Sir Richard Dearlove, Britain’s former chief spymaster has said the country
should start spying on its Eurozone neighbours to protect the economy as the
common currency is wracked by national defaults.
Sir Richard Dearlove, who served as head of MI6 until 2004, said that Britain
must not be “squeamish” about using the intelligence services to defend its
economic interests.
By on 14/07/2011
SPYING SCANDAL: A voicemail tampering scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid demonstrates the vulnerability of phone networks and the fallibility of the people who help maintain them.
THE ACCUSATIONS: The British tabloid is accused of breaking into voicemail accounts of various celebrities and dignitaries —and even crime victims and their families— in a relentless hunt for scoops.
THE REPERCUSSIONS: The fiasco has led to prison terms for an investigator and a former reporter, caused several major companies to pull advertising, and is complicating Murdoch’s attempt at a multibillion-pound takeover of British Sky Broadcasting.
By on 10/07/2011
Georgia on Thursday arrested four news photographers, including President Mikheil Saakashvili’s personal photographer, on accusations of spying for a foreign country, the interior ministry said.
“The arrested are accused of passing information that they obtained because of their work to an organisation acting undercover for the intelligence services of a foreign country, against the interests of Georgia,” it said.
The four detained included Saakashvili’s personal photographer Irakli Gedenidze, the statement said. Gedenidze has taken a large number of pictures printed in the international media of Saakashvili.
“Very serious charges will be put forward,” Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zguladze told AFP, saying that the investigation into the alleged espionage was still under way.
By on 08/07/2011
A reader’s estranged husband told her he’s spying on her email. Could this be true?
It’s possible, but unlikely. And if he’s doing it, it’s almost certainly illegal.
My hunch is that he’s lying in order to mess with your head. After all, it’s much easier to tell someone that you’re spying on them then to actually do it. And it doesn’t carry the same legal ramifications.
Besides, if he was really spying on you, why would he tell you? Doing so would likely make you more careful about what you do online, get you to take steps to block his surveillance, and possibly get him arrested.
But what if he really is spying on you? After all, you want to be sure. Read More
By on 07/07/2011
An Australian citizen has faced an Israeli court charged with spying for Hamas, the Islamist group which rules the Gaza Strip.
Eyad Abu Arja was arrested along with his wife when he arrived at Tel Aviv airport in March, and has been in custody ever since.
Israeli intelligence officials allege the electronics engineer was recruited by Hamas while living in Saudi Arabia, and received weapons training in Syria before making a trip to Israel.
They accuse him of trying to enter Israel on his Australian passport in order to conduct spy operations.
Hamas is banned in Israel.
In court, the 46-year-old said he was an innocent Australian tourist and denied ever having trained in Syria.
A detailed indictment alleges he had links to the Palestinian struggle since the 1980s, but that from around 2007, he began attending a number of secretive meetings with Hamas members.
The indictment also claims he was asked to help with encoding, that he supplied photographic equipment which could find and guide missiles, and that he trained with Hamas in Syria.
“The accused was taken to a room with prayer rugs where he met four others,” the indictment says.
“After a while they went out and began to train, shooting a pistol and a rifle at different targets. After they finished he was driven back to Damascus. He was blindfolded some of the way.”
The indictment is so detailed as to describe the colours of the car he travelled in and blindfold he was given.
His lawyer, Leah Tzemel, told AM all the evidence comes from interviews with her client which has not been corroborated with outside sources.
Abu Arja is a Palestinian refugee who grew up on the Arabian Gulf but later moved to Australia and became an Australian citizen.
As he waited for the hearing to begin, Abu Arja told the media at the court near Tel Aviv he had never trained in Syria.
“I’d like to say loud and clear that I’m not a member of Hamas, never was and never will, or any other group,” he said.
Abu Arja had been living in Saudi Arabia, until he was arrested on arrival at Ben Gurion Airport earlier this year.
He says he was visiting Israel for a holiday.
“I am an Australian tourist, who came to this country with my wife to celebrate our 25th anniversary of our marriage, and ended up in jail,” he said.
Abu Arja’s wife and children have now returned to Australia.
He told the media he had been treated well while in jail.
But his lawyer says if an acceptable plea bargain is not reached, she will release more information about the facts of his interrogation.
The matter has been adjourned for a fortnight.
By on 07/07/2011