New 'threat' against former Saudi spy in Canada: media

Yahoo – AFP, Brendan Smialowski, August 8, 2020

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seen in Osaka,
Japan in June 2019

A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper reported.

The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region.

Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017 by Prince Mohammed.

The newspaper said its source -- someone "with knowledge of the situation" -- would provide no further details on the more recent threat by Saudi agents.

Aljabri is now under protection by "heavily armed" officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as private guards, the news report said.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday with a court in Washington, Aljabri accused Prince Mohammed of having sent a hit squad to Canada to kill and dismember him in 2018, the same fate that two weeks earlier befell dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Aljabri's suit said he was wanted dead because he had intimate knowledge of Prince Mohammed's activities that could sour the close relationship being fostered with the Trump administration in Washington.

Asked to comment on the Globe report, Mary-Liz Power, spokeswoman for Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, directed a reporter to an earlier comment by Blair about the 2018 attempt.

"While we cannot comment on specific allegations currently before the courts," he said then, "we are aware of incidents in which foreign actors have attempted to monitor, intimidate or threaten Canadians and those living in Canada.

"It is completely unacceptable and we will never tolerate foreign actors threatening Canada's national security or the safety of our citizens and residents."

Aljabri was already abroad in June 2017 when Prince Mohammed seized power, removing Prince Nayef as crown prince and placing him under house arrest.

After his children in Riyadh were hit with travel restrictions, Aljabri refused entreaties to return, fearing for his life, and moved to Canada, where a son lives.

In March his children in Saudi Arabia were taken away and haven't been heard from.

The suit against Prince Mohammed and several others was filed as a claim of attempted extrajudicial killing under the Torture Victim Protection Act. Aljabri asked the court for unspecified damages.

Six protesters killed in south Iraq as unrest intensifies

Yahoo – AFP, Bassem al-Rikaby, November 24, 2019

In the oil-rich southern city of Basra, demonstrators blocked main roads from
dawn (AFP Photo/Hussein FALEH)

Nasiriyah (Iraq) (AFP) - Six protesters were killed Sunday in Iraq's south where angry demonstrations turned up the heat on a paralysed government facing the country's largest grassroots movement in decades.

Three demonstrators died and around 50 were wounded in clashes with security forces near the key southern port of Umm Qasr, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission reported.

An AFP correspondent said security forces had fired live rounds at protesters trying to block access to the port, a vital lifeline for food and medicine imports as well as energy exports.

Hours earlier, before dawn, three protesters were shot dead and at least 47 wounded by security forces in Nasiriyah, some 300 kilometres (200 miles) south of the capital Baghdad, medical sources said.

Protesters there blockaded five main bridges over the Euphrates River, shut down schools and burned tyres outside public offices.

They blocked access to oil fields and companies around the city, torching as well its Shiite endowment centre, a government body that manages religious sites.

Iraqi protesters are angered by rampant government corruption, poor services 

and lack of jobs (AFP Photo/SABAH ARAR)

Since October 1, Iraq's capital and majority-Shiite south have been swept by mass rallies against corruption, a lack of jobs and poor services that have escalated into calls for a complete overhaul of the ruling elite.

Top leaders have publicly acknowledged the demands as legitimate and promised measures to appease protesters, including hiring more civil servants, reforming the electoral system and reshuffling the cabinet.

But the rallies have continued, waning on some days but swelling again, despite the bloodshed, when demonstrators have felt politicians are stalling.

"We are not afraid of threats," said one protester, Salem Hassan, in the southern city of Amara.

"We cannot remain silent in the face of the barbarism of the leaders and the time they take to satisfy our demands."

Live rounds fired

An estimated 350 people have been killed and thousands wounded since October 1, according to a tally compiled by AFP as authorities no longer provide updated figures.

Activists called for a general strike in Basra, where demonstrators burned 

tyres to cut off roads (AFP Photo/Hussein FALEH)

Iraq's south, a rural area where tribal allegiances are strong, has carried the torch of the movement for weeks, with students and teachers leading rallies outside schools and public offices.

The education ministry issued a directive for schools to open normally on Sunday, the first day of the work week in Iraq, but protesters in Nasiriyah defied the order and shut down schools anyway, AFP's correspondent said.

In the oil-rich southern city of Basra, demonstrators blocked main roads, including those leading to the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor al-Zubair.

Clashes also pitted protesters against security forces overnight in Karbala, one of Iraq's two Shiite holy cities.

The two sides lobbed Molotov cocktails at each other from behind barricades set up in small alleyways.

"They're throwing Molotov cocktails at us and at midnight they started shooting live rounds," one demonstrator said about the security forces.

In the night-time clashes, the streets were lit only by fires from the makeshift incendiary weapons, and by green laser pointers used by demonstrators to harass riot police.

Iraqi anti-government protesters gathered near the Al-Ahrar bridge in Baghdad, 

where three protesters were killed and dozens wounded in clashes with security 

forces on Saturday (AFP Photo/SABAH ARAR)

"Our demands are clear," said a demonstrator, his face wrapped in a black scarf.

"The downfall of this corrupt government."

Budget talks

Iraq is the 12th most corrupt country in the world, says Transparency International, a key driver of the popular anger behind the mass protests.

The activists accuse elites of awarding public sector jobs based on bribes, nepotism or sectarianism, while ignoring a painful youth unemployment rate of 25 percent.

Iraq's cabinet is currently discussing the 2020 budget before it is submitted to parliament and government sources say it is expected to be one of the country's largest yet.

Sunday's violence came a day after the surprise visit of US Vice President Mike Pence to Iraq, where he dropped in on American troops stationed in the country's west and met top leaders in the Kurdish region in the north.

He did not, however, meet officials in Baghdad, with officials citing "security reasons".

Washington and Baghdad have been close allies since the US-led 2003 invasion that toppled ex-dictator Saddam Hussein, but ties are now at their coldest in years, officials from both countries have told AFP.

Brother of Algeria's Bouteflika, 2 ex-spy bosses arrested: security source

Yahoo – AFP, May 4, 2019

Said Bouteflika (centre), brother of Algeria's ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika,
pictured in 2012 (AFP Photo/FAROUK BATICHE)

Algiers (AFP) - Said Bouteflika, the powerful brother of deposed Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested Saturday along with two former intelligence chiefs, a security source told AFP.

General Mohamed Mediene, known as Toufik, who headed the secret service for 25 years and former intelligence coordinator Athmane Tartag were the two spy chiefs arrested, the source said, asking not to be named.

The security source did not provide a reason for the arrests.

There was no immediate comment from Algeria's police or army, despite efforts by AFP to reach them.

Said Bouteflika was seen as the guiding hand behind the rule of his ailing brother Abdelaziz, who resigned on April 2 following pressure from the military in the face of huge street protests.

The president's brother was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor as head of state.

He had exerted increasing influence behind the scenes, as the former president was rarely seen in public after a stroke in 2013.

Mediene headed the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency, until Bouteflika fired him and then dismantled the institution in 2016.

Algeria's army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah has in recent weeks accused Mediene of being involved in a plot against Algeria.

In mid-April he gave what he called "a final warning" to the former DRS chief whom he accused of conspiring to "hinder solutions to ending the crisis" in the protest-hit country.

Salah had helped Abdelaziz Bouteflika to neuter the DRS, which was long considered a "state within a state".

Tartag -- described by Algerian media as close to the former president's brother -- was fired just after Bouteflika's resignation.

Salah has spoken of a meeting attended by "known individuals, the identity of whom will be revealed at the right time, that sought to lead a virulent media campaign across various media and on social networks against the army."

According to Algerian media, this meeting was attended by Mediene, Tartag and Said Bouteflika.

Mediene said "I have never met, whether it be a single time, this person from the security forces who was cited as taking part in this pseudo-meeting, since I left my position" heading the DRS.

Algeria's former defence minister Khaled Nezzar meanwhile has recently claimed that Said Bouteflika wanted to declare a state of emergency and had considered firing Salah, ahead of the president's resignation.

Demonstrations are ongoing in the North African country, with people pouring onto the streets for the 11th consecutive week on Friday, to demand the resignation of regime insiders and the establishment of transitional institutions.

UK's May sacks defence minister Williamson over Huawei leak

Yahoo – AFP, May 1, 2019

Gavin Williamson has been sacked as defence secretary (AFP Photo/Adrian DENNIS)

London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson following a probe into the leak of news that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop its 5G network.

"The Prime Minister has this evening asked Gavin Williamson to leave the government, having lost confidence in his ability to serve in the role of Defence Secretary and as a member of her Cabinet," said a spokeswoman from her Downing Street office.

May said in a letter to Williamson that the investigation "provides compelling evidence suggesting your responsibility for the unauthorised disclosure" from the April 23 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), although he "strenuously denied" responsibility.

"No other credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified," wrote May.

"This is an extremely serious matter and a deeply disappointing one," she added, with Williamson now facing the possibility of a criminal probe.

"This must now be referred to the Metropolitan Police for a thorough criminal investigation into breaches of the Official Secrets Act," said Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable.

Williamson responded in a letter to May, saying he was "sorry you felt recent leaks" originated from the defence ministry.

"I strenuously deny that I was in any way involved in this leak and I am confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated my position".

He revealed that May had given him the chance to resign, but turned it down as it would have been an acceptance of guilt.

Downing Street later announced that Penny Mordaunt, the Minister for Women and Equalities, would replace Williamson and become Britain's first female defence minister, while continuing in her current role.

Britain's already splintered government was rocked by the scandal last month over who leaked news that May was to let Huawei develop Britain's 5G network.

The bitterly disputed decision was reportedly made at the April 23 meeting of the NSC.

NSC discussions are only attended by senior ministers and security officials who first sign the Official Secrets Act that commits them to keep conversations private or risk prosecution.

But The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that May approved granting Huawei permission to build up "non-core" elements of Britain's next-generation telecommunications network.

Political operator

The United States is adamantly opposed to Huawei's involvement because of the firm's obligation under Chinese law to help its home government gather intelligence or provide other security services when required.

May told Williamson it was "vital" that members of the NSC... were able to have "frank and detailed discussions in full confidence" that they would not be made public.

She added that she was "concerned by the manner in which you have engaged with this investigation", saying his conduct "has not been of the same standard" as other members of the NSC.

British media reported that Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill -- the country's most senior civil servant -- gave those present an ultimatum to deny responsibility for the leak.

Williamson was one of the first to do so, calling it "completely unacceptable".

His allies told Sky News reporter Kate McCann that they suspect Sedwill of engineering the sacking over historical disagreements between the pair.

The 42-year-old was a trusted ally of the prime minister.

He was May's parliamentary campaign manager when she successfully ran to become Conservative Party leader, and was rewarded with the job of chief whip -- tasked with enforcing discipline for the Conservative Party in parliament.

He was only elected to parliament in 2010, and was best known for keeping a pet tarantula, Cronus, in a glass-sided tank on his desk.

May raised eyebrows when she appointed Williamson to the key defence job in November 2017 after previous incumbent Michael Fallon resigned over allegations of sexual harassment.

The move raised questions about whether Williamson's whips' office had a role in preparing the dossier on ministers behind the scandal, and there were reports that Williamson advised May that Fallon may be facing further allegations.

"Make no mistake, Gavin Williamson wants to be prime minister. And he knows all the dirt on his colleagues," wrote Tim Shipman, political editor of The Sunday Times newspaper.

Related Article:

British PM approves Huawei role in 5G network: report

Russian attempt to hack chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague thwarted

DutchNews, October 4, 2018, Gordon Darroch and Senay Boztas

The OPCW headquarters in The Hague. Photo: Wikimedia Commons 

Dutch intelligence agencies have thwarted an attempt by Russian agents to hack into the wi-fi network of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, based in The Hague. 

Four agents from the GRU military intelligence service were ejected from the Netherlands immediately after the attempted breach was intercepted on April 13 this year, major-general Onno Eichelsheim, director of the military intelligence service MIVD, told apress conference in The Hague. He added that the OPCW’s security was not breached. 

The OPCW is carrying out forensic tests in the investigation into the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury on March 4. The Skripals were targeted with a nerve agent known as Novichok, developed in the former Soviet Union, but Moscow has denied any involvement. 

Eichelsheim said the four agents were operating out of a Citroen car parked outside the Marriott Hotel, which is next to the organisations headquarters on Johann de Wittlaan. They arrived in the country on April 10 on diplomatic passports with almost identical serial numbers. 

Close access

They were disrupted while an attempt was made at a ‘close access hack operation’ at around 4.30pm on Friday. Equipment found in the boot of the car included an antenna pointed at the OPCW building and digital devices used to intercept login details.

The car the Russians hired. Photo: Ministerie van defensie

Eichelsheim said the four Russians were ‘clearly not here on holiday’. They were carrying €20,000 and US $20,000 in cash, took their rubbish from their hotel room when they left and tried to destroy their mobile phones when they were intercepted. One of the phones had been activated close to the special services centre in Moscow. 

A further clue was the discovery of a taxi receipt from GRU headquarters to Moscow airport. 

The equipment the men surrendered also included a laptop computer which had apparently been used to infiltrate the Malaysian police and judicial authorities. Malaysia is involved in the investigation into the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, which the Netherlands holds Russia accountable for. 

Data found on the laptop also suggested it had been used in the Swiss city of Lausanne to hack into computers belonging to the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is investigating institutional drug use in Russian sport. 

International co-operation 

Defence minister Ank Bijleveld said the Dutch government was sending out a clear message to Moscow to stop undermining cybersecurity in other countries. The Russian ambassador to The Hague has been summoned to appear before foreign minister Stef Blok. 

‘The Dutch cabinet is very concerned that the OPCW was the target of an interception by the Russian military intelligence service,’ Bijleveld said. 

‘I am proud of the MIVD, they have done excellent work. I want to emphasise that co-operation has played a big part in this success. Co-operation in the Netherlands, but also with our international intelligence partners. Good international co-operation is crucial in tackling threats such as the GRU.’ 

The men with a Russian embassy official at Schiphol. 

In response, Moscow issued its customary blunt denial of all accusations of wrongdoing. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the allegations as ‘big fantasies’. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte issued a joint statement with his British counterpart Theresa May earlier in the day condemning Russia’s ‘disregard for global values.’ 

They said: ‘The GRU’s reckless operations stretch from destructive cyber activity to the use of illegal nerve agents, as we saw in Salisbury. That attack left four people fighting for their lives and one woman dead. 

‘Our action today reinforces the clear message from the international community. We will uphold the rules-based international system, and defend international institutions from those that seek to do them harm.’ 

US charges 

Major-general Eichelsheim said the government had taken the unusual step of releasing details of the operation after US officials published charges against a number of Russian intelligence agents on Thursday. The Dutch government hopes that making the information public will make it harder for Russia to carry out such covert operations in future. 

British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said the incident was ‘part of a pattern of cyber-attacks’ in other countries in which the Russian government was implicated. 

He said: ‘If anyone had any questions in their mind about Russian military involvement in the Salisbury attacks, this will put to rest those doubts because we have evidence of the Russian military launching a cyber-attack on the very international organisation in the Netherlands set up to investigate those novichok attacks. And why would you do that if you weren’t the guilty party?’

#UPDATE The US Justice Department indicts seven agents of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency as part of a joint crackdown with Western allies on a series of major hacking plots attributed to Moscow https://t.co/aYWVlES6Zk

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 4, 2018