Spain has fallen for the fifth consecutive year in the corruption perception index compiled by international experts, down one point from 2024 (from a score of 56 to 55 in the world ranking) and once again placing it below countries such as Rwanda (58) and Saudi Arabia (57), which are authoritarian regimes.

According to Transparency International, which presented its annual report for 2025 in Madrid on Tuesday, Spain has been one of the European countries where the perception of corruption has grown the most, along with Bulgaria, in a turbulent year for the PSOE and the government due to the Koldo case, which has led to the imprisonment of, among others, former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his former adviser Koldo García, as well as the former secretary of organisation of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, who has been released pending trial.

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Another finding highlighted by the analysis is that among the countries that have improved the most in terms of the perception of corruption since 2012 are Greece (up 14 points to 50) and the Czech Republic (up 10 points to 59). In contrast, Spain is among the countries that have fallen the most since 2012, down a total of ten points to its current score of 55, along with Malta, which has fallen eight points to 49.

One case that experts highlight is that of the United Kingdom (70), which has fallen 12 places since 2017. Also noteworthy are the efforts made over the last decade by Estonia (76), Latvia (60) and Lithuania (65) and their commitment to opening up government and undertaking anti-corruption reforms, although they warn that gaps remain, particularly with regard to the transparency of lobbies, the protection of whistleblowers and clarity in party financing.

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7150963

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As British police launch a criminal investigation into Lord Peter Mandelson for allegedly leaking market-sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the 2008-2010 financial crisis, a comprehensive review of newly released documents from the same period reveals a potentially deeper concern: Epstein’s systematic efforts to forge ties between Beijing’s Communist Party elite and British politicians and financiers.

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Material already publicly disclosed under the Epstein Transparency Act reveals the Mandelson-Epstein communications as a striking echo of an existing China business influence scandal involving Epstein and JP Morgan Chase executive Jes Staley.

Together, they suggest Epstein was encouraging—if not orchestrating—a strategy to position former British officials as bridges to China’s Communist Party elite, raising questions about whether both the current Starmer government and the prior Gordon Brown government were exposed to compromised advice on China policy.

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In an email to Jeffrey Epstein dated April 16, 2011, Mandelson wrote:

“I appreciate your advice. But I am starting in political world, moving to financial. Learning. Making contacts. Establishing new credentials and a business platform. Some Chinese want deals (should be able to offer that in due course). Some have deals already but need hand holding. Some want to put money into funds. CICC retain us cos think we have something to offer Chinese. Henry K says we also need to become go-betweens for those with commercial disputes.”

“Henry K” appears to refer to Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State widely regarded as perhaps the most influential Western leader of the past half-century in forging elite ties between Washington and Beijing.

The "CICC" reference is to China International Capital Corporation, a Beijing-based investment bank with close ties to the Chinese government and state-owned enterprises — effectively, in China's party-state system, a massive foreign investment bridge that comes under Chinese Communist Party guidance.

...

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As British police launch a criminal investigation into Lord Peter Mandelson for allegedly leaking market-sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the 2008-2010 financial crisis, a comprehensive review of newly released documents from the same period reveals a potentially deeper concern: Epstein’s systematic efforts to forge ties between Beijing’s Communist Party elite and British politicians and financiers.

...

Material already publicly disclosed under the Epstein Transparency Act reveals the Mandelson-Epstein communications as a striking echo of an existing China business influence scandal involving Epstein and JP Morgan Chase executive Jes Staley.

Together, they suggest Epstein was encouraging—if not orchestrating—a strategy to position former British officials as bridges to China’s Communist Party elite, raising questions about whether both the current Starmer government and the prior Gordon Brown government were exposed to compromised advice on China policy.

...

In an email to Jeffrey Epstein dated April 16, 2011, Mandelson wrote:

“I appreciate your advice. But I am starting in political world, moving to financial. Learning. Making contacts. Establishing new credentials and a business platform. Some Chinese want deals (should be able to offer that in due course). Some have deals already but need hand holding. Some want to put money into funds. CICC retain us cos think we have something to offer Chinese. Henry K says we also need to become go-betweens for those with commercial disputes.”

“Henry K” appears to refer to Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State widely regarded as perhaps the most influential Western leader of the past half-century in forging elite ties between Washington and Beijing.

The "CICC" reference is to China International Capital Corporation, a Beijing-based investment bank with close ties to the Chinese government and state-owned enterprises — effectively, in China's party-state system, a massive foreign investment bridge that comes under Chinese Communist Party guidance.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7149414

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Spain’s diplomatic corps and foreign affairs journalists have raised alarm over what they describe as a sharp institutional decline at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the arrival of José Manuel Albares, citing growing restrictions on press access and increasingly centralised decision-making.

On Monday, Madrid’s Press Association condemned what it described as “pressure” from senior foreign ministry officials – including journalist “vetoes” and the informal labelling of media outlets as “friendly” or “hostile”.

The controversy flared last week when a journalist noted at a press conference that Albares had not held a standalone presser for eight months. Days later, El Confidencial Digital reported that the minister had sought to bar her from the ministry – a move later conveyed to her employer by his spokesperson.

The episode sparked outrage among Spain’s foreign affairs press corps, which accuses Albares of undermining press freedom since taking office in 2021.

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Concerns extend beyond the media. Alberto Virella, president of the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) and a former ambassador to Senegal, told Euractiv that the opacity mirrors deeper problems within the ministry itself.

“The ministry’s communication policy is anomalous,” Virella said, noting that ambassadors – and diplomats more broadly – are discouraged from speaking to the press for fear of reprimand.

He added that appointment procedures have also become less transparent, with postings no longer clearly based on seniority but on criteria “known only to the minister”.

“These conditions favour arbitrariness and cronyism,” Virella said, warning that they weaken Spain’s diplomatic effectiveness.

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Spain’s diplomatic corps and foreign affairs journalists have raised alarm over what they describe as a sharp institutional decline at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the arrival of José Manuel Albares, citing growing restrictions on press access and increasingly centralised decision-making.

On Monday, Madrid’s Press Association condemned what it described as “pressure” from senior foreign ministry officials – including journalist “vetoes” and the informal labelling of media outlets as “friendly” or “hostile”.

The controversy flared last week when a journalist noted at a press conference that Albares had not held a standalone presser for eight months. Days later, El Confidencial Digital reported that the minister had sought to bar her from the ministry – a move later conveyed to her employer by his spokesperson.

The episode sparked outrage among Spain’s foreign affairs press corps, which accuses Albares of undermining press freedom since taking office in 2021.

...

Concerns extend beyond the media. Alberto Virella, president of the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) and a former ambassador to Senegal, told Euractiv that the opacity mirrors deeper problems within the ministry itself.

“The ministry’s communication policy is anomalous,” Virella said, noting that ambassadors – and diplomats more broadly – are discouraged from speaking to the press for fear of reprimand.

He added that appointment procedures have also become less transparent, with postings no longer clearly based on seniority but on criteria “known only to the minister”.

“These conditions favour arbitrariness and cronyism,” Virella said, warning that they weaken Spain’s diplomatic effectiveness.

One of Spain's most respected memory associations on Monday accused the leftist government of flouting its own much-vaunted policy to remove public symbols inherited from Francisco Franco's brutal dictatorship.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7134104

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MI5 has warned universities about the growing threat from China and told them to report instances of foreign interference to the government and security services.

The intelligence agency hauled more than 70 vice-chancellors into a rare briefing last week to urge them to step up their defences against intimidation and censorship by “hostile states”.

Sir Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5, warned them that China and other states were attempting to influence universities’ research and teaching.

...

UK-China Transparency (UKCT), a think tank, published a report in August stating that Chinese students in the UK were being pressured to spy on their classmates.

After surveying China studies academics, the think tank received reports of Chinese government officials warning lecturers to avoid discussing certain topics in their classes.

Some academics also said they were intimidated by visiting scholars and staff at Confucius Institutes. These partnership organisations claim to promote Chinese culture on UK campuses, but have been criticised over their alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

...

In one of the most high-profile examples of interference, Sheffield Hallam University ordered a senior professor to halt her work on allegations of forced labour in the Xinjiang region last year.

Laura Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery, initiated legal proceedings against the university after it emerged that the institution was concerned her research was impacting the number of Chinese students enrolling on courses.

...

The government’s new “academic interference reporting route” will allow universities to send their concerns about foreign influence straight to UK intelligence agencies.

...

Vice-chancellors are understood to be responsible for passing on the information, with complaints “triaged” based on their severity.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group of universities, said: “The new single point of contact for advice on foreign interference will empower institutions to report and take action more swiftly and confidently, knowing there is support in place.

...

[Edit to insert the archived link.]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7134104

Archive link

MI5 has warned universities about the growing threat from China and told them to report instances of foreign interference to the government and security services.

The intelligence agency hauled more than 70 vice-chancellors into a rare briefing last week to urge them to step up their defences against intimidation and censorship by “hostile states”.

Sir Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5, warned them that China and other states were attempting to influence universities’ research and teaching.

...

UK-China Transparency (UKCT), a think tank, published a report in August stating that Chinese students in the UK were being pressured to spy on their classmates.

After surveying China studies academics, the think tank received reports of Chinese government officials warning lecturers to avoid discussing certain topics in their classes.

Some academics also said they were intimidated by visiting scholars and staff at Confucius Institutes. These partnership organisations claim to promote Chinese culture on UK campuses, but have been criticised over their alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

...

In one of the most high-profile examples of interference, Sheffield Hallam University ordered a senior professor to halt her work on allegations of forced labour in the Xinjiang region last year.

Laura Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery, initiated legal proceedings against the university after it emerged that the institution was concerned her research was impacting the number of Chinese students enrolling on courses.

...

The government’s new “academic interference reporting route” will allow universities to send their concerns about foreign influence straight to UK intelligence agencies.

...

Vice-chancellors are understood to be responsible for passing on the information, with complaints “triaged” based on their severity.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group of universities, said: “The new single point of contact for advice on foreign interference will empower institutions to report and take action more swiftly and confidently, knowing there is support in place.

...

[Edit to insert the archived link.]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7134104

Archive link

MI5 has warned universities about the growing threat from China and told them to report instances of foreign interference to the government and security services.

The intelligence agency hauled more than 70 vice-chancellors into a rare briefing last week to urge them to step up their defences against intimidation and censorship by “hostile states”.

Sir Ken McCallum, the director-general of MI5, warned them that China and other states were attempting to influence universities’ research and teaching.

...

UK-China Transparency (UKCT), a think tank, published a report in August stating that Chinese students in the UK were being pressured to spy on their classmates.

After surveying China studies academics, the think tank received reports of Chinese government officials warning lecturers to avoid discussing certain topics in their classes.

Some academics also said they were intimidated by visiting scholars and staff at Confucius Institutes. These partnership organisations claim to promote Chinese culture on UK campuses, but have been criticised over their alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

...

In one of the most high-profile examples of interference, Sheffield Hallam University ordered a senior professor to halt her work on allegations of forced labour in the Xinjiang region last year.

Laura Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery, initiated legal proceedings against the university after it emerged that the institution was concerned her research was impacting the number of Chinese students enrolling on courses.

...

The government’s new “academic interference reporting route” will allow universities to send their concerns about foreign influence straight to UK intelligence agencies.

...

Vice-chancellors are understood to be responsible for passing on the information, with complaints “triaged” based on their severity.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group of universities, said: “The new single point of contact for advice on foreign interference will empower institutions to report and take action more swiftly and confidently, knowing there is support in place.

...

[Edit to insert the archived link.]

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7132100

A Serbian court has convicted a Chinese citizen of human trafficking for the first time, sentencing him to prison as authorities report a rise in reported trafficking cases involving Chinese nationals amid deepening economic ties between Belgrade and Beijing.

Court documents ... show that a 52-year-old Chinese citizen was sentenced to four years in prison for trafficking two Chinese women. According to the sealed ruling, finalized in late 2025, the women were forced to provide sexual services to Chinese men under threats of death.

"The verdict is only the final step," Zoran Pasalic, Serbia's ombudsman and national rapporteur on human trafficking, [said]. "The key question is what conditions allowed this to happen, and whether others were involved."

...

The verdict was welcomed by ASTRA, an NGO that supports victims of human trafficking.

"The fact that both the perpetrator and the victims are foreign nationals, in this case Chinese, further confirms that the court did not allow identity or citizenship to be used as an excuse to relativize the crime," Marija Andelkovic, the organization's director, said.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7132100

A Serbian court has convicted a Chinese citizen of human trafficking for the first time, sentencing him to prison as authorities report a rise in reported trafficking cases involving Chinese nationals amid deepening economic ties between Belgrade and Beijing.

Court documents ... show that a 52-year-old Chinese citizen was sentenced to four years in prison for trafficking two Chinese women. According to the sealed ruling, finalized in late 2025, the women were forced to provide sexual services to Chinese men under threats of death.

"The verdict is only the final step," Zoran Pasalic, Serbia's ombudsman and national rapporteur on human trafficking, [said]. "The key question is what conditions allowed this to happen, and whether others were involved."

...

The verdict was welcomed by ASTRA, an NGO that supports victims of human trafficking.

"The fact that both the perpetrator and the victims are foreign nationals, in this case Chinese, further confirms that the court did not allow identity or citizenship to be used as an excuse to relativize the crime," Marija Andelkovic, the organization's director, said.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7132100

A Serbian court has convicted a Chinese citizen of human trafficking for the first time, sentencing him to prison as authorities report a rise in reported trafficking cases involving Chinese nationals amid deepening economic ties between Belgrade and Beijing.

Court documents ... show that a 52-year-old Chinese citizen was sentenced to four years in prison for trafficking two Chinese women. According to the sealed ruling, finalized in late 2025, the women were forced to provide sexual services to Chinese men under threats of death.

"The verdict is only the final step," Zoran Pasalic, Serbia's ombudsman and national rapporteur on human trafficking, [said]. "The key question is what conditions allowed this to happen, and whether others were involved."

...

The verdict was welcomed by ASTRA, an NGO that supports victims of human trafficking.

"The fact that both the perpetrator and the victims are foreign nationals, in this case Chinese, further confirms that the court did not allow identity or citizenship to be used as an excuse to relativize the crime," Marija Andelkovic, the organization's director, said.

...