Plus: Iranian Grammy-winner sentenced to jail
Hi Intriguer.Β I saw a spy chief give an address a couple of years ago, and she made an interesting admission – before any public engagement, she always takes a moment to very intentionally reflect on which things she can say publicly, and which things she canβt.
Itβs a familiar feeling for anyone working with sensitive information, as your life starts to grow into distinct work and non-work spheres. If youβre interested, itβs a feeling taken to its extreme in the brilliant TV series, Severance.
But as todayβs story on Russiaβs hack-and-leak against Germany shows, when you drop your guard and let your two spheres blur, things can get messy.
– Jeremy Dicker, Managing Editor
Was this forwarded to you? We're a team of ex-diplomats producing a concise and engaging geopolitical briefing for 85k+ leaders each day. Itβs free to subscribe.
China keeps 5% growth target. Chinaβs leaders unveiled a set of key economic targets for the year ahead,Β including holding its growth target at around 5%. This target seems ambitious given the state of Chinaβs economy, but it might be an attempt to boost confidence, and/or signal a willingness to use more stimulus. Premier Li Qiang, who delivered the report, acknowledged βit is not easy for us to realise these targetsβ.
Supreme Court rules that states canβt remove Trump from ballot. The US Supreme Court has struck down a move by a Colorado court, which sought to use an anti-insurrection clause in the US constitution to exclude the former president from the presidential ballot. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court found that only Congress has those powers.
UN report on sexual violence by Hamas. A report by UN special envoy Pramila Patten says there are βreasonable grounds to believeβ Hamas members committed sexual violence during the October 7 attacks on Israel. The report also says there is βclear and convincing informationβ that some hostages taken by Hamas have been subjected to sexual violence, which may still be ongoing for those in captivity. Pattenβs investigation also included a stop in the West Bank, where her team received informationΒ about βsome forms of sexual violence against Palestinian men and women in detention settings, during house raids and at checkpointsβ.
North Korea hacks Southβs chip-makers. South Koreaβs National Intelligence Service says North Korean hackers have breached the servers of two chip equipment firms and acquired access to product designs. Seoul suspects North Korea is trying to produce its own chips for its weapons program βin the face of difficulties in procuring them due to sanctionsβ.
Indonesiaβs president-elect vows 8% yearly growth.Β Incoming President Prabowo Subianto has laid out a plan to use investor-friendly policies to boost growth, while vowing to maintain fiscal discipline by increasing tax collection and privatising some state-owned companies.
TOP STORY
Russia pulls a classic hack-and-leak on Germany

Lookinβ leaky, Germany.
If youβre wondering where the German military is keeping its tail these days, the answer is firmly between its legs. On Friday, the head of Russian state-controlled news outlet βRTβ published a 38-minute recording of a conversation among senior German air force (Luftwaffe) officers.
In response, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius accused Russia of waging an βinformation warβ and Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ordered a probe, though weβre happy to save everyone the trouble and just let you in on what happened.
The German officials were using a non-encrypted videoconferencing service (by WebEx), making it easier for Russian intelligence to intercept their chat – the culprit was most likely Russiaβs military intelligence outfit, the GRU.
Of course, thereβs a fine line between analysing information warfare, and amplifying it. So join us as we tread that tightrope.
What did the German military folks discuss on their leaked call?
It was a chat between Lt Gen Ingo Gerhartz (the head of the Luftwaffe) and three officers, preparing for a meeting with the German defence minister last month.
Their main topic was hypothetical – if German leaders were to authorise sending TaurusΒ missiles to Ukraine, how would this work?
To understand why this matters, itβs worth looking quickly at the Taurus, which is a German-Swedish missile also used by Spain and South Korea:
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Taurus is one of those excellent acronyms (Target Adaptive Unitary and dispenser Robotic Ubiquity System), which also means βbullβ in Latin
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It has stealth tech and flies just above ground, making it hard to detect
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When it finds a target, it climbs then plummets in a vertical nosedive, and
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Its charges break through protective walls, before a full detonation inside
So itβs an advanced weapon and – crucially – has a range of 500km (310 miles). Thatβs roughly the distance between Paris and London, or LA and San Francisco.
This means itβs almost custom-built to destroy Russiaβs Kerch Bridge, the critical link between Russia and its occupying forces on the strategic peninsula of Crimea, where Russia maintains five airfields to attack Ukraine. Thatβs why Ukraine has been asking for Taurus missiles for months.
But German leader Olaf Scholz has consistently declined for a few reasons: the weaponβs range means it could also strike targets in Moscow; its sophistication means it needs German troops to help with training and targeting; and Scholz says this all raises the risk of Germany becoming more directly involved in a war with Russia.
So then, why did Russia intercept and leak this conversation? The technical term is βshit-stirringβ, with a few specific objectives here.
First, there are Russian domestic factors at play: the leak couldβve been timed to distract from Alexei Navalnyβs funeral the same day. And it came ahead of Vladimir Putinβs re-election bid against token opposition later this month, playing into Putinβs branding as a national protector against a hostile West.
Second, there are also German domestic factors: a leak like this can undermine leadersβ trust in officials, and the publicβs trust in its leaders, while flaring up divisions within the ruling coalition: eg, Scholz and his foreign minister (from different parties) have since reiterated their divergent views on the Taurus.
And third, there are international factors: a leak like this can irritate allies, whether through a sense that Germany isnβt pulling its weight, or that Germany canβt keep a secret – eg, the leak seemed to suggest that British troops are (in small numbers) more involved on the ground in Ukraine than initially thought.
But our favourite revelation from this leak? It shows that Germanyβs military isnβt immune to McKinsey speak. One of the officers on the call says, βwe should not only talk about problems but also about solutions.β Give that guy a raise.
INTRIGUEβS TAKE
So what does this all really mean?
First, the decision to drop this leak probably reflects an implicit acknowledgement by Russia that the Taurus missile in Ukrainian hands would do some damage. The leak aimed to prevent that from happening.
Second, while the leak has already led to further allied pressure on Germany to share the Taurus, itβs bolstering domestic opposition at the same time. Scholz is unpopular, the economy is in recession, and this isnβt a fight he wants right now, particularly ahead of EU parliamentary elections.
But third, after decades of relatively cordial if not codependent ties, this whole saga might further nudge Germany to reassess any notion that its relationship with Russia could be – or should be – salvaged any time soon.
Also worth noting:
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Russian spooks pulled a similar stunt in 2014, leaking a conversation between two US officials frustrated at the EUβs approach to Ukraine. One of the US officials infamously said βf**k the EUβ, though we can confirm weβve heard much worse language in the halls of diplomacy.
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In total, Germany is now the second-largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the US (at $19B and $47B respectively).
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MEANWHILE, ELSEWHEREβ¦

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π°πΏΒ Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan has left the club of the worldβs 22 multi-timezone countries to adopt a single time zone, in response to local expert advice. The Central Asian country measures 2,930km (1,820 miles) east to west, or over half the breadth of the continental US.
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πͺπΊΒ EU: The EU has fined tech giant Apple $2B after an investigation revealed it limited competition from rival music streaming apps such as Spotify by not informing customers of cheaper payment options beyond its AppStore. This is the first time the EU has fined Apple.
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πΈπ¬Β Singapore: Local authorities are downplaying the size of the grants awarded to convince pop star Taylor Swift to make Singapore the exclusive Southeast Asian stop for her Eras Tour. Legislators in the Philippines and Thailand have accused Singapore of depriving their economies of a substantial boost through anti-competitive behaviour.Β Β Β Β
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π¨π±Β Chile: The body of a Venezuelan dissident has been found in Chile ten days after his disappearance. Authorities suspect Venezuelaβs Maduro regime is behind the death, which came after the dissident was kidnapped by men dressed as Chilean police. Venezuela denies any involvement.
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πͺπ¬Β Egypt: Suez Canal authorities are conducting feasibility studies to further expand the waterway and shorten transit times for the 12% of global maritime trade that passes through each year.Β The expansion idea emerged in 2021 after the βEver Givenβ ship infamously became stuck and blocked the passage for nearly a week.
EXTRA INTRIGUE
Hereβs what folks around the world have been googling lately
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π¦πΊΒ Australians looked up βgold priceβ as investors continued to search for a safe haven, driving the metalβs price near record highs.
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π°π·Β Koreans wanted the latest on μ‘μκΈΈ (βSong Young-gilβ), a former opposition leader whose trial on bribery charges kicked off yesterday.
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And πͺπΈΒ Spaniards googled βRamΓ³n Masatsβ, the iconic photographer known for capturing the essence of Spainβs former dictatorship – he died yesterday, aged 92.
ALBUM OF THE DAY

The album cover for Shervin Hajipourβs βBarayeβ
Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour dropped a power ballad called βBarayeβ in 2022, inspired by the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini and the mass anti-government protests that followed. Iranians soon began tweeting their reasons for taking to the streets, with posts beginning with βbarayeβ, or βforβ.
Hajipourβs tribute song became known as the βanthemβ for the protests, and even won a Grammy last year. On Friday, an Iranian court sentenced him to four years in prison for creating anti-government propaganda and provoking riots.
DAILY POLL
Do you think the leak will impact Germany's calculus on whether or not to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine? |
Yesterdayβs poll: Do you think tech companies should make their tech freely available to the public?
π¨π¨π¨π¨β¬οΈβ¬οΈ π» Yes, it would benefit society as a whole (39%)
π©π©π©π©π©π© π° No, why would anyone invest in new tech for free? (55%)
β¬οΈβ¬οΈβ¬οΈβ¬οΈβ¬οΈβ¬οΈ βοΈ Other (write in!) (6%)
Your two cents:
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π» J: βMany companies have proven that they can flourish around free software. They know it the best and can monetize the services that they built around it. At the same time, those interested in the system can work with it, question it, contribute to it AND increase our knowledge.β
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π° K: βNot if the tech is dual-use, e.g. frontier language models that could enable cyberattacks, bioweapon design, targeted disinformation campaigns, nonconsensual deepfakes, etc.β
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βοΈ S.S.D.B: βI am in favour of public/private partnership. This way companies can work on tech that might not be profitable but would be helpful to societyβ
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π» A.W.K.B: βTechnological progress, like academic research, isn't helpful if it is kept behind closed doors and paywalls.β
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π° M.D: βSo who is going to pay for the development? The taxpayers.β