Category: International Conflict

Ottawa, Ontario — A Canadian woman allegedly linked to Islamic State jihadis who was repatriated from a camp in Syria six months ago has been charged with participating in a terrorist group, police said Friday.Ammara Amjad was arrested Thursday in Milton, Ontario, west of Toronto, “for her alleged participation in the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement. The 29-year-old was granted bail during a brief court appearance…

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Army will now receive less Redback infantry fighting vehicles than planned as the government redirects funding for that effort toward long-range strike systems and littoral maneuver craft. The government’s recent Defence Strategic Review recommended the Army pivot from a “balanced” structure of equally equipped combined arms brigades to a “focused” force able to meet the changing threat in the Asia-Pacific region. The document places an emphasis on long-range strike and littoral maneuver capabilities while retaining…

The Telegram channel of Israeli President Isaac Herzog was briefly hacked before being “very swiftly” restored, his spokesman said on Thursday. The breach on Wednesday evening was thought to be “criminal in nature,” the spokesman said, suggesting it was not linked to a foreign power or tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Initial checks show no concern that information was obtained,” the statement from the president’s office said.   An investigation is being conducted by Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency,…

  The Italian government is running out of military equipment to send to Ukraine, just as domestic public opinion loses interest in supporting Kyiv, Italy’s defense minister said Wednesday. Claiming Italy does not have “unlimited resources”, Guido Crosetto said Italy has “done almost all that it could do,” when it comes to sending weapons to Ukraine. ”There is not much more room,” for freeing up military supplies. Crosetto’s claim follows growing doubts over the supply of U.S. arms to Ukraine…

An American F-16 shot down an armed Turkish drone after it flew close to U.S. forces in northeast Syria and ignored warnings to stay away. Officials said it was the first time the U.S. has shot down an aircraft from Turkey, a NATO ally. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said it was a “regrettable incident” and said U.S. troops had to go into bunkers at their base in Hasakah for safety while Turkey bombed Syrian Kurdish…

In letters sent to all insurance firms, the regulator reminded them of its expectations to make sure they’re checking their products are providing fair value to their customers. The FCA also identified further evidence that some Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) products may be failing to provide fair value to customers. This comes as the FCA publishes its latest insurance Value Measures Data (Jan-Dec 2022), which revealed potential concerns over the value of GAP products to customers. GAP insurance is an…

Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden said Wednesday he’s planning to give a major speech on the issue and suggested there may be “another means” to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues to balk. “I’m going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I’m going to make on this issue and why it’s critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment” to Ukraine, Biden…

About 100,000 industrial control systems (ICS) were found on the public web, exposed to attackers probing them for vulnerabilities and at risk of unauthorized access. Among them are power grids, traffic light systems, security and water systems. Exposed ICSs include units (sensors, actuators, switches, building management systems, and automatic tank gauges) for critical infrastructure systems. Cybersecurity company BitSight alerted of the threat after identifying the problem in multiple sectors and impacting many Fortune 1000 companies in 96 countries. Bitsight told BleepingComputer…

Russian air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones during a concerted nighttime attack by Kyiv’s forces on border regions, the country’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday, as uncertainty grew over Ukraine’s future access to weapons and ammunition from its Western allies. The drone attack appeared to be Kyiv’s largest single cross-border drone assault reported by Moscow since it launched its invasion 20 months ago. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties. Ukraine is pressing on with a slow-moving…

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA- The Israeli occupation forces stormed several areas of the West Bank and arrested a number of Palestinians, while others were injured. Israeli settlers raided Jaloud village, south of Nablus under the protection of occupation forces as they opened fire and threw toxic gas bombs at the Palestinians, causing the injury of two of them and dozens sustained cases of suffocation, Wafa News Agency said. The occupation forces stormed Beita town, south of Nablus, and al-Fawwar camp, south…

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA-A Palestinian fisherman was injured on Sunday in an Israeli naval attack on fishermen off the shores of the besieged Gaza Strip. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli navy opened fire on the fishing boats off the shores of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, causing the injury of a fisherman. On Saturday, two Palestinian fishermen were shot by the occupation forces off the Sudanese area of the northern Strip. Bushra Dabin

OTTAWA — Canadian Sikhs are grateful to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for giving voice to their fears and standing up to India at the risk of a severe backlash from New Delhi, which he said could be linked to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader. The Indian government considered Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was shot to death in June in British Columbia, a terrorist because of his advocacy for Khalistan, an independent Sikh state. India forcefully…

Unintended Consequences We’ve spilled a great deal of ink discussing the GDPR and its failures and unintended consequences. The European data privacy law that was ostensibly built to protect the data of private citizens, but which was also expected to result in heavy fines for primarily American internet companies, has mostly failed to do either. While the larger American internet players have the money and resources to navigate GDPR just fine, smaller companies or innovative startups can’t. The end result…

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson
Today, the United States is designating a network linked to the U.S.-designated Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).  This network–comprised of five entities and two individuals based in Iran, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates–has been procuring sensitive parts for Iran’s one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program.
Iran is supplying Russia with arms, including Shahed-136 UAVs, to support Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine.  One of the servomotors procured by the network designated today was recovered in the remnants of a Russia-operated Shahed-136 that was recently shot down in Ukraine.
The United States is determined to take actions against those supporting Russia’s war machine, particularly the provision of weapons that target Ukraine’s people and civil infrastructure.
For more information on today’s action, please see the Department of the Treasury’s press release .

The US Department of Justice has stepped up its probe into Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group over suspected compliance failures that allowed Russian clients to evade sanctions, according to people familiar with the situation. What began as a series of subpoenas sent to a range of banks early this year has developed into a full-scale investigation focusing on Credit Suisse, said the people, who requested anonymity to speak about an ongoing inquiry. The DOJ has briefed US-based lawyers for…

International travelers wait to have their passports checked at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, 2014. The new agreement to allow visa-free U.S. entry to Israeli tourists and businesspeople requires Israel to end bans and restrictions on Palestinian Americans and other Arab Americans traveling to Israel. TEL AVIV, Israel — The State Department says it will allow Israeli tourists and businesspeople to enter the U.S. without visas, as part of an agreement that requires Israel to end bans and restrictions on…