U.K. Bans Chinese Surveillance Cameras | Russia Is Using Energy as a Weapon | Italy’s Government Is Stuffed with the Far Right, and more

Ghana’s National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah said collaboration was needed as the threat from extremism is “more widespread than previously thought and transcending borders.” “The threat landscape has consistently changed,” he said. In the first quarter of 2022, Africa recorded 346 attacks, almost half of which were in the west of the continent, he said. Launched in 2017, the Accra Initiative includes Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast as well as Burkina Faso. Mali and Niger have also since joined. The Accra meeting, extending to next week, will also involve representatives from the EU and British government and the 15-member West African bloc ECOWAS. A summit with regional heads of state is planned for November 22, where leaders will discuss security proposals, according to the Accra Initiative executive secretary.

Home Office Accuses UK Muslim Student Group of Acting ‘Dangerously and Irresponsibly’ (Nicky Harley, The National)
A British Muslim student group has been accused of acting “dangerously and irresponsibly” by the government for hosting an anti-counter-extremism university tour. The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) is hosting a tour of seven universities, including three Russell Group institutions, with groups that have previously been accused of undermining the UK’s counter-extremism strategy: Cage, Mend and Prevent Watch. FOSIS — which was created by the man who also founded the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq — announced the tour, which is due to start on Friday at Strathclyde University, on Twitter. The post advertises speakers from Cage — including former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg — Prevent Watch and Mend. UK think tank Policy Exchange has said these organizations have “sought to undermine Prevent and counter-extremism efforts”. The Prevent policy was introduced in 2003 but expanded after the attacks on the London transport network on July 7, 2005, in which 52 people were killed. It is one part of a four-pronged strategy designed to stop people from being drawn into terrorism and has been strengthened by successive governments, now requiring schools, universities, councils and hospitals to flag concerns over suspected cases of radicalization.

Turkey and U.S. Relations Are Under the Shadow of Terrorist Attacks Allegedly Linked to Kurdish Groups in Syria  (Mahmut Cengiz, HSToday)
The “controlled terrorist attack” can be defined as violent acts that the government attributes to a perpetrator group with scant evidence.

Strategy Urgently Needed to Address Cybersecurity Risks to Offshore Oil and Gas Infrastructure  (GAO)
Offshore oil and gas infrastructure faces significant and increasing cybersecurity risks in the form of threat actors, vulnerabilities, and potential impacts. Threat actors: State actors, cybercriminals, and others could potentially conduct cyberattacks against offshore oil and gas infrastructure. The federal government has identified the oil and gas sector as a target of malicious state actors. Vulnerabilities: Modern exploration and production methods are increasingly reliant on remotely connected operational technology—often critical to safety—that is vulnerable to cyberattack. Older infrastructure is also vulnerable because its operational technology can have fewer cybersecurity protection measures. Potential impacts: A successful cyberattack on offshore oil and gas infrastructure could cause physical, environmental, and economic harm, according federal officials. For example, officials said that the effects of a cyberattack could resemble those that occurred in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Disruptions to oil and gas production or transmission could also affect energy supplies and markets.

Russia Is Using Energy as a Weapon  (Economist)
To win his war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin needs the West to stop supporting his adversary. His best opportunity to drive a wedge between them will arrive this winter. Before the war Russia supplied 40-50% of the EU’s natural-gas imports. In August Putin turned off the taps on a big pipeline to Europe. Fuel prices surged, squeezing the economies of Ukraine’s allies.
So far, Europe has weathered this shock well, stockpiling enough gas to fill storage sites. But the rise in wholesale energy costs has still reached many consumers. Even though market fuel prices have declined from their peaks, real average residential European gas and electricity costs are 144% and 78% above the figures for 2000-19.
These costs pale in comparison with the horror Ukrainians have endured. But they still matter, because the colder the temperatures people experience, the more likely they are to die. And if the historical relationships between mortality, weather and energy costs continue to apply—which they may not, given how high current prices are—the death toll from Putin’s “energy weapon” could exceed the number of soldiers who have died so far in combat.

Italy’s Government Is Stuffed With the Far Right  (Ben Munster, Foreign Policy)
The Meloni government has had to strike a difficult balance in its attempts to mediate between two conflicting goals. On the one hand, it must play to its base by pursuing culture war propaganda victories—targeting migrants and young partygoers, for instance.
On the other hand, it must keep international opinion onside. Meloni’s initial solution has been to stow her more overtly hard-line allies at the margins of government while stocking key ministries with supposedly moderate officials who will stick to the establishment line on fiscal policy and Ukraine. But this is an illusion: Almost all hail from the far right.