Government Intelligence

Russia
FSB on alert as Wagner fighters head home

The return of these soldiers to their families is being closely monitored by the intelligence service, which fears social unrest. Many of these mercenaries have neither been paid nor received the social benefits they were promised, and refuse to join the regular forces.

The Intelligence Gazette
Voatz vs Minsk, Russkiy Mir, biometric controls in Israel, Wang Yi in DC

US/Belarus
Belarusian opposition in talks with secure online voting platform Voatz

Russia
Tolstoy descendant to promote Russian soft power

Israel
Biometric cameras against foreign spies

China/United States
Wang Yi expected in Washington in early October

United States
Behind competition with China, SilentBarker spy satellite reveals rivalries between US agencies

The US agency responsible for satellite observation, the NRO, was uncharacteristically vocal about the recent launch of its first SilentBarker geostationary space surveillance system. Its communication campaign pits it against China and Russia... but also its partners at Space Force.

Vietnam
Vietnam friendship associations seek to bolster influence abroad

Hanoi intends to take advantage of its friendship networks abroad to improve its economic prospecting capabilities.

United States
The conservative push against the surveillance law

The Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability, a nonpartisan group that tilts heavily to the right, is at the forefront of the conservative campaign to reform -- or kill -- Section 702 of FISA, which allows the government to collect communications between US citizens and targeted foreigners.

Spotlight | France, Ukraine
Ukraine inches closer to obtaining French Mirage

After months in the works, plans to deliver the French fighter plane to Ukraine are now taking shape.

Afghanistan, China
New Chinese ambassador to Kabul lands strong security brief

The recent appointment of a new Chinese ambassador to Kabul marks a first step towards Beijing's official recognition of the Taliban regime. But China has demanded firm security guarantees in exchange for this support.

France
Intelligence services watchdog taps into Socialist Party networks

To renew his team, the president of the French security services watchdog CNCTR Serge Lasvignes has tapped into the French Socialist Party networks.

Europe, Vietnam
Germany nixes latest move in Vietnam's anti-corruption campaign

Vietnam's biggest ever corruption scandal, which has implications for Western defence companies, is fast turning into a diplomatic affair.

The Intelligence Gazette
Vladimir Osechkin, French military attaché in Yerevan, new Belt & Road preparations

France/Russia
Communicator Vladimir Osechkin exposed for false defector evacuations

France/Armenia/Azerbaijan
Paris's impossible balancing act in Yerevan

China
Third Belt & Road forum preparations underway in Beijing