Return to Newsletter Archive

AUTHOR:
TerrorismCentral Editorial Staff

TITLE:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter - March 5, 2006

SOURCE:
TerrorismCentral, March 5, 2006

TEXT:

This weekly Newsletter provides an electronic update to our monthly print publications. This week's news around the world includes:

• The capture of Shaikh Abdur Rahman, head of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)  in the Global Terrorism Monitor
• The infamous raid by masked police on Kenya's flagship Standard newspaper, in Political Risk Monitor
• AML/CFT Monitor's updates on regulations and the discovery that al Qaeda used cash couriers to help finance attacks in Bali and Java, Indonesia
• The economic impact of avian influenza is addressed in Emerging Threat Monitor
• Critical Infrastructure Monitor provides a progress report on Dubai Ports World acquisition of P and O, and the controversy it has generated in the US
• Discovery of the "Pompeii of the East" is among the topics in Disaster Recovery Monitor
• Recommended reading reviews books covering the science, practice, and history of climate change


CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. Global Terrorism Monitor
2. Political Risk Monitor
3. AML/CFT Monitor
4. Emerging Threat Monitor
5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor
6. Disaster Reduction Monitor
7. Recommended Reading
8. Asset Management Network News


1. Global Terrorism Monitor

--------------------------------------------------
GTM Africa
--------------------------------------------------

The Global Terrorism Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For subscription information, emailinfo@tamni.com.

Foreign Policy in Focus has released new policy analysis, "Desert Faux: The Sahara's Mirage of Terrorism" that addresses the purpose and efficacy of the US Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative.
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/3136

Algeria has begun implementing the amnesty that was approved last month, by freeing the first group in what is expected to be up to 2,000 Islamic militants that will be released over the next several days.

In Democratic Republic of Congo, government troops supported by UN peacekeepers fought former militiamen with the Patriotic Resistance Front in Ituri (FRPI) who have joined the new militia, Movement for the Revolution in Congo (MRC). The joint force encountered heavy artillery and mortar fire when they attacked the militia on Monday. On Wednesday, about 50 Congolese soldiers mutinied. Unhappy about their conditions of service, they refused to fight, threatened their commanders, fired shots in the air and at a UN helicopter, and ransacked the UN camp, stealing food rations. The joint operation was suspended, leaving up to 10,000 militiamen to continue their attacks against villagers in Tcheyi. During the abortive operation, six militiamen and one army soldier were killed, and at least ten were injured. About 300 villagers joined 4,000 that had previously fled militia attacks.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) freed six of the foreign hostages they hold. Two US and one British national are still detained because they are considered of higher value since their countries have vested oil interests in the region. MEND says they will continue attacks in other regions, and called for neutral arbitration of the conflict. Itsekiri youths in Delta State, associated with the Iwere Development Association, have issued a 21-day ultimatum to stop operating in ancestral lands since they can no longer guarantee the safety of the workers involved in oil exploitation.

A UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff member, Robert McCarthy, was abducted in Somalia by armed men, but was released unharmed.

In Sudan's Darfur region, increased killings and movement restrictions in recent months have led to a UN Security Council resolution that would impose a travel ban, asset freezes, and International Criminal Warrants on up to ten members of the government and others involved in the crisis. The measures are likely to be adopted within the next two weeks.  
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Americas
--------------------------------------------------
Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are suspected in an attack on a town councilors' meeting in the village of Rivera. The suspected rebels, dressed as police, opened fire on the meeting, killing at least seven people.

The second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN) is in peace talks with the Colombian government. In support of that, they declared a ceasefire ahead of legislative elections this month, and called for voters to support candidates committed to the peace process.

Following a court order, the US Department of Defense has released records of combatant status review tribunals and administrative review board summaries of 317 of the nearly 500 people held at Guantanamo Bay. These records had previously been redacted to remove names and other identifying information. This is the first time names of detainees have been publicly disclosed since the facility opened in early 2002. Also note a list of detainees identified and verified by the Washington Post. This Newsletter will share the findings as analysts study the 5,000 or so pages.
http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/index.html
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2006/20060303_4387.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/nationalsecurity/guantanamo_detainees.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gitmo4mar04,0,7448482.story?track=tothtml

The US Senate Committee on Armed Services held hearings on current and future worldwide threats to national security. Testimony included warnings of the surge in attacks in Iraq and warnings of civil war and the impact of al Qaeda in Iraq.
http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=1758

Kevin Jonas, Jake Conroy, Lauren Gazzola, Darius Fulmer, Andy Stepanian, and Josh Harper were found guilty in US federal court of charges of "animal enterprise terrorism". The six animal rights activists are members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), which has been associated with violence and intimidation against animal researchers. This is the believed to be the first case under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act of 1992
http://www.fbresearch.org/AnimalActivism/IllegalIncidents/SpecialReportSHAC.htm
http://www.huntingdon.com/
http://www.shac.net/
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/pl102346.htm
http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/23185/
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Asia Pacific
--------------------------------------------------
Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Sally Neighbour has interviewed Jack Thomas, ("Jihad Jack"), the first person convicted under Australia's new anti-terrorism laws.
http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200602/s1579621.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2006/s1579056.htm

Burmese soldiers fought Indian separatist rebels with the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland in northern Burma. At least ten soldiers and three rebels were killed, and there were several injuries.

Indonesian soldier Yuli Harsono was sentenced to four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge by a military court. He was convicted of stockpiling explosives and ammunition for the militant Muslim group, the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI). MMI was founded by militant cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

In the Philippines province of Basilan, an Abu Sayyaf gunman is suspected of shooting dead Mayor Luis Biel in his office. The suspect was killed in the security response, and an investigation to determine the motive is under way. On Mindoro, New People's Army (NPA) guerillas ambushed and killed two police officers and their driver. Three were injured. They had been involved in guarding a telecommunications tower previously attacked by NPA. NPA was also suspected in a landmine that killed two policemen and a civilian.

A spate of attacks in southern Thailand included shootings and bomb attacks that killed at least two and injured more than a dozen. Twenty arson attacks were coordinated across Pattani and Songkhla. Songkhla has experienced little of the violence common in the south, and this incident has raised warning flags and increased security in the area.
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Europe
--------------------------------------------------
Fehriye Erdal has been sentenced in Belgian court to four years in prison for membership in the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party - Front (DHKP-C). The Turkish group is banned and listed internationally as a terrorist group. She is wanted in Turkey in connection with the assassination of a Turkish businessman, but was not extradited because at the time Turkey had a death penalty. At the trial, four other defendants were acquitted, and six received jail sentences of between four and six years on weapons and false document charges. When police arrived at Erdal's home to take her into custody she had fled. An international arrest warrant has been issued, and Turkey has demanded her recapture.

Rachid Ramda's trial has opened in France, regarding his involvement in the 1995 Paris Metro bombings that left eight people dead. He had been in a UK prison for ten years fighting his extradition to France, which finally took place last December. Two other Algerians were sentenced in 1999 to life in prison for membership in the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which claimed credit for the bombings. Allegations of torture related to the police investigation were made in a recent book, "Place Beauveau", (Jean-Michel Decugis et al, Laffont), and are under investigation.

Ireland's investigation into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings has been given new security documentation that has been described as a breakthrough. The Irish government has extended the deadline for the final inquiry report to the end of May. The loyalist Ulster Defense Force (UVF) admitted responsibility for the attacks that killed 33 people, but aspects of the police inspection left open other questions.
http://www.taoiseach.irlgov.ie/eng/index.asp?docID=2044

The Smithwick Inquiry into allegations that a rogue Garda officer helped the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to murder two senior Royal Ulster Constabulary men has opened in Dublin.

The UK House of Lords defeated a government bill to outlaw glorification of terrorism by 160 votes to 156.

Northern Ireland police raided a bar after receiving information that members of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) had gathered for a show of strength. 17 men, including about half dressed in combat-style uniform, were arrested. They are being held and questioned under the Terrorism Act. Eleven will be charged in court on Monday.

The BBC has launched a groundbreaking television series in which Archbishop Desmond Tutu brings together the victims and perpetrators in the Northern Ireland conflict for the first time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/programmes/4758802.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/programmes/?id=facing_truth
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Middle East
--------------------------------------------------
In a 2-year-old manifesto posted on a web site, al Qaeda urges its members to attack oil pipelines and tankers in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which are under the control of infidels and therefore legitimate targets. However, oil wells are must be preserved because its wealth should be used for Muslims.
http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?alter=print&id=12370&PHPSESSID=e2fc3b8e964175f9e0c77092b26dd91e

UK-based Al-Hayat newspaper interviewed Palestinian leader Abu Mazen, who said he has preliminary intelligence of al Qaeda operating in Gaza and the West Bank.
http://english.daralhayat.com/Spec/03-2006/Article-20060303-c098ab0b-c0a8-10ed-00c1-5565d99ff30d/story.html

British members of militant organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, Ian Nisbet and Reza Pankhurst from London, and Maajid Nawa, have been granted early release in Egypt. They had been arrested in 2002 and convicted, along with 23 Egyptians, in the state security court. They will return to the UK, where Hizb ut-Tahrir has not yet be banned.

Khaled al-Dahdouh, an Islamic Jihad commander, was blown up as he drove through Gaza City. He had survived eight Israeli assassination attempts, but Israel denied involvement in this attack.

In southern Iran, the center of the oil industry, bombs went off in the governor's offices of the cities of Dezful and Abadan. There were no serious casualties and no claim of responsibility.

Two Arab separatists, Ali Affrawi and Mehdi Navasseri, were executed for two bombings in Ahvaz, an oil-rich city in Iran, that killed six and injured nearly 100 people. The two men, in their early 20s, were hanged with a crane that let them strangle in public for 40 minutes. The execution was broadcast on state television. That evening, a percussion bomb was set off in the same area, shattering windows but causing no casualties.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=22640
http://www.irna.ir/

A BBC poll conducted by GlobeScan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes finds:
"... in 33 of 35 countries surveyed, more people than not believe that the war in Iraq has increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks around the world.  On average, 60 percent of the respondents have this perception, while just 12 percent think the Iraq war has decreased the likelihood of terrorist attacks; another 15 percent think it has had no effect either way."
http://www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbcpoll06-4.html

Five days after the 22 February bombing of the al-Askari shrine more than 1,300 Iraqis had been killed in a deadly surge of sectarian conflict. Curfews helped lower the level of violence, but deadly attacks continued through the week. Among these were a suicide bomber at a gas station in a Shia area of Baghdad in which 24 people died and a car bomb that killed 23 near a Shia mosque in the north of Baghdad on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a series of car and suicide bombs and mortar attacks killed at least 67. Bombs and gunfire killed at least 31 on Thursday. Former UN human rights chief in Iraq John Pace told BBC News that up to three-quarters of corpses in the mortuary each month display signs of extrajudicial torture or execution. On Friday, as the commander of coalition forces in Iraq said the main crisis caused by the al-Askari has passed, as many as 25 Shiites, including a woman and three children, were summarily executed and suspected al Qaeda fighters attacked a power plant. On Saturday an explosion in a Baghdad market killed seven and injured 15.

Iraqi border guards report the arrest of Abdullah Saleh al-Harbi, one of the suspects in last week's attack on a Saudi oil facility.

Yasser Furaihat and Salim Suwaid have been in Jordanian prison since they were sentenced to death for killing US diplomat Lawrence Foley in 2002. When the two prisoners were removed from Juwaida prison in Amman, fellow prisoners believed they would be executed and began to riot. The rioting spread to two other prisons, and a number of policemen have been taken hostage.

In Lebanon on Wednesday a small bomb exploded in a courthouse, causing minor damage. It went off at night and was only detected the next morning. Although raising fears that another string of bombings had started, it is thought most likely to have been planted by a person in court trying to interfere with his trial.

Saudi Arabia reports that five militants suspected of participating in the foiled suicide bombing of the Abqaiq oil-processing facility were killed on Monday, including alleged leader of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. Fahd Faraj al-Juwair, and Ibrahim al-Mutair, and Abdullah al-Shammari, all on the most-wanted list. .

An Israeli arrest operation in the West Bank killed a 15-year-old Palestinian and injured a second.

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh granted amnesty to 627 rebels that had been captured during a 2004 uprising in the northwest Saada province in which hundreds of people were killed. Cleric Hussein al-Houthi, with the Zaidi sect of Shia Islam, led the rebellion against the Sunni majority. Al-Houthi was killed while fighting in 2004, and sporadic clashes continue. More than 30 suspected rebels associated with assaults against security forces were excluded from the amnesty and still face trial.
http://www.sabanews.net/
--------------------------------------------------
GTM South Asia
--------------------------------------------------
In Afghanistan, a Taleban attack south of Kandahar killed one Canadian soldier and injured six on Thursday, and a suicide bomber on Friday killed himself. On Sunday, a Canadian soldier who had removed his helmet as a mark of respect during a meeting with tribal leaders in Kandahar, was critically injured after being struck repeatedly by a man, not a council member, with an ax, before other soldiers killed the attacker.

Bangladesh achieved a major victory with the arrest of Shaikh Abdur Rahman, head of the outlawed Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), following a 30-hour siege involving elite troops and police. JMB is connected with multiple attacks, including many targeted at the judicial system, in which at least 28 people have died. Among the charges he faces will be sedition. Watch for our special report on this event in next week's issue.

A Bangladesh court has sentenced 21 people to death for setting off six bombs across western Jhenidah district, as part of more than 400 coordinated attacks across the country on 17 August 2005. No one was killed in these attacks. Special tribunal judge Jhenidah, Ansur Rahman Khane said he convicted the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) members based on circumstantial evidence. Three of those convicted were sentenced in absentia.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/01/d6030101075.htm

Today, a homemade bomb exploded near a Muslim shrine, injuring three. Those responsible and the motive are as yet unknown, but there is no evidence of JMB involvement.

The Indian state of Chhattisgarh was the scene of renewed Maoist rebel violence in which two trucks, carrying civilians, were blown up by landmines. At least 25 were killed and as many as 100 injured, many critically. In an attack today, more than 20 armed rebels evacuated then blew up a railway engine to hinder iron ore exports from the region. Maoist violence in Jharkhand killed two policemen in an armed assault on a police post and a third in a land mine explosion.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, three Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in separate encounters with security forces that injured four troops and two civilians on 28 February. The next day, two special operations police were killed in a militant attack.

Nepal's Maoist rebels are suspected in Monday's marketplace bombing in the western town of Pokhara, a major tourist destination. Twelve people were injured, two critically. A Maoist ambush in the eastern Kavre district killed 3 soldiers, 16 rebels, and one civilian.  On Tuesday, bombs carried by rebels accidentally exploded, killing three Maoists and two civilians, while a Maoist attack on security forces killed 10 soldiers, one policeman, and 18 suspected rebels.

The World Food Program's office in Nepal was attacked with two bombs inside their compound. Although no casualties or major damage were caused, the office has been closed pending investigation. Three government buildings were bombed at the same time.

Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN) says that the long-running Maoist conflict has killed at least 434 children, orphaned more than 8,000, and displaced 40,000. Unattended bombs left behind fighting has killed many children who mistake then for toys. Rebels have recruited child soldiers, and the government has used children as informers and porters.
http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2006/feb/feb28/news09.php
http://www.cwin.org.np/

For background to Nepal's long-running conflict, see
http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/2006/02/PRM2601.shtml
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2005/020605.html#FeatureArticle

President Pervez Musharraf said that his country was doing all it could to combat terrorism and offered to fence and mine the border with Afghanistan.
http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/PRInterviewList.aspx
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1668178&page=1

In Pakistan's Balochistan province gunmen attacked a passenger train on Monday. It was derailed, but no casualties were reported. Nearby, soldiers supervising track repairs were attacked. One died and three were injured. Pakistan Workers Party leader Nasrullah Kakar, was shot dead on Wednesday. Those responsible and the motive are unknown, but he supported President Musharraf over Baloch nationalist groups.

Pakistani forces in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, launched a large raid on a training camp of suspected foreign militants on Wednesday. At least 40 people were killed and 30 wounded, including women and children as well as a suspected Chechen commander. On Thursday, tribal militants and suspected Taleban remnants occupied government offices to protest the assault. Militants in the region continued to battle Pakistani troops, leaving as many as 70 dead in fighting this weekend, which still continues.

Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels agreed to abide by the 2002 ceasefire when they met last week. Barely a week later, a Tamil Tiger militant has been shot dead. The Sri Lankan army denies involvement in the ambush.


2. Political Risk Monitor

The Political Risk Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For subscription information, email info@tamni.com.

--------------------------------------------------
PRM Africa
--------------------------------------------------
Benin's presidential poll is taking place today.

Comoros has announced presidential primaries will be held 16 April, provided sufficient financing can be obtained.

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon have agreed to resolve their 34-year-old border dispute over three small islands - Cocotier, Conga, and Mbanie - in their oil-rich waters.

Eritrea has rejected proposals for fresh talks over the border dispute with Ethiopia, saying that the binding UN border commission ruling must be implemented, which Ethiopia has refused to do.

Guinea has closed indefinitely all schools following the collapse of talks between government and the two main teaching unions, which represent 80 percent of public and private sector workers. The unions have called a 5-day general strike over unpaid wages and poor living conditions.

Ivory Coast's five factional leaders held their first direct talks inside the country since the civil war broke out, dividing the nation between a rebel-held north and government south, in 2002. Although no concrete measures were agreed, they all committed to peace and agreed to future political discussions. Meanwhile, peacekeeping groups complain of harassment from Ivorian troops they believe has been deliberately designed to provoke an incident.

Ivory Coast has extradited Youssef Fofana to France. The French citizen of Ivorian decent is suspected of leading the gang that viciously killed Ilan Halimi last month in what is believed to have been an anti-Semitic attack.

Kenya's Standard newspaper was subjected to an extraordinary attack in which masked police raided the offices, burning thousands of copies of the paper, and briefly shut down the KTN television station. The newspaper has been critical of government corruption, while the government says the paper invents stories and is responsible for inciting ethnic hatred. The editor of the Standard described the incident in this way, "The commando-like raid in thick of the night by balaclava-clad policemen clutching assault rifles was an extraordinary act of aggression against press freedom... The raid had little to do with perceived grievances over a specific incident, but everything to do with a dangerous intolerance in government that, in all probability, relates directly to the increasing media focus on the role of some of its senior members in graft". The US embassy said, " These acts of thuggery have no place in an open democratic society", as it joined nearly 30 other countries in condemning the operation. The paper came out as usual a day after the raid.
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=37310
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=37311

Somalia's parliament met in Somalia for the first time since it was formed in late 2004. About 205 of the 275 Members of Parliament attended the meeting in the central town of Baidoa because of the fear that the capital Mogadishu is too dangerous. Several Mogadishu warlords, allied to parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, refused to attend.

In Puntland, an autonomous province of Somalia, gunmen loyal to Planning Minister Abdurraham Farol entered the parliament on Sunday. Following an overnight siege, they were forced out, leaving three people dead. President Mohamud Muse Hersi dismissed the minister.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party won most of the local government elections held last week but slow turnout and the loss of the Cape Town municipality indicate a growing revolt over the lack of long-promised basic services, including sanitation, running water and electricity.

Ugandan opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Kizza Besigye will challenge in court official election results that gave President Museveni a third term. Dr Besigye believes the results were manipulated and many supporters were not allowed to cast their ballots. Election observers did not find organized electoral fraud, but did criticize the politically-motivated arrest and imprisonment of Dr Besigye when he announced he would stand, as well as lack of an even playing field in the media and operational difficulties. President Museveni says that Dr Besigye doesn't understand democracy, and that he and his party, the Forum for Democratic Change, should cut their links to terrorist groups.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200602271072.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=BLOGDETAIL&grid=P30&blog=africa&xml=/news/2006/02/27/blafrica27.xml
http://ec.or.ug/
http://www.fdcuganda.org/
http://www.nrm.ug/
http://www.upcparty.net/

All Zanzibaris age 18 and above are required to carry identification cards from 1 April. Refusal to register or carry the card can lead to prosecution, including prison or fines.

Ahead of elections anticipated later this year, Zambia deregistered 13 opposition parties for not submitting annual returns. The move followed a decision by three leading opposition parties to field a joint presidential candidate.

Zimbabwe's Millers Association reported that only a 2-week supply of wheat is left. Bread prices have risen by a third.
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Americas
--------------------------------------------------
Costa Rica's new president will be Nobel laureate Oscar Arias. Rival candidate Otton Solis has conceded after losing a series of legal challenges in the extremely close election held last month.

Former Ecuador President Lucio Gutierrez has been released from prison following a judge's dismissal of national security charges that stemmed from Gutierrez's refusal to acknowledge his interim successor, Alfredo Palacio. Although he said he will run for President in October, he must first obtain approval from electoral officials.
http://www.oscararias.com/ (in Spanish)
http://www.tse.go.cr/ (in Spanish)
http://www.pac.or.cr/ (in Spanish)
http://www.gam.org.gt/

Death squads have returned to Guatemala, nearly ten years after peace accords were signed between the government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity guerillas.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022302285.html
http://www.fhrg.org/mambo/index.php

Haiti's electoral council says the second round of parliamentary elections, scheduled for 19 March, will be delayed because complaints from the first round are still being addressed. In turn, the inauguration of President-elect Rene Preval,, set for 29 March, will also be delayed. These events will probably take place in early April.

Mexico's "dirty war" of the 1960s-1980s is the topic of an investigation by the Special Prosecutor, whose report has not yet been publicly released. However, the National Security Archive has posted a draft that documents hundreds of killings and disappearances and other abuses of human rights.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB180/index.htm

The US government has agreed to pay Ehab Elmaghraby $300,000 to settle a lawsuit regarding his illegal detention and deportation following the 9/11 attacks. This is the first case involving claims of dozens of Muslims that were arrested and held without counsel for lengthy periods.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/02/us-settles-post-sept-11-detainee.php
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/28/news/detain.php
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3634C392-2774-4C64-9457-3CB13EF1D4FD.htm

The US army has agreed to a criminal investigation into the death of US football star Pat Tillman, who was killed by US fire in Afghanistan.

Former Republican congressman Randy Cunningham ("Duke") of California has been sentenced to more than eight years for taking $2.4 million in bribes and evading $1 million in taxes. Although the harshest penalty ever given in a congressional corruption case, the judge said the sentence was lenient because it took into account his decorated service in Vietnam.

In North Carolina's University at Chapel Hill, a recent graduate drove a rented vehicle into a crowded pedestrian plaza to "avenge the deaths of Muslims". The Iranian student, Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, caused no serious injuries but has been charged with nine counts of attempted premeditated murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Muslim students at the university were outraged by a campus newspaper's decision to print one of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and held peaceful protests.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/14015547.htm
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/414855.html
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Asia Pacific
--------------------------------------------------
As Australia continues investigations into the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) connection with the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, Trade Minister Mark Vaile announced that Iraq has agreed to purchase up to 250,000 tons of wheat from Australia. AWB is the second largest wheat exporter in the world, after the US.
http://www.trademinister.gov.au/releases/2006/mvt013_06.html

Australia will pay A$400,000 in damages as well as court costs (up to A$1 million) to an 11-year old Iranian boy for post-traumatic stress disorder that stemmed from his detention in immigration camps between the ages of five and seven. Shayan Badraie and his family now have permanent residency. Australia abolished the policy of mandatory detention for illegal migrants with children last July.

China announced that its military spending in 2006 will rise by 14.7 percent this year, to $35.1 billion. The Chinese military has 2.5 million members and is the largest in the world. The US believes that China understates its military spending by as much as two-thirds, but even if this is the case China, with more than three times the population of the US, spends far less on the military than the US. In 2005, China's defense spending was $30.2 billion (1.36 percent of GDP), while US military spending was $401.7 billion (3.6 percent of GDP).
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-03/04/content_526551.htm

Taiwan's President Chen concluded a National Security Conference with remarks that included:
"The National Unification Council will cease to function. No budget will be earmarked for it, and its personnel must return to their original posts. The National Unification Guidelines will cease to apply.... Ceasing the function of the National Unification Council as well as ceasing the application of the National Unification Guidelines do not involve changing the status quo. Instead, they are based solely on the democratic principle of respecting the people's right to determine their own future. As long as the principle of democracy is honored and the freewill to choose by Taiwan's 23 million people is respected, we will not exclude any possible form of future development of cross-strait relations. We are, however, adamant that no one set preconditions or give an ultimate goal regarding the people's right to choose."
Chinese President Hu Jintao characterized this decision as a "dangerous step on the road toward 'Taiwan Independence.... It's our unswerving will and determination to oppose 'Taiwan Independence' secessionist forces and their activities and to safeguard the peace and stability across the straits".
http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/4-oa/20060227/2006022703.html
http://english.gov.cn/2006-02/28/content_213399.htm

East Timor has called for the roughly 400 soldiers, a quarter of the army, to return to work or face dismissal. They are protesting poor pay and conditions and selective promotions.

Fiji has scheduled its general election for 6-13 May.

Indonesian police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters in Jakarta demonstrating in support of the ongoing protest in Papua province, where indigenous tribesmen are seeking local rights and benefits from the US gold and copper mining operation of Freeport.

Kazakhstan's Interior Minister Baurzhan Mukhamedzhanov said that a parliamentary official has confessed to ordering the murder of opposition figure Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, who was killed along with his bodyguard and driver two weeks ago. The investigation continues, and there have been accusations that this is a cover-up.

Philippines President Gloria Arroyo lifted the state of emergency on Friday, a week after it was imposed in response to an alleged coup plot, for which some 16 people have been charged.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has promised not to return to government if his party garners less than half the votes cast on 2 April. As pro- and anti-Thaksin demonstrations continue, students at the King Prachadhipok Institute, which serves business and political leaders, released preliminary findings of a study into the election process. They believe the Election Commission needs reform, following a loss of public trust and widespread belief that it is corrupt and not free of political influence.
http://www.kpi.ac.th/

An Uzbekistan court has sentenced Sunshine Uzbekistan opposition group leader Nadira Khidoyatova to ten years in prison for tax evasion and money laundering. International observers and human rights groups believe the trial was politically motivated, and suspect she has been abused in detention.
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Europe
--------------------------------------------------
The Council of Europe has released the report on alleged illegal detentions and rendition flights in Europe. Information, provided by Council members, highlights the lack of effective oversight of foreign security services. Secretary General Terry Davis said, "Europe appears to be a happy hunting ground for foreign security services".
http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/Files/Events/2006-cia/

Bosnia and Herzegovina's case against Serbia and Montenegro for violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention is being heard by the International Court of Justice, the international organ for adjudication of crimes between States. This is the first case in which a State, rather than individuals, has been prosecuted for genocide.
http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ipresscom/ipress2006/ipresscom_2006-09_bhy_20060227.htm

The German government is under pressure to hold an inquiry into its support for the US-led invasion or Iraq, which it publicly opposed, following fresh evidence of information sharing between the respective military agencies. German military intelligence is believed to have helped the US identify Iraqi military targets.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/02/frontpage/germany.php
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,403330,00.html
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,403486,00.html
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,403535,00.html
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,403845,00.html

Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu has nominated former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leader Agim Ceku as the new Prime Minister. Serbia and Montenegro says that Ceku should be tried for war crimes, not elected to office.

Italy's Mitrokhin Commission, a parliamentary investigation into the 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, believes that leaders of the former Soviet Union were behind the plot.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article348978.ece

Montenegro will hold an independence referendum on 21 May.

Pro-Russian Prime Minister of Chechnya, Sergei Abramov, has been unable to work since he was injured in a car accident last year. He has resigned and been replaced by militia leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who was already acting as caretaker. Kadyrov is the son of assassinated president Akhmad Kadyrov and his militia has been associated with numerous kidnappings, murder, and torture.

Turkish police report that honor killings and blood feuds have claimed 1,190 lives n Turkey over the past six years. Most of the victims and nearly all of the perpetrators were male. Although penalties for such crimes have been strengthened, honor killings are popular among a significant percentage of the population.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=10&article_ID=22666&categ_id=2

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky that reported coup plans could jeopardize his status as a refugee in the UK. Russia's prosecutor general has opened a criminal case against Berezovsky and sent an extradition request to the UK.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm060227/wmstext/60227m02.htm#60227m02.html_sbhd0
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Middle East
--------------------------------------------------
A $76 million European Union donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will permit continued humanitarian services to Palestinian refugees despite suspension of other donor funds. The situation is also complicated by the continued closure by Israel of the main goods crossing.
http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/releases/pr-2006/hqg03-06.pdf"

Hamas met in Russia, and said it is prepared to renew a yearlong ceasefire with Israel as long as it also refrained from use of force. South Africa has also invited Hamas for a diplomatic visit.

"The Next Iraqi War? Sectarianism and Civil Conflict" is a new report from the International Crisis Group. They say:
" The bombing of the al-Askariya shrine in Samara and the subsequent reprisals are but the latest, most serious signs efforts to hold Iraq together verge on collapse. There is still a little time to stop the slide into civil war if Iraqi leaders and the international community act urgently but the winners of the December 2005 elections must not only strongly condemn sectarian-inspired attacks and urge restraint. They must also establish a government of genuine national unity with popular credibility and Sunni Arab leaders in more than token positions; address Iraqis' top concerns ñ safety and basic amenities; begin to disband the sectarian militias; and revise the constitution's provisions on federalism and oil. The U.S., the EU and regional players must push for these crucial steps, or risk Iraq's disintegration and the Middle East's destablisation."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3980&l=1

An Israeli family, Haim Eliahu Habibi, his Christian wife Violet, and their 20-year-old daughter Odelia entered the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth on Friday evening and set off firecrackers during a church service. The congregation panicked and riots broke out. The clashes following the incident injured five police officers and dozens of other people. Mr. Habibi told a court that he acted to draw attention to their three children who were taken into care by social services in the past.

Lebanese political leaders have begun a National Dialog to help resolve sectarian divisions and foster unity.

Saudi Arabia has extended the ban on female drivers to include use of golf carts.

Abed Abdulrazzak Kamel has been executed by a Yemeni firing squad. In 2002 he shot dead a US surgeon and two of her colleagues at a Baptist mission hospital because he believed they were trying to convert Yemeni Muslims.
--------------------------------------------------
PRM South Asia
--------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan's main prison, the Pul-e-Charkhi jail in Kabul, was taken over in part by hundreds of rioting prisoners. Unrest began on Saturday night with demands for better conditions, and there was a brief lull on Monday when officials distributed food and water and restored electricity, and the inmates turned over four dead and several injured. On Tuesday, fighting resumed, but on Wednesday the government announced that police had regained control.

Of two Nepalese men kidnapped by a criminal gang in Kabul two weeks ago, one died in captivity and the other was freed by police.

Asadullah Sarwari, intelligence chief under the communist government in 1978, has been sentenced to death in Afghan court for ordering hundreds of executions. This is the first war crimes sentence passed in Afghanistan.

In India, hundreds of thousands of protestors rallied against the visit of US President Bush, denounced as a war criminal. Although most were peaceful, Hindu-Muslim riots in Uttar Pradesh left four dead and dozens injured. Additional police have been deployed, and an investigation is underway.  

The Indian rail ministry completed an inquiry into the February 2002 fire on a train in Gujarat that claimed 59 lives and sparked religious riots in which more than a thousand people, mostly Muslims, were killed. The inquiry has concluded that the fire was accidental. Hindu nationalists have rejected the finding, and a separate inquiry has not yet completed its investigation.

Indian-administered Kashmir's Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) rejected the Army's claim that the four young men killed on 22 February died in crossfire. They found that one of the victims was wanted as an informer and when he declined and ran away, passing playing children, the victims were shot. The incident had generated serious protests among the local population.
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=88739

For background to Nepal's long-running conflict, see
http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/2006/02/PRM2601.shtml
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2005/020605.html#FeatureArticle

Anti-US demonstrations broke out ahead of President Bush's visit to Pakistan, at the same time a general strike to protest the Prophet Muhammad cartoons took place. Pakistani President Musharraf discussed Pakistan's efforts in countering terrorism and asked for assistance to resolve the long-standing conflict in Kashmir.

See Emerging Threats for discussion of President Bush's visits to India and Pakistan.


3. AML/CFT Monitor

The AML/CFT Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For subscription information, email info@tamni.com.

--------------------------------------------------
AML/CFT Incidents/Cases
--------------------------------------------------
Thailand's Anti-money Laundering office (AMLO) has begun measures to seize the assets of Somchai Khunpluem ("Kamnan Poh"), who was sentenced to more than five years in prison for graft. The effort is proceeding although the land grab case occurred before the AML bill became law.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/01Mar2006_news21.php
http://www.amlo.go.th/

Mark McKinney, linked to loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, and his wife Beverley have had more than GBP 3.5 million in assets frozen by the High Court. Assets, including property, a helicopter, 70 vehicles, and more than 30 bank accounts, have been connected to money laundering of the proceeds from drug, fuel, and cigarette smuggling. Assets of Anthony James McNeill were also frozen.
http://www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk/

A Toronto Star report, "Roar of the Tamil Tigers", describes the Sri Lankan separatist group's fundraising efforts in Canada.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1140909028403
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1141339813578
--------------------------------------------------
AML/CFT Legislation and Regulation
--------------------------------------------------
Britain's Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) has published its final industry guidance, following treasury approval.
http://www.jmlsg.org.uk/bba/jsp/polopoly.jsp;jsessionid=a2rK8hsrcnsh?d=362&a=3424

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a new interpretive note to Special Recommendation VIII regarding non-profit organizations. It explains the objectives and suggests characteristics and activities that can be identified and thereby help ensure their charities are not misused.
http://www.fatf-gafi.org/dataoecd/16/6/36174688.pdf

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released guidance to clarify the date for foreign bank recertifications related to US-based correspondent accounts, as well as guidance to clarification money service bureau registration requirements.
http://www.fincen.gov/faqsguidance.html
http://www.fincen.gov/msbregistration_de_registration.html

The Bank of England has added Mohammed Benhammedi to the list of those sanctioned for ties to al Qaeda and the Taleban.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2006/020.htm

Note this analysis of "Anti-money laundering in Russia"
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20060222/43712490.html

The UK Financial Services Association released "Fraud Governance". The report finds recent measures to strengthen fraud management in large financial firms, but a need for more effective and integrated fraud management.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2006/014.shtml
--------------------------------------------------
AML/CFT Modalities
--------------------------------------------------
The Dutch Finance Ministry commissioned a study that estimates E18.5 billion is laundered, with E17.7 from crimes committed abroad, representing about five percent of gross domestic product. The primary conduits are real estate investments, export and import fraud, and use of special purpose entities.
http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10004923.shtml
http://www.minfin.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=MFCWDABCA02E6157B40EEA3CC7EE7D1D6729DX2X26184X95 (in Dutch)

Gulf charities will "stick to official channels" regarding aid to the new Hamas-led Palestinian government, to avoid any suspicion of financing terrorism.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=22535#

Senior Indonesian counterterrorism officer Colonel Petrus Golose told an international conference on suicide terrorism that al Qaeda had financed the bombings in Bali and Jakarta. He cited police intelligence including cash deliveries by foreign couriers, some from Afghanistan.
http://smh.com.au/news/world/alqaeda-bankrolled-bali-attacks-say-police/2006/02/28/1141095740967.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20060301.A01&irec=0
http://www.bangkokpost.com/030306_News/03Mar2006_news17.php

An Indonesian legislator uncovered a scheme to falsify certificates so that illegal timber could be shipped "legally".
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20060303.D03&irec=5

Recent court documents claim that a well known psychiatrist from the University of California in Irvine lost at least $1.3 million to a Nigeria 419 advanced fee fraud.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-nigerian2mar02,0,3251538.story?track=tothtml
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article348935.ece


4. Emerging Threat Monitor

The Emerging Threat Monitor will be published in print later this year. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For more information, email info@tamni.com.

--------------------------------------------------
ETM Corruption and Transnational Crime
--------------------------------------------------
Belize, Guatemala and Mexico have signed a regional security agreement to improve regional communication to target criminal gangs, known as maras.
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Economies and Financial Systems
--------------------------------------------------
China's economy is set to double in size between 2005 and 2050, according to Pricewaterhouse projections. Their analysis also anticipates India would be the fastest growing economy; both China and India will overtake Japan; and Mexico will outstrip the economies of France, Germany and the UK.
http://www.pwcglobal.com/

A US Treasury study sites the contribution of rising oil prices to global imbalances, and calls for a united effort to fix the imbalances.
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/js4092.htm
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Environment and Climate Change
--------------------------------------------------
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has launched a groundbreaking compliance system to support countries having difficulty meeting their commitments.
http://unfccc.int/files/press/news_room/press_releases_and_advisories/application/pdf/20060303_compliance_committee_1st_meeting.pdf
http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Forest Trends has issued "Logging, Legality and Livelihoods in Papua New Guinea: Synthesis of Official Assessments of the Large-Scale Logging Industry". The report summarizes the findings from five independent reviews and concludes, "the overwhelming majority of current commercial industrial forestry operations in PNG are ecologically and economically unsustainable, and, in fact, illegal, as found by the government's own commissioned independent audits conducted between 2000 and 2005". The situation threatens the very existence of the country's extensive natural rainforest ranges.
http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/png/index.php

Thomas B. van Hoof and his colleagues studied pollen grains and leaf remains from lake-bed sediments in the southeastern Netherlands to estimate changes in land use between AD 1000 and 1500. They suggest that the Black Death plague of the 14th century may have triggered the "Little Ice Age" when millions of trees grew on abandoned farmland, soaking up carbon dioxide, and therefore cooling the climate. "Forest re-growth on medieval farmland after the Black Death pandemic—Implications for atmospheric CO2 levels" will be published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
http://www.stomatalfrequency.com/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/

A world water crisis is the topic of research studies published in the journal Science last week. University of Colorado (US) researchers report on Antarctic ice sheets shrinking faster than new snow can fall, while University of Capetown (South Africa) scientists describe the repercussions of displacements caused by drought.
http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2006/86.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0303_060303_africa.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/world-faces-water-crisis-as-global-warming-upsets--balance/2006/03/03/1141191849854.html
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Human Rights
--------------------------------------------------
The Inter-Parliamentary Union presented its report on parliamentarians elected in 39 countries during 2005. They found that for the first time, 20 percent of those elected were women. (In 1995, only 11.3 percent were women.) In nine countries, more than 30 percent were women. However, the number of women elected fell in eight countries, and the number of parliaments with no women increased to nine, mostly in the Pacific Islands and Middle East. The ten countries with the highest percentages of women are Rwanda (48.8 percent), Sweden (45.3), Norway (37.9), Finland (37.5), Denmark (36.9), Netherlands (36.7), Cuba and Spain (both 36), Costa Rica (35.1), Argentina (35) and Mozambique (34.8). Of the 187 countries ranked, the US is 69th, with 15.2 percent.
http://www.ipu.org/press-e/gen220.htm

A group of 12 writers have signed a statement published in the French weekly, Charlie Hebdo, one of the papers that reprinted caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. The writers warn against Islamic totalitarianism and the need to fight for secular values and freedom. Most of the signatories, including Salman Rushdie, have first-hand experience with Islamic militancy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4764730.stm

Alexander Koptsev has gone on trial in Russian court for attempted murder motivated by racial hatred. The charges follow an 11 January attack on a Moscow synagogue that injured eight people.
http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=364057
BBC Reporter Patrick Jackson describes race hatred encounters in Russia:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4737468.stm

Discussions continue on a new UN Human Rights Council.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17667&Cr=rights&Cr1=commission
http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/index.htm
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/chr.htm
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Infectious Diseases
--------------------------------------------------
The international impact of spreading avian influenza H5N1 infections is growing. Major economic effects are beginning as reduced consumption has led to sharply reduced prices, increased trade bans, and dramatic falls in imports. There was a 70 percent decline in consumption in Italy, 20 percent in France, and 10 percent in northern Europe. India reports consumption has fallen by 25 percent, causing domestic prices to fall 12-13 percent. Export prices in the US, Brazil, and elsewhere have fallen sharply. Most serious is the impact on backyard producers in developing countries, who face loss of their livelihood. Humans are NOT at risk of acquiring H5N1 infections through properly cooked birds or their eggs. H5N1 is transmitted primarily by those in close contact with infected poultry, such as farmers and production facilities. The disease has spread from Nigeria to Niger, from Maharashtra state in India to neighboring Gujarat state, and has been detected in Sweden. A pet cat in Germany has become the first EU mammal to die of the disease. China's agriculture minister, Du Qinglin, warned of a possible serious outbreak this spring as birds return from winter migration.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000240/index.html
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2006/s04/en/index.html
http://www.oie.int/eng/press/en_060228.htm
http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/avianflu/index.html

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the discovery of AIDS and the 10th anniversary of UNAIDS. During the pandemic, more than 20 million people have died from AIDS, and 40 million people today are living with HIV around the world.
http://www.unaids.org/
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Populations
--------------------------------------------------
"Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development" is a new report from the World Bank. It finds that malnutrition costs poor countries up to three percent of their annual gross domestic product (GDP). Other long-term effects include reduction by ten percent of malnourished children's lifelong earnings potential, increased risk of HIV infection, and reduced survival from malarial infections. World Bank executive Jean-Louis Sarbib says, " Poor nutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide—a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death.... "It is intimately linked with poor health and environmental factors and yet, policymakers, politicians, and economists often fail to recognize these connections. For example, nearly 60% of children who die of common diseases like diarrhea and malaria could have ultimately survived had they not been malnourished in the first place".
http://www.worldbank.org/nutrition
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Technology
--------------------------------------------------
Following an international meeting last weekend, a group of embryonic stem cell researchers have formed the Hinxton Group to help set consistent international ethical standards and legal frameworks that will aid global cooperation.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/bioethics/finalsc.doc (Consensus statement)
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/bioethics/
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
--------------------------------------------------
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has joined calls for a nuclear-free Middle East. In the absence of this,  Iran has continued nuclear research including enrichment, and says if action is taken against it in the Security Council it will resume full-scale enrichment. EU officials meeting last week reached no agreement but still seem hopeful of a compromise. The matter will come before the Security Council on Monday.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/index.shtml

India and the US have finalized a controversial agreement in which India will have access to US civil nuclear technology and open its commercial facilities to inspection. India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Similar concessions have not been offered Pakistan, although both countries are being offered US weapons. Australia says it will continue its ban on sending uranium to India for the time being. The agreement must be approved by the US congress, where it is likely to face significant opposition. US Representative Ed Markey said, "America cannot credibly preach nuclear temperance from a barstool. … We can’t tell Iran, a country that has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, that they can’t have [uranium] enrichment technologies while simultaneously carving out a special exemption from nuclear proliferation laws for India, a nation that has refused to sign the treaty." On the other hand, the US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said that unlike Iran, which conceals "development of nuclear weapons under the guise of a legitimate program", India and Pakistan, (both who developed their weapons secretly and remain outside the NPT), "did it legitimately".
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2006/prn200605.html
http://pmindia.nic.in/lspeech.asp?id=284
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/india-pakistan/
http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/index.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1435880.cms

"DNA for Peace: Reconciling Biodevelopment and Biosecurity" is a new report from the University of Toronto Joint Center for Bioethics. They explain, "Biodevelopment, the use of biological sciences and technology to fight disease, hunger, pollution and poverty, has enormous potential to help the world deliver on promises to improve living conditions for the poor. Unfortunately, some of the technologies used to produce useful biological materials can also be used to produce bioweapons". The report calls for international cooperation, including the G8 meeting in July, to "establish a global network [to] help resolve potential conflicts between bioterrorism control and biotechnology development".
http://www.utoronto.ca/jcb/home/main.htm

The Middle East North Africa Network on Small Arms (MENSAA) released survey results that shows young Arabs across the region say there are too many guns, and identify proliferation and misuse of small arms as a major source of insecurity.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/DPAS-6MFHUX?OpenDocument

Oxfam's new report, "Land Systems OMC- A very British 'South African' company", shows that legal loopholes in British law have allowed the sale of military equipment to Uganda, where armored vehicles and other equipment has been used against opposition demonstrations.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/press/releases/uganda010306.htm


5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor

The Emerging Threat Monitor will be published in print later this year. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For more information, email .

--------------------------------------------------
CIM Banking and Finance
--------------------------------------------------
Singapore's Monetary Authority issued new risk management guidelines to address the role of the board of directors and management, processes and operating procedures, and personnel.
http://www.mas.gov.sg/masmcm/bin/pt1MAS_Issues_Guidelines_on_Sound_Risk_Management.htm

The Bank of England has announced a review of the security of banknote storage following the Tonbridge Robbery in which armed robbers stole more than GBP 50 million from the Securitas security depot.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/4742972.stm
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2006/statement_060223.htm

The President's Working Group on Financial Markets, chaired by the US Treasury, has submitted a request for comments regarding long-term availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance.
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js4085.htm
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Chemical
--------------------------------------------------
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released "DHS Is Taking Steps to Enhance Security at Chemical Facilities, but Additional Authority Is Needed". The report warns that terrorist attacks on US chemical facilities could damage public health and the economy, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can only coordinate efforts. GAO recommends that DHS complete vulnerability analysis and evaluation of safer technologies, and that it be given authority to require chemical plant security measures.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-150
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Cybersecurity
--------------------------------------------------
The Mobile Malware Researchers Association (MARA) announced it discovered the first malicious software able to "crossover" from mobile devices to a desktop PC. The researchers have refused to distribute the sample code, which they say was sent anonymously.
http://www.mobileav.org/
http://www.cio.in/news/viewArticle/ARTICLEID=907

The UK Information Commissioner released a Good Practice Note for applying the Data Protection Act to employee references.
http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/

Problems with a new US federal standard for employee identification are addressed in a new GAO report.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-178
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Dams
--------------------------------------------------
Lesotho's Mohale dam, one of the highest rockfill dams in the world, has developed a crack following extremely heavy rain. With the dam filled to capacity, local activists are concerned of the possibility of disastrous seepage. It is being monitored, some water has been transferred to a reservoir, and a European dam expert is providing support.
http://www.criticalinfrastructuremonitor.com/2006/03/CIM0502.shtml
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Emergency Services
--------------------------------------------------
The UK House of Lords has ruled that 18,000 part-time firefighters will be eligible to join the fire brigade's pension plan and receive sick pay.
http://www.fbu.org.uk/newspress/pressrelease/2006/03_01a.php
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Energy
--------------------------------------------------
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have signed an agreement to jointly build a new nuclear power plant, sharing equally, and develop a common energy policy by year-end.
http://www.lrv.lt/main_en.php?id=en_aktualijos_su_video/p.php&n=118
http://www.lrv.lt/main_en.php?id=en_aktualijos_su_video/p.php&n=117

US President Bush says that the US is no longer opposed to a proposed gas pipeline that would go from Iran to India via Pakistan. Meanwhile, Turkey and Russia have agreed to three large-scale gas pipeline projects, including extension of the Bluestream pipeline under the Black Sea.

South Africa's public enterprises minister has backed off statements that damage at the Koeberg nuclear plant was done deliberately, and an unconfirmed message from a previously unknown organization claims. Koeberg was damaged last December and has caused multiple power outages that were particularly bad in February.
http://www.hellkom.co.za/pages/powercrisis.php
http://www.eskom.co.za

As the UK government continues its Energy Review, the Green Party has launched an Alternative Energy Report, which includes proposed measures to reduce demand and expand renewables, rather than pushing ahead with an uneconomic plan for new nuclear power stations.
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Information Technology
--------------------------------------------------
China has accelerated development of a parallel system of Chinese-language internet domains that supports Chinese characters.
http://www.cnnic.net.cn/en/index/

The OpenDocument Format Alliance has been formed by 35 international IT vendors in support of expanding this open standard file format for office productivity suites.
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/apps/story/0,10801,109190,00.html?source=NLT_PM&nid=109190
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/dw_blog.jspa?blog=384
http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/dancer/Weblog?catname=%2FStarOffice
http://www.siia.net/
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
--------------------------------------------------
Researchers with the Radiation Effects Research Foundation have discovered continued health problems among survivors of the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They studied radiation-linked thyroid conditions and found that the younger an individual was when exposed, the greater their risk of illness.
http://www.rerf.or.jp/
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/295/9/1011

Informal mining of radioactive dumps in Kyrgyzstan is linked to increasing cancer rates. http://www.criticalinfrastructuremonitor.com/2006/03/CIM0501.shtml
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Public Health and Healthcare
--------------------------------------------------
Bangladesh's massive measles vaccination campaign is being hindered by frequent power outages that make it difficult to control the temperature at which the vaccine is stored.

Honduras President Jose  Zelaya Rosales has declared a state of emergency within the healthcare system. A combination of poor governance, crime, and poverty has limited availability of treatment, with hospitals having only about a third of the drugs necessary. The government approved the emergency steps following reports of a teenager who died for lack of the clotting agent used to treat his hemophilia.

Ireland is considering criminal charges and fundamental reform of hospital procedures following completion of the Lady of Lourdes Hospital Inquiry. The investigation considered the case of rogue obstetrician Dr. Michael Neary (struck off for professional misconduct in 2003), who removed the wombs of 129 women between 1974 and 1998. On average, an obstetrician would perform less than 10 in an entire career. The inquiry criticized the failure to detect the abnormal level of surgeries and cited a culture of obedience. An investigation into missing hospital files is likely to be undertaken.
http://www.lourdesinquiry.ie/

A South African court has ordered Dr Mattias Rath and his Rath Foundation, which says its vitamin supplements can cure AIDS, to stop publishing statements critical of Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). TAC is the leading AIDS campaign organization in South Africa and has been at the forefront of forcing the country to provided retroviral treatment to HIV-infected individuals.
http://www.tac.org.za/

Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez, a cancer specialist, has issued a decree banning smoking in enclosed public places - the first country in South America to do so.
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Transportation
--------------------------------------------------
Armenia has joined the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation. Together they have developed a plan for modernizing Armenia's air traffic control services.
http://www.eurocontrol.int/

Dubai Ports World, in the process of acquiring UK shipping company P and O, has agreed to segregate the US portion of the deal pending completion of a 45-day review of the security impact. Security issues have been raised by members of Congress, other bidders, and the local and state governments of the six ports involved, some of which are contemplating legal action against the change in ownership. Further concerns have been raised in congressional briefs in which Coast Guard documents reveal intelligence gaps that prevented full evaluation of the security risk.
http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=326
https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/786/111589/
https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/786/111524/
http://www.iie.com/publications/opeds/oped.cfm?ResearchID=603
http://www.iie.com/publications/opeds/oped.cfm?ResearchID=602
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb2006/20060227_4329.html
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js4072.htm
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Water
--------------------------------------------------
UK Environment Minister Elliot Morley has granted Folkestone and Dover Water Services permission for the first time to install compulsory water meters. The company was granted water scarcity status given the worsening drought in southern England. Other water companies are expected to follow.
http://www.fdws.co.uk/
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2006/060301c.htm
http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/
http://www.water.org.uk/home/news/press-releases/f-d-defra


6. Disaster Reduction Monitor

The Disaster Reduction Monitor will be published in print later this year. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For more information, email info@tamni.com

--------------------------------------------------
DRM Incidents
--------------------------------------------------
Bangladesh continued its appalling record of ferry disasters with another capsizing due to overloading. Most passengers swam to shore, but 100 drowned and 20 are still missing.

A cholera outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 14 people, while the number killed from a cholera outbreak in southern Sudan has climbed to 89.

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake in southeast Iran damaged more than a thousand homes but caused no casualties.

Heavy floods in the southern Namibian town of Mariental forced the evacuation of 2,100 people.
--------------------------------------------------
DRM Response and Recovery
--------------------------------------------------
Bangladesh has completed the rescue effort following the collapse of the Phoenix building, which housed a garment factory, in Tejgaon last Saturday. 21 people died in the tragedy, but five days into the rescue effort 18-year-old mason Nikhil was found alive in the rubble.

Mount Tambora's eruption in April 1815 was one of the most violent in human history, killing 10,000 local people outright, and more than 117,000 in the aftermath. It also led to the "Year Without a Summer" when the volcanic ash that spread through the atmosphere. Researchers excavating the Indonesian site have uncovered a lost village, which they characterize as the "Pompeii of the East".
http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=3467

Philippine rescue workers have ended the search for bodies in the Leyte landslide, and are now focusing on relocation and rehabilitation for more than 400 survivors. 140 bodies were found, and 972 people are missing and believed dead.

Royal Thai Police have taken full control of tsunami victim identification. UK police involved in the international operation have returned home.
http://cms.met.police.uk/news/major_operational_announcements/major_incident/royal_thai_police_take_on_tsunami_victim_identification

New Orleans held the first Mardi Gras celebration after Hurricane Katrina. The event was much smaller than in past years, but provided much needed revenue for the city. In Katrina and the flooding that followed, more than 1,300 people were killed, 2,300 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced. The city's population fell from nearly 500,000 to less than 200,000.
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,403358,00.html
http://www.neworleanscvb.com/
http://www.bringneworleansback.org/

Fresh controversy in the US over preparedness and response to Katrina has followed the discovery of an August 28 video in which President Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff were warned of the scale of the disaster, including massive loss of life, and grave concerns of levee breaches. On 1 September Bush said "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees". Demands for a complete independent investigation have followed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/01/AR2006030101731.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-katrina2mar02,0,5568671.story?track=tothtml

Also of interest are architectural proposals from the Dutch:
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,403122,00.html
--------------------------------------------------
DRM Risks
--------------------------------------------------
Swiss Re and Munich Re tie increased hurricane intensity, frequency, and (therefore) losses are linked to a warm phase of Atlantic multidecadal oscillation that began in 1995 and could last as long as 30 years.
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/amo_faq.php
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2005/12/16/63093.htm
http://www.swissre.com

Bangladesh's factory inspection office reports that from 1995 to 2004, a total of 23,989 factory accidents occurred, of which 3,412 were serious. These accidents claimed 163 lives and left thousands injured. The Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation believes the numbers are much higher. They report more than 400 workplace deaths and 3,000 injuries last year alone.
Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation
http://www.oshebd.org/
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/02/28/d6022801011.htm
--------------------------------------------------
DRM Mitigation
--------------------------------------------------
Swiss Re issued its latest Sigma Report examining natural catastrophes and man-made disasters of 2005. It notes that "more than 97 000 people lost their lives" as a result of one of the "almost 400 catastrophes, which caused damage totaling more than $230 billion." About one third, or $83 billion, was covered by insurance. In 2004 insured cat losses amounted to $48 billion. "2005 turned out to be the costliest year ever for property insurers," said the report. The largest loss of life was from the 8 October earthquake in Kashmir in which 72, 000 died in Pakistan and 1,300 on the Indian side of the border. In addition, there was "$230 billion of damage to buildings, infrastructure, vehicles, or losses to directly affected businesses", of which Hurricane Katrina was responsible for $135 billion.
http://www.swissre.com.

Bangladesh and China reached a Memorandum of Understanding under which China will share hydrological data on the Brahmaputra River to support flood forecasting and warning.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/01/d60301013127.htm

London's main flood defense, the Thames barrier, was closed last week to mitigate high spring tides while Arctic winds battered the country.

The US House Committee on Energy and Commerce is considering legislation to stop fraudulent sale of vehicles affected by Hurricane Katrina through creation of a national database replacing the 28 separate jurisdictions now involved.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/News/03012006_1793.htm


7. Recommended Reading

This week we look at three books dealing with climate change. The titles span the science, practice, and history of critical ecological and environmental changes.

Tim Flannery's book, "The WeatherMakers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth" (Atlantic Monthly Press and Penguin/Allen Lane) focuses on the science of climate change. The zoologist delivers a powerful and angry argument, particularly when he described the extinction of species and habitats that global warming is bringing about. Here are links to the official website and an interview with the author.
http://www.theweathermakers.com/
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1861216,00.html

Elizabeth Kolbert presents anecdotal findings from people working in the field of climate change. In "Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change" (Bloomsbury), she describes her travels to Alaska and Greenland, covering ground that was first opened by a 2005 series in the New Yorker, for which she won the AAAS magazine award.
http://books.monstersandcritics.com/nonfiction/reviews/article_1133867.php/Book_Review_Field_Notes_from_a_Catastrophe_by_Elizabeth_Kolbert

Both authors emphasize the urgency of global warming and the need to act without delay. Both authors support the Kyoto protocol, which is ironic given that they come from Australia and the US, which are the only two developed countries that have not ratified it.

Lynne Heasley reminds us of the linkages between climate change and policy, framing a contemporary discussion within an ecological history of the US state of Wisconsin's Kickapoo Valley. "A Thousand Pieces of Paradise" examines US efforts to combat soil erosion in the 1930s, a controversial real estate development scheme, Amish land settlement, an Army Corps of Engineers dam project, and Native American efforts to assert their longstanding land claims. By examining the historical interplays, she helps explain the 20th century rural transformation but also sheds light on international issues of development, agricultural globalization, demographic trends, and the all important issues of property that are so dramatically influenced by changes in the environment. Below are links to the publishers (University of Wisconsin Press and the Center for American Places), to an interview and to information about the beautiful Kickapoo Valley Reserve:
http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/books/3720.htm
http://www.americanplaces.org
http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/ideas_audioarchives.cfm?Code=mlr%20
http://kvr.state.wi.us/home/


8. Asset Management Network News

Newsletter editor Anna Sabasteanski provided technical background at a town meeting discussion of surveillance and civil liberties in the US. Also on the panel were Congressman Marty Meehan and former ACLU-Massachusetts Director John Roberts.
http://www.aclu-mass.org/action/ruleoflaw/

In addition to these free news updates, we offer premium analytical services to our subscribers. People who purchase subscriptions to AML/CFT Monitor, Critical Infrastructure Monitor, Disaster Reduction Monitor, Emerging Threat Monitor, Global Terrorism Monitor, or Political Risk Monitor receive monthly publications and are entitled to get our Special Reports at no additional cost.

Email info@tamni.com for details about the new products, publications, and information about services, including custom research.


HOW TO CONTACT US:

Please contact us with your questions or comments by sending email to .

If you want to be removed from this list, please reply to the message with REMOVE in the subject line.
Editorial Team
TerrorismCentral

All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2006 by The Asset Management Network Inc.

DISCLAIMER: This publication is made available with the understanding that it does not provide legal or other professional services. Although we have used sources we believe to be reliable and every effort has been taken to ensure accuracy of information, we cannot guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or usefulness. The opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of The Asset Management Network Inc. The Asset Management Network Inc. is not responsible for the content of external websites. Mention of such websites does not imply endorsement. The Asset Management Network Inc. specifically disclaims any liability or loss which is incurred as a consequence, direct or indirect, of the use or application of this publication.

This Newsletter, "Global Terrorism Monitor", "Political Risk Monitor", "AML/CFT Monitor", "Emerging Threat Monitor", "Critical Infrastructure Monitor", and associated databases are published by The Asset Management Network, Inc., P.O. Box 380313, Cambridge MA 02238-0313. Tel + 1 , Fax + 1 . Email