Six In The Morning Tuesday 18 January 2022

 

Putin and Biden are caught in a high-stakes gamble over Ukraine

Analysis by Nick Paton Walsh, International Security Editor

Updated 1542 GMT (2342 HKT) January 18, 2022

It is a very bad idea -- for all concerned.

Yet the drumbeat towards another war in Ukraine is amplifying itself, taking on a life of its own, in a huge, high-risk maneuver by either the Biden administration or Moscow, or both.

"I really don't know where this all came from," is a phrase I have heard Western officials sigh multiple times over the past months.

Yes, Russia's military is on the move, and massing in perhaps larger numbers than in the other years when we have seen similar posturing.

Israeli citizens targeted by police using Pegasus spyware, report claims

Investigation alleges Israeli police carried out phone intercepts without court supervision or monitoring of how data was used

Peter Beaumont

Tue 18 Jan 2022 14.54 GMT

The Israeli police allegedly conducted warrantless phone intercepts of Israeli citizens, including politicians and activists, using the NSO group’s controversial Pegasus spyware, according to an investigation by the Israeli business media site Calcalist.

Among those described as having been targets in the report were local mayors, leaders of political protests against the former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former government employees.

According to the report, the surveillance was done without the court supervision required for Israeli citizens and without monitoring of how the data was used, a claim denied explicitly by the Israeli police service and a government minister.

Protest like it’s 1989: Germany’s anti-vaxxers evoke Monday night reunification demonstrations

Thirty three years ago, Monday night protests helped bring down the Berlin Wall. Now those opposed to Covid-fighting measures are using the ‘Montagsdemo’, reports Erik Kirschbaum from the German capital

Rock music blared from boom-boxes stacked on a slow-moving van at the front of the parade and the smell of weed filled the air as a spirited crowd of about 1,000 people marched more than six miles through the centre of Berlin to protest against the German government’s corona-fighting measures.

Undeterred by freezing cold temperatures or increasing public pressure to get vaccinated against the virus, some in the eclectic mix who came together again on Monday evening in Berlin said they felt they were on an historic mission to force change with their peaceful weekly protests – just like East Germans did in 1989 with their marches that swept the communist regime from power and helped bring down the Berlin Wall.

DW exclusive: Cybersecurity flaws leave Olympians at risk with Beijing 2022 app

Anyone traveling to the Beijing Olympics is required to document their health for authorities. But the My 2022 smartphone app has vulnerabilities that could lead to hacking, a security report obtained by DW has found.

Athletes headed to the Beijing Olympic Winter Games are making final travel preparations, including keeping in line with China's health measures on the My 2022 smartphone app.

Inadequate encryption measures within the app can leave Olympians, journalists and sports officials vulnerable to hackers, privacy breaches and surveillance, according to a cybersecurity report by Citizen Lab obtained exclusively by DW. 

Additionally, the IT forensic specialists found that the app includes a censorship keyword list.   

Why is the Yemeni rebel attack on Abu Dhabi a game changer?

A deadly attack by Yemen's Huthi rebels on the United Arab Emirates marks a new phase in a seven-year civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

Here are some key questions and answers after Monday's drone and missile assault:

What happened?

Two Indians and a Pakistani were killed in a fuel-tank explosion near storage facilities of oil giant ADNOC, sending smoke and flames billowing into the air.

A fire also broke out in a construction area of Abu Dhabi airport.

Police said "small flying objects" were found at both sites, pointing to a deliberate attack using drones -- a hallmark of Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

The rebels later claimed the attack and said there could be more to come, warning UAE residents to stay away from "vital installations".

Sudanese barricade streets as strike over protest deaths begins

Anti-coup resistance committees and political parties call for two days of civil disobedience in Sudan over killings by the security forces.

Protesters have erected barricades across roads in Sudan’s capital Khartoum and some shops and offices were shut as a two-day general strike and civil disobedience campaign began in response to demonstrators’ deaths.

Neighbourhood resistance committees and political parties called the strike starting on Tuesday after seven people were killed in Khartoum on Monday in one of the deadliest days to date in a series of demonstrations against a military takeover on October 25.