WORLD ROUNDUPVladimir Putin’s Spies Are Plotting Global Chaos | The Collapse of the Khamenei Doctrine | Canada Alleges Much Wider Campaign by Modi Government Against Sikhs, and more

Published 15 October 2024

v·  Vladimir Putin’s Spies Are Plotting Global Chaos

·  Stricter Asylum Rules Will ‘Rescue’ Schengen Zone, Says German Opposition

·  Marine Le Pen to Be Questioned for First Time in Embezzlement Trial

·  Canada Alleges Much Wider Campaign by Modi Government Against Sikhs

·  In Iceland, a Hunt for Russian Submarines and Deeper U.S. Relations

·  What China’s Leaders Grasp About Another Trump Term

·  The Collapse of the Khamenei Doctrine

·  Polish Leader Tusk Defends Decision to Suspend Asylum Law

·  ‘Innocent’ British Nerve Agent Victim Caught in Global Murder Plot, Inquiry Finds

·  A Port Deal Unsettles U.S. Counterterror Fight in the Horn of Africa

·  UK Limiting Islamist Books in Prisons Raises Questions

·  Exclusive: Hezbollah Running Out of Money Amid Israeli Bombardment

·  Teenagers as Young as 13 Under Suspicion for U.K. Far-Right Terrorism

·  British Police Reduce X Presence Amid Extremist Content Worries

Vladimir Putin’s Spies Are Plotting Global Chaos  (Economist)
Russia is enacting a revolutionary plan of sabotage, arson and assassination.

Stricter Asylum Rules Will ‘Rescue’ Schengen Zone, Says German Opposition  (Oliver Moody, The Times)
CDU powerbroker Thorsten Frei warns that radical reforms are needed before Europe can gain control of immigration.

Marine Le Pen to Be Questioned for First Time in Embezzlement Trial (Charles Bremner, The Times)
The right-wing figurehead is expected to claim that she is the victim of persecution when cross-examined over the alleged misappropriation of EU funds

Canada Alleges Much Wider Campaign by Modi Government Against Sikhs  (Greg Miller and Gerry Shih, Washinton Post)
Canada on Monday ordered six Indian diplomats to leave the country, including India’s top diplomat in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, officials said.

In Iceland, a Hunt for Russian Submarines and Deeper U.S. Relations (Dan Lamothe, Washinton Post)
The island nation, a NATO member, is wary of Moscow’s renewed military presence in the waters of the North Atlantic.

What China’s Leaders Grasp About Another Trump Term  (Rush Doshi, New York Post)
China is America’s most formidable geopolitical rival in a century, and thanks to Mr. Trump’s term in office, leaders in Beijing are acutely aware of what he is about and how to manipulate him. They believe China is rising and America is declining. Electing Mr. Trump next month risks proving them right.

The Collapse of the Khamenei Doctrine  (Arash Azizi, The Atlantic)
Iran’s supreme leader promised no peace and no war. But the moment of choice has come.

Polish Leader Tusk Defends Decision to Suspend Asylum Law  (AP / VOA News)
Successive Polish governments have accused Belarus and Russia of organizing the mass transfer of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to the EU’s eastern borders to destabilize the West. They view it as part of a hybrid war that they accuse Moscow of waging against the West as it continues its nearly three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Innocent’ British Nerve Agent Victim Caught in Global Murder Plot, Inquiry Finds  (AFP / VOA News)
A British woman who died after being exposed to the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok was unwittingly caught up in an “illegal and outrageous international assassination attempt,” a public inquiry was told on Monday.

A Port Deal Unsettles U.S. Counterterror Fight in the Horn of Africa  (Michael M. Phillips, Wall Street Journal)
The pact between Ethiopia and Somaliland has enraged Somalia, but could provide Ethiopia access to a naval base in the breakaway region

UK Limiting Islamist Books in Prisons Raises Questions  (Hannah Baldock, Middle East Forum)
The UK’s Ministry of Justice has imposed new rules aimed at curbing the spread of Islamist ideology in prisons. The measures, announced in late April, are part of an effort to reduce the terror threat posed by “highly ideologically motivated offenders,” said Ian Acheson, an expert on Islamist radicalization in UK prisons.

Exclusive: Hezbollah Running Out of Money Amid Israeli Bombardment  (Michael Lipin, VOA News)
Lebanese militia Hezbollah is running out of money, researchers tell VOA, as a weekslong Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed group disrupts three of its key sources of cash.

Teenagers as Young as 13 Under Suspicion for U.K. Far-Right Terrorism (Dan Sabbagh, Guardian)
Experts blame ‘hateful soup’ of social media content as MI5 boss points to threefold increase in under-18s being investigated

British Police Reduce X Presence Amid Extremist Content Worries  (Andy Bruce and Muvija M, Reuters)
As Elon Musk’s X battles to keep users in key markets, several British police forces are scaling back their presence on the global social media platform and one has abandoned it, reflecting concern about its role in promoting extremist views. X, formerly Twitter, was used to spread disinformation this summer that sparked riots across Britain, and has reinstated British-based accounts that had been banned for extremist content. Critics say Musk’s hands-off approach has allowed lies and hate speech to spread.