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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:
Serious and Organized Crime in Northern Ireland

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

Six months after the Indian Ocean tsunami, attention has moved from emergency response to rebuilding. Indonesian workers have recovered 2,226 more bodies from debris, raising that country's death toll to 131,029. The total number of deaths stands at 188,149, while 43,861 are missing and presumed dead.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm
http://www.clintonfoundation.org/062205-nr-cf-tsu-pr-six-months-after-by-wjc.htm
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=102&Body=tsunami&Body1=
http://www.oxfam.org/eng/programs_emer_asia.htm http://www.dec.org.uk/

The new Global Attitudes Survey from the Pew Research Center finds anti-Americanism has slightly abated but the US "remains broadly disliked in most countries surveyed, and the opinion of the American people is not as positive as it once was. The magnitude of America's image problem is such that even popular US policies have done little to repair it".
http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=247

The Anti-Defamation League has released an online database to identify and explain visual symbols, flags and graffiti commonly used by more than a dozen international terrorist groups.
http://www.adl.org/terrorism/symbols/default.asp

60 years ago this weekend, 51 countries joined together to form the United Nations, which is celebrating its founding by looking forward to revitalizing the organization, now 191 countries strong.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/note5949.doc.htm

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2. Africa

The Guardian newspaper describes the lives of 10 African babies to "tell the story of the hopes and fears of a continent", in the special feature "10 babies, 10 years", reflecting the 2015 deadline to meet the Millennium Development goals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/hearafrica05/10babies/0,16105,1511167,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/hearafrica05/0,15756,1399090,00.html

Cameroon reports the death of a soldier and the injury of a second in the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula at the hands of Nigerian troops, in the latest of several attacks this month. Nigeria has denied involvement and says the clashes have been with fishermen. This is the first such fatality in the border area in nearly ten years. The border resolution that determined Bakassi was part of Cameroon has not been fully implemented.
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/prev_dip/africa/office_for_srsg/fst_office_for_srsg.htm

Democratic Republic of Congo postponed elections until December but have started voter registration now. Militia activities in the northeastern Ituri district show increased strength, and additional troops are being considered

Ethiopia's National Election Board says it will investigate only 135 of the 299 election fraud complaints, generating an angry response from the political opposition. Federal police have released 2,665 people detained in mass round-ups during post-election disturbances.

Guinea-Bissau's presidential election ended without a candidate gaining 50 percent of the vote and is moving on to a run-off between frontrunner Malam Bacai Sanha of the PAIGC, the party that led Guinea-Bissau to independence, and military ruler Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira. Kumba Yala, who was ousted in a 2003 coup, came third. One person was killed by police during post election protests.

Ivory Coast's security and humanitarian situation deteriorated further, supporting a UN Security Council decision to bolster the peacekeeping force. However, the addition of 850 troops is far short of the 2,000 requested to keep peace ahead of planned presidential elections.

In Nigeria, the Outlaws militia group in the oil town of Port Harcourt attacked the main prison, freeing several of their leaders. More than a hundred prisoners escaped and five were killed.

Somalia's interim government held talks to end the split over where to base the government but no agreement was reached.

In Sudan, government forces battled rebels (possibly with the Justice and Equality Movement, of the Beja Congress) for control of Port Sudan. Rebels captures 20 government troops and there have been heavy casualties on both sides. In South Darfur, where banditry and militia attacks continue, violence flared between Sudan Liberation Army rebels and government soldiers, killing at least three. In eastern Sudan, Beja Congress rebels attacked and destroyed three government military camps

Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels attacked a northern village, hacking four to death, and seriously injuring five.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has reportedly approved a plan for the UN to send a special envoy to investigate the recent home destruction and trader evictions in the "get rid of trash' campaign. Some 275,000 people have been made homeless. South Africa and the African Union have dismissed calls to intervene.

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3. Americas

At 8:13 a.m. on June 23, 1985 Air India Flight 182 disappeared from radar. It had been blown out of the sky by a bomb planted in Canada, killing all 329 people on board, including more than 200 Canadians. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary, friends, family, and politicians from Canada, India and Ireland paid tribute to the victims.
http://www.canada.com/national/story.html?id=82aaa1f0-92a8-472f-9bbc-885edc0bb444
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2005/040305.html#FeatureArticle

Colombian rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) ambushed government troops in Putamayo province near the border with Ecuador, killing at least 19 soldiers. FARC also battled troops for control of a road near the Venezuelan border, killing six. More than a dozen soldiers are missing and may have been taken hostage. Rebel casualties are unknown.

Ecuador's prisoners have begun self-mutilation ranging from sewing lips to crucifixion to publicize their demands for improved prison conditions, including access to running water and electricity.

Haiti's UN peacekeeping mission has been extended for eight months, with plans to renew it further next year. More than a thousand personnel have been added to support elections planned for next February.

Mexican police have arrested nearly 500 people in an anti-drug operation targeting the border town of Nuevo Laredo, where hundreds of local police are believed to participate in criminal activities related to the drugs trade.

Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos issues a statement that the rebel-held territory was on red alert, sparking fear of violence, but Marcos later said they do not plan a return to combat but are considering other plans and a broader focus.

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology issued 30 recommendations to improve the safety of tall buildings, based on the investigation of the fires and collapses of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11.
http://wtc.nist.gov

A new report from the Government Accountability Office suggests that "Actions Needed to Better Protect National Icons and Federal Office Buildings from Terrorism".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-790

FBI Director Robert Mueller, testifying in an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by FBI agent Bassem Youssef, said that expertise on the Middle East or terrorism is not a criteria for choosing which agents to promote.
http://wid.ap.org/inv/fbijobs.html

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4. Asia Pacific

The Australian Federal Police International Training complex has been opened.
http://www.afp.gov.au/afp/page/Publications/Speeches/230605IntlTrainingComplex.htm

Burma's military government is using mass murder and rape in a slow genocide to assimilate or eliminate ethnic minorities, according to the 600-page report "Dying Alive". The report was based on secret trips into the jungle where researcher Guy Horton collected video, interviews, and other evidence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4121936.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/default.stm

A Taiwanese warship visited the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands that are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Japan, after Taiwanese fishermen claimed they had been harassed by Japanese patrols.

Indonesian intelligence agents have been implicated in the death by poisoning of human rights activist Munir, last September. The investigating team will release its findings to the president and ask the police to follow up. In Aceh province, 15 people were publicly caned for the first time under partial Sharia law implemented in 2001 under an autonomy agreement.

North and South Korea held talks but reached no agreement on resuming negotiations regarding the north's nuclear program. However, South Korea and the US have promised food aid.

Malaysian authorities are on the lookout for 18 suspected Jemaah Islamiah members who are being sought by the Philippines military after they were cited in the southern Philippines.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that Israel has made a formal apology for sending two intelligence agents into the country to obtain a false passport, allowing relations between the two countries to resume.

In southern Thailand, suspected Muslim militants shot then decapitated a man in a teashop. There have been five beheadings in the past two weeks, taking revenge against repressive government measures, but this is the first to be so publicly undertaken.

Uzbekistan has been asked again to permit an investigation into the Andijan events of May 13. A preliminary report based on interviews with refugees reinforces accusations of a deadly crackdown and possible massacre.
http://www.osce.org/odihr/item_1_15234.html
Also note an interview with Sanjar Umarov, who has formed a new opposition group, Serkuyosh Uzbekistonim (Sunshine Uzbekistan).
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47755

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai visited US President Bush in Washington, where they agreed to improve economic ties.

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5. Europe

Cypriot leaders want a settlement but "the gap between the stated positions of the parties on substance appeared to be wide, while confidence between them did not seem high", according to a recent UN report. The parties want to accept the UN plan as the basis for negotiations and resume UN good offices.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8422.doc.htm

Estonia's parliament ratified a border treaty with Russia, adding a preamble that references the Soviet occupation, which could negatively affect Moscow's willingness to sign the treaty.

Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell says that the Irish and British governments will fund a forensic expert to help locate the remains of the Disappeared, five people abducted and murdered by the IRA during the Troubles.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4113272.stm

Italy has issued arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA operatives accused of kidnapping Islamic cleric Osama Mustafa Hassan (:Abu Omar") in 2003 and taking him to Egypt, without court approval in what is termed an "extraordinary rendition", for questioning under torture. Hassan was under investigation in Italy and an arrest warrant for him has also been issues. His whereabouts are unknown, as are those of the CIA operatives.

Russia's State Duma commission investigating the Beslan siege said that the preliminary draft suggested an accidental explosion, not storming the school, set off the firefight. The final report is expected later this year.

Britain's Metropolitan police report a sharp rise in kidnappings attributed to extortion rackets organized by foreign gangs. These now occur at a rate of about one a day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,1511637,00.html

An Orange Order parade scheduled for June 25 was rerouted by the Parades Commission to reduce the risk of sectarian violence. Instead of following the modified route, the parade has been postponed and instead hundreds of Orangemen participated in a protest march.
http://www.grandorange.org.uk/
http://www.paradescommission.org/

Sir Reg Empey has been elected the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, replacing David Trimble who left after he and all but one member of parliament were defeated in the general election.

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6. Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Abbas held a rare meeting in which they failed to reach any new agreements on the Gaza withdrawal or efforts to end Palestinian violence. A number of recent clashes and the resumption of targeted assassinations by Israel have contributed to the lack of progress. Islamic Jihad, the first target, says it will end the "period of calm" if its leaders are targeted/

Iran's ultra-conservative Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been elected president, with 62 percent of the votes, defeating predictions of a close race against former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who won 35.3 percent. Turnout was 47 percent. This major upset puts Islamic conservatives in control of all state organs. The outcome has been attributed to a rebellion against the status quo and economic frustration, and has led to expressions of concern, particularly regarding nuclear programs, from western governments .

June 28 marks one year after sovereignty was restored to Iraq. Prior to the handover, there were at least 160 vehicle bombings that left 580 dead and 1,734 injured. Since the handover there have been more than 479 car bombs that killed 2,174 people and injured 5,520. As for coalition forces, Iraq has lost around 4,895 soldiers, the US 1,731 soldiers, the British 88, and other nations 93. The cost to civilians has been many times this. Among the recent challenges is an attack on a major water main in Baghdad that has left two million residents without drinking water since June 19.

This ongoing violence has eroded support for the war. Bloodshed during the week overshadowed Iraqi Prime Minister Jafari's visit to the US, where he met with President Bush. Their upbeat predictions of progress and victory rang hollow against the suicide attacks, ongoing military operations on two fronts, and a leaked CIA report that the insurgency in Iraq is creating a new type of highly skilled Islamic militants who can move on to destabilize other countries. Also note conflicting testimony before the Senate's Armed Services Committee.
http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=1556
However, the US has committed to indefinite pursuit of their objectives, and the UN Security Council endorsed the transfer of $220,256,697 from the escrow account set up under the former UN arms inspection regime to the Development Fund for Iraq. A balance of $20,256,697 would be credited against Iraq's arrears in its contributions to the UN regular budget, peacekeeping operations and tribunal activities.

Kuwait's new planning minister has been sworn in, becoming the first female to hold such an appointment.

In Lebanon, former Communist Party and anti-Syrian leader George Hawi was killed when his car exploded. The bombing occurred after the anti-Syrian bloc, led by assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's son Saad, won a majority in parliamentary elections.

Saudi security forces report they have killed two militants accused of assassinating a police chief. A web site has reported that most wanted militant Abdullah al-Rashud was killed in a US air strike in Iraq.

Syria would like to reopen its embassy in Iraq soon, and plans to ask for evidence of foreign fighters crossing from Syria into Baghdad, as the US has charged.

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7. South Asia

Afghanistan's ongoing insecurity is being made worse by rampant corruption and fallout from the country?s thriving drug trade, threatening election preparations. The head of the UN mission reported this to the Security Council and emphasized the need to go beyond combat operations to " attack resolutely the financing, the safe havens where the perpetrators trained, and the networks that supported them".
http://www.unama-afg.org
http://www.unodc.org/afg/index.html
Last week, Afghan and US forces conducted operations in multiple locations around the country, resulting in the death of more than 150 suspected Taliban rebels. Despite a massive offensive in the south, two top Taliban leaders targeted were not found.

In the Indian state of Assam clashes killed four separatist rebels and one soldier, while more than 30 suspected associates of the United Liberation Front of Assam have been arrested. Maoist rebels in Bihar state clashed with police, leaving 16 rebels, two police, and two civilians dead after a rebel attack against state offices. In Punjab, state police say that an operation to counter Sikh militants has been successful, including some 24 arrests.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, a bomb blast remotely detonated as an army convoy drove past killed four Indian soldiers and injured several others. Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility. A moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, a separatist alliance, has suggested resuming talks with India, which have been suspended for over a year.

Nepal's Maoist rebels attacked a prison in the east, freeing more than 60 inmates, while leaving five police and two rebels dead. There were more clashes in the east during the week, with unknown casualties, and 12 security personnel were kidnapped. At the end of the week five rebels and a soldiers were killed when rebels attacked a security checkpoint in the western district of Bardiya.

In Karachi, Pakistan, the prominent Sunni Muslim cleric Mufti Attiqur Rahman and a second man were killed in a drive-by shooting. The city is on high alert for possible sectarian violence following the assassination.

The Sri Lankan government and the rebel Tamil Tigers have approved a Memorandum of Agreement to allow the separatists to share in distribution of tsunami aid.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

The impact of the massive data breach reported last week when MasterCard reported that 40 million accounts had been compromised at payment processor CardSystems Solutions, has grown to an international scale as affected accounts emerge from Australia to the UK. Some banks are monitoring suspicious activities without reporting the breach to account holders, while the US congress is considering stronger data security and notification laws. Phishers were quick to seize the opportunity to use this incident to launch a new wave of attacks. Recent security lapses also demonstrate a new focus on smaller companies, which are more susceptible to attacks. These include a recent wave of attacks targeting credit unions.

Drugstore chain CVS closed internet access to loyalty card data following discovery of a security hole that could allow access to personal information.

The US Transportation Security Administration and Social Security Administration both acknowledged unauthorized and undisclosed collection and sharing of personal data. The Internal Revenue Service is also investigating possible breaches. The Pentagon has begun working with a private marketing firm to create a database, including social security numbers and educational details, of all students aged 16 to 18 and in college, to support recruitment efforts.

Yankee Group's new report, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: The Hackers Turn Pro", identifies an increase in vulnerabilities inside security products and describes ways that vendors can better insulate their products from malicious use and better protect their customers. They say that although only one mass exploit has been released, but the Witty worm compromised 100 percent of the computers that ran the targeted product.
http://www.yankeegroup.com/public/news_releases/news_release_detail.jsp?ID=PressReleases/news_06202005_FearandLoathing_PR.htm

An undercover reporter for the Sun newspaper in the UK says that call center workers in India are selling personal financial data that had been outsourced. The allegations are under investigation.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005280724,00.html

Research from CyberArk Software finds vulnerabilities in administrative passwords. Findings of their survey include:

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9. Finance

Nigeria's past rulers stole or misused GBP220 billion, according to Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission - the equivalent of six Marshall Plans. General Abacha himself stole between GBP 1-3 billion.
http://www.efccnigeria.org/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/25/wnig25.xml http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/25/wnig125.xml

American Banker reports that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has decided to impose an informal enforcement action on Wells Fargo. It will address "serious flaws with Wells Fargo and Co.'s anti-money-laundering compliance, including a failure to monitor accounts for suspicious activity and a lack of due diligence on money-services business customers".
http://www.americanbanker.com/article.html?id=20050621BGF7UGVD (registration)

The UN Security Council unanimously extended sanctions against Liberia's diamond exports, noting concern over "the increase in unlicensed mining and illegal exports of diamonds and the National Transitional Government of Liberia's agreement to, and lack of transparency in, granting exclusive mining rights to a single company".
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8419.doc.htm

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime released "Crime and Development in Africa", which finds that " Crime in Africa is driving business away, eroding human, economic and social capital and undermining development". Serious global criminal activities include violent and property crime, much committed by transnational organizations and increasingly funding insurgent and terrorist groups through money laundering, corruption, trafficking, and similar activities.
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/African_report.pdf
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html

Ecuadorian police have broken up an international drugs ring they say was sending up to 70 percent of its profits to Hezbollah.

The governor of the Cusco region in Peru has lifted bans on coca cultivation to permit traditional use such as medicine and tea.

The International Federation of Phonographic Industries' (IFPI) "Commercial Piracy Report 2005" finds that one in three music CDs sold worldwide is an illegal copy, creating a market of illegal music worth nearly $5 billion in 2004.
http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/press/20050623.html

Rand released a new study " Trends in Terrorism: Threats to the United States and the Future of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act". It says that "terrorism insurance system in the United States is failing to provide businesses with adequate financial protection, leaving the nation vulnerable to economic disruption if there is a major terrorist attack".
http://www.rand.org/news/press.05/06.20.html

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10. Human Rights

World Refugee Day was marked on June 20.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/events?id=3e7f46e04

The UN refugee agency announced yearend statistics indicating a fall in the global number of refugees by 4 percent to 9.2 million, the lowest in nearly 25 years. However, the number of internally displaced and stateless people remains high.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=42b191e82

The International Organization for Migration's "World Migration Report 2005" is the first comprehensive study evaluating the costs and benefits of migration. Key findings include:

The Lancet reports that achieving the Millennium Development Goals for child survival is affordable for both donors and developing countries, limited by lack of funding to scale up health delivery. The report estimates that "US $5?1 billion in new resources is needed annually to save 6 million child lives in the 42 countries responsible for 90 percent of child deaths in 2000. This cost represents $1?23 per head in these countries, or an average cost per child life saved of $887." $5 billion is about 6 percent of US spending for tobacco products and far less than the estimated $12-20 billion for annual HIV/AIDS funding. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673605667773/fulltext (registration)
June 26 marks the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. UN human rights officials warn that "torture is reported with growing frequency from all regions of the world and the lives of individuals and their sense of security continue to be scarred by it on a daily basis".
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/5205394A4E4237AEC125702A0035EF0C?opendocument

UN human rights experts expressed deep regrets for the US failure to allow a visit to Guantanamo Bay. They said that " Such requests were based on information, from reliable sources, of serious allegations of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees, arbitrary detention, violations of their right to health and their due process rights. Many of these allegations have come to light through declassified Government documents". The experts asked to visit in order to " examine objectively the allegations first-hand and ascertain whether international human rights standards that are applicable in these particular circumstances are being upheld with respect to those detained persons".
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/C76205166535E5C6C125702900491440?opendocument

The Special Court for Sierra Leone says they are not able to complete their work while former President Charles Taylor of Liberia and former Sierra Leonean coup leader Johnny Paul Koroma remain at large.
http://www.sc-sl.org
http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2005/350

The American Library Association (ALA) released preliminary findings of their survey investigating the impact of federal law enforcement activities in libraries. They say that " Based on the survey findings, ALA believes that public anxiety and librarian concern over law enforcement activity in libraries is justified. Survey results indicate a total of at least 137 legally executed requests by federal and state/local law enforcement in both academic and public libraries have taken place since October, 2001-63 legally executed requests for records in public libraries and 74 legally executed requests in academic libraries".
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=96943

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Wafa Samir Ibrahim al-Biss, a Palestinian woman, was arrested when trying to enter Israel with nearly 10 kg of explosives hidden in her underwear, meant for a suicide bombing instigated by Al-Aqsa martyrs' brigades.

Ahmed Allali was sentenced to 12 months in prison in US court after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his al Qaeda connections.
http://indianapolis.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel05/alqaeda061705.htm

Racid Belkacem was arrested in London where he is held on a Dutch extradition request. He is wanted in the Netherlands for terrorist recruiting, arms offences, and forged documents.

Antonio Flores pleaded guilty in US court to the attempted firebombing of a mosque in El Paso, Texas. He has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Ronald Allen Grecula has been indicted in Texas for plotting to provide material support to al Qaeda.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txs/releases/June2005/050616-Grecula.htm

Amer Haykel, a British pilot, has been arrested in Mexico where officials say that US authorities have linked him to extremist groups connected to the 9/11 attacks. He is currently held on immigration charges.

Metin Kaplan, a radical Muslim cleric known as the "Caliph of Cologne", has been sentenced by a Turkish court to life in prison following his conviction on charges of planning to crash an explosives-laden airplane into the Ataturk mausoleum and overthrow the secular government.

Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter for masterminding the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964. The 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klan leader and preacher was sentenced to 60 years in prison, 20 years for each death.

Steven William Lamont was sentenced to 11 years in prison in Belfast Crown Court for playing a significant role in beating a man he believed was a supporter of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).

Matthew Murphy-Kitto was jailed for 18 months in British court for making 12 hoax bomb calls to his workplace, apparently in revenge for not being promoted.

Abdelghani Mzoudi, charged and cleared of links to the September 11 hijackers, has returned to Morocco voluntarily to avoid forced deportation.

Amari Saifi, deputy head of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has been sentenced to life in prison by Algerian court after being found guilty of forming a terrorist group.

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12. Transportation

Members of the World Customs Organization have unanimously adopted the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade. This initiative addresses the threats of international terrorism, organized crime, and increasing customs offenses.
http://www.wcoomd.org/ie/En/en.html

Arlen Harris and Stephen Fidler write of "Pirates hold Malacca strait shipping hostage to fortune: Attacks are raising security and insurance concerns", in the June 23 issue of the Financial Times. The report warns of rising attacks, particularly kidnapping for ransom, that have led some shipowners to enroll private security companies. They also cite a Shipowners' Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association advisory that its "cover does not extend to include the payment of ransom demands and/or any loss or damage to the vessel or loss of earnings etc during a piracy attack".
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/dc3c9da0-e35d-11d9-b6f0-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=.html

The Maldives and the US have signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement to strengthen cooperation in trade fraud, money laundering, smuggling, export controls, and related security.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/06242005_3.xml

China's Port of Chenzhen has begun prescreening cargo under the US Container Security Initiative.

The US-VISIT program for tracking foreign visitors has flagged previously approved workers, thereby garnering complaints from at least 59 foreign crew members, about half due to false watch-list matches. This and other information is disclosed in documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center under the Freedom of Information Act.
http://www.epic.org/privacy/us-visit/

The use of radiation monitors in cargo containers at sea and spectroscopic monitors at ports was the topic of a June 21 congressional hearing on efforts to stop nuclear smuggling.
http://hsc.house.gov/testimony1.cfm

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The first eyewitness reports of the aftermath of the US attack on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 have been found. At the time, George Weller's reports were censored, and they have only recently come to light.
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/specials/0506/0617weller.html

The US Department of Energy's Office of Independent Oversight and Performance Assurance reports that 16 construction workers who were illegal aliens were able to gain access to the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant using false documents, despite having an access control polity in place.
http://www.y12.doe.gov/
http://www.ig.doe.gov

Britain's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has issued two improvement notices to the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in which they must address deficiencies connected to detection and reliability of monitoring systems following a radioactive leak.

The European Union and the US agreed to cooperative efforts to address terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including resolution of the programs in Iran and North Korea.
http://www.eu2005.lu/en/calendrier/2005/06/20eu-us/index.html
http://usinfo.state.gov/is/Archive/2005/Jun/21-233820.html?chanlid=is
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050620-19.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050620.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050620-1.html

US Senator Lugar commissioned a report on the change of a WMD attack that finds the chance of such an attack somewhere in the world in the next ten years is as high as 70 percent.
http://lugar.senate.gov/reports/NPSurvey.pdf

University of Bristol researchers find that sheltering in place leads to fewer health consequences than evacuation in case of a chemical leak. Their findings are reported in the British Medical Journal of June 25.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7506/0

A new report from the Control Arms campaign finds that G8 countries that account for 84 percent of worldwide arms sales, permit loopholes that allow exports to regimes that violate human rights, increase the poverty of their people, and fight their neighbors.
http://www.iansa.org/control_arms/documents/g8report/g8-control-arms-paper-en.pdf

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14. Recently Published

John Emsley, "The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison", Oxford University Press

Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, "The Official History of the Falklands Campaign",
http://www.falkland-malvinas.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=5820 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4622565.stm

Richard Haass, "The Opportunity", Public Affairs

Husain Haqqani, " Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military", Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (US), Vanguard Books (India and Pakistan)
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=16651
http://www.vanguardbooks.com

Arthur Herman, "To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World", Harper Collins (US). Hodder and Stoughton (UK

Kenneth Levin, "The Oslo Syndrome: Delusions of a People Under Siege", Smith and Kraus Global

Timothy Naftali, "Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism", Basic Books

Paul Ormerod, "Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics", Faber

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FEATURE ARTICLE: Serious and Organized Crime in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's Organized Crime Task Force issued its annual report this week, citing progress in dismantling nearly 30 organized crime gangs, many with links to terrorists, and seizing nearly GBP 12 million through the Assets Recovery Agency.

This year the threat assessment did not find new trends, but reviewed emerging issues of immigration crime and identity fraud as well as international issues that could have an impact. They report that "The extent, sophistication and impact of organised crime are significantly influenced by the involvement of paramilitary organisations; the disciplined structures which were already in place in the paramilitary organisations have allowed them to evolve from effective terrorist organisations into lucrative criminal enterprises, combining the two objectives when required".

The republican groups are connected primarily to "large scale armed robberies and hijackings, smuggling contraband goods (including alcohol and tobacco), intellectual property crime, drugs, extortion and money laundering. They are heavily involved in oils fraud - the smuggling, laundering and misuse of rebated fuel". Similarly, loyalist groups are involved in "drugs supply, intellectual property crime, importation and distribution of contraband goods, extortion, money lending and armed robbery. They are also known to use legitimate businesses, notably pubs, clubs and taxi firms as cover for their illegal operations. Ongoing feuding between the various loyalist factions has also led to a series of violent assaults and murders, attempts to intimidate individuals and businesses and civil disorder all of which increase fear and distrust within the community".

The report warns that it is "increasingly clear in the global context that terrorist groups are turning to organised crime to finance their activities. In Northern Ireland this is not a recent phenomenon. Paramilitary organisations here have long relied on criminal means to finance their activities. One of the principal challenges facing paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland has been financing their activities and they have traditionally engaged in a wide range of criminal activities to generate funds. All paramilitary organisations are engaged in organised crime as a principal means of fundraising. Many organisations are expanding their criminal empires and moving beyond their 'traditional' means of fundraising such as extortion and armed robbery towards more sophisticated and complex forms of crime such as counterfeiting and smuggling. Many of the fundraising activities undertaken by the paramilitary organisations are covered in this report. But it is also worth highlighting that there is a range of other activities which they use to generate money. This includes the use of lotteries, ballots and draws, donations to so-called charitable organisations, the use of seemingly legitimate companies, taxi firms, pubs and clubs in particular, to raise and launder money, provision of unregulated 'security' services, exploitation of government grants and funding, loan sharking and counterfeit documentation. It is hard to determine how much of the money raised through these criminal activities is for personal gain and what proportion goes into funding the individual organisations, but it is clear that criminal activities generate millions of pounds which fund paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland".

Details on the activities of the paramilitary groups follow:

Ongoing feuding between various loyalist factions has also led to a series of violent assaults and murders, attempts to intimidate individuals and businesses and civil disorder all of which increase fear and distrust within the community. Many organisations are expanding their criminal empires and moving beyond their 'traditional' means of fundraising such as extortion and armed robbery towards more sophisticated and complex forms of crime such as counterfeiting and smuggling."

The complete report and other information are available online at:

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