ALL ARTICLES - AFGHANISTAN

• FRANCE/SYRIA - French company Smart Pegasus remains under sanctions for participating in Syrian chemical weapons program.
  

• UNITED KINGDOM - Opposition MP's push parliamentary Economic Crime Committee project.

• SWEDEN/LATVIA - Swedish anti-fake news agency shines at NATO's StratCom. 

• PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN - ISI investigates attempted assassination of Pakistani ambassador in Kabul. 

• NORTH MACEDONIA - Skopje intelligence chief learns the rope at NATO. 

• CHINA - People's Liberation Army tests modern urban warfare techniques to hone Taiwan strategy. 

• UNITED STATES - CIA experimenting to solve HR crisis

• TURKEY/PALESTINE/AFGHANISTAN - Istanbul hosts Hamas-Taliban rapprochement

• GEORGIA - Tbilisi looks into its oligarchs

• FRANCE - DPR still not entitled to know about operations in progress

• RUSSIA - Moscow's foreign affairs ministry reassesses view of China

• AFGHANISTAN/EUROPE - Europe's greater numbers of repatriated Afghans

Saudi spymaster Khaled bin Ali Al Humaidan mediates between Islamabad and Kabul 

Keen to resolve tensions with its Taliban neighbours, Pakistan has called on Saudi Arabia's help to mediate but those efforts have been unsuccessful for the moment.

• UNITED STATES/AFGHANISTAN - Islamabad and Doha aid CIA-Taliban meeting.

• UNITED KINGDOM - Intelligence issues in British space strategy.

• RUSSIA - Intelligence services at heart of new Ukraine coordination council.

• SERBIA - Vucic blends geopolitics with internal security.

Opcit Research to serve as UN terrorism look-out in Afghanistan 

With high-level diplomatic meetings in full swing in Central Asia, and Afghanistan one of the main subjects of discussion, the UN has called in one of its regular contractors to help it gain a better understanding of the area.

French foreign ministry puts Afghanistan on hold 

The French foreign ministry's team responsible for Afghanistan has been dismantled. For the moment no one has been appointed to replace outgoing ambassador David Martinon.

French security company Amarante strengthens its EU support team in Afghanistan 

Brussels, which is determined to reinforce its diplomatic representation in Kabul, plans to increase the number of staff it employs there, relying on French company Amarante International to provide the necessary protection.

Haqqani Network threatens to break away from main Taliban movement with Pakistani backing 

Showing unprecedented pragmatism, the Haqqani Network has criticised the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan for their religious radicality and is increasingly looking to take an independent line from the rest of the movement.

Central Asian spymasters want to return Russia's focus to Afghanistan 

Silovik chief Nikolai Patrushev is still taking part in discussion forums run by Central Asia's intelligence chiefs worried about the Taliban security risk. But with all their efforts focused on the war in Ukraine, Russia's armed forces have been forced to gradually disengage from that part of the world.

• UZBEKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN - Tashkent refuses to return Afghan planes to Kabul.

• RUSSIA - Moscow decorates military engineers.

• FRANCE - Marc Burg lures more top spies to his degree course.

• PARIS - Senators call for a law on facial recognition.

• UNITED STATES - DNI tasked again to tackle China's support to Russia.

• EUROPE - Europol, future watchdog of foreign investment in the EU.

Taliban out of favour with Islamabad over worsening security situation 

A worsening security situation, the rise of the local branch of Islamic State and a cooling of support from Pakistan are just some of the difficulties facing Afghanistan's increasingly divided Taliban.

Guoanbu calls on ISI to cooperate with Taliban secret services 

Concerned by the security situation in Afghanistan, China has spoken with the Taliban in order to secure its interests, all with the help of Pakistani spymasters.

Taliban seek funds to finance new army 

Still persona non grata in international politics, the Taliban are hoping to negotiate their first contracts with the West and shed sanctions paralysing their ambitions in Afghanistan. The Biden administration does not, for the moment, have any plans to shift its position.

Triple Canopy's phantom Ugandan legion comes back to haunt Constellis 

The Constellis subsidiary went to Uganda to hire cheap labour to operate its Pentagon security contract at the Shorab base in Afghanistan.

Riyadh renews contact with Taliban via Pakistani intelligence 

Saudi Arabia, which is keen to find a new role for itself in Afghanistan, has contacted Pakistan's omnipresent Inter-Services Intelligence, which is already engaged in helping rebuild the Taliban army. Riyadh sees Afghanistan as offering a new opportunity to counter the activities of its rival, Iran, which is watching the new Saudi-Pakistani partnership uneasily.

TM4 provides key to Afghan security contracts under Taliban 

Headed by the former governor of Kunduz, TM4 is fast establishing itself as the go-to partner for Western private security firms, being one of the few local outfits to have kept its licence to operate under the Taliban.