GOVERNMENT INTELLIGENCE

Turkey's MIT maps out intelligence academy plans 

Following the lead of a number of Western intelligence communities, Turkey is planning to open an intelligence academy, under the aegis of the MIT, headed by spymaster Hakan Fidan. [...]

A new faction forms around Xi Jingping: the Tsinghua clique 

The group of senior officials gradually emerging as the new clique around Xi Jingping have one thing in common, they all attended the president's alma mater, Tsinghua, in Beijing. [...]

Parallel private diplomacy efforts between Kyiv and Minsk secretly thriving 

Kyiv has been backing Minsk in Brussels despite Belarus's involvement with Russia. Thanks largely to the actions of well-connected middlemen in the business community, the war has not frayed the diplomatic ties between the two Eastern European capitals. [...]

Russia accelerates use of Belarus as rear training base 

The recent troop movements on Ukraine's northern border illustrate Russia's use of Belarus as a training ground for its new recruits, and its aims to influence how the Belarusian command trains its own personnel. [...]

Xi Jinping invites foreign experts into closed-door meetings on China's challenges 

The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly relying on small meetings with foreign participants to tackle the country's problems. It has launched a new LinkedIn recruitment campaign with the aim of building a database of foreign experts who can be called upon at short notice when needed. [...]

Ministry of Public Security's latest drive for power lies behind political crisis 

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's forced resignation on 17 January following a secret meeting of the Communist Party of Vietnam's politburo comes amid a Covid-19 test kit scandal. The Ministry of Public Security, which prompted his departure, has been pushing for influence at every level of government. [...]

French domestic intelligence service keeps Ukrainian community in France under surveillance 

France's domestic intelligence service, the DGSI, is taking a close interest in the Ukrainian community in Paris. Tips provided by some members of the community are providing it with knowledge on Ukraine as well as counter-intelligence data. [...]

French financial intelligence service Tracfin makes management changes as part of strategic plan 

Guillaume Valette-Valla, the head of the French financial intelligence service Tracfin, has been reshuffling management to carry out its strategic plan and to do so ahead of the opening of a second headquarters next year. [...]

• UNITED KINGDOM/UNITED STATES - Britain buddies up with US Space Force

• UZBEKISTAN - Senior officials investigated by State Security Service

• PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Abbas's presumed successor falls from grace

• BRUSSELS - Kremlin opponents and separatist leaders gather at European Parliament

• CHINA - Xi changes reservist conscription system

China builds team to develop strategies to thwart post-Taiwan invasion sanctions 

The appointment of Gao Xiang as head of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences confirms of President Xi Jinping's goal to take control of Taiwan. If successful in this, he anticipates it would throw China into a long period of economic isolation. [...]

War in Ukraine: Kalinovsky Regiment aims to expand 

The militia group opposed to Alexander Lukashenko, and which is backed by the Ukrainian military intelligence service, is attracting more and more members. Led by its two clandestine commanders, however, it is still locked in dispute with the other exiled Belarusian opposition factions. [...]