Amnesty's recent report reveals a spike in the use of Israeli spyware "Pegasus". Ongoing global efforts by Israeli spyware companies to compromise journalist privacy underscore direct threats to journalists in Palestine, where over 110 have been reported killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7th.

🤣 Dissonanza cognitiva all' italiana. Da un lato si esce dalla Nuova Via della Seta, dall'altro si spera che i consumatori cinesi risollevino le sorti del settore della moda e dei beni di lusso. https://t.me/mfmilanofinanza/3325

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) on Monday disclosed a case in which the British Secret Intelligence Service (known as MI6) used foreign personnel from "a third country" to engage in espionage activities against China.

Chinese security analysts warned of a potential 007-like scenario in which countries such as the UK, in line with their broader strategy of countering China, have expanded their espionage efforts beyond traditionally targeted areas to encompass economic, military, scientific, technological, and financial domains.

In 2015, MI6 developed a relationship with a foreign national, identified as Huang, who was the head of a consulting agency overseas, then established an "intelligence cooperation" relationship, according to a statement released by the MSS on its official WeChat account. The disclosure by China's national security organ comes as the UK has intensified its intelligence operations in China. In July 2023, MI6 chief Richard Moore told Politico that his agency is channeling more resources to China than anywhere else in the world. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202401/1304968.shtml

HONG KONG - The trial of Jimmy Lai entered its seventh day on Monday. The prosecution read a 61-page statement of admitted facts detailing the police's discovery of email communications on Lai's phone with his assistant Mark Simon, former US deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz, and former vice chief of staff of the US Army Jack Keane, among others.

Judging by its content, it appears to be strong evidence of Lai's collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security.

"One has to question whether it is necessary for a media businessman to frequently interact with US defense department personnel or political figures," Fu Kin-chi, director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and vice-president of the Hong Kong Basic Law Education Association, told the Global Times on Monday.

This raises suspicions about whether they have used Next Digital or Apple Daily to engage in subversive activities against the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government or to incite and advocate for "color revolutions" and other crimes, Fu said, noting that the prosecution will summon witnesses to further testify before the court.

Other US figures in Lai's email communications include Christian Whiton, special advisor at the US State Department; Raymond Burghardt, former director of the American Institute in Taiwan; and Wall Street Journal editor William McGurn, according to the trial record. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202401/1304992.shtml

Zelensky told lawmakers that the military needs up to 500,000 more troops to make up for losses on the battlefield. Even disabled people are deemed fit for conscription. The head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andrey Pyshny, said that banks will comply if parliament requests the seizure of draft dodgers’ bank accounts. Remember when Canada froze the bank accounts of truck drivers who were protesting against absurd pandemic restrictions? Who needs prisons when with a simple click they can deprive people of the means to support themselves? Welcome to the new digital lager, where you can run but cannot hide. Find out more about Ukraine's digital transformation here https://t.me/LauraRuHK/7329

The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine was created in 2019 to implement the “state in smartphone” project. Ukraine became the first country in the world where digital smartphone passports became full legal analogues of ordinary documents and the 4th country in Europe to have a digital driver's license. It also has digital business registration, digital signature on smartphones, digital ID, digital insurance, etc. all in a government app called Diia. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine continues to work towards total surveillance and control. Earlier, it launched public services for peacetimes, such as social services or business registrations. Now it has launched more services related to the war, including conscription registration. @LauraRuHK

In Ucraina chi si sottrae al'arruolamento militare potrebbe essere privato dell'accesso al proprio conto bancario - Zelensky ha spiegato al parlamento ucraino che l'esercito ha bisogno di altri 500.000 soldati per compensare le perdite sul campo di battaglia. Anche i disabili sono considerati idonei all'arruolamento. Il capo della Banca Nazionale Ucraina, Andrey Pyshny, ha dichiarato che le banche si adegueranno se il Parlamento chiederà il sequestro dei conti bancari dei renitenti alla leva. Ricordate quando il Canada congelò i conti bancari dei camionisti che protestavano contro le assurde restrizioni pandemiche? Prove tecniche di totalitarismo digitale. Nel nuovo lager digitale con un semplice click si possono privare le persone dei mezzi di sostentamento.

Il Ministero della Trasformazione Digitale dell'Ucraina è stato creato nel 2019 per attuare il progetto "lo Stato in uno smartphone". L'Ucraina è diventata il primo Paese al mondo in cui il passaporto digitale si scarica su una app e il quarto Paese in Europa ad avere una patente di guida su app. Sulla stessa app di stato, Diia, si scarica anche la registrazione digitale delle imprese, la carta d'identità, l'assicurazione, il fascicolo sanitario, la pensione ecc. Il Ministero della Trasformazione Digitale dell'Ucraina, finanziato dall'UE, continua a lavorare per una sorveglianza e un controllo totali. In tempo di guerra l'app contiene anche la registrazione del servizio di leva e invia la richiesta di mobilitazione. @LauraRuHK

La società cinese COSCO, leader mondiale, ha cancellato tutte le spedizioni marittime verso Israele, unendosi alla sua controllata OOCL che aveva già sospeso i servizi verso i porti marittimi israeliani a metà dicembre. Il Ministero dei Trasporti di Tel Aviv sta cercando di capire perché. Voi che dite? Brutto tempo, mare grosso? 🤣 @LauraRuHK

The Ministry of Transport in Tel Aviv is trying to understand why Chinese shipping giant COSCO unexpectedly stopped sailing to Israel. Its affiliated company OOCL had already suspended shipments to Israeli seaports in mid-December. The Zionist entity may think it is entitled to commit a genocide but can't expect China to turn a blind eye to it. @LauraRuHK

The Financial Times reports that former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi may become the new president of the European Council, as Charles Michel plans to resign early from his post. A few months ago Draghi was also mentioned as a potential successor to Stoltenberg before the latter accepted a new term as NATO secretary general. Last December Italian daily La Repubblica reported that Emmanuel Macron was lobbying other European leaders to agree on the former European Central Bank (ECB) president Draghi as the next head of the European Commission. Draghi said he wasn't interested in the job.▪️Why is the former Goldman Sachs banker Mario Draghi so popular in neoliberal Atlanticist circles? On 2 June 1992, off the coast of Civitavecchia, a meeting organized by some London financiers on the economic future of Italy was organized on board the Royal Yacht Britannia (the yacht of Queen Elizabeth II). Among the Italian guests was the then Director General of the Treasury Mario Draghi. On that occasion, the former Executive Director of the World Bank gave a speech focused on privatization, in which, in the wake of the "successes" of "Thatcherism", he insisted on the idea that the sale of state assets was the best solution to increase the productive potential of Italy. Right on cue, operation "Clean Hands", a soft coup dressed up as an anti-corruption investigation, wiped out the political class that had ruled Italy after the end of WW2. Draghi's role is indeed that of "bankruptcy trustee" for Anglo-American financial elites. Last but not least, he is a member of the Bilderberg Club. @LauraRuHK

CHINA PURSUES PEACEFUL REUNIFICATION WITH TAIWAN, THE U.S. IS HELLBENT ON SABOTAGING IT In Taiwan, where on Saturday voters will elect a new president, the ruling DPP secessionists supported by the West have been trying to cut economic and trade ties with mainland China, while disregarding provisions in the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between the mainland and the island. DPP authorities have imposed restrictions on more than 2,500 mainland products. In a firm response, the mainland suspended preferential tariffs under the ECFA on a dozen chemical products from Taiwan starting on January 1.

Analysts said the mainland has made it clear that it would firmly counter the DPP's actions that undermine cross-Straits cooperation and hurt the vital interests of Taiwan compatriots, while at the same time implement policies to boost cross-Straits integrated development and support Taiwan compatriots. The East China's Fujian province, directly facing Taiwan across the strait, will be built into a demonstration zone for integrated development in a move aimed at deepening ties in all fields and advancing the peaceful reunification of the country. In November, the Ministry of Public Security announced new entry-exit policies for Taiwan compatriots, including streamlining the application process for travel passes.@LauraRuHK https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202401/1305063.shtml

La Cina persegue la riunificazione pacifica con Taiwan, gli Stati Uniti cercano in tutti i modi di sabotarla A Taiwan, dove sabato gli elettori eleggeranno un nuovo presidente, i secessionisti del DPP al governo, sostenuti dall'Occidente, hanno cercato di tagliare i legami economici e commerciali con la Cina continentale, ignorando le disposizioni dell'Accordo di cooperazione economica (ECFA) tra il continente e l'isola. Le autorità del DPP hanno imposto restrizioni sull'importazione di oltre 2.500 prodotti della Cina continentale. In risposta, Pechino ha sospeso le tariffe preferenziali previste dall'ECFA su una dozzina di prodotti chimici provenienti da Taiwan a partire dal 1° gennaio.

Pechino intende contrastare con fermezza le azioni del DPP che minano la cooperazione tra le due sponde dello Stretto e danneggiano gli interessi vitali dei connazionali di Taiwan, attuando al contempo politiche volte a promuovere lo sviluppo integrato tra le due sponde dello Stretto e a sostenere i connazionali di Taiwan. La provincia cinese del Fujian, situata di fronte a Taiwan, sarà trasformata in una zona dedicata a dimostrare i vantaggi e benefici di uno sviluppo integrato tra il continente e l'isola, con l'obiettivo di approfondire le relazioni in tutti i campi e far progredire la riunificazione pacifica del Paese. A novembre, il Ministero della Pubblica Sicurezza ha annunciato nuove politiche di ingresso e uscita per i connazionali di Taiwan, tra cui lo snellimento del processo di richiesta dei permessi di viaggio. @LauraRuHK https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202401/1305063.shtml

ISIS, one of the hegemon's terrorist wings, condemned Hamas (of course they do). Then it carried out a terrorist attack on a bus south of the city of Palmyra in the Syrian governorate of Homs which killed 8 soldiers and 1 civilian, and injured another 22 people. ISIS' target choice always dovetails with the US strategy: ISIS is anti-Iran, anti-Taliban, anti-Syria, anti-Hamas, anti-China and anti-Russia. When its terrorists target civilians in Western countries they do so to send a warning to governments that seem to deviate from the prescribed course and to create the demand for surveillance and control measures that further restrict citizens' freedoms. @LauraRuHK