At the head of Abu Dhabi's intelligence service for the last two years, Ali al-Shamsi finds himself managing an unprecedented crisis for the tiny emirate. His major security ally in Washington is waging a war of influence that he had not foreseen.
The pace is picking up for a possible resolution to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Frenetic diplomatic activity is likely to get underway in the next 24 hours, which may well lead to a breakthrough in negotiations.
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Back-door diplomacy Despite Myanmar's ongoing civil war, Rohingya refugees are starting to return to Rakhine State from crowded camps in Bangladesh. China's Ministry of State Security and the People's Liberation Army appear to be orchestrating the final stage of a plan to secure the CCP's vital Indian Ocean interests.
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Back-door diplomacy Faced with the Russian threat, several European countries want to acquire intelligence data processing platforms - which they are still lacking - in the very near future. Competition is intensifying between US, French and Italian players.
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Cybersecurity GRU's campaign in Europe (1/2). Russia's feared GRU military intelligence, headed by Igor Kostyukov and tasked with spying on Western Europe, was caught red-handed trying to recruit a French soldier stationed at a NATO base in Italy.
Taiwan's launch of a new Earth observation satellite appears to be a hollow success. The country is still heavily dependent on US and European imagery to monitor its Chinese neighbour.
A covert request to dig into La Lettre and its luxury sector correspondent has circulated among Paris private eyes, reviving memories of a past LVMH intelligence scandal and exposing bitter infighting at the heart of the world's biggest luxury group.
