In 2015, the two territories “were the provenance of 86% of global counterfeiting and $396.5 billion worth of counterfeit goods,” Europol said in a detailed 74-page report, adding intellectual property theft was “one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises”.

With the rising use of cargo rail links between China and Europe, there are also concerns that criminal networks may begin to seize on what can be a cheaper or faster alternative for transporting goods than container shipping or air links.

Turkey is another important hub for the entry of fake goods into the European Union, along with Thailand and Singapore, said the joint report produced with the Madrid-based EU Intellectual Property Office.

Everything from shampoos, to batteries, electronics and brand-name clothing, toys, medicine and food has been counterfeited and sold, often to unsuspecting customers. There is also a rising trade in fake labels for Europe-based networks producing such goods inside the zone.

But the top category of fake goods seized at the EU’s borders in 2015 was cigarettes — accounting for some 27 per cent of some 88,000 cases investigated by customs officials.

As gangs seek to bypass checks and reach consumers quickly and cheaply, rail connections out of China could offer “concrete advantages,” the report warned.

“Intellectual property crime is extensive in the EU and carries very many adverse effects,” warned Europol head Rob Wainwright.

“It harms our economies, generates enormous illicit profits for organised crime groups, and often causes direct physical harm to citizens in the form of the growing supply of fake health and safety goods.”

Sales of fake clothing and shoes amounted to more than 26 billion euros in lost sales of legitimate goods in Europe, or 9.7 per cent of total revenues, causing an estimated 363,000 job losses in this “mirror economy”, the report said.

Many items are now being sold online directly to consumers, allowing counterfeiters to send their goods in small packets which may pass more easily through border checks.

“Counterfeiters often need to produce and ship products quickly, usually in reaction to emerging product trends and demands,” the report said.

While the goods may be produced cheaply, “air freight, despite being fast, is often too expensive” while a shipping container can take up to six weeks to reach its destination.

China is developing both its rail and road infrastructure to reach the eastern EU external borders.

And “cargo trains offering logistics solutions between China and the EU for nearly half the price of air freight, which take approximately half the time of traditional container shipping, would appear a logical choice,” the report said.

“What I’m going to be setting out today is clearly how the UK proposes to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK, and see the rights of UK citizens living in Europe protected,” May said as she arrived at the two-day meeting of EU leaders.

“That’s been an important issue, we’ve wanted it to be one of the early issues that was considered in the negotiations, that is now the case, that work is starting.

“We will be setting out how we propose to ensure that EU citizens living in the UK have their rights protected in the United Kingdom.”

May’s spokesman earlier said that she would set out the principles of her plan over dinner with other EU leaders on Thursday evening.

EU officials said they had however asked her not to bring up the issue, saying all talks should be conducted by official EU and British negotiators Michel Barnier and David Davis, and not by national leaders.

The fate of an estimated three million Europeans currently living in Britain and around one million Britons living elsewhere in the EU was thrown into doubt by Britain’s vote to leave the bloc last year.

May had previously refused to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in Britain until those of expatriate Britons were secured.

The issue of citizens rights is one of three priorities in the Brexit talks which began on Monday, along with Britain’s divorce bill and the fraught question of Northern Ireland, which will share Britain’s only land border with the EU after Brexit.

May said the talks had made a “very constructive start”.

“We will be setting out how we propose to ensure that EU citizens living in the UK have their rights protected in the United Kingdom,” she said as she arrived for the two-day meeting with other EU leaders.

Analysts say move could embolden foreign fighters to carry out attacks here.

Singapore has been identified by supporters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group as part of its “East Asia wilayah” or state, a move that analysts say could embolden foreign fighters to carry out attacks here.

The Republic was among the countries or territories singled out on social media as part of the wilayah – a development flagged by senior analyst Jasminder Singh in a paper published by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies last week. The others are Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, southern Thailand, Myanmar and Japan.

“For foreign fighters coming into the region, this gives them an idea of what they will be in for, and what the targets are,” Mr Singh told The Straits Times yesterday.

He had noticed “chatter on social media” this month singling out specific countries as part of the wilayah, which could be the first time this has been done.

Other security analysts say this could embolden self-radicalised individuals to carry out attacks here, if they are unable to travel to the Middle East to fight.

The development comes as the terrorism threat facing Singapore is at the highest level in recent years, and the country sees a steady trickle of self-radicalised individuals.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that two Singaporean auxiliary police officers were arrested for terrorism-related offences under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

One of them, Muhammad Khairul Mohamed, 24, was detained for planning to travel to Syria to fight against the Syrian government.

Last week, MHA also announced that infant care assistant Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, 22, was planning to travel to Syria with her child to become a “martyr’s widow”, fighting for ISIS.

Experts had warned last year that ISIS would want to create a wilayah, or state, in South-east Asia as it loses territory in the Middle East.

Dr Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, noted that the exact territorial boundaries of the wilayah in East Asia are unconfirmed, as ISIS has not made an official declaration.

But he added that it would probably include parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Dr Gunaratna said: “The growth of the ISIS threat in Singapore’s immediate neighbourhood presents a threat to security and stability here.”

In his paper, Mr Singh had discussed the security implications of the ongoing Marawi City siege in Mindanao, where Philippine forces are fighting to retake the city from ISIS-affiliated militants. The attacks there could “motivate other groups” in the region to carry out similar strikes in the region, he wrote.

Mr Remy Mahzam, associate research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, said an indication of the boundaries of a future wilayah could prompt self- radicalised individuals who face difficulty in travelling to Syria to carry out attacks in the region instead.

This danger is especially relevant in the light of the recent ISA arrests of individuals planning to travel to Syria to fight, he said.

Associate Professor Antonio Rappa, who heads the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ management and security studies programme, said Singapore should be more worried about attacks by “lone wolves and small groups of terrorists”, who could enter the country from Malaysia or Indonesia.

He pointed out that developments in the region that catch media attention – such as the attacks in Marawi – would “increase the confidence level” of would-be terrorists.

An MHA spokesman told The Straits Times that security agencies are closely watching the situation in Marawi, as developments there could have “serious ramifications” for Singapore’s safety and security.

She added that agencies are on the lookout for attempts by militants to use Singapore as a point of transit to go to Marawi and join the insurgency there.

“We will also deal firmly with any Singaporean who attempts to make his or her way to the conflict zones to join in the armed violence,” said the spokesman.

The stabbing at Bishop International Airport, in the city of Flint, comes amid a wave of jihadist-inspired attacks in Europe, most recently a foiled bomb assault at a train station in Belgium.

US officials identified the suspected assailant, who is in custody and cooperating with investigators, as a 49-year-old Canadian resident from Quebec named Amor Ftouhi.

“We’re investigating this incident today as an act of terrorism,” FBI special agent David Gelios told a news conference, detailing Ftouhi’s actions on Wednesday morning based on security camera footage.

Ftouhi was seen lingering with luggage around the airport’s non-secured public areas, including at a second-floor restaurant and a bathroom, before pulling out a 12-inch serrated-blade knife, yelling “Allahu Akbar” — “God is greatest” in Arabic — and stabbing an officer in the neck, police said.

During the attack, Ftouhi “referenced killings in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

He also expressed “hatred for the United States” during questioning in custody, Gelios said.

“He was cooperative and has talked to us about what his motivations were,” he added.

The injured officer was identified as Jeff Neville, a 16-year airport police force veteran.

Neville wrestled Ftouhi to the ground during the assault until others could arrest him, police said. He was hospitalized and is in a stable condition.

“Lieutenant Neville never stopped fighting until I handcuffed this person,” airport police chief Christopher Miller said.

No passengers were harmed in Wednesday’s assault, Bishop International officials said. The airport was evacuated and remained closed until 5 pm (2100 GMT).

Ftouhi faces charges of committing an act of violence at an airport, and is expected to appear at a federal court in Flint.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that an attack on law enforcement would be “investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“President Trump has prioritized the safety of all law enforcement officers, and this Department of Justice is committed to that goal,” he said.

– US, Canada probe attack –

Ftouhi’s Canadian citizenship led to joint operations in Canada and the US, as authorities probed the incident.

Canadian media reported that police searched Ftouhi’s home in Montreal and made three arrests in connection with the attack.

Police had cordoned off the four-story building where Ftouhi reportedly lives, in the Rosemont area of Montreal.

Local television footage showed three people, their faces concealed by blankets, being led away by Canadian gendarmes and provincial police officers.

“We are investigating all of the details,” said Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. “Obviously Canada condemns this heinous and cowardly attack.”

Since the US investigation is ongoing, “it is impossible for us to confirm or identify any suspects whatsoever,” added Montreal police spokesman Benoit Boisselle.

Ftouhi legally entered the United States in Lake Champlain, New York on June 16, Gelios said.

“We’re trying to develop further information as to his timeline and where he went after he entered the United States,” he said.

– ‘Understanding and tolerance’ –

Flint is near the Detroit area, home to a large Muslim-American community. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder responded to news of a possible link to terrorism by sounding a note of caution.

“Even with this attack, we must continue to balance our need for increased security with understanding and tolerance,” Snyder tweeted.

The stabbing comes the day after a suspect with apparent jihadist sympathies set off a bomb in a foiled attack at a Brussels train station.

A day earlier in Paris, a suspected Islamist on a terror watch list rammed a car laden with weapons into a police vehicle, and a man drove a van into a group of Muslims near a London mosque.

In the United States, an attack attributed to anger over politics seriously wounded top Republican congressman Steve Scalise week, when a rifle-wielding critic of President Donald Trump opened fire on lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game.

In this latest incident, the FBI’s Gelios said the Flint attacker was unknown to authorities.

“Preliminary indications are we had no visibility on this individual,” he said.