Danish citizen arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran: German prosecutors
Prosecutors said the man, who they named as only Ali S under German privacy law, spied on three properties in June 2025 in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possibly terrorist attacks on Jewish targets.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israeli military says it captured ‘terrorist cell operated by Iran' in Syria
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had captured a 'terrorist cell operated by Iran' in an operation in southern Syria.
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Arab News
Egyptian driver who killed 19 heads to trial as outrage grows over traffic safety
CAIRO: Egyptian prosecutors on Tuesday referred a driver to trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter after he crashed his truck into a minivan last week, killing 18 girls and their driver. Friday's crash on a newly constructed highway stirred up public outrage over the poor transportation safety record in the world's most populous Arab country. Many, including pro-government commentators and lawmakers, lashed out at the government and called for accountability. Most criticism was directed at Transportation Minister Kamel Al-Wazir, with some calling for his resignation. A statement from the office of chief prosecutor said the truck driver was accused of abusing drugs and driving the truck without a relevant license. Prosecutors also requested the court to initiate a misdemeanor procedure against the truck's owner for allowing the man to drive the vehicle while knowing that he didn't have the required license. The trial is scheduled to start on July 8, the statement said. The truck collided with a microbus — a mass transit minivan — on a highway in the Nile Delta city of Ashmoun. The microbus was carrying girls to a vineyard where they worked as informal laborers. Three other girls were injured in the crash, according to the Labor Ministry. The crash happened on part of the highway that was under maintenance. Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, with many caused by speeding, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws. Egypt's official statistics agency says 5,260 people died in road accidents last year, compared to 5,861 in 2023 — a 10.3 percent decrease. But 76,362 were injured in 2024, up from 71,016 the previous year — an increase of 7.5 percent.
Asharq Al-Awsat
13 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Justice Department Says 2 Chinese Nationals Charged with Spying Inside the US for Beijing
Two Chinese nationals have been charged with spying inside the United States on behalf of Beijing, including by taking photographs of a naval base, coordinating a cash dead-drop and participating in efforts to recruit members of the military who they thought might be open to working for Chinese intelligence. The case, filed in federal court in San Francisco and unsealed Monday, is the latest Justice Department prosecution to target what officials say are active efforts by the Chinese government to secretly collect intelligence about American military capabilities — a practice laid bare in startling fashion two years ago with China's launching of a surveillance balloon that US officials ultimately shot down over the coast of South Carolina. "This case underscores the Chinese government's sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the case. "The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security." Officials identified the defendants as Yuance Chen, 38, who arrived in the US on a visa in 2015 and later became a lawful permanent resident, and Liren "Ryan" Lai, 39, who prosecutors say lives in China but came to the US sporadically, including this past spring as part of an effort to supervise clandestine espionage operations on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security or MSS. The two were arrested on charges of secretly doing China's bidding without registering as foreign agents with the Justice Department, as required by law. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday. According to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the case, investigators believe Lai had been developing Chen to be a Chinese intelligence asset since at least mid-2021. Their activities, the FBI says, included coordinating on a dead-drop of at least $10,000 in cash to another person who was operating at the direction of the MSS. They also participated and arranged surveillance of a Navy recruiting station in California and Navy base in Washington state, including through photographs that Chen is accused of taking and that investigators believe were transmitted to Chinese intelligence. Authorities say Lai and Chen also discussed recruiting Navy employees to work for China, with Chen at one point obtaining names, hometowns and programs of recent recruits. Many listed China as their hometown and investigators believe the information was sent to China, the FBI affidavit says. The affidavit recounts conversations aimed at assessing whether individual Navy employees would make for good recruits for Chinese intelligence. In one instance, the FBI said, Chen sent Lai the name of a Navy employee and wrote: "I found out. His mother is Chinese. His father and mother did not get along and the mother was given custody when he was 8 years old. That is why he uses his mother's last name." The case is one in a series concerning Chinese intelligence-gathering, sometimes related to the US military. In August 2023, for instance, two Navy sailors were charged with providing sensitive military information to China, including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material. "Adverse foreign intelligence services like the PRC's Ministry of State Security dedicate years to recruiting individuals and cultivating them as intelligence assets to do their bidding within the United States," Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg, the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement.
