“Current and former U.S. government workers, their unions and privacy advocates have filed a lawsuit asking the courts to stop the Trump administration from disclosing millions of Americans’ information to Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Filed Tuesday, the lawsuit states that the Office of Personnel Management violated the Privacy Act by giving DOGE agents access to its systems and records, which contain highly sensitive personal and employment information of tens of millions of current and former federal employees, contractors and job applicants. According to the court document, the Privacy Act of 1974 makes it illegal for the OPM to grant DOGE access of the information, as DOGE ‘lacks a lawful and legitimate need for such access.'” (02/12/25)
“A senior figure in Ukraine’s intelligence service (SBU) has been arrested on suspicion of working as a Russian agent. The service did not name the man, who it said was chief of staff of its anti-terrorism centre, but Ukrainian media quoting sources in the SBU say he is Col Dmytro Kozyura. Local media showed him handcuffed while being arrested by SBU head Vasyl Malyuk. A statement said there were at least 14 instances in which the suspect, who it described as ‘a rat,’ had collected and transmitted information to Russia. The SBU said the investigation involved audio and video monitoring, as well as gaining access to mobile phones and computers. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has announced numerous operations to expose Russian agents on its soil.” (02/12/25)
“Libya’s Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Adel Jumaa has been injured following a gun attack in the capital. The Libya Observer and Anadolu Agency reported on Wednesday that unknown gunmen opened fire on Jumaa’s vehicle in Tripoli, leaving him wounded in the leg. The report said Jumaa was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery following the attack. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.” (02/12/25)
“Egyptian and Qatari mediators were working to salvage the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday, according to Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News TV, which is close to the country’s security agencies. The fragile ceasefire is facing a significant test after Hamas said it would delay the next release of hostages scheduled for Saturday, alleging Israel has violated the truce by firing on people in Gaza and not allowing the agreed-upon number of tents, shelters and other vital aid to enter the territory. Since the truce started on Jan. 19, Israeli fire has killed at least 92 Palestinians and wounded more than 800 others, said Munir al-Bursh, director general of the Health Ministry, on Tuesday. The Israeli military says it has fired on people who approach its forces or enter certain areas in violation of the truce.” (02/12/25)
“The Associated Press on Tuesday said the White House barred its reporter from an event at the Oval Office because the news agency would not start using ‘Gulf of America’ to describe the Gulf of Mexico. A statement said an AP reporter was not allowed to attend the signing of an executive order in the afternoon. … Later, a second AP reporter was barred from a late-evening event in the White House Diplomatic Room. … After taking office, Trump ordered that the water bordered by the Southern United States, Mexico and Cuba be renamed to the Gulf of America. In a statement last month, the AP said its reporters and editors would continue to describe the gulf ‘by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.'” (02/11/25)
“Russia threatened retaliation if the EU follows through on new proposals to grab more Moscow-linked oil tankers in the Baltic Sea, warning it would treat any seizures as an attack. Alexei Zhuravlev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s parliamentary defense committee, on Monday said that ‘any attack on our carriers can be regarded as an attack on our territory, even if the ship is under a foreign flag.’ His comments come after POLITICO revealed that countries including Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia were considering new legal mechanisms to detain more of Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet — aging vessels with obscure ownership and unknown insurance.” (02/11/25)
“A global push for AI governance hit a snag at the now concluded AI Action summit in France as the US and UK declined to join other nations in signing an international declaration on artificial intelligence (AI). The AI declaration, signed by 60 countries including France, China, and India, outlines a vision for an ‘open, inclusive, and ethical’ AI ecosystem. However, the UK government has decided against backing the agreement, stating that it lacks ‘practical clarity’ on global governance and fails to address pressing national security concerns. … Similarly, the US refused to lend its backing to the agreement, with Vice President JD Vance arguing that excessive regulation could stifle AI innovation.” (02/12/25)
“More than two-dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans — ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists — filed a federal court lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to [abduct people] at houses of worship. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programs. The result, says the suit, infringes on the groups’ religious freedom — namely their ability to minister to migrants, including those in the United States illegally [sic].” (02/11/25)
“US President Donald Trump has halted the enforcement of an anti-corruption law that allows the prosecution of Americans accused of bribing foreign officials. The law has been in place for around 50 years and prohibits US firms from trying to retain or win new business with other countries by bribing government figures. ‘It’s going to mean a lot more business for America,’ Trump said when signing the executive order on Monday. A White House statement said ‘over-expansive’ and ‘unpredictable’ enforcement of the law risked the ‘economic advancement of the US.'” (02/11/25)
“A top Democratic senator has asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate after he says he received information that President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, had been ‘personally directing the ongoing purge’ of agents at the bureau. The letter Tuesday from Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asserts that Patel may have misled the panel at his confirmation hearing last month when he said in response to a question that he was not aware of any plans inside the FBI to punish or fire any agents. The hearing took place just hours before news broke that a group of senior FBI executives had been told either to resign or be fired …” (02/11/25)
