Argus Geopolitical Intel

Image Credit: Creative Commons A British PhD student has been sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for spying. Matthew Hedges , 31, of Durham University, has continually claimed that he is totally innocent and that he had simply been researching the country´s security strategy as part of his PhD. However, prosecutors say he admitted the charges in an Abu Dhabi court, which found him guilty of "spying for or on behalf of" the UK government

Image Credit: Creative Commons AFP has reported that Boko Haram jihadists have killed 53 soldiers and farmers in three days of attacks in north-eastern Nigeria, in a new show of force ahead of February elections in the West African country, despite the government's insistence that Boko Haram is near defeat, the group has recently carried out a string of major attacks on military and civilian targets. President Muhammadu Buhari , seeking re-election in February, faces widespread criticism over his security record as soldiers based in the northeast regularly complain of fatigue and insufficient supplies of food and arms. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram splinter group, killed at least 44 soldiers in attacks on three military bases at the weekend, of those, at least 43 were killed on Sunday in Metele, a remote village near the border with Niger , according to confidential sources.

Image Credit: Creative Commons A Sky Data poll has revealed that more than half of Britons are now against Brexit and want a second EU referendum. It quotes that just one in seven Britons think the draft Brexit deal proposed by Theresa May is better than either a "no-deal" Brexit or remaining in the EU. The prime minister warned that these were the only three options available to Britain after concluding negotiations with the trading bloc.

Image Credit: Creative Commons Reuters has reported that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is making plans to sell oil in direct contravention of the sanctions reimposed by the United States on its crucial energy & banking sectors. The US has said it will temporarily allow eight importers including China, India, South Korea, Japan and Turkey, to keep buying Iranian oil when it re-imposes sanctions aimed at forcing Tehran to curb its nuclear, missile and regional ambitions.

Image Credit: Creative Commons The first tranche of more than 1,000 asylum seekers, mostly Hondurans have arrived in Mexico City where they have given temporary shelter at a sports stadium approximately 800 kms. from the nearest US border crossing. The so called " caravan " migrants who are part of a 5,000-strong group set off from the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula around four weeks ago with an ultimate goal to cross into the US in search of better living conditions, claiming that they are fleeing gang violence and poverty in their home countries of Honduras , Guatemala and El Salvador , in direct defiance to specific threats by US President Donald Trump , who has stated that he plans to use the military to prevent their entrance.

Image Credit: Creative Commons Iran has responded to the re-imposition of United States sanctions against it with air defence drills in a two-day military exercise across a vast stretch of the country's north and President Hassan Rouhani declaring that Iran was now "is in a war situation" further raising tensions in the already fragile Middle East. The sanctions are primarily leveled at Iran´s oil and financial industries crucial to a country in the grip of a deep economic crisis; all this despite the fact that Iran had been abiding by the previous 2015 easement that primarily forced the "rogue nation" limit its enrichment of uranium.

  Image Credit: Creative Commons The UK National Audit Office has warned that leaving the EU without an agreement will leave the UK vulnerable to criminals, citing that the current UK border may not be robust enough to adequately protect against the consequences of a “no-deal” Brexit. In its report, the UK National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that leaving the EU without an agreement will “create security weaknesses which the Government would need to address urgently” . That verdict is in line with the Government’s prior findings that the state of the border would be “less than optimal” in a no-deal scenario.