National

France, Italy, Turkey
Ankara bids to get into space observation's major league with Impro

Young public sector company Impro, which markets the images taken by Turkey's military satellites, has set up a partnership with Telespazio to help it boost Turkey's geospatial intelligence capacity ahead of the eagerly awaited arrival of the Gokturk-3 observation satellite.

The Agencies' Gazette
Russian defectors, Netanyahu takes Shin Bet head to Amman, US spy integration procedures reviewed

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community. This week, we bring news from Oslo, Amman, Washington and Moscow.

Norway/France/Russia Russian defector's story challenged

Israel/Jordan Shin Bet director joins Netanyahu on reassurance mission in Amman

United States Intelligence services revise their integration procedures

United States Congress scrutinises DIA's HR management

Spotlight | Bangladesh, Israel
Like Intellexa, Merlinx collaborates with Bangladeshi intelligence

Israeli spyware firm Merlinx, acquired in 2021 by Israeli-US cloud data company OwnBackup, has been supplying its tools to Bangladesh's intelligence service via Israeli-PC integrator Prelysis. Its rival Intellexa was exposed this month for doing business with the same service.

Turkey
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.

Russia, United States
Moscow's asset recovery against ex-bankers moves forward in New York

A New York court ordered discovery has taken the Russian Central Bank a step further along in its efforts to recover stolen assets and obtain damages from ex-owners of Russian private banks, most of them currently living abroad.

China
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.

Belarus, Ukraine
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.

Vietnam
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.

France, Ukraine
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.

The Agencies' Gazette
UK tight with US space force, Uzbek state probe, Abbas succession reboot, Russian separatists summit, China's reservists

Appointments, reforms and key issues: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community. This week, we hone in on London and Tashkent via Ramallah, Brussels and Beijing.

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

Russia, United Kingdom
From Russian mines to London networks, heir Ildar Uzbekov embroiled in legal battles

A London legal battle involving Londongrad mining industry players has put the spotlight on the British and Russian passport-holding Ildar Uzbekov, despite his best efforts to distance himself from the Kremlin.

China
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.