espionage

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Prince Andrew: I've 'Ceased All Contact' With Accused Spy

Chinese national was invited by Andrew himself to royal residences, as revealed in court hearing

(Newser) - A businessman who's been accused of being a Chinese spy has had quite a tour of Britain's royal residences—all at the behest of Prince Andrew, according to recent reports. Per the UK Times , which cites info that emerged at a Thursday hearing, the 64-year-old younger brother of...

Spy Agency's Xmas Card Is 'Riddle Wrapped in an Enigma'

GCHQ's annual greeting features 'fiendishly difficult' puzzles to excite the minds of UK kids

(Newser) - What does a spy agency give for Christmas? How about a riddle wrapped in an enigma inside a mystery? GCHQ, Britain's electronic and cyberintelligence agency, on Wednesday published its annual "Christmas Challenge" —a seasonal greeting card that doubles as a set of fiendishly difficult puzzles designed to...

UK Official: Putin Had to Have Ordered Hit on Skripals

Jonathan Allen testified that assassination attempt on ex-spy, daughter was 'a warning' from Russia

(Newser) - While America celebrated Thanksgiving, the UK's senior official responsible for Russia policy was testifying across the pond about the assassination attempts against former spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia Skripal . Among the biggest revelations from Jonathan Allen, who spoke in London at the inquiry into the 2018 Novichok poisonings:...

Russia Is Really Cranking Out the Spying Charges

Prosecutors seek 39-month sentence for French national Laurent Vinatier

(Newser) - Prosecutors asked a Russian court on Monday to deliver a prison sentence of three years and three months to a French citizen arrested on charges of unlawfully collecting information on military issues. Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow in June, earlier admitted guilt, setting the stage for a fast-track...

Russia Boots 6 UK Diplomats for Spying

Britain denies espionage accusations, calling them 'completely baseless'

(Newser) - Russia on Friday accused six British diplomats of spying and said it decided to expel them, an announcement that comes as tensions between Moscow and the West grow during an intensified push by Ukraine to loosen restrictions on using weapons provided by the US and Britain to strike Russia. Russia'...

Sons: Memo Proves Ethel Rosenberg 'Wasn't a Spy'

Document from what later became the NSA indicates she did not engage in husband's work

(Newser) - A top US government codebreaker who decrypted secret Soviet communications during the Cold War concluded that Ethel Rosenberg knew about her husband's activities "but that due to illness she did not engage in the work herself," according to a recently declassified memo that her sons say proves...

The Secret Trial of Evan Gershkovich Has Begun

The US and 'WSJ' vehemently deny the reporter was spying

(Newser) - Fifteen months after his arrest in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's closed-door trial has begun. The AP reports the 32-year-old attended court in a padlocked glass defendants cage, his head shaved. Details:
  • The charges: Both the US government and the
...

Gershkovich Accused of Spying on Military Factory

He's to stand trial in Yekaterinburg on an unknown date

(Newser) - US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed for more than a year in Russia on espionage charges, will stand trial in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, authorities said Thursday, per the AP . An indictment of the Wall Street Journal reporter has been finalized and his case was filed...

UK Man Accused of Spying for Hong Kong Found Dead in Park
Accused Spy
Found Dead in Park
May 24, 2024 3:18 AM CDT

Accused Spy Found Dead in Park

UK man Matthew Tricket was one of 3 men charged with spying for Hong Kong earlier this month

(Newser) - A man accused of assisting Hong Kong authorities gather intelligence in the United Kingdom was found dead over the weekend, police said. Matthew Trickett, 37, was found dead in a park in Maidenhead, west of London, on Sunday afternoon, police said. They termed the death "unexplained" and were investigating....

Gershkovich Has Another Bad Day in Russian Court

Moscow court refuses 'WSJ' reporter's appeal; he'll stay jailed through the end of June

(Newser) - Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at least late June, after a Moscow court on Tuesday rejected his appeal that sought to end his pretrial detention. The 32-year-old US citizen has spent over a year behind bars. Last month, his arrest was extended...

US Offers Assurances on Assange. His Wife Is Skeptical

'Blatant weasel words,' Stella Assange says of vow from US that's meant to jump-start extradition

(Newser) - The United States made its deadline Tuesday, providing London's High Court with the assurances needed to jump-start Julian Assange's extradition from the UK. The WikiLeaks founder's wife, however, isn't exactly buying it, reports Reuters .
  • Backstory: Last month, two judges said that Australia's Assange—who was
...

Julian Assange Gets a Break on His Extradition

High Court says it will grant WikiLeaks founder new appeal if US can't grant certain 'assurances'

(Newser) - A British court says Julian Assange can't immediately be extradited to the United States on espionage charges, in a partial victory for the WikiLeaks founder. Two High Court judges said they'd grant Assange, 52, a new appeal unless US authorities give further assurances about what will happen to...

Ex-US Ambassador Pleads Guilty to Spying for Cuba

Victor Manuel Rocha, former diplomat to Bolivia, is said to have helped communist nation for decades

(Newser) - For more than four decades, a diplomat working in the US State Department secretly funneled information to Cuba's communist government. That's according to prosecutors, and now to Victor Manuel Rocha himself, a former ambassador to Bolivia who on Thursday switched his initial plea of not guilty to guilty...

Lawyers for US Push Back on Assange's Last-Ditch Bid
Assange Won't Learn
His Fate for Weeks
UPDATED
Feb 21, 2024 2:45 PM CST

Assange Won't Learn His Fate for Weeks

Judges reserve decision on last-ditch push to avoid extradition

(Newser) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange won't find out until next month at the earliest whether he can challenge extradition to the US on spying charges, or if his long legal battle in Britain has run out of road. Two High Court judges said Wednesday they would take time to consider...

After 8 Months, Cops Release This Suspicious Bird

Pigeon caught in May near port in Mumbai, India, had been suspected of spying for China

(Newser) - Indian police cleared a suspected Chinese spy pigeon after eight months' detention and released it into the wild Tuesday, reports the news agency Press Trust of India. The pigeon's ordeal began in May when it was captured near a port in Mumbai with two rings tied to its legs,...

US Sailor Sold Secrets to China, Gets 2 Years

Thomas Zhao will do 27 months for taking bribes, stealing intel from his California base

(Newser) - A US Navy sailor has been sentenced to just over two years in federal prison for transmitting sensitive US military information to a Chinese intelligence officer. Wenheng Zhao, who is also known as Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, was sentenced Monday to 27 months by a federal judge in Los...

CIA Has a Problem: Few Spies in China
CIA Has
a China
Problem:
Few Spies
longform
Dec 26, 2023 2:30 PM CST

CIA Has a China Problem: Few Spies

'Wall Street Journal' reports US has little covert knowledge of what's happening in Beijing

(Newser) - A little more than a decade ago, right around the time current Chinese leader Xi Jinping was rising to power, China obliterated America's spying network within the country. About two dozen Chinese agents—many of them recruited when China was weaker and beset by corruption—were rounded up and...

Gershkovich's Detention Extended After 8 Months Behind Bars

'Wall Street Journal' reporter to remain in Russian custody until at least Jan. 30

(Newser) - A court in Moscow on Tuesday extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until Jan. 30, Russian news agencies reported. The hearing took place behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified, the AP...

Ex-NSA Worker Admits Guilt in Russia Spy Case

Defendant sent a thank-you note to fake contact before trying to turn over files

(Newser) - A former National Security Agency employee from Colorado pleaded guilty Monday to trying to sell classified national security information to Russia. Federal prosecutors agreed to not ask for more than about 22 years in prison for Jareh Sebastian Dalke when he is sentenced in April if he adheres to the...

Spy Chiefs in 5 Nations Sound Warning on China

Five Eyes intelligence chiefs say Chinese spies are operating at an 'epic scale'

(Newser) - Spy movies have taught us to suspect figures lurking around military bases and federal buildings, yet the focus of Chinese spying in the US looks quite different, according to the heads of spy agencies in the Five Eyes coalition—US, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand—who gathered for an...

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