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Iran-born brothers charged in Sweden with spying for Russia

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Iran-born brothers charged in Sweden with spying for Russia

Two Iranian-born brothers have been dropped at court docket in Sweden for allegedly spying for Russia and its navy intelligence service GRU for almost a decade, prosecutors stated Friday. 

One of many males labored for Sweden’s home intelligence company.

Authorities recognized the 2 males as Peyman Kia, 42, and Payam Kia, 35. 

The brothers have been charged with aggravated espionage, whereas considered one of them was additionally indicted for the alleged gross unauthorised dealing with of secret data. It was not instantly clear which of the 2 was being charged with the latter.

Each withstand life imprisonment if convicted. A life sentence in Sweden typically means a minimal of 20-25 years in jail.

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“It has been a fancy investigation regarding against the law that could be very tough to analyze and the suspicion issues very severe criminality directed in opposition to Sweden’s intelligence and safety system,” Nationwide Safety Unit chief prosecutor Per Lindqvist stated.

“The data that has been obtained, transmitted and divulged may, by the truth that if it comes into the arms of a overseas energy, end in detriment to Sweden’s safety,” Lindqvist stated in a press release.

Crimes ‘very severe’, prosecutor says

In response to the cost sheet, the lads have “collectively” handed data to GRU through the interval between 28 September 2011 and 20 September 2021.

It added that the information have been acquired by means of one of many males’s work inside Sweden’s home intelligence company and the nation’s armed forces. 

The information originates from a number of authorities inside the Swedish safety and intelligence companies.

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His brother helped with the contacts with “Russia and the GRU together with issues of give up of knowledge and receipt of compensation.” 

In response to the costs, Payam Kia “dismantled and broke a tough drive which was later present in a trash can” when his brother was arrested.

The case has been investigated by Sweden’s home safety service, SAPO. Sweden’s prosecution authority stated a lot of the data within the preliminary investigation is secret and couldn’t provide particulars.

SAPO stated it grew to become suspicious of the previous worker, and a preliminary investigation was launched in 2017. 

Lindqvist stated the inquiry was began “as a result of there was a suspicion that there was a mole, an insider” inside Sweden’s intelligence group.

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The home spy company confirmed that Peyman Kia had labored there between 2014 and 2015, and that earlier than that had labored within the Swedish armed forces. 

“It’s throughout these employments that the suspected acquisition should have taken place,” Lindqvist stated.

Swedish media stated that he labored for the armed forces’ overseas defence intelligence company MUST and reportedly labored with a top-secret unit beneath it coping with Swedish spies overseas. He later labored for Swedish Customs.

“The suspected crime is a danger that each safety service is nicely conscious of, though we do the whole lot to counter it,” stated Anders Kassman at SAPO.

Peder Ohlsson, head of the armed forces’ press division, known as the crimes “very severe”.

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Swedish Protection Minister Pål Jonson stated he had been knowledgeable of the case however declined to remark.

The brothers grew to become Swedish residents in 1994. The youthful brother reportedly labored for SAPO, Swedish media reported.

They have been arrested in September and November 2021. Each have denied any wrongdoing, Swedish media reported.

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Iran's supreme leader calls on Muslims to assist Lebanon in confronting Israel

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Iran's supreme leader calls on Muslims to assist Lebanon in confronting Israel

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslims on Saturday “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the … wicked regime (of Israel).”

In a statement after the Israeli army said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Khamenei said: “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” state media reported.

He has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters.

The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on Friday.

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Nasrallah was killed alongside Hezbollah’s commander of the southern front, Ali Karaki, and a host of other senior Hezbollah members in a strike on Hezbollah’s military headquarters in the Lebanese capital.

Khameini in hiding: Decision comes after emergency meeting

On Friday, Khameini held an emergency meeting with top advisors in Tehran, as per the New York Times citing Iranian sources.

Airplane flies over Beirut’s southern suburbs as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, September 28, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi accused Israel of using several US “bunker buster” bombs to strike Beirut on Friday.

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“Just this morning, the Israeli regime used several 5,000-pound bunker busters that had been gifted to them by the United States to hit residential areas in Beirut,” he told a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

Further, US President Joe Biden directed the Pentagon to “assess and adjust as necessary US force posture” in the Middle East, according to the White House.

“He has also directed his team to ensure that US embassies in the region take all protective measures as appropriate,” a statement read. The White House said Biden was briefed “several times” on Friday about the Middle East. An official added that Vice President Kamala Harris was also briefed.



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North Korea expands list of crimes punishable by death: report

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North Korea expands list of crimes punishable by death: report

North Korea is expanding its list of crimes punishable by death, according to reports.

Supreme leader Kim Jong Un’s regime expanded the list of offenses warranting the death penalty from 11 to 16 via revisions of criminal law, according to Yonhap News Agency.

New offenses warranting execution as a punishment include: anti-state propaganda and agitation acts, illegal manufacturing, and the illicit use of weapons are included in the new codes. 

KIM JONG UN PROMISES TO ‘STEADILY STRENGTHEN’ NORTH KOREA’S ‘NUCLEAR FORCE’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a meeting of Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

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The legal modifications were codified via multiple amendments between May 2022 and December 2023, according to a report from the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU). 

The tightening of the criminal code is intended to strengthen the Kim regime’s grip on the population through its continued monopolization of the marketplace and military. 

Earlier this month, North Korea promised to refine its weapons development and strengthen its nuclear capabilities. 

NORTH KOREA’S KIM JONG UN REPORTEDLY ORDERED DOZENS OF OFFICIALS EXECUTED AFTER DEADLY FLOODS

Kim Jong Un made the comments Monday at a state event celebrating the country’s 76th anniversary.

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“The obvious conclusion is that the nuclear force of the DPRK and the posture capable of properly using it for ensuring the state’s right to security in any time should be more thoroughly perfected,” the dictator said.

North Korea missile launch

A 24-hour Yonhapnews TV broadcast at Yongsan Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un overseeing the test-fire of a new tactical ballistic missile, the Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5. (Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“DPRK” is an abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim Jong Un warned that the United States’ increased involvement in the region has forced the regime to pursue more powerful weapons as a deterrence mechanism.

“The DPRK will steadily strengthen its nuclear force capable of fully coping with any threatening acts imposed by its nuclear-armed rival states and redouble its measures and efforts to make all the armed forces of the state, including the nuclear force, fully ready for combat,” the supreme leader said.

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The 14th Supreme People’s Assembly, the unicameral legislative body of the country, amended the national constitution last year to enshrine nuclear weaponization as a core principle.

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Eight killed in Russian drone attacks on medical centre in Sumy, Ukraine

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Eight killed in Russian drone attacks on medical centre in Sumy, Ukraine

The second attack hit the hospital in northeastern Ukraine as patients evacuated, authorities and witnesses say.

At least eight people have died in two consecutive Russian drone attacks on a medical centre in the northeast Ukrainian city of Sumy, Ukrainian officials have said.

The first attack on Saturday morning killed one person, and it was followed by another attack while patients and staff were evacuating, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel that Russia had hit the hospital using Shahed drones, stating that eleven people were injured.

Sumy lies just across the border from Russia’s Kursk region where Kyiv launched a shock offensive on August 6, which it says is aimed partly at creating a “buffer zone” inside Russia.

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Regional prosecutors said the first attack in Sumy on Saturday took place at about 7:35am (04:35 GMT), hitting the hospital where there were 86 patients and 38 staff.

The second attack took place at about 8:25am (05:25 GMT) as rescuers and police were providing assistance and evacuating patients at the scene, prosecutors said.

Dobrobat, a volunteer group that helps repair damaged homes, wrote on Facebook that its volunteers were working at the scene when the second attack came.

It posted a video showing thick smoke, explosions and people rushing to shelter as sirens wailed.

“People are just lying on the street dead,” a volunteer said, filming himself at the scene on his phone.

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‘Victory plan’

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 69 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight as well as two of the four missiles. City authorities in Kyiv said about 15 drones had been shot down over the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts.

In Russia, the Defence Ministry said Saturday that air defences overnight had shot down four Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region and one over the Kursk region, both areas bordering Ukraine.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy visited the United States to lobby support for Ukraine, meeting with US President Joe Biden and Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris to detail what he has described in recent weeks as his “victory plan”.

He had previously described the five-point plan as a “bridge” towards a strong enough negotiating position for Ukraine to force Russia to end the war on Kyiv’s terms.

Before the meeting, Biden announced an additional $8bn in military aid for Ukraine, a package including the provision of Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) munitions to “enhance Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities”.

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