Multiple countries in the Mediterranean region have been battling intense wildfires this summer, including France, Greece, Syria and Turkey. These aggressive, recurring fires suggests a new normal of altered lives, landscapes and economies in the Mediterranean basin.

The enormous workload at the borders also has a "noticeable impact on regular police work," as many of the officers deployed are "absent from their regular duties elsewhere," warned the commissioner.

A leading sociologist from Leipzig is raising concerns about a potential turning point in eastern Germany, warning of a concerted effort by right-wing forces targeting civil society engagement. Alexander Leistner, a specialist in social dynamics, voiced his apprehension in an interview with “Der Spiegel”, highlighting an unusual pressure felt by citizens in eastern German communities who participate in political or social activities.

Leistner observes a skewed understanding of neutrality prevalent across numerous regions, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Ore Mountains. Historically, a cornerstone of democratic societies has been the open exchange of ideas and robust debate. However, in many areas of eastern Germany, a prevailing sentiment equates inaction and non-participation with neutrality.

The researcher emphasizes that extremist right-wing groups are actively promoting the concept of a “neutral” state paired with a society defined by ethnicity. He notes that political parties like the AfD advocate for a civil society ostensibly detached from politics, focusing instead on themes of “homeland” and “tradition.

Archived (archive.org)

Archived link

The Russian propaganda group Storm-1516, known for disseminating fake news online, has begun impersonating real journalists by publishing articles under their names on fabricated news sites. Disinformation analysts at the Gnida Project recently uncovered at least four such instances. The fake publications have targeted Moldova, France, Armenia, and, most recently, Germany.

As part of a campaign targeting Moldovan President Maia Sandu, an article appeared on the fake website “The EU Insider” (insider.eu.com), dated May 22 and attributed to Radu Dumitrescu — a legitimate journalist with the English-language Romanian outlet Romania Insider (romania-insider.com). The article falsely claimed that the mayor of Moldova’s capital, Chișinău, had accused Sandu of embezzling funds allocated by USAID.

Storm-1516 then turned to France and Armenia, using the names of five journalists from the French outlet Public (public.fr), including Romain Fiaschetti. A June 25 article, published on the fake site “Courrier France 24” (courrierfrance24.fr), claimed that the French state-owned company Orano was sending nuclear waste to Armenia and making donations to a fund allegedly tied to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Another article, dated July 1 and posted on the fake site “Enquête du Jour” (enquetedujour.fr), alleged that a surgeon “linked to rumors about Brigitte Macron's transgender identity” was found dead in Paris.

On July 4, a fake “Canadian” site called “Toronto Journal” (torontojournal.ca) published an article claiming that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had illegally killed a family of polar bears during a hunting trip in Canada. The article was unsigned, but the site's author list included four journalists who are, in fact, staff members at the Toronto Star.

Gnida Project also reported Storm-1516’s first documented disinformation campaign targeting Norway. On July 8, a newly launched website for the “Nature Defence Council” (ndc.eu.com), posing as an environmental NGO, published a story claiming that Norway was in the midst of an environmental crisis caused by severe pollution in the Nitelva River. The analysts believe the attacks on Norway may be connected to the country’s recent role as host of the Internet Governance Forum this past June. Russia had previously submitted a bid to host the event back in 2020.

Archived version

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Four European intelligence officials told AP they’re worried the risk of serious injury or even death is rising as untrained saboteurs set fires near homes and businesses, plant explosives or build bombs. AP’s tracking shows 12 incidents of arson or serious sabotage last year compared with two in 2023 and none in 2022.

“When you start a campaign, it creates its own dynamic and gets more and more violent over time,” said one of the officials, who holds a senior position at a European intelligence agency. The official, like two others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters.

The Kremlin did not reply to a request for comment on the British case. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov previously said the Kremlin has never been shown “any proofs” supporting accusations Russia is running a sabotage campaign and said “certainly we definitely reject any allegations.”

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When Russia’s disruption campaign started following the Ukraine invasion, vandalism – including defacing monuments or graffiti — was more common, said [one] senior European intelligence official.

“Over the last year, it has developed to arson and assassination,” the official said.

Other incidents linked to Russia with the potential to cause serious injury or death include a plot to put explosive devices on cargo planes – the packages ignited on the ground – and plots to set fire to shopping centers in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

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Shortly after the fire in London, [where this week a court found three men guilty of an arson in a March 2024 plot that prosecutors said was masterminded by Russia’s intelligence services] co-conspirators discussed what they would do next, according to messages shared with the court.

They talked about burning down London businesses owned by Evgeny Chichvarkin — a Russian tycoon who delivered supplies to Ukraine.

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In the messages, [one of the attackers] vacillated between saying they didn’t “need” any casualties and that if they “wanted to hurt someone,” they could put nails in a homemade explosive device. He noted there were homes above the wine shop.

That reflects a phenomenon the senior intelligence official noted: Middlemen sometimes suggest ideas — each one a “little better” and more dangerous.

While Russia’s intelligence services try to keep “strict operational control” — giving targets, deciding on devices and demanding recruits record the sabotage — sometimes “control does not hold,” said Lotta Hakala, a senior analyst at the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service.

That appears to be what happened in London.

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Paywall? https://archive.is/Wg0DA

Brussels is not expecting same access to US market as British steel, cars and other products subject to sectoral duties Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump Sir Keir Starmer, UK prime minister, left and US President Donald Trump at the White House in February. One British official said: ‘We approached it like a business deal not a trade negotiation

Archived

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Sanctions were imposed on Central Asia Silk Road International Trade, Suzhou Ecod Precision Manufacturing, Shenzhen Royo Technology, Shenzhen Jinduobang Technology, and Ningbo BLIN Machinery.

[...]

China has emerged as one of Moscow's key wartime partners, helping Russia circumvent sanctions and becoming the largest supplier of dual-use goods aiding its defense sector.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president's commissioner for sanctions, told journalists on July 7 that Russia's growing ability to sustain weapons production is being driven by a flow of Chinese components and materials.

Zelensky has repeatedly accused China of backing Russia and providing technological and logistical support for its war effort. On May 29, he said Beijing had blocked the sale of drones to Ukraine while continuing to supply them to Russia.

Ukraine has already sanctioned several Chinese companies tied to Russia's war effort.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/32902531

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/38235122

Archived

The oohs and aahs came in a steady stream. The lion, made up of two lads inside a costume of elaborate, fluorescent riffles and painted swirls, was going shop to shop performing dramatic gyrations to a flurry of drumbeats, before rearing up to chomp lettuces hung from windows, and then spraying out the bits to onlookers. This was London’s Chinese New Year parade and it was, in short, a better day out than Glastonbury.

But though I did not realise it at the time, there was a similarly troubling political backdrop. That very day, a few streets away, Sadiq Khan was posing for photos with a man called Chu Ting Tang who, to all appearances, was just a regular diaspora bigwig who leads the London Chinatown Chinese Association. This, it turns out, is a bit like calling Captain Hook a cultural ambassador for amputees. What Tang actually is, according to a new report by the investigative charity UK China Transparency (UKCT), is an exceptionally senior official linked to the notorious Chinese propaganda and espionage department known as the United Front. (Neither he, nor the LCCA, responded to my queries.)

[...]

In this important work, as he puts it: “Our ancestor-land is our strongest support.” He is not talking figuratively. Tang appears to have an extensive communist party infrastructure behind him, not that you would ever see this disclosed openly in English-language sources. Only by trawling Chinese sources was the UKCT able to discover that Tang was appointed a “senior vice president” of the China Overseas Friendship Association, a United Front-run organisation whose stated aim is to aid in the “reunification of the ancestor lands”, meaning all the territories, from Xinjiang to Taiwan and the South China Sea, that China claims as its own (rather like Putin’s mission to “regather the lands” of Ancient Rus).

[...]

The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is a key Chinese Communist Party vehicle whose mission is to achieve control of civil society and suppress anti-communist dissent, originally just in China, but now globally. One of the chief channels through which it operates is party sympathisers (or simply the ambitious or the corrupt) in the Chinese diaspora.

[...]

It’s not as if Tang is a single case. There is Christine Lee, a United Front agent outed by MI5 in 2022. There is Xuelin Bates, wife of Lord Bates, linked to a United Front organisation while ferociously networking her way through the Tory establishment (she has said she cut her links with the United Front after 2020). There is Yang Tengbo, who became a confidant of Prince Andrew before being banned from the UK. There is Edmond Yeo, who ran a charity offering help to Hong Kongers fleeing Chinese oppression, while repeatedly meeting a Chinese embassy United Front official (Yeo has denied working on behalf of the UFWD). There are more, probably hundreds if not thousands, and the Firs was meant to be a vital tool by which British civil society could be informed about and protected from them.

[...]

[The UK government] decided to turn an official blind eye, and let individual journalists and tiny organisations like UKCT do the government’s job, picking off one agent at a time, slowly, painstakingly, constantly outgunned by a CCP organ of some 40,000 people. It’s almost as if some in government don’t want this problem tackled. They struggle to see that you can enjoy the lion dance, admire Chinese civilisation and welcome its talented diaspora without kowtowing to the sinister, meddlesome flunkies of its mafioso-communist regime.

[...]

The interior ministers of Italy, Greece and Malta, along with EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner were part of the delegation.

Archived

Germany summoned the Chinese ambassador to the foreign ministry on Tuesday after saying China's military had laser targeted a German aircraft taking part in an EU operation in the Red Sea.

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There was no immediate response from China's foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

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Germany's defence ministry said the aircraft, taking part in the EU's ASPIDES mission which protects international sea routes in the Red Sea, had been contributing a Multi-Sensor Platform, or "flying eye" for reconnaissance of the area since October.

A Chinese warship, which had been encountered several times in the area, had laser targeted the aircraft with no reason or prior communication during a routine mission flight, said a ministry spokesperson. The incident took place at the beginning of July.

"By using the laser, the warship put at risk the safety of personnel and material," said the spokesperson, adding the mission flight was aborted as a precaution and the aircraft landed safely at a base in Djibouti.

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China has previously denied accusations of firing or pointing lasers at U.S. planes.

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In 2020, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said a Chinese warship had fired a laser at a U.S. naval patrol aircraft flying in airspace above international waters west of Guam. China said that did not accord with the facts.

[...]

Paywall? https://archive.is/HmYBR