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CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Atlantic Storm

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

Ten years after the deadly Kobe earthquake, delegates from 150 countries gathered for the World Conference on Disaster Reduction. They have adopted an action plan, but it lacks deadlines or specific targets for implementation.
http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr/

The Millennium Development Goals report presented a new strategy for meeting the millennial goals that are currently badly off track.
http://www0.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13069&Cr=millennium&Cr1=development

The UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee will meet next week to review state reports and assessing needs. They will review measures for stopping money laundering, regulation of formal and informal money transfers, the activities of charities, freezing and seizing illicit assets, cooperation over financial intelligence, as well as port security, border monitoring, preventing illegal trafficking in arms and hazardous materials and the safe international and legal transit of people and goods.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13086&Cr=terror&Cr1=

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2. Africa

The Algerian government and ethnic Berber leaders has reached an agreement to recognize the Berber language and provide economic aid in a measure to help ease ethnic unrest.

In Democratic Republic of Congo refugees are moving back and forth around the border with Uganda as they attempt to escape the fighting. The militia groups have also targeted aid agencies.

Guinea President Lansana Conte escaped an attempted assassination. Responsibility is not yet known.

In Ivory Coast there have been a number of skirmishes between pro-government and opposition militias. There has been no progress in the peace process, forcing African leaders to consider alternative approaches.

Eritrea says they believe Ethiopian troop movements near the border are provocative not defensive.

Somalia's chief of police has been shot by unidentified gunmen.

Following the peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a smaller rebel group, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has joined the peace process by signing a preliminary agreement. The UN is in discussions regarding a peace-support mission in the region. There has been no improvement in Darfur.

Amid accusations of increased political violence ahead of March elections, Zimbabwe has rejected the US inclusion of the country on its list of "outposts of tyranny".

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3. Americas

Bolivian troops were deployed at oil refineries where anti-government protestors have been acting against fuel price increases. President Mesa reduced the level of increase, but protestors plan to continue.

Brazil reports that 81,000 families were resettled on land acquired by the state last year, well below the target of 115,000. The Landless Workers Movement (MST) plans further illegal occupations.

Grenada has re-established diplomatic ties with China in place of Taiwan.

Mexico has placed its highest security jail under military control following increasing rivalry among drug gangs and the shooting of six prison guards that indicated the likelihood of a mass breakout in an alliance of drug lords Osiel Cardenas and Benjamin Arellano Felix against a third cartel. Other prisons are on maximum alert. Competing drug cartels have also been implicated in an increased level of kidnappings, including US citizens in border areas.

US Secretary of State nominee Condoleezzaa Rice has identified Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe as "outposts of tyranny", to which the US must help bring freedom. The "outposts" have hit back with strong and defiant language. In particular, note Iran in Middle East, below.

The US Conference of Mayors held their winter meeting, complaining the Department of Homeland Security has provided inadequate funding and insufficient information for terrorism protection and response.
http://www.usmayors.org/73rdWinterMeeting/

The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a public notice regarding people wanted for questioning in connection with an alleged effort to smuggle nuclear material into the country in an uncorroborated threat directed against Boston, Massachusetts.
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel05/bostonpr2.htm

Families connected with the World Trade Center disaster will be able to reclaim thousands of personal photographs that were retrieved and restored from the site of the 9/11 attacks.

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4. Asia Pacific

China's ousted leader Zhao Ziyang, who opposed use of force against the 1989 Tianamen Square protestors, has died. China insists their crackdown against the protestors was correct and that Zhao had threatened communist rule. Visitors paying their respects have been monitored, and planning the funeral for the Communist leader is deadlocked, with no agreement over the funeral oration.

Indonesian forces report they have killed 120 rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), despite a ceasefire in place to support

relief efforts, because they allegedly were stealing tsunami aid.
Japan marked the tenth anniversary of the Kobe earthquake that killed more than 6,000 and injured 40,000 people in the space of 20 seconds.

Thailand has issued an avian influenza alert following another outbreak and news that a woman in Vietnam has become the sixth death in three weeks. The World Health Organization says the impact of avian influenza becoming a human pandemic would be more devastating than the tsunami.

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5. Europe

Croatian President Stipe Mesic was elected to a second term in office with 66 percent of the vote.

German prosecutors report the arrest of two alleged members of al Qaeda accused of planning suicide attacks and attempting to purchase uranium.

Russian government plans to change the social security system led to mass protests that continue despite measures to soften the impact on pensioners. In Beslan, more than 300 relatives of victims of the school siege blockaded a major highway to protest corruption, incompetence and negligence in allowing the siege to happen and in the subsequent investigation. They asked for a new inquiry and, after the Kremlin promised talks, lifted the blockade. In Dagestan, a gun battle was ended when a tank razed the house where a group of rebels was fighting. One security officer and ten rebels were killed. Fighting in a nearby town killed three police and one terrorist suspect.

Spanish separatist group ETA set off a car bomb near Bilbao, injuring a police officer, amid rumors of a possible ceasefire.

In the Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko has been sworn in as the new president, ending a long and bitter electoral saga.

Following review of Part VII of Britain's Terrorism Act 2000 the government plans to renew the temporary provisions related to Northern Ireland for another year.
http://www.nio.gov.uk/media-detail.htm?newsID=10785

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6. Middle East

In the Gaza Strip, a weekend of violence culminated in a suicide bombing on Tuesday, shortly before newly elected President Abbas arrived for ceasefire talks. The attacker killed himself and a security agent and injured six Israelis. Hamas claimed responsibility and Israel banned all contacts with Abbas. The next day there were a number of militant attacks against Israeli troops including one exchange of fire that killed two militants. To pave the way for truce talks, Israel lifted the ban on contacts with Abbas and agreed that Palestinian security would be allowed to guard the Gaza border. This police deployment is a crucial test for the Palestinian Authority and has, so far, been effective. Abbas believes a ceasefire will be in place very soon.
Iran was the focus of fresh US attentions last week. First came allegations in the New Yorker Magazine in which investigative

journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that US commandos are carrying out secret missions inside the country to examine nuclear installations. Both the Pentagon and Iran have denied these allegations. Next came a series of statements from US officials. US Secretary of State nominee Condoleezzaa Rice identified Iran as "outposts of tyranny" and President Bush refused to rule out preemptive action against the country. Vice President Cheney said that Iran was at the top of the list of potential trouble spots and warned that Israel may decide to conduct preemptive action against Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programs. Iran and other countries in the region responded in kind to these allegations. Iran's President Khatami said Iran was vigilant against attacks and that a US strike would be madness, emphasizing that Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful. Khatami also responded to US criticisms of Iran's human rights record, citing "relentless killing of people in all parts of the world in the name of freedom and democracy", support for atrocities against Palestinians, and prisoner abuse in Iraq.

Iraq votes for national and local transitional bodies a week from today. Because of the continuing level of insecurity voting will not be held in all parts of the country, candidates have not openly campaigned or even made their names public, and there will be no international observers. The country will be under very high security, including curfews and limited movements. Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has, according to a tape broadcast on an Islamic website, declared war against the election.

Israel launched several air strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Tensions between the two countries remain high.

Saudi Arabia, the site of Mecca, celebrated the Islamic feast of Id al-Adha, ending 70 days of Ramadan. Clerics took advantage of the celebration to ask for regional peace.

In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was holding a toy rifle.

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7. South Asia

Afghanistan has called for more funding for alternative crops to help eliminate the economic dependency on opium. This strategy has gained ground over short-term plans for aerial spraying to eradicate crops. Renowned Afghan warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostam escaped an attempted assassination by a suicide bomber. He was unhurt but 25 people were injured, three critically. The Taleban claimed credit for the bombing.

In the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, two communist rebel groups have broken off peace talks with the state government in protest over police actions against their members in violation of the ceasefire in place since last summer. Fatalities on both sides mounted during the week.

In Gujarat, a government investigation panel found that the 2002 train fire that killed 59 Hindus and sparked deadly religious riots that killed more than a thousand people, mostly Muslims, was caused by an accidental fire, not a deliberate attack by a suspected Muslim mob as originally believed.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, a gun battle with security forces killed two militants; the bodies to two soldiers were found in a burnt-out building. Indian authorities report shooting four suspected militants across the Line of Control and also say that mortar shells were fired across the boundary. Pakistan denies the charge. Both parties are discussing the alleged raids. The World Bank is considering Pakistan's request to mediate a dispute over a dam planned in Indian-administered section of a river, in alleged breach of a shared-water treaty.

India and Nepal have signed an agreement to extradite criminals between the two countries.

Nepal's Maoist rebels killed at least 24 security forces. Six rebels were also killed.

Pakistan is conducting security operations against nationalists in Balochistan province where there have been a number of serious attacks against gas supplies.

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran has appeared in public, praising disaster management in the north and demonstrating that rumors he was killed in the tsunami were false. Norway's foreign minister, Jan Peterson, is meeting with both the government and rebels in another effort to restart peace talks.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

Britain's department for Trading Standards has found that passports to stop the spread of disease among cattle are being illegally traded on the black market.

The Royal Military College of Science at Cranfield University in the UK has warned of "Evil Twin" wireless hotspots. Dr. Phil Nobles says that "users think they've logged onto a wireless hotspot connection when in fact they've been tricked to connect to the attacker's unauthorised base station. The latter jams the connection to a legitimate base station by sending a stronger signal within close proximity to the wireless client - thereby turning itself into an "Evil Twin". Once the user is connected to the "Evil Twin" the cyber criminal can intercept data that is being transmitted such as bank details or personal information. And cyber criminals don't have to be that clever to carry out such an attack....Because wireless networks are based on radio signals they can be easily detected by unauthorised users tuning into the same frequency".
http://www.rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk/marketing/hotspots

The W32/VBSun-A virus masquerades as a plea for tsunami relief donations but instead takes over the target computers to launch a denial of service attack. There are a number of fraudulent email scams also being transmitted by email, similar to Nigeria letters.
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/vbsuna.html
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/hoaxes/tsunami.html

Apple iTunes users should upgrade to version 4.7.1 to avoid a potential buffer overflow vulnerability that could permit execution of malicious code.
http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=180&type=vulnerabilities
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes471.html

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9. Finance

Recip Yimaz, a Turkish man known as a prolific heroin dealer, was ordered to repay GBP850,000 during the next two years or face four more years in prison, where he has been following a March 2004 conviction for drug trafficking and money laundering.

The state of Israel and five Israeli banks were ordered to return over NIS 1 billion ($30 million) in assets held in accounts of Holocaust victims. The order follows the findings of a 4-year parliamentary committee inquiry.

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is now offering a web-based distribution system for searching records for information about terrorists, terrorist organizations and money launderers on the search lists.

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10. Human Rights

January 24 marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps in which up to 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of others deemed undesirable were killed.

German members of the European Parliament have called for a Europe-wide ban of the swastika following an incident in which British Prince Harry wore it on a costume. The Hindu Forum in the UK responded that it is the second most sacred symbol in Hinduism.

JP Morgan Chase, the second largest US bank, has apologized for its subsidiaries' involvement in the slave trade, in which they were used as collateral, and is establishing a scholarship program for black students.

Rwanda's traditional Gacaca courts have begun investigations for genocide trials that will start early next year.

In Uganda, around 400 prisoners on death row have launched a legal challenge that hanging is cruel and degrading and therefore illegal.

The International Federation of Journalists published its annual report. Covering 34 countries, it finds that 129 journalists and media employees were killed last year, the worst 12-month toll on record. They called for governments to take seriously investigations of media killings, pointing to examples of unsolved deaths in Iraq, the Ukraine and elsewhere and includes information on the affect of the Indian Ocean tsunami.
http://www.ifj.org/

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Vidoje Blagojevic was found guilty of complicity in genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and sentenced to 18 years prison by the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Dragan Jokic, also connected with the massacre, was sentenced to nine years prison.

Martin Doherty, known as PIRA 9, was jailed for three months for contempt of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in the events of the 1972 incident.

Tahar Izerouel was arrested in Spain in connection with providing logistical support for the September 11 attacks on the US.

Alena Morozova has been granted political asylum in the US. She had claimed that Russian authorities orchestrated a bombing campaign attributed to Chechen separatists.

Colm Murphy, the only person jailed for the 1998 Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland, has won a new trial following an appeal against his conspiracy conviction.

Zara Murtazaliyeva was sentenced to nine years prison after being found guilty in Russian court of planning terrorist attacks in Moscow.

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12. Transportation

At their winter meeting, members of the US Conference of Mayors raised urgent concerns regarding transportation of hazardous materials and asked to be informed in advance of the contents of trains passing through their cities.
http://www.usmayors.org/73rdWinterMeeting/hazmatmineta_011805.pdf

Mexico and the US have opened a dedicated lane for approved cargo trucks to travel and discussed other border security initiatives.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0599.xml

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The International Atomic Energy Agency has asked Iran to allow another inspection of the Parchin military complex, following partial access allowed the week before.

The US has imposed sanctions against seven Chinese firms under the 2000 Iran Non-Proliferation Act. They are accused of selling nuclear technology to Iran.

A new report, "Business and HIV/AIDS: Commitment and Action", finds that businesses rarely establish policies to address the threat until 20 percent of a countries' population is infected.
http://www.weforum.org

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14. Recently Published

Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, "102 Minutes: The Untold story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers" Henry Holt/Time Books

Ian Kershaw, "Making Friends with Hitler: Lord Londonderry, the Nazis and the Road to War" Penguin

Philip Nobel, "Sixteen Acres: Architecture and the Outrageous struggle for the Future of Ground Zero" Metropolitan/Henry Hold

Arun Shourie, "Governance and the Sclerosis That Has Set In" ICA/Rupa

P. W. Singer, "Children At War" Pantheon

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FEATURE ARTICLE: Atlantic Storm

Atlantic Storm was a tabletop exercise simulating the attack of a pathogenic agent on transatlantic nations. Operating in real time with no other political or economic context, the exercise was held on January 14.

As an informal group of international leaders gathered to meet in Washington D.C. for a "Transatlantic Security Summit" to prepare for terrorists using weapons of mass destruction, news began to emerge that several European countries were infected with smallpox. The assembled leaders held an emergency meeting to address the threat.

The world leaders included:

The script said the attack was carried out by a new group named Al-Jihad Al-Jadid. The scenario was based on the plausible scenario of obtaining seed stock of the smallpox virus from a bioweapons facility in the former Soviet Union. Members of the group were trained at Indian and US universities and included a former Soviet weapons scientist. They used publicly available technical information on how to prepare the virus in a dry powder, using readily available laboratory equipment. Vaccinated terrorists then walked through target locations for several hours during peak occupancy, using a commercial dry powder dispenser to disperse the powder. Note that this is a much simpler approach than attempting dispersal with a bomb, and relies on the high person-to-person transmission rate associated with smallpox.

The initial attack sites included Frankfurt Airport (16,000 infections), the Rotterdam Metro System (8,000 infections), the Warsaw Metro (12,000 infections), Los Angeles International Airport (16,000 infections), New York's Penn Station (24,000 infections) and the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul (8,000 infections) for a total of 76,000 infections. Based on this, cumulative cases/deaths by the end of February (using only a 25% mortality rate) was:

When infections spread worldwide, millions died.

As the scenario unfolded, rioting broke out at the German/Polish border and participants discussed how to control panic. They agreed that closing borders would create panic and damage economies, but both Germany and the Netherlands, with enough smallpox vaccine to protect their populations, closed their borders anyway. (France, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, and UK are the only countries with enough vaccine to protect their entire populations.)

Turkey, with no vaccine stockpile, asked for international assistance under the NATO treaty, but by the end of the exercise no country had offered to help. Participants considered whether they could dilute vaccine to stretch supplies. Clinical trials in the US show that Dryvax vaccine is effective diluted 5 to 1, but European participants were opposed to dilution. Similarly, using ring vaccination versus mass vaccination was hotly debated.

In the end, countries quickly turned inward, taking steps to protect their own populations immediately, irrespective of the longer-term outcomes. Decisions turned on whether or not participants had vaccine. There were similar findings in the Dark Winter simulation in May 2002. It portrayed an attack in the US and found that a shortage of vaccine crippled the response. Since then the US has built its vaccine stockpile and promised to provide 20 million doses to a World Health Organization stockpile.

The vaccine shortage is only one aspect of incident preparedness. Reports and exercises such as these all point to these common factors:

NOTE:

You can get more details, photos, and source material from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Center for Biosecurity at http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/

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