Counterterrorism

UN Report says Nearly 600 Civilians Killed in Mali Amid Anti-Jihadist Fight

Jihadists, armed militias and the armed forces in Mali killed close to 600 civilians in 2021, the UN said Thursday, with casualty numbers rising towards the end of the year. In the last six months of 2021, civilian killings rose 16 percent, according to a report by the…

Who are Ukraine’s Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion?

In justifying his invasion of Ukraine last month, Russian president Vladimir Putin told his citizens the war was a “special military operation” intended to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” the neighbouring state and to protect pro-Russia separatists in the east of the country from…

Military & Defense

North Korea Test Fires Suspected ICBM that may be its Biggest

North Korea test-fired possibly its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the sea  Thursday in what would be its first such test since 2017, according to its neighbors' militaries, raising the ante in a pressure campaign aimed at forcing the United States…

Biden says the US and NATO 'Would Respond' if Putin Uses Chemical Weapons in Ukraine

President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US and NATO would respond if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine, though did not expand on what the response would look like. "We would respond if he uses it," Biden said during news conference at NATO headquarters…

Cybersecurity

Anonymous Claims it Hacked Russia’s Central Bank and will Soon Release Thousands of Files

A Twitter account claiming to be connected with the activist collective Anonymous announced this week that it hacked Russia’s central bank, and it is planning to release 35,000 documents over the next 48 hours detailing “secret agreements.” The Central Bank of the…

UK Police Arrest 7 People in Connection with Lapsus$ Hacks

Police in the United Kingdom have arrested seven people over suspected connections to the Lapsus$ hacking group, which has in recent weeks targeted tech giants including Samsung, Nvidia, Microsoft and Okta. In a statement given to TechCrunch, Detective Inspector…

Counterintelligence & Espionage

NIA Conducts Searches at Four Locations in Gujarat and Maharashtra in Andhra Pradesh Espionage Case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials on Thursday conducted searches at four locations in Gujarat and Maharashtra in connection with the case related to the involvement of Pakistani Agents in espionage activities in India. The investigations into the case which…

Russian Spies Indicted in Worldwide Hacks of Energy Industry, Including Kansas Nuclear Plant

Three Russian spies spent five years targeting energy infrastructure in 135 countries in an effort to enable the Russian government to gain remote control of power plants, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged in an indictment unsealed on Thursday. From 2012 to 2014…

Transnational Organized Crime

Manhattan D.A.: 6 Facing Charges in Takedown of Global Bitcoin Money Laundering Operation

The Manhattan District Attorney calls it a takedown of a global bitcoin money laundering operation. Thursday afternoon, several defendants were arraigned on numerous charges. As CBS2's Andrea Grymes reports, they stayed silent outside the courtroom, but inside, all six…

France Probes Interpol President for Alleged Torture, Barbarism

French anti-terror prosecutors have opened a preliminary inquiry into torture and acts of barbarism allegedly committed by Emirati General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi who in November became president of Interpol, judicial sources said on Thursday. The probe follows a legal…