Counterterrorism

NJ sees white supremacists, homegrown extremists as top threat in homeland security report

New Jersey says white supremacists and homegrown extremists motivated by foreign groups remain top or "high" threats in an annual terrorism report released Thursday. Anti-government extremists, some of whom used violence to try and overturn election results at…

UN authorizes new AU mission in Somalia to combat extremists

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to endorse the African Union’s new transitional mission in Somalia and authorized it to take action against al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups and conduct a phased handover of security responsibilities to…

Military & Defense

Russians leaving Chernobyl as fighting rages elsewhere

Russian troops handed control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant back to the Ukrainians and began leaving the heavily contaminated site more than a month after taking it over, authorities said Thursday, as fighting raged on the outskirts of Kyiv and other fronts…

Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders to meet amid recent fighting

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday he will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels next week to lay the groundwork for peace talks to end the decades-long conflict over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two leaders will…

Cybersecurity

Mystery remains on why US released prominent Russian hacker

The Justice Department has declined to provide a clear explanation as to why a well-known Russian hacker was released home last year amid warnings from President Joe Biden that the Kremlin may soon carry out cyberattacks against the United States. Aleksei Burkov is…

Anonymous’ next cyber target: Western companies still doing business in Russia

The “hacktivist” collective known as Anonymous said it has a new target in its “cyber war” against Russia — Western businesses that are still doing business there. A post on March 21 from a Twitter account named @YourAnonTV stated: “We call on all companies that…

Counterintelligence & Espionage

China holds espionage trial of Chinese Australian journalist

Chinese Australian journalist Cheng Lei went on trial in Beijing on Thursday on espionage charges, with diplomats denied permission to attend the proceedings. Australian Ambassador Graham Fletcher told reporters outside the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court…

NSA employee indicted for mishandling Top Secret information

A National Security Agency employee was arrested Thursday morning and charged with sending classified national security information to someone who was not authorized to receive it, the Department of Justice said. Mark Robert Unkenholz, a 60-year-old Maryland resident…

Transnational Organized Crime

Fights Over Illegal Fishing Lead to Armed Conflict, Death

Protesters from across Sri Lanka descended on the nation’s capital in February, shouting above the street noise and pumping their fists in the air in frustration. The group was made up of fishermen and their supporters, and their rage was sparked by the Indian boats that…

One Family’s ‘Golden Age’: President’s Relative Controls Turkmenistan’s Only Mobile Operator

Turkmenistan’s only mobile operator, Altyn Asyr, enjoys an undisputed monopoly despite frequent complaints about poor service and exorbitant prices. Though its shareholders are not publicly named, reporters learned that it is run by a member of the president’s family…