Julian Assange gets temporary reprieve as he fights extradition to US – POLITICO

The decision extends Assange’s stay at the high security Belmarsh Prison in southeast London, where he has been held since April 2019. Legal action against Assange started in 2010 after hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were published. The publisher spent seven years in London’s Ecuadorian embassy between 2012 … Read more

Brussels’ spy problem is the tip of the iceberg, says Belgian justice minister – POLITICO

The problem is of course far from new, given Brussels’ role on the international stage. “It is said that espionage is the second oldest profession in the world,” he said. Therefore, European coordination is key and continuously improving, said Van Tigchelt, who currently chairs meetings of the EU’s justice ministers as his country holds the … Read more

Stalin could have been poisoned by the West, Russian communists claim – POLITICO

The request was made on the 71st anniversary of Stalin’s death on March 5, 1953. An autopsy found he died from a haemorrhagic stroke following years of health issues, including an earlier stroke and heart attack in 1945, but conspiracy theories have long circulated about potential foul play. Stalin’s reputation has undergone a rehabilitation in … Read more

Scientist fired from Winnipeg disease lab intentionally worked to benefit China: CSIS report

One of the scientists who was fired from Canada’s top infectious disease laboratory “intentionally” shared scientific information with China — potentially putting people’s health in jeopardy — says an assessment by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).   The intelligence assessment was released late Wednesday afternoon by the federal government, along with hundreds of other documents about the mysterious dismissal of Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and her … Read more

Chinese chip maker cleared of spying charges in US criminal trade secrets case

Chesney concluded that US prosecutors failed to prove that the Chinese state-sponsored company misappropriated proprietary data from Micron Technology Inc., American’s largest memory-chip maker, that allegedly passed through Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp. in a manufacturing deal with Fujian Jinhua. 02:05 China imposes restrictions on US chip maker Micron, escalating tech war China imposes restrictions on … Read more

Bulgaria bans 2 alleged Russian spies from EU – POLITICO

Bulgarian authorities have blocked two Russian citizens from entering the European Union for five years, accusing them of setting up identities in order to begin spying. The State Agency for National Security (DANS) said the two had previously been living in Bulgaria as Denis Rashkov and Diana Rashkova, but are in fact Russian operatives named … Read more

9 takeaways from Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson – POLITICO

Here are the takeaways from Putin’s sit-down with Carlson. Putin isn’t done with his war The main message Putin sought to convey to Americans: There’s no point helping Ukraine with more money and weapons. And Carlson, who has himself previously questioned U.S. support for Ukraine as it seeks to defend its people and its land … Read more

Russian police detain Western journalists at protest by soldiers’ wives – POLITICO

Upon his release, one of the detained journalists said he and others had been held in a police van for some three hours after which they were brought to a police station, questioned and issued with an official “warning” for having participated in an “unsanctioned protest,” before eventually being released.  Notably, no women were detained. … Read more

British Businessman Imprisoned In China On Spy Charges

A British businessman living in China, who disappeared five years ago without any trace, was secretly convicted of espionage charges in 2022 by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs finally released updates on his whereabouts on Friday. Stones disappeared from public life in 2018. He had lived in China since the 1970s, … Read more

Moscow mocks CIA for new bid to recruit Russian spies – POLITICO

The Kremlin has laughed off an attempt by the CIA to recruit spies from Russia via social media. “Somebody should tell the CIA that VKontakte is much more popular here than the banned X [formerly Twitter] and that VKontakte has a much larger audience,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, according to state-run news agency … Read more