Charting the Future of Organised Crime – and the UK’s Response

As the face of crime continues to evolve in an age of rapid digital innovation, how must the UK’s law enforcement agencies adapt in order to respond effectively?

Last month the National Crime Agency (NCA) published its National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). It highlights each of the threats the Agency is focused on tackling, from firearms and drugs to child sexual abuse, modern slavery, human trafficking and economic crime. For the first time ever, the top headline this year is not about criminal behaviour; rather, it is about how much more vulnerable we all are to becoming victims. Changes in organised crime are being driven, more than anything else, by our routine dependence – in our personal and working lives – on online services. Indeed, the majority of crime now occurs online or is enabled by online resources. We have all become more vulnerable to organised crime as a result of living more of our lives online.

Houthis Expand Ties Beyond Iran’s Axis

  • The Houthi movement (Ansarallah) in Yemen is diversifying its relationships beyond Iran and other Axis of Resistance partners, increasing its operational autonomy.
  • Russia is expanding strategic ties to the Houthis as leverage against U.S.-led military support for Ukraine, while trying to avoid rupturing its established regional relationships.
  • The Houthis have built ties to the al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia in order to compound the threat the Yemeni group poses to global shipping chokepoints.
  • Houthi procurement networks have obtained key technology from China, even as Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping represent a threat to China’s trade with Europe.

Sources: No Foreign Fighters Arrived to Golan Border, Regime Reinforces its Forces with Russians

Military and local sources in Daraa and Quneitra confirmed to Syria TV that the military situation in southern Syria and along the borders of the occupied Golan remains unchanged.

Local sources in southern Syria have denied claims made by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which cited Israeli security officials stating that the Israeli army is concerned about the arrival of approximately 40,000 fighters from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen to the Golan Heights. These fighters are reportedly awaiting a call to action from Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

Why West Africa is now the world’s terrorism hotspot

Having slipped undetected into Mali’s capital weeks ago, the jihadis struck just before dawn prayers. They killed dozens of students at an elite police training academy, stormed Bamako’s airport and set the presidential jet on fire.

Hezbollah Withdraws Forces from Syria to Strengthen Its Front in Lebanon Amid Rising Tensions

A significant portion of the recalled forces belong to Hezbollah’s elite “Radwan Unit”

In a strategic shift following recent Israeli cyber and military attacks, Hezbollah has begun withdrawing key units, including elite forces and special operations teams, from Syria and other Arab countries to bolster its front in southern Lebanon. The move, confirmed by multiple military and security sources, reflects the group’s escalating preparations for a potential confrontation with Israel.

Homs Countryside: Four Zainebiyoun Member, Including Leader, Killed

The attack left four members dead, including the patrol commander, Mukhtar Mahtab, al-Masdar writes.

Unknown assailants launched an armed attack on a military patrol belonging to the Afghan militia Zainebiyoun, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, on Sunday evening near the Taybeh area in the eastern countryside of Homs.

FAQ: About the Pandora Papers

What are the Pandora Papers? What’s an offshore service provider? And why should anyone care?

  1. What are the Pandora Papers?
  2. I’ve heard of the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers. How do the Pandora Papers compare?
  3. What is “offshore,” and why should I care?
  4. What is a corporate service provider? Who are the service providers in the data?
  5. Who appears in the Pandora Papers data?
  6. What are offshore companies used for? Are they always bad?
  7. What is a “politically exposed person?”
  8. What can we do about all this? Are there any prospects for reforming the offshore system?

The Secretive Supply Chain Sending EU Trucks to Syria

Investigation

The Syrian army is getting its hands on new-looking EU-branded trucks. An undercover investigation found evidence of a secretive supply chain routing vehicles from Europe to Syria through neighboring countries such as Jordan and Lebanon.

Syria’s civil war is one of the most devastating conflicts of the 21st century. More than half a million people have been killed and about 12 million forced to flee their homes.