U.S. Probes Apparent Intel Leak Regarding Ukraine War, Spying on Allies
U.S. officials restricted intelligence sharing and scrambled to liaise with allies over the weekend in the wake of what seems to be the biggest leak of secret U.S. military documents in years, the Washington Post reported. Photographs of classified U.S. documents that appeared on social media servers appear to be mostly real, though some had been doctored to overstate Ukraine’s losses in its war against Russia, unnamed U.S. officials told the New York Times. The documents indicate that stocks of missiles for Ukraine’s air defenses are nearly depleted and suggest deep U.S. penetration of Russia’s military apparatus.
The leaked intelligence also detailed U.S. surveillance of allies including Israel and South Korea. On Sunday, Israel denied one of the claims (TheGuardian) in the documents: that its Mossad intelligence service encouraged staff and civilians to join recent anti-government protests.
“As investigations continue, the improbable journey of sensitive US intelligence documents from gaming platforms like Discord and 4chan to major media outlets highlights the complex nature of information sharing in the digital age,” Bellingcat’s Eliot Higgins tweets.
China: U.S. carmaker Tesla will open a factory (CNN) near Shanghai to produce extra-large batteries that can be used to stabilize energy grids, Tesla director Elon Musk tweeted.
South and Central Asia
Afghan Religious Scholars Speak Out Against Ban on Girls’ Education
In a rare rebuke of Taliban policies, two religious scholars who are well known in Afghanistan criticized the group’s ban (AP) on women attending school beyond the sixth grade.
India/UK: Indian officials denied (Economic Times) a report by British daily the Times that said India suspended trade talks with the United Kingdom (UK) because Britain refused to condemn a Sikh extremist group that attacked Indian envoys in London last month.
Middle East and North Africa
Oman Mediates Peace Talks in Yemen
Omani and Saudi envoys met with the Houthi rebel group in Yemen’s capital Sanaa over the weekend for talks in a peace process that runs parallel to UN-mediated efforts (Al Jazeera) to negotiate an end to Yemen’s yearslong civil war.
Israel/Syria: Israel launched air strikes into Syria (BBC) after rockets apparently fired by Palestinian militants there hit the Israel-occupied Golan Heights. No casualties were immediately reported.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Chad Expels German Ambassador
An unnamed Chadian official told Agence France-Presse that the expulsion was due to the diplomat “interfering too much” (AFP, Le Monde) in internal affairs and making divisive remarks. Germany called the expulsion “utterly incomprehensible.”
Ethiopia: Thousands of people in the Amhara region protested (Reuters) against the federal government’s plan to integrate all of Ethiopia’s regional special forces into the national army or police.
Europe
France’s Macron Seeks to Resist Getting Dragged Into Crisis Over Taiwan
After finishing a visit to Beijing, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that it is not in France’s interest (Politico) “to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan” and that Europe should avoid taking cues from the United States and China on the matter.
Georgia: Thousands of people attended an anti-government protest (BBC) in Tbilisi to support jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili and denounce the ruling Georgian Dream party’s close ties to Russia.
Americas
Canada, Mercosur to Resume Trade Talks
Talks between Ottawa and the South American trade bloc had been halted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are due to officially recommence (MercoPress) in early May, Brazilian media reported.
U.S./Mexico: Beginning this week, U.S. authorities will test faster screenings (Reuters) for unauthorized migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum. The initiative comes as Title 42, a policy that denies asylum on pandemic-related grounds, is set to end in May.
This In Brief unpacks the Joe Biden administration’s new asylum policy.
