#salisbury-poisonings

#salisbury-poisonings

Many of the foundations that have underpinned Australia's security, prosperity and democracy are being tested: social cohesion is eroding, trust in institutions is declining, intolerance is growing, even truth itself is being undermined by conspiracy, mis- and disinformation.

A 34-year-old Iranian man and a 31-year-old Romanian woman have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident at HM Naval Base Clyde, known as Faslane.

This is incredibly serious, deeply concerning, a matter of national security rightly being investigated by the police. And that needs to be a thorough investigation so we can get to the bottom of it. It's deeply concerning right across the political spectrum. I think the scale of international interference now in our broader politics is really, real.

Russian military intelligence is recruiting young people online to carry out arson and other acts of sabotage across Europe. In this week's issue, Joshua Yaffa reports on the Kremlin's secret campaign to undermine the West's support for Ukraine-and breaks down how "single-use agents" are being deployed across the Continent. Some of their missions are small-putting up posters, or picking up a package-while others involve physical attacks, for example setting off explosives and starting fires.

This investigation continues at pace with a number of lines of inquiry being pursued by our detectives. The warrants of further detention for these three men will allow us to continue the investigation, while mitigating any potential risk to the public as we do so. This has been a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it.

The assessment comes amid rising nuclear rhetoric between Moscow and Western governments over future security arrangements for Ukraine following the ongoing conflict. Analysts say Russian officials have amplified statements from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service to reinforce warnings about potential nuclear escalation. Particular diplomatic pressure appears to be directed at the UK and France, which are leading negotiations within the so-called Coalition of the Willing on potential security guarantees for Ukraine after hostilities end.

Russia has kicked out a British diplomat who has been accused of spying, Moscow's Foreign Minister confirmed on Thursday. The ministry said they had received information "regarding the affiliation of a diplomatic employee at the embassy with the British secret service". The ministry said they summoned the British charge d'affaires Danae Dholakia to make a "strong protest" telling her the diplomat has been expelled.

Epibatidine is a poison contained within the skin of certain poison dart frogs and, as noted by the five nations, is not found naturally in Russia. The frogs that produce the toxin live in the Ecuadorian foothills and include Anthony's dart frog (Epipedobates anthonyi) and the phantasmal dart frog (Epipedobates tricolor). According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the phantasmal dart frog is threatened.

We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us. The men, who were arrested at addresses in and around north London shortly after 1 a.m, are suspected on spying on locations and individuals.

A double agent, by contrast, is an intelligence asset who is knowingly and deliberately directed by one service to engage another in espionage. The controlling service uses that agent to feed information (called feed material) -true, false, or mixed-to the adversary. They do so to simultaneously study the adversary's tradecraft, collection priorities, and decision-making. In the Russian system, double agents also serve a bureaucratic function: they generate statistics, "success stories," and operational narratives that demonstrate effectiveness to political overseers and ultimately to Putin himself.

A Russian assassination plot targeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was uncovered after intelligence sources revealed operatives rented apartments close to his office in Kyiv. The alleged Kremlin plan aimed to capture or kill the Ukrainian leader during the early stages of Russia's full-scale invasion, according to reporting by CNN. Sources claim Russian agents were instructed to eliminate Zelenskyy if he failed to escape the area.

Five European countries the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands have accused Russia of poisoning and killing opposition leader Alexey Navalny in 2024 based on lab results from a sample taken from his body. The five governments said in a statement on Saturday that tissue samples conclusively confirmed the lethal toxin epibatidine. The poison is found in wild dart frogs from South America.

The Telegraph reports that the activity focused on phones used by senior aides around former prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak, with the suspected access stretching back to 2021. Intelligence sources described the compromise as extensive, with one saying the activity went "right into the heart of Downing Street," although it remains unclear whether the prime ministers' own devices were accessed directly.