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Saturday, June 30, 2007

The United Kingdom’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), a division of the security agency MI5, has raised its threat level to critical. Critical denotes that a terrorist attack is expected imminently. The threat is noted as being from al-Qaida, groups associated with al-Qaida, and other Islamic extremists. The change was made as a result of an earlier incident where a burning jeep drove into Glasgow Airport, which has been linked to the attempted London car bombings of the previous day.

MI5 also indicated that, although the threat comes principally from al-Qaida and related networks, Northern Ireland-related terrorism remains a threat.

In a press release Saturday, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, “I can confirm that JTAC has raised the national threat level to critical. This is in response to the events of the last 48 hours. Critical is the highest level of threat, and the threat level will be closely reviewed on a regular basis. Appropriate security measures have been put in place.”

A terror alert system was set up by the UK government to keep the public informed about the level of threat to the UK from terrorism. According to the Home Office, the likelihood of a terrorist attack taking place in the UK is identified in following threat levels:

• critical – an attack is expected imminently
• severe – an attack is highly likely
• substantial – an attack is a strong possibility
• moderate – an attack is possible but not likely
• low – an attack is unlikely

Wednesday, December 24, 2014With the English-language Wikinews continuing to increase the amount of original content published, we take a look back at some of the eighty-plus original reports from our contributors during 2014.

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has begun to address concerns raised by the EU, the Council of Europe, and several member countries about the CIA’s detention practices upon her arrival in Germany for a European tour that began Tuesday.

“As a matter of US policy, the United States’ obligations under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, which prohibits, of course, cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment, those obligations extend to US personnel wherever they are, whether they are in the United States or outside the United States,” said Rice, speaking from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Wednesday.

Media reports and Human Rights groups have alleged that the CIA transported renditioned prisoners through European countries, which could violate European laws and the sovereignty of countries involved. Secretary Rice claimed that the United States has respected the sovereignty of other countries, and that it has not transported detainees from one country to another for the purpose of interrogation using torture, and has not transported anyone to a country when we believe he will be tortured.

“We consider the captured members of Al-Qaeda and its affiliates to be unlawful combatants who may be held, in accordance with the law of war, to keep them from killing innocents. We must treat them in accordance with our laws, which reflect the values of the American people. We must question them to gather potentially significant, life-saving, intelligence. We must bring terrorists to justice wherever possible,” Rice told reporters before she left from Andrews Air Force base on Monday.

Rice said that European nations should realize that interrogations of terrorist suspects have produced information that has saved European lives. However, Secretary Rice provided no specific cases.

“Secretary Rice made extra-legal rendition sound like just another form of extradition. In fact, it’s a form of kidnapping and ‘disappearing’ someone entirely outside the law,” said Tom Malinowski, a Human Rights Watch official in Washington.

The CIA practice known as “extraordinary rendition” is used to interrogate terrorist suspects outside the U.S., where they are not subject to American legal protection.

“Kidnapping a foreign national for the purpose of detaining and interrogating him outside the law is contrary to American values,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on the Khalid El-Masri case. “Our government has acted as if it is above the law. We go to court today to reaffirm that the rule of law is central to our identity as a nation.”

The ACLU feels the government has to be held to account over “extraordinary rendition”.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

A magnitude 8.1 undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami that has killed at least fifteen people, including six children, in the Solomon Islands. Tsunami warnings have been issued for parts of Australia as well.

According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude 8.0 quake struck Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 20:39:56 (UTC) about 45 km (25 mi) south-southeast of Gizo, New Georgia Islands, Solomon Islands, at a depth of 10 km.

Monday, June 23, 2008

2008 COMPUTEX Taipei, the largest trade fair since its inception in 1982, featured several seminars and forums, expansions on show spaces to TWTC Nangang, great transformations for theme pavilions, and WiMAX Taipei Expo, mainly promoted by Taipei Computer Association (TCA). Besides of ICT industry, “design” progressively became the critical factor for the future of the other industries. To promote innovative “Made In Taiwan” products, pavilions from “Best Choice of COMPUTEX”, “Taiwan Excellence Awards”, and newly-set “Design and Innovation (d & i) Award of COMPUTEX”, demonstrated the power of Taiwan’s designs in 2008 COMPUTEX Taipei.

Monday, February 21, 2011

38 people were reported dead Sunday, in a Taliban attack on a bank in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The incident, orchestrated by five suicide bombers disguised as policemen and soldiers, quickly escalated into a confrontation between security forces and the invaders armed with machine guns.

After a several-hour standoff, four of the five attackers detonated their bombs while the fifth was arrested by police. A representative for the Interior Ministry told the press that “Thirty eight people were martyred which includes 21 security forces personnel and 17 civilians.” Members of the police force were apparently receiving their paychecks when the attackers entered the bank and began indiscriminately firing at guards and civilians. 70 others were also wounded.

Although officials refused to itemize the casualties, they claimed that due to the random nature of the gunfire, both security personnel and civilian bankers were killed. Attacks targeting police have become common in the Nangarhar province; this incident was the third major attack this week.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Israeli government has declared the Gaza Strip an “enemy entity” due to the continued firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza. Gaza’s ruling Hamas party has stated that it considers the announcement a “declaration of war.”

The definition means that Israel could stop supplying Gaza with fuel, electricity and other commodities.

“Following extensive legal consultations, Israel has decided to declare Gaza as a hostile entity, with all the international implications. This move will prepare the groundwork for sanctions against Gaza, such as the interruption of gas, electricity and water supply, which will occur in a gradual process,” said an unnamed Israeli government official.

Ehud Barak, the Israeli Minister of Defense said the “objective is to weaken Hamas” , while Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum suggested “…they aim to starve our people and force them to accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference,”

Barak also said that Israel is considering a military operation in the Gaza Strip saying that “every day that passes brings us closer to an operation in Gaza.”

The democratically-elected Hamas party, and its militant wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have been labeled “foreign terrorist organization”s by a number of bodies including the European Union, Israel, the United States, Canada and others.