Terrorism Watch

I realized that the collapse of British society into a Hobbesian nightmare of mutual predation and despair was still some distance off when I caught two little straws in the wind. The first was a well-framed photograph of a badly scorched bit of London, taken on the morning after a night of riots and vandalism. Apart from heavily accoutered cops, the only human figures on the scene consisted of a forest of sleeveless forearms, all brandishing the long handles of mops and heavy-duty scrubbing brushes. The ordinary working day had scarcely begun, but the process of digging out and cleaning up, inaugurated by the volunteer locals, was already under way. Of course, I thought to myself. Inflict a physical disaster on any British city, but especially on London, and the inhabitants seem to know, without any previous training for the role, that they have been cast in a remake of Britain Beats the Blitz . The second exhibit you may already have seen. If not, then make haste

Source: nationalpost Allen McInnis/Postmedia News Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois is enduring fresh attacks from separatists in the Nouveau Mouvement pour le Québec, which calls the PQ “worn out” and “confused.” The latest group of separatists making life difficult for Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois published a high-flown manifesto this week announcing the dawn of a new era. “Suddenly, everything is opening up,” the Nouveau Mouvement pour le Québec declared. But this supposed new era has a feel of déjà vu. In the 1960s, proponents of Quebec independence, from the moderate to the radical, were scattered among different political groups before uniting under the banner of René Lévesque’s PQ. If the disintegration of the party Lévesque founded continues — and so far Ms. Marois appears powerless to stop it — Quebec separatists could be headed back to the ’60s, when their lack of unity robbed them of political clout. Since the NDP r

Source: NDTV Kathmandu:  Inspired by activist Anna Hazare's protest against corruption in New Delhi, women activists in Nepal and human rights workers championing women's rights have begun a hunger strike in capital city Kathmandu, seeking a new Constitution within the August 31 deadline. "We are proud that our protest resembles Anna Hazare's," said 53-year-old Som Prasad Bhandari, general secretary of Bhumi Adhikar Manch, an NGO that seeks to protect the rights of landless squatters. "We wish he would come to Nepal." Defying incessant rainfall and a transport strike, Bhandari and over a dozen others, mostly women, sat on a hunger strike before Nepal's Parliament, asking the political parties to stop squabbling for power, form a government on the basis of consensus and produce the first draft of the new Constitution that has already been delayed by nearly 15 months. "There is a parallel between Anna Hazare

Source: todayszaman The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip announced early on Saturday they were no longer committed to a more than two-year de facto truce with Israel since the end of a war in early 2009.       The statement was broadcast over a Hamas radio station after Israel pounded coastal Gaza for two days with air strikes in response to rocket salvoes and attacks on Thursday that killed eight Israelis.      "There is no longer any truce with the enemy," the statement said in a move seen as paving the way for Hamas to escalate the violence with Israel.   Israeli airstrikes killed four Palestinian militants in Gaza while Palestinians fired rockets into southern Israel, hitting a synagogue and a school and wounding several Israelis in the aftermath of the deadliest attack against Israelis in three years. Palestinian militants in Gaza launched more than two do

Source: todayszaman Turkish security forces on Friday detained dozens of suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in operations carried out against the terrorist group across the country.   Counterterrorism teams raided 24 separate premises in the Yüksekova district of the southeastern province of Hakkari and detained 12 people. News reports said four suspected PKK members were also detained in İstanbul in an anti-PKK operation. Turkey has recently stepped up operations against the PKK after the terrorist group intensified attacks against Turkish security forces. The PKK killed eight soldiers and a village guard on Wednesday in an ambush in Hakkari.

Source: todayszaman Sixteen warplanes participated in aerial raids against terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party hideouts in northern Iraq in the second day of the military operations on Thursday. Turkey is preparing to take the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to northern Iraq by turning outposts it has maintained for intelligence gathering there since 1995 into operational front garrisons, Today's Zaman has learned. According to confidential sources talking about Thursday's National Security Council (MGK) meeting, chaired by President Abdullah Gül, the government has decided to restructure the troops it has deployed in the Bamerni, Batufa, Kanimasi and Dilmentepe outposts in Northern Iraq. The Bamerni garrison will be turned into a logistics center for supporting major operations to be conducted against the PKK militants in the region. Turkey maintains 2500 troops in N

Read more at: ndtv   Washington:  India has experienced a lesser number of deaths due to terrorist attacks last year, but still it remains one of the most terrorism-afflicted nations in the world, a US report said. It however added, "The loss of nearly 1,900 lives (civilian, security forces, and terrorists) still made India one of the world's most terrorism-afflicted countries. The report, which is the annual State Department Country Report on Terrorism for 2010, said that India continued to see a reduction in the number of deaths attributable to terrorist violence, as it ramped up its counter-terrorism capacity building efforts and increased cooperation with the international community, especially the US. It however said, "Sustained violence in Jammu and Kashmir over a six-month period and attempted infiltrations from Pakistan across the Line of Control (LoC) remained serious concerns for the Indian government. "In May, an Indian

Source: SANANEWS WASHINGTON, (SANA): The US State Department report said that Pakistan faced severe kind of terrorism in the year 2010, resulting in death of more than two thousand people. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the FATA becomes the hub of terrorists, adding that Pakistan Army tried its best to get out of terrorism but could not be able to fully end the menace. The US State Department issued its annual report of 2010 on war against terrorism. According to the report Pakistan faces internal, external and regional threats from the terrorist groups, adding that a number of terrorists including in terrorist activities were arrested while some of them were punished. Meanwhile the Pakistan Army conducted operations against the terrorists but could not eliminate the terrorists in affected areas. Pakistan becomes the safe haven of terrorists; meanwhile the civil administration and military tried their

Source: Todayszaman Amid increasing terrorist attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Kurdish intellectuals and politicians who have long supported peaceful activism over terrorism as a means to achieve their political goals are expressing dismay over recent developments and saying that there is no good reason for the PKK's terrorist attacks.   The wave of PKK attacks and the state's response to them has caused an abrupt change of tone and heightened the prospects for intensified conflict. The Turkish armed forces could launch a ground incursion against militants in northern Iraq, following up on a new round of air assaults, the first in the area since July 2010. Kurdish writer Muhsin Kızılkaya said that supporters of peace are at loss. “We are in a position that leaves us speechless. It is impossible to comment on the PKK attack in Çukurca,” he said, referring to an ambush by PKK members on a military convoy in Hakkari province’s Çukurca district

Source: Expressbuzz ZAWIYA: NATO warplanes sunk a tugboat carrying troops loyal to Moammar Gaddafi away from the strategic western city of Zawiya as rebels advanced closer to the Libyan capital, the alliance said Friday. The attack struck the boat Wednesday as rebels in Zawiya laid siege to Libya's last functioning oil refinery in a symbolic coup for the opposition, although government forces still hold the center. An officer with the alliance said the boat was targeted because the troops on board were "threatening civilians," but he declined to elaborate on the threat. "They weren't fleeing, they were continuing their attacks against local civilian population," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to NATO policy. He said a rescue attempt was made after aircraft spotted several individuals swimming toward a nearby buoy. Libyan rebels have clashed with Gaddafi troops in Zawiya this week in an attempt to take the city an

Source: Expressbuzz NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from Anna Hazare, a 68-year-old Pakistani businessman is set to go on hunger strike in Islamabad from Sep 12 to declare war on endemic corruption in his country. Expressing his admiration for Hazare, Jehangeeer Akhtar complained that corruption was a far more serious disease in Pakistan. Activist Akhtar wants the Pakistan parliament to pass an anti-corruption law -- like what India is now planning. "I demand that an anti-corruption bill be presented in the National Assembly," said Akhtar, who has closely followed the anti-corruption war in India. He said the Pakistani bill should be on the lines of what gets passed in India's parliament. "Corruption in Pakistan is more than in India... bahut zyada (much more)," Akhtar told IANS in a telephonic interview from Islamabad where he runs a photography business. It is not the first time Akhtar will be taking up cudgels for a cause. "I once sat on a hu

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Source: telegraphindia Dibrugarh, Aug. 18:  Maoist rebels, who are trying to establish a strong foothold in Upper Assam and adjoining districts of Arunachal Pradesh, seem to be emulating the tactic used by Ulfa’s Paresh Barua group to lure young blood into its fold — offering cash incentives to fresh recruits. This came to light after the arrest of five Maoist rebels from various areas in Namsai subdivision of Arunachal Pradesh’s Lohit district on Wednesday. A police official today told  The Telegraph  that the Maoists had so far recruited around 25 youths from villages near the Assam-Arunachal border. “An incentive of Rs 2,000 is given to any youth who joins the outfit. We discovered this from the diary entries of one of the arrested rebels, Debojit Borgohain, who has confessed to being the training co-ordinator of the outfit,” sub-divisional police officer of Namsai sub division, S.B. Gohain, said. The rebels, with Borgohain’s diary and some arms and ammunition in their

Source: HT Ten policemen and one civilian were shot dead by suspected Maoist rebels on Friday in an ambush in Chhattisgarh, according to police. Five Maoists were also killed in the clash in Chhattisgarh, police added. The Maoists opened fire on the policemen as they escorted a vehicle carrying food supplies to a police station. The attack occurred in the town of Depla in Bijapur district, some 550 kilometres of Raipur. "Ten policemen and the driver of the supply vehicle were killed in the ambush by Maoists," the state's chief of anti-Maoist operations Ramniwas, who goes by one name, told AFP. "In the exchange of fire, at least five Maoists also died," he said, adding that security reinforcements were rushed to the area. Bijapur has witnessed a number of deadly clashes between leftwing rebels and security forces. In June, 10 policemen were killed in the state in a landmine explosion, and five others died when the rebels raided a police camp. The Maoi

Source: DNAINDIA An Iranian ship hijacked by Somali pirates was intercepted by the Indian navy on Monday off the Mumbai coast and nine suspected pirates were arrested. Sleuths of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), anti-terrorist squad, and central and state intelligence bureaus have been jointly interrogating the nine pirates. "The Indian navy had located the ship on Monday and captured the crew members who are believed to be pirates. Navy personnel have also seized two AK-47 rifles, a 9-mm pistol, 60 rounds of ammunition and some foreign currency," the police said. The Iranian cargo vessel, MNV Nafiz, was then brought by the Navy to Porbandar. "Preliminary investigation has revealed that the pirates were drifting at sea for the last two days because they were unable to find the correct direction. All the crew members are being interrogated," said Dipen Bhandram, SP, Porbandar police. This is the fourth incident in the last few months in which pirates

Source: heraldsun Round-the-world race: Crew stand on deck of yacht PUMA during the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008. Race organisers have had to change the route in the Indian Ocean off East Africa to avoid pirates. FEARS of pirate attacks have forced the organisers of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race to redraw the route. Fears of attacks by pirates in the Indian Ocean has forced the organisers of the 2011-12 race to redraw the second and third leg routes in the 39,000 nautical mile challenge. The competing boats were due to have sailed through an East African corridor in the Indian Ocean on the second leg from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi and again in the third leg from Abu Dhabi to Sanya in China. After taking advice from marine safety experts Dryad Maritime Intelligence and the sport's governing body, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), race organisers decided that sticking to the original route would put crews at too much risk. Instead the boats will race from Ca

Read more: sfgate Volvo Ocean Race organizers say the route for the second and third legs of the around-the-world sailing race will be altered because of the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean. Boats in the second leg will depart from Cape Town, South Africa, and head to an undisclosed port before being transported closer to the finish in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the third leg, the boats will start from Abu Dhabi before being transported to another location ahead of the finish in Sanya, China. Race chief executive Knut Frostad said, "We have consulted leading naval and commercial intelligence experts and their advice could not have been clearer: 'Do not risk it.' " The race begins in October in Alicante, Spain, and will finish in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012. It will cover 39,000 nautical miles.

Source: Strategypage No Harm In Trying August 19, 2011: The EU (European Union) is seeking a Somali pirate cultural advisor. The recruiting ad makes it clear that the successful applicant must be able to give expert advice on how Somali culture influences and sustains piracy, and be knowledgeable about how the Somali pirates currently operate. The EU, and other nations dependent on sea transport, are growing increasingly frustrated with the Somali pirates. At the moment, none of the existing “solutions” is very useful. New ideas and techniques are being sought. Currently, there are three main choices for dealing with the pirates. You can keep doing what is currently being done, which is patrolling the Gulf of Aden and shooting only when you see speedboats full of gunmen threatening a merchant ship. The custom appears to be that you fire lots of warning shots, and rarely fire at the pirates themselves. This approach has saved a few ships from capture, and the more warships you

HONG KONG  ( Reuters ) - Hong Kong police said on Friday they had arrested a businessman who allegedly hacked into the news website of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx), the world's biggest bourse operator by market value. "With full cooperation of the IT department of the Hong Kong exchange, police swiftly obtained the relevant computer records for analysis," a police officer told reporters. The 29-year-old businessman was arrested on Thursday in Kwun Tong in Kowloon for committing an "offence of access to computer with dishonest or criminal intent," the officer said without giving further details. Any person convicted of such a crime is subject to a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. The cyberattack led to a half-day trading suspension of several blue chip counters, such as HSBC Holdings Plc and HKEx itself, as well as hundreds of derivatives. The police seized a total of 5 computers, 2 mobile phones and 2 digital storage de

Source: v3 Kaspersky Lab founder Eugene Kaspersky has taken to the web to have a pop at rival McAfee's recent  Operation Shady RAT revelations , claiming that many of the report's conclusions are unfounded and that the firm is being deliberately alarmist. The report detailed a large-scale and long-term hacking attack spanning 14 countries and compromising 72 organisations, including the United Nations, defence contractors and even Olympic committees, over a five-year period. The attackers, who many believe to have links with the Chinese authorities, are said to have begun with a standard spear phishing email sent to someone with appropriate access rights in a company. The malware is then said to have initiated a backdoor communication channel to the command-and-control web server. "This will be quickly followed by live intruders jumping on to the infected machine and proceeding to quickly escalate privileges and move laterally within the organisation to esta