of critical allies disappointed by what they see as a continued deterioration of their relationship with the U.S. amid Iran’s changing role in the region.”
Speaking of Iran, Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced legislation that would block Iran’s access to the U.S. financial system in light of reports that the Obama administration could lift some restrictions. The Hill shares that “the legislation would prohibit Iran from getting indirect access to U.S. currency, including blocking ‘offshore United States dollar clearing system for transactions’ tied to Tehran or an Iranian national.” Rubio and Kirk’s proposal also would include sanctions on any offshore bank that helps Iran obtain access to U.S. currency.
Over in China, Chinese officials are requesting that countries participating in 2016’s G20 summit provide a list of possible terror groups and terrorists who may be plotting an attack on the meeting. Reuters reports that Hou Le, one of China’s senior counterterrorism officials, stated “we’re facing a grim task in fighting terrorism, and we hope participating countries will work together with Chinese policy to ensure the safety of such large-scale meetings.” Reuters also tells us that “China’s new counterterrorism law, adopted this year, has caused particular unease in western countries, which the Western capitals as it codifies sweeping powers for the government to combat perceived threats.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s top commander in the Pacific wants to confront China. The Navy Times reports that “Admiral Harry Harris is proposing a muscular U.S. response to China’s island-building that may include launching aircraft and conducting military operations within 12 miles of these man-made islands, as part of an effort to stop what he called the ‘Great Wall of Sand.’” However, this proposal has met some resistance from the White House.
FBI Director James Comey indicated yesterday during a speech at Kenyon College that the government had purchased a tool that allowed investigators to access the San Bernardino iPhone. Fox News tells us that Comey stated that “the people that we bought this tool from—I know a fair amount about them and have a high degree of confidence that they are very good at protecting it, and their motivations align with ours.” Previously, the Justice Department had only said that a third party had “demonstrated” an alternative method of decrypting the phone. Lawfare’s own Ben Wittes was at the event and said that Director Comey’s speech was one of the best engagements on encryption he’s seen.
The White House has declined to support the Burr-Feinstein encryption bill that would pave the way for judges to require tech companies to comply with the government to access encrypted data. Reuters writes that “the decision all but assures that the years-long political impasse over encryption will continue” and that the White House remains “deeply divided on the issue.”
CNN has the latest on a new Department of Homeland Security intelligence assessment detailing what exactly hackers are doing when they find their way into the U.S. power grid. According to CNN, “some of the attacks described in the reports are potentially serious” and, although rare, “highly sophisticated foreign government hackers have gotten inside the energy grid.” You can read the official report for yourself here.
Yet, the New York Times reports some bad news from DHS. According to the Times, “at a time of increasing threats of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security is having trouble recruiting much-needed computer experts because it cannot match the pay of private sector and does not have the same allure as intelligence agencies.”
What is that up in the sky? A bird? Superman? Nope, it’s a surveillance plane courtesy of DHS and the FBI. BuzzFeed tells us that “the planes are fitted with high-resolution video cameras, often working with ‘augmented reality’ software that can superimpose onto the video images everything from street and business names to the owners of individual homes. At least a few planes have carried devices that can track the cellphones of people below. Most of the aircraft are small, flying a mile or so above the ground, and many use exhaust mufflers to mute their engines—making them hard to detect by the people they’re spying on.” BuzzFeed has more here.
Yesterday, during his visit to Washington, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg detailed a new plan that would create a rapid deployment training force to help local forces aligned with the military alliance. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Secretary-General of the alliance stressed that NATO “must conduct needed training more swiftly and effectively.” In his speech at the Atlantic Council, Stoltenberg stated “Training matters. In the fight against terrorism, building local capacity is one of the best weapons we have, and the earlier we can do it, the better. A few months can mean the difference between a fragile state and a failed state.”
Keeping up with the controversy and scandal of the Panama Papers? If not, the Guardian has you covered. Check out what has been revealed so far from the 11.5 million leaked files.
Many lawmakers in Congress, most notably Republican leaders, continue to block the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba because they do not want terrorists held on United States soil. But, did you know that we already do that? The New York Times provides us with a map detailing where terrorists are held on U.S. soil throughout the country. Look to see if you have a terrorist in your backyard here.
Parting Shot: Need to buy an antiaircraft weapon? How about heavy machine guns and grenades? Just log onto Facebook. The New York Times tells us that the social networking site has been “hosting sprawling online arms bazaars, offering weapons ranging from handguns and grenades to heavy machine guns and guided missiles.” These Facebook posts signify efforts to sell these weapons to terrorists, which violates Facebook’s ban on private arms sales.
ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare
Ben shared a video of FBI Director James Comey’s keynote address at Kenyon College.
Jack Goldsmith commented on President Obama’s embrace of President Bush’s preemption doctrine.
Cody flagged Senators Kelly Ayotte and Mark Kirk’s new bill to halt GTMO transfers.
Stewart Baker released the latest edition of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, featuring an interview with Perianne Boring.
Shane Reeves and David Wallace examined whether U.S. service members could disobey an order to waterboard terrorists.
Ashley Deeks responded to State Department Legal Adviser Brian Egan’s speech at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law.
Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.
Read the whole story
· · · · · · · ·
Link - Today's Headlines - 4/8/2016by Mike Nova (noreply@blogger.com)
Today's Headlines - 4/8/2016
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
Next Page of Stories
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Page 3
- "4. Who leaked the documents?
- Very little is known about the individual who provided the treasure trove of financial records to Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper, in an article detailing how the leak came about, said an anonymous source reached out to its investigative reporter Bastian Obermayer.
- “Hello. This is John Doe,” the initial message began. “Interested in data?”
- When Obermayer replied that he was, the source reportedly laid down some ground rules — he said his life was in danger, the German journalist told Wired, and that they would only chat over encrypted channels without ever meeting.
- When asked about his motivations, the whistle-blower said he wanted to “make these crimes public.”
- Obermayer and his colleague Frederik Obermaier, who initially received all the data in batches before seeking assistance in processing it from the ICIJ, still do not know who their source is.
- “We can’t disclose any numbers or times … or if we are still in contact,” Obermayer told the Washington Post via email on Wednesday, adding that there was “a lot” of back and forth through various encrypted mediums. “On some days, I chatted more with the source than with my wife,” he said.
- Obermayer also said he destroyed the phone and laptop he had used to communicate with the leaker before reaching out to any of the names mentioned in the documents for comment, including Mossack Fonseca.
- “I don’t know the name of the person or the identity of the person,” he added."
- Panama Papers: One Week Later, Here's What We've Learned
- Putin Says Panama Papers Leak Part of Plot To Destabilize Russia
- The Daily Vertical: The Plot Against Russia -- And Iceland
- The Daily Vertical: The Plot Against Russia -- And Iceland (Transcript)
- "Кремль теряет лицо"
- News Wrap: Putin denies ties to offshore accounts from 'Panama Papers' - YouTube
- Putin: Obama 'Personally' Invited Russian President to Nuclear Summit | News | The Moscow Times
- Медиафорум региональных и местных СМИ «Правда и справедливость» • Президент России
- Corruption PSYOPS RT — CrossTalk
- peter lavelle - Google Search
- Ъ - Владимир Путин за другом в карман не полез
- David Cameron faces growing pressure to come clean on finances | Politics | The Guardian
- Why the Panama Papers Are Bad News for David Cameron | TIME
- Investigation into Flydubai Russian crash points to pilot error | Reuters
- Russian Report Sheds Light on FlyDubai Plane Crash - ABC News
- Former Pentagon Chiefs: Military Suffered From Obama White House
- Supercarrier Ford to join Navy fleet in September - CNNPolitics.com
- Kerry Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq
- How Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen has made al Qaeda stronger and richer
- Confusion Over Fate Of Syria Cement Workers
- Court gives former Lebanese minister 13-year jail sentence - The Washington Post
- Bill Clinton confronts protesters who say his crime reforms hurt blacks | Reuters
- Pope Francis offers hope to divorced Catholics, says no to gay marriage - The Washington Post
- The coming train wreck - The Washington Post
- Giulio Regeni's Murder Reveal's Egypt's Oppression
- The 'nuns' who grow medical marijuana - CNN.com
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
Read the whole story
· ·
The Daily Vertical: The Plot Against Russia -- And Iceland
- Brian Whitmore
Direct link
The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday. Viewers can suggest topics via Twitter @PowerVertical or on the Power Vertical Facebook page.
Read the whole story
· ·
"Who leaked the documents?" - Panama Papers: One Week Later, Here's What We've Learned - TIMES - Headlines - 10:23 AM 4/8/2016
- "4. Who leaked the documents?
- Very little is known about the individual who provided the treasure trove of financial records to Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper, in an article detailing how the leak came about, said an anonymous source reached out to its investigative reporter Bastian Obermayer.
- “Hello. This is John Doe,” the initial message began. “Interested in data?”
- When Obermayer replied that he was, the source reportedly laid down some ground rules — he said his life was in danger, the German journalist told Wired, and that they would only chat over encrypted channels without ever meeting.
- When asked about his motivations, the whistle-blower said he wanted to “make these crimes public.”
- Obermayer and his colleague Frederik Obermaier, who initially received all the data in batches before seeking assistance in processing it from the ICIJ, still do not know who their source is.
- “We can’t disclose any numbers or times … or if we are still in contact,” Obermayer told the Washington Post via email on Wednesday, adding that there was “a lot” of back and forth through various encrypted mediums. “On some days, I chatted more with the source than with my wife,” he said.
- Obermayer also said he destroyed the phone and laptop he had used to communicate with the leaker before reaching out to any of the names mentioned in the documents for comment, including Mossack Fonseca.
- “I don’t know the name of the person or the identity of the person,” he added."
9:54 AM 4/8/2016 - Headlines: Panama Papers: One Week Later, Here's What We've Learned by Mike Nova (noreply@blogger.com)
- Panama Papers: One Week Later, Here's What We've Learned
Putin Says Panama Papers Leak Part of Plot To Destabilize Russia
The Daily Vertical: The Plot Against Russia -- And Iceland
The Daily Vertical: The Plot Against Russia -- And Iceland (Transcript)
"Кремль теряет лицо"
News Wrap: Putin denies ties to offshore accounts from 'Panama Papers' - YouTube
Putin: Obama 'Personally' Invited Russian President to Nuclear Summit | News | The Moscow Times
Медиафорум региональных и местных СМИ «Правда и справедливость» • Президент России
Corruption PSYOPS RT — CrossTalk
peter lavelle - Google Search
Ъ - Владимир Путин за другом в карман не полез
David Cameron faces growing pressure to come clean on finances | Politics | The Guardian
Why the Panama Papers Are Bad News for David Cameron | TIME
Investigation into Flydubai Russian crash points to pilot error | Reuters
Russian Report Sheds Light on FlyDubai Plane Crash - ABC News
Former Pentagon Chiefs: Military Suffered From Obama White House
Supercarrier Ford to join Navy fleet in September - CNNPolitics.com
Kerry Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq
How Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen has made al Qaeda stronger and richer
Confusion Over Fate Of Syria Cement Workers
Court gives former Lebanese minister 13-year jail sentence - The Washington Post
Bill Clinton confronts protesters who say his crime reforms hurt blacks | Reuters
Pope Francis offers hope to divorced Catholics, says no to gay marriage - The Washington Post
The coming train wreck - The Washington Post
Giulio Regeni's Murder Reveal's Egypt's Oppression
The 'nuns' who grow medical marijuana - CNN.com
- 4.7.16
- Russian Court Accepts Lawsuit Demanding Putin's Impeachment | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin Responds to Panama Papers After 4 Days of Keeping Silent | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin dismisses Panama Papers as an attempt to destabilise Russia | News | The Guardian
- U.S. Plans to Match Leaked Data to Russia Sanctions List, Says Source - Bloomberg
- Austrian president rails against EU sanctions on Russia | News | DW.COM | 06.04.2016
- Family of Russian National Guard Chief Owns Properties Worth $10M – Investigation | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin's Personal Army: Analysts on Russia's National Guard | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
- Panama Papers: Putin rejects corruption allegations - BBC News
- Putin Denounces 'Panama Papers' as Western Plot
- China steps up Panama Papers censorship after leaders' relatives named | World news | The Guardian
- Panama Papers Leak Casts Light on a Law Firm Founded on Secrecy - The New York Times
- Russia styles itself lead mediator in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | Reuters
- Solve the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Before It Explodes - The New York Times
- Dutch voters overwhelmingly reject Ukraine-EU treaty | Reuters
- The West Is Enabling Graft in Ukraine - The New York Times
- Obama Meets With Military Leaders, Stresses Capabilities, Counter-Islamic State Effort – Eurasia Review
- Donald Trump ignores Europe’s far-right – POLITICO
- What's the world's loneliest city? | Cities | The Guardian
- New Zealand School Musical Ends With 2 Boys in Hospital - ABC News
- WA Police: 2 "Dangerous" Patients Escape Psychiatric Hospital - ABC News
- DEA Considering Rescheduling Cannabis
- Puerto Rico gov dares GOP to pass highly restrictive bill - NY Daily News
- Puerto Rico Governor Pushes Back Against U.S. Control Board - Bloomberg
- Puerto Rico's impoverished pensions complicate island's debt crisis
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
Read the whole story
· · ·
6:10 PM 4/7/2016 - Today's Postsby Mike Nova (noreply@blogger.com)
Today's Posts
Short Links to Posts
- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Links » NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post 07/04/16 13:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Link - Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
Headlines
- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: 5:52 PM 4/7/2016 - Russian Court Accepts Lawsuit Demanding Putin's Impeachment | News | The Moscow Times Putin Responds to Panama Papers After 4 Days of Keeping Silent | News | The Moscow Times Putin dismisses Panama Papers as an attempt to destabilise Russia | News | The Guardian
- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: 2:30 PM 4/7/2016 - Russian Court Accepts Lawsuit Demanding Putin's Impeachment | News | The Moscow Times
- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: 12:21 PM 4/7/2016 - Putin Denounces 'Panama Papers' as Western Plot
Shared Links Review in Brief
Shared Links
Recent News
4.7.16 Th
- Russian Court Accepts Lawsuit Demanding Putin's Impeachment | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin Responds to Panama Papers After 4 Days of Keeping Silent | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin dismisses Panama Papers as an attempt to destabilise Russia | News | The Guardian
- Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia – The Washington Post – The World Web Times – World News Review
- U.S. Plans to Match Leaked Data to Russia Sanctions List, Says Source - Bloomberg
- Austrian president rails against EU sanctions on Russia | News | DW.COM | 06.04.2016
- Family of Russian National Guard Chief Owns Properties Worth $10M – Investigation | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin's Personal Army: Analysts on Russia's National Guard | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
- Panama Papers: Putin rejects corruption allegations - BBC News
- Putin Denounces 'Panama Papers' as Western Plot
- China steps up Panama Papers censorship after leaders' relatives named | World news | The Guardian
- Panama Papers Leak Casts Light on a Law Firm Founded on Secrecy - The New York Times
- Russia styles itself lead mediator in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | Reuters
- Solve the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Before It Explodes - The New York Times
- Dutch voters overwhelmingly reject Ukraine-EU treaty | Reuters
- The West Is Enabling Graft in Ukraine - The New York Times
- Obama Meets With Military Leaders, Stresses Capabilities, Counter-Islamic State Effort – Eurasia Review
- Donald Trump ignores Europe’s far-right – POLITICO
- What's the world's loneliest city? | Cities | The Guardian
- New Zealand School Musical Ends With 2 Boys in Hospital - ABC News
- WA Police: 2 "Dangerous" Patients Escape Psychiatric Hospital - ABC News
- DEA Considering Rescheduling Cannabis
- Puerto Rico gov dares GOP to pass highly restrictive bill - NY Daily News
- Puerto Rico Governor Pushes Back Against U.S. Control Board - Bloomberg
- Puerto Rico's impoverished pensions complicate island's debt crisis
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
Read the whole story
· · ·
4:05 PM 4/7/2016 - Russian Court Accepts Lawsuit Demanding Putin's Impeachment | News | The Moscow Times Putin Responds to Panama Papers After 4 Days of Keeping Silent | News | The Moscow Times Putin dismisses Panama Papers as an attempt to destabilise Russia | News | The Guardianby Mike Nova (noreply@blogger.com)
- Putin Responds to Panama Papers After 4 Days of Keeping Silent | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin dismisses Panama Papers as an attempt to destabilise Russia | News | The Guardian
- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: » NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post 07/04/16 13:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
- Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia – The Washington Post – The World Web Times – World News Review
- U.S. Plans to Match Leaked Data to Russia Sanctions List, Says Source - Bloomberg
- Austrian president rails against EU sanctions on Russia | News | DW.COM | 06.04.2016
- Family of Russian National Guard Chief Owns Properties Worth $10M – Investigation | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin's Personal Army: Analysts on Russia's National Guard | News | The Moscow Times
- Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
- Panama Papers: Putin rejects corruption allegations - BBC News
- Putin Denounces 'Panama Papers' as Western Plot
- China steps up Panama Papers censorship after leaders' relatives named | World news | The Guardian
- Panama Papers Leak Casts Light on a Law Firm Founded on Secrecy - The New York Times
- Russia styles itself lead mediator in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | Reuters
- Solve the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Before It Explodes - The New York Times
- Dutch voters overwhelmingly reject Ukraine-EU treaty | Reuters
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Link - Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Postby Mike Nova (noreply@blogger.com)
Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a media forum in St.Petersburg on Thursday. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia
MOSCOW —Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday condemned a leak of confidential offshore account details that has shaken politicians around the world, claiming that it was part of a Western plot to weaken Russia.
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
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» NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post 07/04/16 13:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
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» NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
07/04/16 13:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NEWS: The World and Global Security Review. Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a media forum in St.Petersbur...
07/04/16 13:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NEWS: The World and Global Security Review. Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a media forum in St.Petersbur...
» Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
07/04/16 13:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you fre...
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» Panama Papers: Putin rejects corruption allegations - BBC News
07/04/16 12:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - Home. Panama Papers: Putin rejects corruption allegations 15 minutes ago From the section Europe President Putin has denied "any element of corruption" over the Panama Papers leaks, saying his o...
07/04/16 12:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from BBC News - Home. Panama Papers: Putin rejects corruption allegations 15 minutes ago From the section Europe President Putin has denied "any element of corruption" over the Panama Papers leaks, saying his o...
NEWS: The World and Security Review: http://newslinksandbundles.blogspot.com/ The main news stories from the major sources; selected, compiled, and occasionally commented on by Mike Nova
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2:30 PM 4/7/2016 - Russian Court Accepts Lawsuit Demanding Putin's Impeachment | News | The Moscow Times
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- NEWS: The World and Global Security Review: Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
- Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia – The Washington Post – The World Web Times – World News Review
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- Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
- Panama Papers: Putin rejects corruption allegations - BBC News
- Putin Denounces 'Panama Papers' as Western Plot
- China steps up Panama Papers censorship after leaders' relatives named | World news | The Guardian
- Panama Papers Leak Casts Light on a Law Firm Founded on Secrecy - The New York Times
- Russia styles itself lead mediator in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | Reuters
- Solve the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Before It Explodes - The New York Times
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- Puerto Rico Governor Pushes Back Against U.S. Control Board - Bloomberg
- Puerto Rico's impoverished pensions complicate island's debt crisis
Read the whole story
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Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a media forum in St.Petersburg on Thursday. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia - The Washington Post
Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia
By Michael Birnbaum April 7 at 9:54 AM
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Putin denounces Panama Papers leak as attempt to weaken Russia
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