Tehran announces new surveillance tech to enforce veiling

The mandatory hijab law was one of the major points of contention behind last year’s protests in Iran

Iranian authorities will install cameras in public places to identify and “penalize” women who violate the nation’s mandatory hijab law, the national police announced on Saturday. The measure is designed to replace the so-called 'morality police', disbanded last year following protests sparked by the death in police custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini.

An “innovative measure” is designed to “prevent any tension” within Iranian society, the police statement said. Several news media outlets, including Reuters and Anadolu Agency, reported that many Iranian women were still defying the hijab requirements even after the end of the massive protests that rocked the nation last year. Such a situation reportedly sparked a protest among the Iranian clergy.

Those found in violation of the law, which was adopted soon after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, would first receive “warning text messages” from the police on their mobile phones informing them about the legal consequences of a repeated offense.

A police statement published by the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency also accused those violating the law of “carelessly distorting the moral image of society” and called on them to “avoid any kind of action that tarnishes the spiritual image of the nation and causes insecurity.”

On Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the hijab was a “religious and legal restriction” and not just something imposed by the government. He also maintained that removing the Islamic head covering was “forbidden.” Similar points were made by the government in a statement this week.

Iran faced massive protests last year, which broke out in September 2022 after Amini, detained by the so-called morality police for wearing an “improper” hijab, reportedly collapsed and died while in custody. A medical examination attributed her death to a preexisting condition, while various anti-government NGOs and US-backed groups claimed she was beaten to death by police.

The protests transformed into weeks of violent unrest that claimed hundreds of lives. Tehran accused external forces, including the US and Israel, of fomenting the unrest and inciting violence. In December, Iran abolished the morality police and last month, Khamenei pardoned tens of thousands of protesters amid a massive amnesty marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

https://www.rt.com/news/574408-iran-new-measures-mandatory-veiling/

German military to take action after increased drone sightings at bases – media

The Bundeswehr wants to buy more anti-drone systems to curb incursions, Tagesspiegel newspaper reports

The German military is planning to purchase more anti-drone equipment to protect its bases from incursion by unidentified surveillance UAVs, security sources have told Tagesspiegel newspaper.

The Bundeswehr decided to boost its capabilities in the field because of increased sightings of “suspicious” drones over the country’s military facilities in recent months, the article says.

The affected locations include ranges where Ukrainian troops are training to operate German tanks and APCs provided to Kiev by Berlin, the paper reported on Saturday. The origin of the aircraft is unknown, it added.

The outlet didn’t reveal the type or the quantity of the anti-drone systems that the German military is going to acquire.

The Bundeswehr currently operates HP-47 jammers, which allow it to take control of an incoming UAV, forcing it to land, crash or fly back to the operator to reveal their location.

The military reportedly started stocking up on those systems last summer after the first drones were spotted flying over the bases. This process is now going to be “intensified,” according to the sources.

The German military owns some 1,500 properties across the country, including barracks, training ranges and administrative buildings. It is forbidden to fly drones over them under Germany’s aviation regulations.

Germany, which spent €2 billion ($2.2 billion) on military aid for Ukraine in 2022, expects to allocate another €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) to the cause this year, according to the Bundeswehr.

Over the past few months, Berlin has promised to supply 18 Leopard-2 main battle tanks and 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Kiev. The Ukrainian authorities claim that the hardware is going to be used in a major counteroffensive against the Russian forces sometime in spring.

The first group of Ukrainian troops completed their training course on operating Leopard-2s in the middle of March in the state of Lower Saxony. A number of drones have been spotted at this location, according to Tagesspiegel.

Moscow has long decried deliveries of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine by the US, UK, Germany and other EU nations, arguing that they only serve to escalate and prolong the fighting, while failing to change its ultimate outcome.

https://www.rt.com/news/574425-germany-drones-bases-ukraine/

Ukraine Intelligence Docs Leak Could be Worst for U.S. Govt Since Snowden: Report

A group of U.S. intelligence documents dealing with the Ukraine war and other global matters apparently leaked through online gaming forums has been dismissed as fake by some in both Ukraine and Russia, but is apparently being taken seriously elsewhere.

Up to 100 pages of secret U.S. intelligence reports have leaked into the public domain in what one newspaper, citing an intelligence commentator, says could be the “biggest since Edward Snowden”, who leaked thousands of documents in 2013 after he became concerned with the ethical implications of western intelligence activities.

As reported by Breitbart News the authenticity of this new group of leaked documents, which deal predominantly with military assessments of the Ukraine war but also purport to reveal U.S. spying on allies including South Korea and Israel, has previously been disputed. Yet they appear to be taken seriously by observers of Western intelligence, even if the Pentagon and Justice Department in the U.S. have said nothing other than they are aware of claims, are investigating, and have no other comment to make.

Establishment-adjacent news outlets like CNN and papers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times — which was first to report of the emergence of the documents on social media and online gaming forums — note intelligence sources are treating the documents “appear to be legitimate intelligence and operational briefs”, and report frustration in the U.S. government that the documents were being posted online for weeks before anyone noticed.

The original source of the documents is unclear, but open-source intelligence collective Bellingcat traces apparently leaked intelligence documents being posted on Discord, a social platform popular with computer gamers, back to January. Eventually, the documents spread to 4chan — where they were used to settle arguments, which echoes a previous leak used to browbeat users in an online debate about the realism of a tank warfare game — and Russia’s Telegram, where they were noticed.

The seriousness of the leak, which is reported to underline the degree of infiltration of the Russian intelligence and military hierarchies by U.S. intelligence to the extent of being able to warn the Ukrainians of Russian artillery strikes in advance, and of advanced spy satellites deployed to the area, is discussed by Obama-era U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who told CNN: “This appears to be a very serious breach of security, which is potentially very damaging both to the US as well as many friends and allies… I am sure all resources are being tapped to find who is leaking this sensitive information.”

Britain’s Daily Telegraph cites a senior British intelligence officer who called the leak “very significant” and said: “It shows a failure at the very highest levels of classification… If it is genuine, the Americans have a very serious problem. The biggest since Edward Snowden.”

While the leak has serious implications for the integrity of the U.S. intelligence community, it may also impact America’s ability to gather such detailed information about Russia’s war machine in future if Moscow is able to use the documents to identify their own vulnerabilities.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/04/09/ukraine-intelligence-docs-leak-could-be-worst-for-u-s-govt-since-snowden-report/

>>18665151

Those who create opportunities to look into the darkness of the world. etc.

>>18665153

Those who, by questioning the world's problems, create opportunities to good think and shift thinking. etc.

Pentagon in ‘panic’ after intel leak – WaPo

Western officials have reportedly expressed shock at the level of detail made public about US spying efforts

A recent leak of classified documents on Washington’s war planning in Ukraine has caused turmoil in the Pentagon, forcing officials to step up security, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing sources.

Several Western officials interviewed by the outlet said they were still trying to assess the damage from dozens of leaked national security papers which grabbed the public’s attention in recent days, with many wondering how the breach had gone unnoticed for so long.

While the first media reports on the story emerged only this week, a batch of the documents was shared on the Discord chat platform in late February and early March. The authenticity of the intelligence remains unverified.

Two US officials told the Post that the Pentagon leadership has “restricted the flow of intelligence” in response to the leak. One source described the measures as unusually strict, and a testament to “a high level of panic” among the top brass.

Both US officials and their foreign partners were “stunned” and even “infuriated” by the level of detail provided in the documents, which exposed how the US “spies on friends and foes alike,” the report says, suggesting the files could stir diplomatic unease.

A senior Ukrainian official told the Post that the leak had caused anger in Kiev, as the files provided insight into information it wanted to keep secret from Russia – namely “vulnerabilities related to ammunition shortages and other battlefield data.”

Meanwhile, a European intelligence official reportedly expressed concerns that due to the disclosures, the US could cut back on intelligence sharing with allies. While some of the documents made public were supposed to be shielded from foreign nationals, others had been cleared for transfer to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, composed of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The wide-ranging batch of sensitive documents, which made media headlines this week, provides an assessment on Russian and Ukrainian battle readiness and casualties, timetables for training and equipment deliveries, as well as tactical information on the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

However, the true scale of the leak remains unclear, as on Friday the New York Times reported that a new trove of secretive American documents had appeared online, this time covering not only the Ukraine conflict, but also China, the Middle East and terrorism.

https://www.rt.com/news/574426-pentagon-panic-intel-leak/

Fighter jets from China headed toward Taiwan after US meeting with Taiwanese president

The People's Liberation Army, the Chinese military force, called this move a "serious warning."

China sent fighter jets toward Taiwan just days after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, according to the Taiwanese government.

"China's military announced the start of three-day 'combat readiness patrols' as a warning to Taiwan," according to Fox News.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense reported that China sent eight warships and 42 planes, including 29 of which flew into Taiwan's half of the Strait of Taiwan, which separates it from the mainland.

The People's Liberation Army, a Chinese military force, called this move a "serious warning."

"This is a serious warning against the collusion and provocation between the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and external forces," the army said in a statement. The "Joint Sword" exercises "defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The Chinese government has also imposed a travel ban and economic sanctions against American groups and individuals who were in some way associated with President Tsai's meeting.

Taiwan and the mainland have trade and investment ties, but they don't have official relations.

https://justthenews.com/world/asia/fighter-jets-china-headed-towards-taiwan-after-us-meeting-taiwanese-president