Sune Engel Rasmussen

Stronger Than Fentanyl: A Drug You’ve Never Heard of Is Killing Hundreds Every Year Ultrapotent synthetics, mostly from China, are easy to smuggle and mix into heroin, recreational drugs and gray-market pharmaceuticals.

@suneengel.bsky.social also wrote about a terrifying story (that lives rent free in my head) about this recently --

China Pushes to Silence Victims of African Mining Disaster Toxic waste from a Chinese mine in Zambia washed through homes and fields. Compensation offers are tied to nondisclosure.

Such an important story by my colleague Nicholas Bariyo. Locals accuse Chinese officials of deception, while Zambian President Hichilema is accused of kowtowing to Sino Metals while negotiating relief from a $6 billion debt to China.

www.wsj.com/world/asia/c...

British Airways pulls Louis Theroux podcast sponsorship after Bob Vylan interview Airline says singer’s defiant interview breached its policy on politically sensitive or controversial subjects

British Airways pulls sponsorship of Louis Theroux podcast bc of interview with Bob Vylan. Louis is a journalist and documentarian. Every media outlet on the planet tried to get an intv with Bob Vylan. Makes you wonder if the ppl at BA even know Louis' work

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

'We're just a bakery': Does Gail's rely on low-paid migrant workers to further its expansionist vision? The economics and migration behind the Gail’s expansion. Words by Sasha Patel and Ben Jacob. Illustration by Kruttika Susarla.

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w...

The snail farmer of London, his mafia friends, and a £20m vendetta against the taxman Terry Ball runs elaborate mollusc-based tax avoidance schemes that are costing London councils millions of pounds. Yet when London Centric tracks him down, an even stranger story emerges.

The stories in question:

www.londoncentric.media/p/terry-ball...

UK media is thriving on Substack. Received two absolute bangers of stories in my inbox this morning, from @londoncentric.media and @vittles.bsky.social.

I will keenly defend (some) legacy media outlets, but I also love the niche deep dives that smaller, independent outlets are able to do.

Can Shotguns, Spy Planes and Lasers Protect Europe From the Next Drone Incursion? A spate of suspected Russian drone appearances across Europe has forced countries to look for novel ways to protect their airspace.

European countries are scrambling to bolster their defenses before the next wave of Russian drones: Stockpiling shotguns, installing radars and teaching civilians how to knock out out drones. Our story:

www.wsj.com/world/europe... #denmark #nato #poland #ukraine

Inside the West’s Race to Defend the Arctic Sailors scanned for icebergs on a nine-day journey to the U.S.’s northernmost military installation this summer—part of an effort to erode Russia’s vast advantage in the region.

I spent 3 weeks on a cargo ship in the Arctic, from Canada to Greenland. Our only company was blizzards, killer whales, thick fog and icebergs. Here is my story about how the West is lagging seriously behind Russia in the Arctic, and why it's so difficult to catch up

www.wsj.com/world/inside...

If President Trump was angry with Venezuela before....

#nobelpeaceprize #nobel

gros plan sur des mains de soldats chargeant des munitions

trois hommes en treillis dans une forêt

un camion traverse péniblement une rivière au milieu d'une forêt, herbes jaunes à l'avant-plan et arbres derrière

à la tombée de la nuit, un drone quadricoptère vole dans un ciel gris-bleu, au bas de l'image des sapins noirs

📷 Les photos de notre @julietterobert.bsky.social dans ce reportage de @suneengel.bsky.social pour le @wsj.com, sur les militaires de l'OTAN qui s'entraînent à combattre dans l'Arctique suédois par temps chaud. www.wsj.com/world/europe...

Denmark Says New Drone Flights Over Military Base, Airports Are ‘Hybrid Attack’ The country’s Defense Minister said there was currently no evidence linking the drone activity to Russia, and the unmanned aerial vehicles didn’t pose a military threat to Denmark.

More drones over Denmark, over multiple airports, including a military airbase home to most of the country's F16 and F35 fighters jets. Govt says it doesn't have the tools to protect against drones and that it needs help, including from Ukraine

www.wsj.com/world/europe... #russia

Drone Incursions Force Airport Closures in Copenhagen, Oslo The airports closed for several hours after the drone sightings, the latest in a string of disruptions to European airspace.

Danish police say a "capable operator" sent drones over Copenhagen airport last night, but can't at this stage confirm allegations by Zelensky that it was Russia

www.wsj.com/world/europe... #ukraine #nato

Denmark Summons U.S. Envoy Over Suspected American Influence Campaign in Greenland The alleged covert influence campaign aimed at driving a wedge between Denmark and the autonomous territory that President Trump has sought to control.

Uproar in Denmark over allegations that Trump associates are traveling to Greenland to sow divisions between the island and Copenhagen, and to recruit Greenlandic separatists.

White House official tells us: "We think the Danes need to calm down.”

My story:

www.wsj.com/world/suspec...

Stronger Than Fentanyl: A Drug You’ve Never Heard of Is Killing Hundreds Every Year Ultrapotent synthetics, mostly from China, are easy to smuggle and mix into heroin, recreational drugs and gray-market pharmaceuticals.

ICYMI here's my recent investigation into nitazenes and how they get into Europe from China

www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Is London on the brink of a deadly opioid crisis? Up to 500 times stronger than heroin, killer synthetic opioids called nitazenes are flooding the capital’s clubs — masquerading as other recreational drugs. Claire Cohen reports

Good to see more reporting on nitazenes in UK media, and to see London clubs being proactive (stocking naloxone in medical rooms and telling clubbers about contaminated drugs.) In addition, I'll add that nitazene test kits are available to purchase online
www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/op...

221 people have been arrested since the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group in the UK a month ago, according to Counter Terrorism Policing. 10 people have been charged.

I also spoke to a mother in Wales, whose 23 yo son died after taking one illegally bought Xanax pill.

“This is probably the biggest public health crisis for people who use drugs in the U.K. since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s," the director of one of Britain's leading drug charities told me.

I investigated how the drugs are sold online by suppliers in China, several of whom promised me that they can evade EU and British customs, and disguise the drugs in discrete packaging, such as cat food.

The opioids are so strong that even trace amounts can trigger a fatal overdose. They have been found mixed into heroin and recreational drugs like cocaine and MDMA, as well as counterfeit painkillers and antianxiety medication like Valium and Xanax

I spent months reporting this story about nitazenes, which have already killed hundreds of people in Europe and left law enforcement and scientists scrambling to detect them in the drug supply. For comparison, the most common street nitazenes are 50-250 times as potent as heroin.

Stronger Than Fentanyl: A Drug You’ve Never Heard of Is Killing Hundreds Every Year Ultrapotent synthetics, mostly from China, are easy to smuggle and mix into heroin, recreational drugs and gray-market pharmaceuticals.

MY LATEST: Fentanyl fueled the worst drug crisis the West has seen. Now, an even more dangerous drug is wreaking havoc faster than authorities can keep up.

The looming danger is an emerging wave of highly potent synthetic opioids called nitazenes. Read the full story:

www.wsj.com/health/healt...

A Syrian Death Factory Gives Up Its Secrets Under the Assad regime, Saydnaya prison became a mass-killing machine; ‘a symbol of shame for the whole world.’

Absolutely extraordinary reporting from @jmalsin.bsky.social who got rare testimonies from men who survived years in Syria's notorious Saydnaya prison, and in the process uncovered a mass killing of hundreds of prisoners in 2023 that we didn't know about. Must read:

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Reporter talks about exclusive interview with Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi Ailsa Chang talks with the Wall Street Journal's Sune Engel Rasmussen about his recent interview with Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi.

I spoke to @npr.org's All Things Considered about my recent exclusive interview with Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi:

www.npr.org/2025/07/04/n...

Exclusive | Iranian Nobel Laureate Says War Dealt Big Blow to Fight for Democracy One of Iran’s leading human-rights defenders warns that authorities there will turn on their own people to consolidate power in the aftermath of the 12-day war with Israel.

In an exclusive interview, Iran’s Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi tells me that Israel’s war dealt a blow to Iran’s struggle for democracy (which Israel claims to support). The war weakened civil society and will lead the Iranian state to crack down on any dissent

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Essay | Calls for Iranians to Rise Up Misunderstand Iran Decades of meddling have left Iranians wary of foreign ambitions. Many are also too busy running for their lives to take to the streets.

Calls for Iranians to rise up misunderstand Iran. Revolutions orchestrated by foreigners are tarnished with dishonor and treachery, especially Iran— for historical reasons. Insightful essay by Christopher de Bellaigue, one of the great foreign writers on Iran

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Israel’s War on Iran Is Costing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Day The price tag could constrain Israel’s ability to conduct a lengthy war.

Israel’s conflict with Iran is costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars a day. Interceptors for Iranian missiles are particularly expensive. The high price tag will weigh on Israel to wrap up the conflict quickly. My colleague Anat Peled reports:

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Israel’s Attacks Leave Iran’s Supreme Leader Exposed—With No Good Options Tehran’s bruising fight with Israel has left its military weakened and unable to respond in kind to Israeli attacks

The intelligence apparatus that has kept Khamenei in power for 4 decades is crumbling around him. He will spend the autumn of his life fighting to salvage the Islamic Republic.

"The ship that he stewarded has run aground,” @osto.bsky.social told me

My story:

www.wsj.com/world/middle... #iran

Exclusive | Iran Orders Material From China for Hundreds of Ballistic Missiles Tehran is seeking to rebuild its military prowess as it discusses the future of its nuclear program with the U.S.

Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ballistic-missile ingredients from China, as it seeks to rebuild its military prowess amid nuclear talks with the U.S., and after its missile program suffered a setback in Israeli attacks last year

www.wsj.com/world/iran-o...

Teenage Terrorists Are a Growing Threat to Europe’s Security Dozens of adolescents have been arrested in recent months for allegedly plotting attacks. Law enforcers are overwhelmed by a new generation of extremists being radicalized online.

Europol has launched a new task force to combat the recruitment of minors for terrorism and organized crime.

ICYMI, here's my story from last month about the growing threat to Europe from teenage terrorists, Islamists and well as right-wingers

www.wsj.com/world/europe...

U.K. Police Foil Terror Plot by Iranians on Israeli Embassy A group of men recently arrested in Britain had been planning an attack, officials said, a development likely to ramp up tensions between Israel and Iran.

The five Iranian men who were arrested across the U.K. over the weekend are suspected of plotting an attack on the Israeli Embassy in London - the latest in a long-established pattern of Iranian agents targeting Israeli diplomats abroad. Story by Max Colchester and me

www.wsj.com/world/middle...