DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Selina Cheng: Hong Kong journalist says she was fired by WSJ after taking top post at union under attack by Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —A Wall Street Journal reporter in Hong Kong said she was fired after being elected to lead a press union that has come under attack by Beijing amid a national security crackdown. Selina Cheng, who was elected chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) on June 22, said in a statement posted Wednesday on X that she had been terminated from her job covering China’s car sector earlier in the day. Both Hong Kong officials and Beijing state media have accused it of siding with protesters during the anti-government demonstrations in 2019, a charge the association has denied. But critics have increasingly bemoaned the territory’s shrinking press freedoms since Beijing imposed a national security on Hong Kong after the 2019 protests. “The Wall Street Journal has been and continues to be a fierce and vocal advocate for press freedom in Hong Kong and around the world,” he said.

Persons: Selina Cheng, ” Cheng, “, ”, Hong Kong’s, Cheng, Gordon Fairclough, Emma Tucker, Evan Gershkovich Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong Kong Journalists Association, Hong, CNN, The, CIA Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, Singapore, Russia

CNN —A prominent North Korea expert and former CIA analyst has been indicted by a New York grand jury on charges of secretly working for the South Korean government in exchange for designer goods, Michelin star meals and $37,000 for a fund that she controlled. The indictment alleges Terry acted as a “valuable source” of information for the South Korean government. She has authored reports for both American and South Korean news outlets. South Korea is a key US ally in the Asia-Pacific, though Terry’s indictment is not the first case of alleged collusion to test the two countries’ friendship. Internal Pentagon documents leaked last year described, in remarkable detail, private conversations between two senior South Korean national security officials, whom the US had allegedly wiretapped.

Persons: Sue Mi Terry, ”, “, Terry, Louis Vuitton, Iva Zorić, ” Zorić, Antony Blinken, Lee Wolosky, ” Wolosky, emptively, George W, Bush, Barack Obama Organizations: CNN, CIA, New, South Korean, Michelin, US National Security Council, ROK, South, Council, Foreign Relations, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Foreign, Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, East, FBI, Oceanic, National Security Council, Pentagon Locations: North Korea, New York, Republic of Korea, ROK, Korean, Korea, South Korea, United States, Seoul, Japan, Asia

CNN —Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Moscow court Monday for criticizing the Russian military, becoming the latest target of a crackdown on critics of the Kremlin. Gessen was convicted in absentia on charges of disseminating “false information” about the Russian armed forces, according to the Moscow court statement. My statements are based on data collected during my journalistic work,” Gessen said, highlighting a series of interviews they conducted in Bucha, Irpin, Kyiv, and Kryvyi Rih in 2022, as well as their previous journalistic work in Chechnya. While the Russian military has conducted its invasion, the Kremlin has sought to stifle criticism of its strategy at home. “I am outside the Russian Federation, so the so-called court can ‘consider’ my case, ‘arrest,’ and ‘sentence’ me only in absentia.

Persons: Masha Gessen, Gessen, ” Gessen, Vladimir Putin’s, “, Yuri, Kryvyi, ”, Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, The New York Times, Facebook, YouTube, “, Russian Armed Forces, Criminal Court, ICC, Russian Federation, Wall Street, CIA, WSJ, US State Department Locations: American, Moscow, Russian, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Bucha, Irpin, Kyiv, Chechnya, Sverdlovsk, Yekaterinburg

☆ The next hot jobs for Gen Z
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Silicon Valley has been laying off workers by the tens of thousands, making tech work almost impossible to come by. Millennials believed they were heading to Silicon Valley in service of a lofty mission. AdvertisementIf Silicon Valley is going out of vogue, what will take its place as the next hot destination? Civil service doesn't come with the pay or the glamour of tech jobs, but it offers the stability that college students say they want. When I speak to college students these days, I'm struck by how they lack the naivete I suffered from when I was their age.

Persons: Zers, Tesla, Instagram, Christine Cruzvergara, You've, Cruzvergara, Gen, Millennials, Lehman Brothers, Jude Children's, ironies, I'm, they're, they'll, Aki Ito Organizations: National Society of High School, Disney, Google, Facebook, Dow Chemical, Tech, Big Tech, Jude Children's Research, Mayo, Disease Control, FBI, NASA, CIA, CDC, Big Tech's, Star, Business Locations: Silicon, Silicon Valley, Washington

☆ CIA Director Bill Burns says Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is facing growing pressure from his own commanders to end Gaza war
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The CIA has assessed that the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is coming under increased pressure from his own military commanders to accept a ceasefire deal and end the war with Israel, CIA Director Bill Burns told a closed-door conference on Saturday, according to a source who attended. The increased pressure on Sinwar comes as Hamas and Israel have agreed to a framework deal that that President Joe Biden laid out at the end of May. That’s what US officials have said is being used as the basis to an agreement to end the fighting. Of the three most senior Hamas leaders in Gaza, Israel is believed to have found and killed just one: Marwan Issa, the second in command of the military wing. There are still “tough issues to resolve,” a source familiar with the talks told CNN after Burns’ meetings in Doha.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Bill Burns, Burns, Khan Younis, Burns –, Biden, –, Joe Biden, Saturday Burns, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Biden, ”, Marwan Issa, Mohammed Deif, Deif, Israel, Netanyahu, there’s “ Organizations: CNN, CIA, Sinwar, Hamas, Allen & Company, titans, Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Israel, Associated Press Locations: Gaza, Israel, Sun Valley , Idaho, That’s, Qatar, Egypt, Israeli, Tel Aviv, Sinwar, Doha

At the same time, the social media industry has broadly retreated from efforts to clamp down on misinformation. The ease at which false rumors and conspiracy theories rapidly spread on social media threatens the public’s ability to sort truth from fiction. The deluge of disinformation surrounding the Trump shooting shows, once again, that this problem isn’t going away anytime soon. With less than four months until Election Day, the leading social media platforms appear resigned to let the status quo fester. Others get in on the act for social media clout – viral posts can translate into dollars for some online influencers.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, retrenchment, Trump, “, ”, Evan Vucci, Joe Biden, ” –, Biden, Elon Musk, Musk, Laura Edelson, ” Edelson, TikTok, Edelson, Don’t, ’, Sean Lyngaas Organizations: CNN, Trump, Service, Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Associated, Republican, CIA, Social, Meta, YouTube, Facebook, Northeastern University, Democracy, Twitter, FBI Locations: America, Butler , Pennsylvania

☆ U.S., Germany foil alleged Russian plot to assassinate CEO of German arms firm sending weapons to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Dan De Luce | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. intelligence agencies discovered the plan to go after Papperger earlier this year and informed the German government, the sources said. We have also been clear that Russia's actions will not deter Allies from continuing to support Ukraine." The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA and the German embassy in Washington all declined to comment. The Intelligence Committee is closely following these threats, which only strengthen our resolve to support Ukraine." And in February, the company signed a memorandum with Ukraine to set up a joint production plant for artillery ammunition.

Persons: Rheinmetall AG Armin Papperger, Ronny HARTMANN, RONNY HARTMANN, Armin Papperger, Papperger, Adrienne Watson, Biden, Watson, Oliver Hoffman, Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Vladimir Putin, Rheinmetall's Papperger Organizations: Rheinmetall AG, Rheinmetall, AFP, Getty Images, U.S, Lynx, CNN, White House National Security, NATO Allies, National Intelligence, CIA, Democratic, House Intelligence, NATO, Intelligence, NBC News, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Unterluess, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Moscow, Russian, United States, Washington, cyberattacks, Kyiv, United Kingdom, London

☆ This $21.7 million ranch for sale in Montana once served as a hideout for a Soviet pilot who defected in a MiG-25. Take a look.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Vietor family even unknowingly housed Viktor Belenko, a former Soviet Union fighter pilot. He spent a couple years in Washington, DC, and eventually ended up at Rocking Chair Ranch, though with an undercover identity assigned by the CIA, Mansion Global reported. The CIA agent who escorted him from Japan to the US knew the Vietor family. Hall and HallVietor told Mansion Global Belenko was put to work on the ranch and first lived in a guest bedroom of the main house. Vietor told Mansion Global Belenko left the ranch in 1983 but that he stayed in touch with their family.

Persons: —, Viktor Belenko, Belenko, Willy Vietor, Victor, Viktor Schmidt, Hall Vietor, Vietor, Hall Belenko Organizations: Service, Soviet Union, Business, Soviet, West, Soviet Union's Air Defense Forces, New York Times, Soviet Union . Buildings, CIA, Mansion, Missoula ., Hall, US, Global, Times Locations: Montana, Philipsburg , Montana, Soviet, Hokkaido, Japan, United States, Soviet Union, Russia, Washington ,, Missoula, East Coast, Illinois, Rock

☆ Donald unchained: SCOTUS decision would give Trump the immunity to run rampant just in time for a possible 2nd term, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Laura Italiano | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. "Most, if not all, of that conduct would fall on the 'presumptively-official' side of the line," said Michel Paradis, an attorney who teaches national security and constitutional law at Columbia Law School. AdvertisementUnder Monday's decision, "courts may not inquire into the President's motives" in deciding if a presidential act is official or unofficial. "And this opinion, more than any other in the Supreme Court's history, gives the president king-like powers," Sloan added. "Everybody was horrified" when Trump's lawyer first raised immunity in that circumstance as a possible consequence, Sloan said.

Persons: —, Richard Nixon, — Nixon, Michel Paradis, Paradis, Trump, Trump's, Rudy Giuliani, Neama Rahmani, Rahmani, Cliff Sloan, Sloan, Sonya Sotomayor Organizations: Service, FBI, CIA, Business, Columbia Law School, Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency, Biden, Trump, West, Georgetown Law, Supreme Locations: Independence

☆ Evan Gershkovich: Russia begins espionage trial of US reporter behind closed doors
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The trial of Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, began Wednesday morning in a closed door hearing that has been condemned by his newspaper and the United States. While many newsrooms subsequently pulled their reporters out of Russia, Gershkovich remained, covering the war and how it was changing life in Russia. Footage on Wednesday morning showed Gershkovich inside a glass court cage, his head shaved, ahead of the trial due to start imminently behind closed doors. The trial of Gershkovich, the American-born son of Soviet-era emigres to the US, has highlighted the extent to which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has harmed relations between Moscow and Washington. Gershkovich seen inside an enclosure for defendants in Yekaterinburg, Russia on June 26, 2024.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Gershkovich “, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, Ella Milman, Mikhail Gershkovich, “ He’s, ” Milman, He’s, Evan, Evgenia Novozhenina, Natalia Kolesnikova, Emma Tucker, “, ” Tucker, Joe Biden, Evan ”, Paul Whelan, Whelan, ”, Biden, Brittney Griner, –, Griner, Viktor Bout, Bout, Putin, Tucker Carlson, Andrei Soldatov, Vladimir Putin, Vadim Krasikov, ” Putin, Gershkovich’s, Mikhail Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Russia, CIA, WSJ, US State Department, State, Reuters, Getty, Journalism, “, Kremlin, Tucker Carlson Network Locations: American, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Washington, Sverdlovsk Regional, Russian, Moscow’s, AFP, Soviet, Ukrainian, Chechen, Berlin

☆ Julian Assange ends stalemate with US, exchanging guilty plea to felony charge for his freedom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Thomas Manglona | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Assange addresses the Oxford Union Society from the Ecuadorian Embassy in January 2013. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Assange attends a news conference inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in August 2014. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images Assange, on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, holds up a United Nations report in February 2016. Carl Court/Getty Images Assange speaks to the media in May 2017, after Swedish prosecutors had dropped their investigation of rape allegations against Assange. Jack Taylor/Getty Images Assange was seen for the first time in months during a hearing via teleconference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2018.

Persons: Julian Assange, “, ” Assange, Assange, Kim Hong, Ramona Manglona, Chelsea Manning, Jack Taylor, LEON NEAL, BERTIL ERICSON, FABRICE COFFRINI, Carl Court, Geoff Caddick, Oli Scarff, CARL COURT, Leon Neal, Philip Toscano, Ricardo Patino, Frank Augstein, David Paul Morris, John Stillwell, Mike, Pompeo, Maria Sol Borja, Alastair Grant, Daniel Leal, Elizabeth Cook, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, ASSANGE, Adrienne Watson, Stella, ”, Gabriel Shipton, he’s, hasn’t, Julian, –, ” Shipton Organizations: Northern Mariana Islands CNN, Northern, Northern Mariana Islands . Justice Department, WikiLeaks, United States, Reuters, Army, Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department, British, Justice Department, Guardian, Getty, Swedish Trade Union Confederation, St, Paul's, Court, Ecuadorian Embassy, Oxford Union Society, Ecuadorian Foreign, Southwest Festival, Bloomberg, United Nations Human Rights, United, United Nations, CIA, CNN, Ecuadorian, Ecuador, Southwark Crown, White, Sweden, National Security, Department of Justice, BBC Radio Locations: Saipan, Northern Mariana, London, United Kingdom, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Australia, United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sweden, Ecuadorian, Ecuador, Westminster, AFP, Stockholm, Geneva, Switzerland, Austin , Texas, United Nations, Quito, Southwark, Baghdad, Guantanamo Bay

Washington CNN —American officials are hoping to gain a better understanding of Israel’s war plans in meetings this week with the country’s defense minister, who arrived in Washington as the rift widened between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will not end the war until we return all of our hostages – 120 hostages, the living and the deceased. Netanyahu said that once the “intense phase” of the Gaza conflict is over Israel will continue “mowing the grass” in Gaza, which US officials oppose. But Netanyahu ignored the demand from his defense minister, refusing to make such a public statement. And former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who resigned from a unity government with Netanyahu two weeks ago, accused Israel’s longest-serving leader of putting political considerations ahead of a post-war strategy.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu, ”, —, that’s, Matt Miller, Gallant, Bill Burns, Amos Hochstein, ” Gallant, Benny Gantz, Israel’s, Israel, Lloyd Austin, Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Miller, “ vexing, “ Organizations: Washington CNN —, Biden, CIA, Defense, National, State Department, White, Washington Locations: Washington, Gaza, Israel, United States, ”, Lebanon

☆ Virginia GOP primary between House caucus chair and Trump-backed challenger too early to call
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Arit John | Eric Bradner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Republican primary race between Virginia Rep. Bob Good, the House Freedom Caucus chair who angered allies of former President Donald Trump and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and state Sen. John McGuire was too early to call Tuesday night. The congressman from Virginia’s 5th Congressional District has faced a fierce effort to knock him out from a broad swath of the GOP in what became the most expensive House Republican primary of the cycle. Vindman’s role in Trump’s impeachment likely made a difference in his campaign. After spending most of his career in Illinois, Bondar moved to Texas in 2020, living outside Dallas – where he voted in this March’s Republican primary. State voting records show Bondar’s early in-person ballot in his primary race is the first time he has voted in Oklahoma.

Persons: Bob Good, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Sen, John McGuire, McCarthy, Good, Ron DeSantis, McGuire, we’re, ”, Trump’s, Eugene Vindman, Abigail Spanberger, Alexander Vindman, Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, –, National Security Council –, Vindman’s, Cole, Tom Cole, Paul Bondar, Bondar, impeaching Trump, “, ” Trump, Dallas –, Paul Bonder, Cheyenne Stanley, he’d Organizations: CNN, Republican, Virginia Rep, Congressional, GOP, Florida Gov, Democratic, Eugene, Virginia’s, Congressional District, Trump, Ukrainian, National Security Council, CIA, Oklahoma, Cole Americans, Security, PAC, University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, State, Longhorn Locations: Virginia’s, Oklahoma, Illinois, Texas, Dallas, Caddo

☆ Former CIA Officer Andrew Bustamante Explains How Spying Works
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Kevin Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Andrew Bustamante spent seven years working covertly as an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA recruited him while he was applying to join the Peace Corps after leaving the US Air Force. Bustamante possesses an intimate knowledge of the intelligence community's inner workings. After meeting his wife — also a CIA officer — and having children, he learned the CIA was no place for families. Today, he runs his own company, Everyday Spy, training people in the techniques he learned as a spy.

Persons: Andrew Bustamante, Bustamante, — Organizations: Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, Peace Corps, US Air Force, Business Locations: Afghanistan, Iraq

☆ Russia will hold Evan Gershkovich’s espionage trial behind closed doors, state media reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Sergey Gudkov | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —American journalist Evan Gershkovich will stand trial behind closed doors in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg starting on June 26, state-run news agency TASS reported Monday, citing the court’s press service. The Russian Prosecutor General’s office said last Thursday it had approved the indictment and referred Gershkovich’s case to a trial court. On Thursday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the allegations against Gershkovich have “absolutely zero credibility.”“We have been clear from the start that Evan has done nothing wrong. He should be released immediately,” Miller said at a State Department briefing. Gershkovich is among a number of Americans being held in Russia, including former Marine Paul Whelan, whom the US State Department has also declared as wrongfully detained.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, General’s, Gershkovich, “ Gershkovich, Matthew Miller, ”, Evan, ” Miller, Paul Whelan Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Sverdlovsk Regional Court, US State Department, State Department, US Locations: American, Russian, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk, Moscow’s, Washington, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia

☆ ‘ISIS isn’t done with us’: Arrested Tajiks highlight US fears of terror attack on US
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | Josh Campbell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

By the time intelligence collected on overseas ISIS targets connected the men to the terror group, they had already been vetted by immigration authorities and allowed into the country, officials said. The men remain in federal custody on immigration charges and will eventually be deported following the counterterror investigation into them. US officials and analysts who closely track Islamist terror groups do know that ISIS-K has dramatically ramped up its online propaganda machine. But that’s not necessarily a reliable gauge of the number of actual terrorists who may be trying to enter the United States, US officials argue. Or they could belong to a legacy terror group — like the FARC — that isn’t known for conducting attacks on US soil.

Persons: ”, “ We’re, “, Michael Morell, Christopher Wray, CNN Colin Clarke, ” Clarke, ” Republican Oklahoma Sen, James Lankford, noncitizens, that’s, Clarke, — it’s, ” Said, It’s Organizations: CNN, ISIS, FBI, ICE, Islamic, Crocus, US, Affairs, Foreign Affairs, ” Republican Oklahoma, Jordanian, US Marines Locations: Tajikistan, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Europe, Moscow, United States, al Qaeda, Syria, North America, Central, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Quantico

☆ China says 2 military employees sold 60 pounds of secret documents to a recycling plant, allowing a shopper to bag 4 volumes for under $1
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewChina's State Security Ministry said on Thursday that a retiree had somehow secured four volumes of confidential military documents at a recycling store for just 85 cents. According to the post, Zhang is a former employee of a state-owned enterprise and collects military newspapers and magazines as a hobby. Related storiesThe State Security Ministry said agents rushed to Zhang's home and seized the documents. AdvertisementUpon investigating the scrap store, the state security ministry discovered that Zhang's purchase had been part of eight volumes of 200 secret documents marked for disposal, the post reads. China's State Security Ministry has, in recent months, regularly urged the public to assist in reporting foreign espionage.

Persons: —, Grandpa Zhang, Zhang, Guo, Li, William Burns rankled, We've, Burns Organizations: Service, Security Ministry, Business, State Security Ministry, China's State Security Ministry, CIA, Street Journal . Locations: Beijing, China, William Burns rankled Beijing, Colorado, Street Journal . China

☆ Jailed US reporter Evan Gershkovich to stand trial in Russia on espionage charges, authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Anna Chernova | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Russian prosecutors have sent the espionage case against the jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich to court, accusing him of spying for the CIA. Gershkovich, the US government and his employer, the Wall Street Journal, have vehemently denied the charges against him. Less than two weeks after his arrest, Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department, which called for his immediate release. Ex-Marine Paul Whelan was arrested in 2018 and is also designated as wrongfully detained. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was detained in June 2023, Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina was arrested in January, and American teacher Marc Fogel was arrested in August 2021.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, General’s, –, Gershkovich, “ Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Ksenia Karelina, Marc Fogel Organizations: CNN, CIA, Wall Street, US State Department Locations: American, Yekaterinburg, Russian, Moscow’s, Russia

Biden administration officials have discussed potentially negotiating a unilateral deal with Hamas to secure the release of five Americans being held hostage in Gaza if current cease-fire talks involving Israel fail, according to two current senior U.S. officials and two former senior U.S. officials. The Biden administration has said it believes Hamas is holding five American hostages who were abducted during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. The officials did not know what the U.S. might give Hamas in exchange for the release of American hostages. Earlier this week, Israeli officials estimated that some 120 hostages are still being held by Hamas and that 43 of them have died in captivity. Over the weekend, four Israeli hostages kidnapped from the Nova music festival were rescued in an operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces.

Persons: Biden, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Alexander, Sagui Dekel, Chen, Hersh Goldberg, Polin, Omer Neutra, Keith Siegel, Itay Chen, Judy Weinstein, Gad Haggai, Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Bill Burns, Brett McGurk Organizations: Hamas, U.S, Qatari interlocutors, White, Nova, Israel Defense Forces, NBC News, National, CIA Locations: Gaza, New York City , New York, Israel, Qatari, U.S

☆ Opinion: How the era of the counterspy changed history
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Opinion Tim Naftali | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

First of all, their main job was to get false information to Adolf Hitler — rather than to steal Nazi secrets. And, secondly, some of these spies didn’t actually exist — they were completely made-up creations of British intelligence. But World War II would see a dramatic expansion of the offensive use of counterspies — not simply to prevent the enemy from knowing things but to actively deceive the enemy by planting disinformation. I also met the man who came up with the D-Day deception, Roger Fleetwood Hesketh, who was a trained architect. He told me that for the D-Day deception, codenamed Fortitude South, he had drawn on different talents.

Persons: Tim Naftali, Adolf Hitler —, didn’t, Counterespionage, —, Juan Pujol García, Garbo, Greta Garbo, ” —, Juan Pujol Garcia, Keith Waldegrave, ANL, ”, George Patton, Hitler, ” Hitler, Roger Fleetwood Hesketh, Alan Turing, counterspies, Anthony Blunt, Kim Philby, ’, Oleg Gordievsky, counterespionage, Robert Hanssen, Aldrich Ames, Hanssen, Ames, Mikhail Gorbachev Organizations: CNN, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Tim Naftali New York University, Allied, Nazi, Army, Pas des Calais, Facebook, Strategic Services, German Wehrmacht, US National Archives, British, Soviets, US, Soviet Union, USSR Locations: France, Pas des, Pas des Calais —, Belgium, British, Berlin, Spanish, United Kingdom, Britain, Buckingham, Calais, Normandy, Tokyo, German, England, Liverpool, Europe, counterespionage, USSR, London, Washington, America, Soviet, Soviet Union

☆ Blinken to travel to Middle East as US ratchets up pressure on ceasefire and hostage proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The top US diplomat “will emphasize the importance of Hamas accepting the proposal on the table, which is nearly identical to one Hamas endorsed last month,” Miller said. Hamas has not yet put forward a formal response to the proposal, which was transmitted to Hamas’ political wing by the Qataris last Thursday. “We would hope for a response from Hamas as soon as possible, and we continue to wait,” Miller said at a press briefing Thursday. The top US diplomat has held a slew of calls to regional partners to discuss the proposal. Miller said on Wednesday that the US has seen both Egypt and Qatar “exert significant pressure on Hamas,” but he refused to get into the details of those separate pressure campaigns.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Matthew Miller, “, ” Miller, ”, Joe Biden, Bill Burns, Brett McGurk, Biden, Qatar –, –, Miller Organizations: CNN, ”, Hamas, CIA, US, Qatar, United Nations Locations: United, Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey

☆ Gaza ceasefire deal: Hamas and Israel urged to ‘close this deal’ by US and 16 other countries whose citizens were taken hostage
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Mj Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“It is time for the war to end,” the statement, shared with CNN, bluntly says. We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens,” the statement says. Those 17 countries have citizens whom Hamas took captive at the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Immediately after Biden detailed the Israeli proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his country would not end the war until Hamas was defeated. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, convened for the first time last month an in-person meeting of ambassadors and chiefs of mission representing countries whose citizens were taken hostage by Hamas, CNN reported, at a moment when a deal was stalled.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Bill Burns, Brett McGurk Organizations: CNN, Biden, United, Hamas, Qatar –, Senior, CIA, White Locations: United States, Israel, Gaza, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, Washington, Egypt, Qatar

☆ Biden administration pushing Middle East allies to make threats to Hamas in push for a Gaza ceasefire deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Kylie Atwood | Mj Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Still, the Biden administration believes there is an opportunity to close the deal, one US official said. Biden unleashed the pressure campaignThe Biden administration’s intense pressure campaign coincides with Biden’s speech last Friday declaring that Hamas must accept the Israeli proposal on the table. Biden laid out three phases of a deal that he said the Israelis had transmitted to Hamas the night before he spoke. And now, one week after the latest Israeli proposal was transmitted to Hamas, it remains unclear if the pressure campaign will succeed. Miller acknowledged Wednesday that Sinwar might not see it as in his interest to accept the deal on the table.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Antony Blinken, Brett McGurk, Bill Burns, Joe Biden, “, They’ve, Qatar –, –, Matt Miller, ” Miller, ’ ” Biden, Yahya Sinwar –, Miller, Sinwar Organizations: CNN, State Department, CIA, Biden, Hamas, US, Qatar, State, Democratic National Convention Locations: Gaza, Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Cairo

☆ Fake Tom Cruise documentary is part of a Russian influence campaign aimed at Paris Olympics, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The IOC has placed restrictions on Russian athletes’ participation in the Paris Olympics because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to rule out the possibility of sending French troops to Ukraine has infuriated the Russian government. Hany Farid, a digital forensic expert and professor at UC Berkley, said the video had hallmarks of being manipulate using AI. But Lee Foster, another information operations expert, expressed skepticism that the imagery in the video was made using AI. Officials at the Paris Olympics are bracing for a similar threat next month.

Persons: denigrate, Tom Cruise’s, Gavin Wilde, irrelevance, ” Wilde, Emmanuel Macron’s, Matthew Miller, Miller, Hany Farid, Farid, ” Farid, Lee Foster, ” Foster, Russia’s, ”, John Hultquist, ” Hultquist Organizations: CNN —, Ukraine, CNN, International Olympic Committee, IOC, National Security Council, “, Netflix, New York Times, Microsoft, Telegram, Paris Olympics, CIA, Russian Embassy, US State Department, State Department, BBC, UC Berkley, US Justice Department, Paris, Olympics, Google, Olympic Locations: Ukraine, Paris, Russia, Russian, Washington , DC, ”, South Africa, deepfakes, South Korea, France

☆ The Ukraine war is a huge opportunity for US intel to recruit Russian spies
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Analysis Josh Campbell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Editor’s Note: The CNN Original Series “Secrets & Spies: A Nuclear Game” examines the tenuous global geopolitics during the Cold War through the lens of two notorious double agents: Oleg Gordievsky and Aldrich Ames. CNN —Russia’s brutal ongoing invasion of Ukraine has provided US intelligence services with a rare opening to recruit Kremlin insiders furious with the handling of the war. “Disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us,” said CIA Director Bill Burns last year during a speech in the United Kingdom. Russian Foreign Ministry building is seen behind a billboard showing Z, a tactical insignia of Russian troops in Ukraine, on October 13, 2022. As the documentary underscores, the espionage lessons of the Cold War could very well determine future global stability.

Persons: Oleg Gordievsky, Aldrich Ames, CNN —, ”, Bill Burns, “, David McCloskey, Alexander Nemenov, James Schlesinger, Douglas London, Edgar Hoover, Stefani Reynolds, Jim Sciutto, Tim Naftali, –, Sarah Moon, Alex Marquardt, Donie O’Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, CIA, Russian Foreign Ministry, Getty, FBI, BBC, Edgar Hoover FBI Locations: Ukraine, United Kingdom, Moscow, AFP, Virginia, Russia’s, Washington, Washington ,, Soviet Union, Europe

Search resuls for: "CIA"

25 mentions found