Terrorism Watch

Source: significance media The recent bombing of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, in which 36 people lost their lives, has brought the threat of terrorist attacks back to the world’s attention. Last week Doku Umarov, one of the leaders of Russia’s Islamist movement,  claimed responsibility for the attack , although this has not yet been officially confirmed. Logo of the 9-11 Commission The subject of terrorism is by its very nature highly emotive, and it can be very easy to be swayed by personal feelings. It is therefore particularly interesting to read the results of the European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2010 . The report contains raw facts and figures relating to terrorist attacks, arrests and activities in the EU and is based mainly on information supplied by EU Member States from criminal investigations into terrorist offences, thereby giving a clear insight into the reality of the terrorist threat in Europe. The overview of the report shows that in 2009 in

Source: OpED NEWS Middle East Protests, Violence and Strikes Continue - by Stephen Lendman Whatever set them off, the genie is out of the bottle and spreading from Tunisia to Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Libya, Iraq, and perhaps America, in Wisconsin over proposed wage, benefits, and union bargaining rights cuts. A forthcoming article covers outrage in the US heartland, inspiring others Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, and perhaps wherever aggrieved workers reside, awaken, and react against intolerable outrageous policies. On February 17, New York Times writers Michael Slackman and Nadim Audi headlined, "Bahrain's Military Takes Control of Key Areas in Capital," saying: Its military, "backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, took control of most of this capital (Manama) on Thursday, hours after hundreds of heavily armed riot police officers fired shotguns, tear gas and concussion grenades to break up a pro-democracy camp inspired by the tumult s

Source: TOI BHUBANESWAR: Facing a two-day deadline set by Maoists to meet their demands, Orissa government on Friday appealed to the abductors of Malkangiri district collector R V Krishna to extend the time-frame as it made efforts to negotiate the release of the IAS officer. "My appeal to the concerned persons is to extend the deadline set for this evening and not to harm the abducted district collector and the junior engineer," chief minister Naveen Patnaik said. Showing willingness for talks for safe return of Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi, Patnaik said, "We are in the process of trying to establish contact with persons to discuss and negotiate the release." Soon after Patnaik's appeal, Naxal ideologue VV Rao said he has asked the government to announce by this evening that it would release at least seven persons, who have been jailed in "unreasonable and stray" cases. It would facilitate both extension of the deadline and releas

Source: defenceweb As the world faces the prospect of the worst ever year for piracy, the United Nations has admitted that pirates are becoming masters of the ocean and that 90% of suspected pirates that are captured are released again. Jack Lang, the United Nations Special Advisor on Somali Piracy and former French Culture minister said that “there is this race between the pirates and the international community, and progressively that race is being won by the pirates.” “Piracy still increases,” Lang told the UN Security Council last month. “Nine out of ten pirates captured by naval forces are freed, despite efforts by many states to have a single jurisdiction,” Lang says, and adds that, "this impunity encourages piracy". Indeed, naval forces have released between 500 and 700 pirates over the last three years – some pirates have even been arrested several times, the Economist reports. In January this year there were 35 attacks on ships, with seven of them being succe

Source:  Eurasia Review At least 49 foreign vessels plus two barges are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 811 hostages or captives – including a South-African yachting couple – continue to be held, according to Ecoterra. Ecoterra notes that even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, is admitting that dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping. Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR’s operation ATALANTA is now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were taken. According to Ecoterra, EU NAVFOR also admitted for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is being held hostage than those listed on their file. Since EU NAVFOR’s inception at the end of 2008 the piracy has started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts

Source: riadagestan Karabudahkentsky district, February 15, 2011. On February, 14, a female suicide bomber blew herself up near the police station in the settlement Gubden, in the Karabudahkentsky district of the Republic of Dagestan. As a result of explosion one policeman was killed and four were wounded, the official said. Then another suicide bomber blew himself up at the Gubden checkpoint, when his car was stopped by police officers. As a result of the second explosion one policeman was killed and 17 were wounded. An investigation is underway.

Source: desmoines register The first sign of deep frustrations in the Arab world was the rise of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda and the resort to terrorism. The great joy of the Egyptian revolution is that it shows those same frustrations can produce something vastly more positive and hopeful, possibly the first major democracy in the Arab world. Because they showed an alternative, and better, pathway for Arab aspirations, the triumphant demonstrators in Cairo delivered a body blow to al-Qaeda. The challenge now is to make sure the pathway chosen by the people in Tahrir Square isn't a dead end. Everything depends on it leading to a better life for everyday Egyptians. Egyptians and other Arabs had much to be frustrated about, and not just during the 30-year reign of Hosni Mubarak. The once proud and enlightened Arab culture has been in eclipse for centuries. Arabs were subjugated first by the Ottoman Turks and later by the colonial powers of Europe. After Wo

Source: YLE published  today 06:19 PM, updated  today 06:34 PM A commuter train hit by a bomb attach at Madrid's Atocha station in March 2004. Image: Sergio Barrenechea / EPA According to Wikileaks documents acquired by YLE, the United States has attempted to influence the attitude of Finns towards terrorism in various ways over the years. US Embassy diplomatic cables show that in 2005 the United States was particularly annoyed by the Finnish view that a terrorist attack could not happen in Finland. When a bomb exploded aboard a rush-hour train in the Spanish capital, Madrid, in March 2004, the Finnish leadership of the time condemned the incident and at the same time took a stand on the battle against terrorism. Then-Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen commented on the attack. "It is

                                                               Source: Kashmir Watch, Feb 13 By Sajjad Shaukat At present, our country and security forces are facing suicide attacks, bomb blasts, sectarian violence and targeted-killings coupled with intermittent battles with the militants. Besides civilian casualties, more than three thousand military soldiers and police men have become martyrs in war against terrorism, while maintaining the integrity of the federation. According to the Finance Division’s statement, Pakistan’s economy suffered a loss of more than Rs 2.1 trillion due to the ongoing war on terror. The economy suffered direct and indirect losses in terms of exports, foreign investment, privatization, industrial production and tax collection. Besides, Pakistan’s economy has so far suffered irreparable loss of $68 billion due to turmoil in Afghanistan, and Afghan refugees. It is on record that Pakistan is the only country which has sacrificed more than NATO and USA incl

Source: herald sun February 14, 2011 12:54AM   Serious threat: The national police spokeswoman said investigators could not release details on the biological agent involved, but considered it a "very serious threat." Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: News Limited S AFRICAN police arrested a 64-year-old man on terrorism charges for threatening to deploy a biological weapon. "The suspect repeatedly, through letters and emails, demanded an amount of $4 million in exchange for not deploying a biological agent within the borders of the United Kingdom," the national police force said in a statement. "This biological agent, if deployed, would have caused the destruction of property and resulted in major economic loss." National police spokeswoman Sally de Beer said investigators could not release details on the biological agent involved