{"id":65395,"date":"2021-06-30T13:32:24","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T03:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=65395"},"modified":"2021-06-30T13:48:43","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T03:48:43","slug":"the-threat-spectrum-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/","title":{"rendered":"The threat spectrum"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Planet A\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

A report<\/a> submitted to UNESCO recommends that Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef be classified as \u2018in danger<\/a>\u2019 in light of the decades<\/a> of damage from coral bleaching events and the ongoing threats to the reef from the effects of climate change. Environment Minister Sussan Ley said Australia was \u2018blindsided\u2019<\/a> by the recommendation and alluded to the role politics plays in the decisions of international bodies like the China-chaired UNESCO<\/a>. The government\u2019s energy policy includes continued support for fossil fuels, which make Australia one of the world\u2019s largest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n

Tourism is Queensland\u2019s third largest industry<\/a>, but mining is the largest, and the government is unlikely to shift away from coal despite concerns that tourism will decrease with reef degradation driven by warming ocean temperatures. The government\u2019s commitment to coal puts Australia at odds with strategic partners, including G7 members the US and UK, which have pledged<\/a> to divest from coal as part of their commitments to combat climate change.<\/p>\n

Democracy watch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hundreds of Palestinians are protesting in the West Bank following the death<\/a> of Nizar Banat while in the custody of the Palestinian Authority. Banat was an activist and political candidate known for his social media videos on the PA\u2019s security ties with the Israeli military, and political corruption.<\/p>\n

Mahmoud Abbas became president in Palestine\u2019s first elections in 2005. He is still in office, and has indefinitely postponed this year\u2019s elections because of a dispute with Israel about the voting eligibility<\/a> of Palestinians residing in East Jerusalem. Abbas\u2019s critics have accused him of being out of touch with the Palestinian people, who are beginning to lose faith in the possibility of a two-state solution<\/a>. Yet Israel and Western donors continue to support Abbas and the PA over fears that Hamas will take power if Abbas is removed.<\/p>\n

The protests, however, have highlighted the increasing authoritarianism<\/a> of Abbas\u2019s government and the deteriorating respect for human rights<\/a> demonstrated by PA security forces.<\/p>\n

Information operations<\/strong><\/p>\n

US authorities have seized<\/a> the domain names of 33 Iranian government\u2013affiliated websites hosted on US-owned domains, joining over 100 others seized last year<\/a>. The 33 sites were operated by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union, a government-linked outfit that imitates news organisations. The US alleged<\/a> that the union and other government-linked groups conducted covert influence operations during the 2020 US federal election. The 2021 US national intelligence assessment<\/a> named Iran, China and Russia as the primary foreign actors that attempted election interference in 2020.<\/p>\n

The US action comes days after Iran\u2019s president-elect<\/a>, conservative hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, ruled out meeting with President Joe Biden, saying that Iran\u2019s missile program and support for regional militias were not up for discussion. Raisi\u2019s remarks could be aimed at shoring up conservative support before he takes office in August or posturing for a better deal as Iran\u2019s nuclear deal talks resume<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow the money<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 24 June, the main pro-democratic newspaper in Hong Kong, Apple Daily<\/em>, in operation since 1995, printed<\/a> its last edition, of 1 million copies. Using the controversial national security law<\/a>, the Hong Kong Security Bureau arrested<\/a> Jimmy Lai, the owner of Apple Daily<\/em>\u2019s parent company Next Media, and five other executives. The authorities have frozen<\/a> approximately US$2.3 million worth of assets from three companies\u2014Apple Daily, Apple Daily Printing and AD Internet\u2014in an effort to silence the company and as an example to like-minded Hong Kong news media.<\/p>\n

Next Media has requested<\/a> that the Security Bureau partially unfreeze the companies\u2019 assets so they can pay outstanding wages to their employees. In return, Hong Kong authorities have asked for employees\u2019 details and \u2018sensitive information\u2019. The company has yet to make a decision, and the Next Media Trade Union has emphasised that the privacy of employees is the priority. However, if the company does hand over information, it may prompt more companies to reassess their business holdings in Hong Kong in light of the uncertainties raised by the security law and its impact on Hong Kong\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Terror byte<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rwandan prosecutors have requested<\/a> a life sentence for US Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Paul Rusesabagina, who faces nine terrorism charges linked to his opposition political party, the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change, including membership and financing of a terrorist group.<\/p>\n

Rusesabagina was the subject of an Oscar-nominated film, Hotel Rwanda<\/em>, which focused on his role in sheltering 1,268 ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees during the 1994 genocide. He has since been living in exile in the US and Belgium, becoming a prominent critic of Rwanda\u2019s growing authoritarianism.<\/p>\n

Rusesabagina alleges<\/a> that in August 2020 he was forcibly removed from Dubai to Rwanda on a Greek chartered airline under false pretences, saying he was led to believe that the flight was destined for Burundi. A Rwandan court has ruled that these allegations are false.<\/p>\n

The Rwandan government has faced multiple accusations of spying on international dissidents in Canada<\/a>, Australia<\/a> and South Africa<\/a>. The rules governing extradition of alleged terrorists are haphazard under international law due to lack of consensus on the definition<\/a> of terrorism. Rusesabagina\u2019s alleged deception and forced rendition expose the lengths authoritarian regimes may go to to capture dissidents in defiance of international legal norms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Planet A\u00a0 A report submitted to UNESCO recommends that Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef be classified as \u2018in danger\u2019 in light of the decades of damage from coral bleaching events and the ongoing threats to the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1310,"featured_media":65397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[283,2138,106,127],"class_list":["post-65395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-climate-change","tag-cybersecurity","tag-democracy","tag-terrorism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe threat spectrum | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The threat spectrum | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Planet A\u00a0 A report submitted to UNESCO recommends that Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef be classified as \u2018in danger\u2019 in light of the decades of damage from coral bleaching events and the ongoing threats to the ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-30T03:32:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-30T03:48:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233668225-e1625023136337.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elena Yi-Ching Ho\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elena Yi-Ching Ho\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233668225-e1625023136337.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233668225-e1625023136337.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Palestinian protesters chant slogans as they gather in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on June 26, 2021, during a demonstration against the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces earlier in the week. - Thousands of mourners attended on June 25 the funeral of the 43-year-old Banat, a day after he died in custody following his violent arrest by Palestinian security forces, which sparked outrage in the occupied West Bank. He was known for social media videos denouncing alleged corruption within the PA. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI \/ AFP) (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI\/AFP via Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/\",\"name\":\"The threat spectrum | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-30T03:32:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-30T03:48:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5d5f18e8d49fbd64e4cdcec7538a4d9d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The threat spectrum\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5d5f18e8d49fbd64e4cdcec7538a4d9d\",\"name\":\"Elena Yi-Ching Ho\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ac7fbb64e20254c1c95c681e9db3618?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ac7fbb64e20254c1c95c681e9db3618?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elena Yi-Ching Ho\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/elena-yi-ching-ho\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The threat spectrum | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The threat spectrum | The Strategist","og_description":"Planet A\u00a0 A report submitted to UNESCO recommends that Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef be classified as \u2018in danger\u2019 in light of the decades of damage from coral bleaching events and the ongoing threats to the ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2021-06-30T03:32:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-30T03:48:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233668225-e1625023136337.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elena Yi-Ching Ho","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elena Yi-Ching Ho","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233668225-e1625023136337.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1233668225-e1625023136337.jpg","width":900,"height":600,"caption":"Palestinian protesters chant slogans as they gather in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on June 26, 2021, during a demonstration against the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces earlier in the week. - Thousands of mourners attended on June 25 the funeral of the 43-year-old Banat, a day after he died in custody following his violent arrest by Palestinian security forces, which sparked outrage in the occupied West Bank. He was known for social media videos denouncing alleged corruption within the PA. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI \/ AFP) (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI\/AFP via Getty Images)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/","name":"The threat spectrum | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-06-30T03:32:24+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-30T03:48:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5d5f18e8d49fbd64e4cdcec7538a4d9d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-threat-spectrum-19\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The threat spectrum"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/5d5f18e8d49fbd64e4cdcec7538a4d9d","name":"Elena Yi-Ching Ho","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ac7fbb64e20254c1c95c681e9db3618?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ac7fbb64e20254c1c95c681e9db3618?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elena Yi-Ching Ho"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/elena-yi-ching-ho\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65395"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65401,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65395\/revisions\/65401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}