AUTHOR:
TerrorismCentral Editorial Staff
TITLE:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter - March 19, 2006
SOURCE:
TerrorismCentral, March 19, 2006
TEXT:
The World Water Forum is underway in Mexico City, 16-22 March. Full coverage of this topic is in Critical Infrastructure Protection/Water, below. Other news includes violence across Palestinian territories following Israel's assault on a Jericho prison, a US National Security Strategy that names Iran the biggest threat, new reports on Tamil Tiger financing, and the latest updates on pandemic flu, the levees in New Orleans, and other developments from the past 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
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.
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GTM Africa
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Abdelhak Layada ("Abu Adlane"), one of the founders of Algeria's Armed Islamic Group (GIA), has been granted amnesty and freed from prison. He had been sentenced to death for his role in the Algerian civil war.
Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers clashed with Nationalist Integrationist Front (FNI) militiamen in the northeastern Ituri district. The army reports many soldiers were wounded, 13 militiamen killed and two captured, and about 10,000 people displaced.
Thomas Lubanga has become the first person arrested on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. He is the leader of Democratic Republic of Congo's rebel Union of Congolese Patriots, and stands accused of war crimes including killing of peacekeepers, incitement, and use of child soldiers.
http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/132.html
Liberia has issued a formal extradition request to Nigeria for the return to former President Charles Taylor, to face war crimes charges in Sierra Leone. Nigerian President Obasanjo had granted asylum with the understanding that Taylor's immunity would stand only as long as he refrained from interference in Liberian politics. Taylor has been connected with financing rebel activities and other activities, but Obasanjo wants to confer with other African leaders before agreeing to the request.
Dissident Casamance separatist rebels from Senegal and Guinea-Bissau government forces clashed at the border. Hardliners with the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC) have rejected a peace deal reached by the main movement because it does not provide independence. Fighting began Tuesday night, sparked by MFDC fighters attempting to purchase weapons in a Guinea-Bissau border town. Casualties are unclear, but at least two soldiers have been killed, and about a thousand people (the entire civilian population) displaced.
US naval forces exchanged fire with suspected pirates. One person was killed, five injured, and 13 captured. They deny piracy and say they were protecting the area from foreign fishing vessels.
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=22784
http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php
Insecurity in Darfur, Sudan continues to rise, with a series of deadly attacks undertaken by a group of about a thousand militants. They traveled in vehicles, on camels, and horses, killing villagers and stealing livestock. Disturbing incidents of sexual violence against children are also reported. The UN refugee agency's compound in south Sudan was attacked and a local guard and one attacker was killed, and two people injured.
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GTM Americas
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Canada's attorney general has signed an "authority to proceed", which starts an extradition hearing to determine whether Abdullah Khadr will be extradited to the US, where he has been indicted on charges of cooperating with Al Qaeda and plotting to kill US troops in Afghanistan.
The US Department of Justice has created a National Security Division that brings together the department's national security, counterterrorism, counterintelligence and foreign intelligence surveillance operations, as recommended by the WMD Commission.
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/March/06_opa_136.html
The Department's Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun another attempt to modernize their case management and information-sharing efforts, "Sentinel".
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel06/sentinalcontract031606.htm
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0614/final.pdf
The death penalty hearing of confessed al Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui was thrown into disarray last week following revelation of serious prosecutorial misconduct. The case was suspended pending review that resulted in the judge determining that Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) witnesses that had been improperly coached by an FAA attorney would not be permitted to testify but alternate witnesses could testify.
The trial of four members of the Aryan Brotherhood has opened in California. The white supremacists are accused of ordering dozens of murders of other inmates over the last 30 years, and are accused of also running drug trafficking rings from inside prison.
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GTM Asia Pacific
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Indonesia is preparing indictments against Abdul Aziz, Anif Solchahudin, and Muhammad Cholily, who are suspected of assisting with the October 2005 Bali suicide bombings that killed the three bombers and 20 other people. All three say they are ready to die, and only regret that Muslims died along with the Americans that were the target.
In Poso, Central Sulawesi, police detained seven suspects linked to Jemaah Islamiah and Noordin Top. They are suspected in a series of armed robberies in which the proceeds were used to finance attacks, and in connection with two bombing incidents, including a market attack last December that killed seven and injured 56.
Japan's Tokyo High Court upheld Tomomitsu Niimi's death sentence. He had been convicted of bringing the sarin gas to the subway, where it was used in the 1995 gas attack that killed 12 and injured more than 5,000.
Philippine soldiers and rebels with the New People's Army (NPA) fought in the southern Agusan del Sur province last Sunday evening. At the end of the battle, eight rebels and three soldiers were dead, and several others were injured. The soldiers were the victims of anti-personnel landmines, which are prohibited under the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. An NPA ambush killed a soldier and wounded five, while an army patrol attack on NPA killed one rebel on Wednesday.
Abu Sayyaf member Burham Sali ("Commander Abu Sanny") was arrested for his alleged involvement in multiple kidnappings. Julkaram Maron Hadjail, allegedly trained in bomb making with Jemaah Islamiah, was the second Abu Sayyaf member arrested last week.
Violence in southern Thailand continued with multiple attacks by suspected separatists. In multiple drive-by shootings eight people were killed. Two bombings killed five people.
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GTM Europe
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A car bomb in Paris killed one person. French police are investigating but believe it to be connected with criminal enterprise.
Russia has opened the trial for negligence against three police officers accused of ignoring security warnings prior to the September 2004 Beslan school siege.
Turkish police are investigating the source of an explosion that went off outside a British-owned HSBC bank branch in Diyarbakir, near the Syrian border. Two people were injured.
With the completion of the Stockwell Investigation into the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has finished its Recommendation Report of lessons to learn and operational changes to consider. The report will not be released publicly until law enforcement, prosecutors, and other officials have reviewed it, and until the findings of the investigation are published.
http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/pr140306_stockwell
Mohammed Ajmal Khan has been sentenced to nine years in prison following his conviction in British court in connection with purchasing equipment for Lashkar-e-Toiba to use in its terrorist operations.
http://cms.met.police.uk/news/arrests_and_charges/terrorism/british_man_jailed_nine_years_for_terrorism
Algerian terrorist suspect "A" is negotiating a voluntary return to Algeria. Despite the risk of prosecution in Algeria, he says that being held in the UK for three years without charge and the limits imposed a control order following his release have made life for his family intolerable.
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GTM Middle East
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Across Gaza and the West Bank, a wave of violence spread across the Palestinian territories following an Israeli raid on the Jericho prison in the West Bank. Following a 9-hour siege, Israeli troops took over the prison, killed a guard and three prisoners, and forced the surrender of militant leader Ahmed Saadat and five other militants. Saadat is leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and is believed to have ordered the 2001 assassination of cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi. Britain and the US were blamed for the attack because they withdrew prison monitors, which Israel said meant the men would be released. Anti-Western attacks that followed included nearly a dozen kidnappings, vandalism, and an arson attack against the British Council building. The revelation that Britain and the US had been informed of the attack in advance has seriously damaged relations between them and the Palestinian Authority. PFLP retaliatory actions are anticipated.
An armed assault in Iran killed 22 people, mostly government employees. Seven people were injured, including the provincial governor Hossein Ali Nouri and his deputy, who were critically injured. Iranian police say the gunmen were Afghans disguised as police and supported by British and US intelligence.
Iran denies US accusations that it is providing weapons and intelligence to Iraqi insurgents. US General Peter Pace acknowledges there is no proof of administration statements that roadside bombs in Iraq contained components from Iran. Both countries have agreed to hold talks regarding security in Iraq.
Iraq experienced intense violence, mostly sectarian, including a series of bomb and mortar attacks across Iraq that killed at least 80 people last Sunday. This week:
Monday: Two car bombings in Baghdad killed two civilians and two police. One child and three adults were injured in a mortar attack. Three separate roadside bombs killed two civilians and four police, and injured 12. In Tikrit a car bomb injured five bodyguards, and another bomb targeting a police patrol killed five and injured 18. In Kirkuk two car bombs killed two and wounded four policemen
Tuesday: Children playing soccer reported a terrible smell to police who uncovered 29 bodies, some tortured, and all shot. Also in Baghdad, 15 bodies were found in a bus. A number of shooting incidents killed 40 people, including four executed as traitors. Newspaper editor Muhsin Khudayyir was also shot dead.
Wednesday: Another 27 bodies were found in Baghdad, apparently executed. In Baquba, a roadside bomb killed three 12 and 13-year old students of a girls' school, and injured two. A suicide bomber on a bicycle missed a police patrol but killed himself and two civilians. Near Balad, a US air strike targeting a suspected militant killed 11 civilians, mostly women and children.
Thursday: Kurdish security forces opened fire on hundreds of anti-government demonstrators, killing one and injuring eight. The demonstrators attacked and destroyed a memorial to the 1988 Halabja poison gas attack because it was seen as serving an exploitative political end. In Baghdad, four bodies were found, four college students were shot dead, and an Iraqi translator for the US was shot and four family members killed in their home. In Ramadi, an armed assault on a checkpoint killed three civilians and injured six.
Friday: drive-by shootings, roadside and bus bombs, set along the Shiite pilgrim's road to Karbala, caused 19 casualties
A Jordanian military court found Osama Abu-Hazim, Hatem Ensour, Mohammad Arabiyat and Yazan Al-Haliq guilty of plotting terrorist attacks against Jordanian intelligence agents and foreign interests. The four men from prominent tribal families were sentenced to prison terms ranging from ten years to life.
The UN investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri reports considerable progress, including Syrian agreement to cooperate. New lines of enquiry have been uncovered, with evidence pointing to both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in the bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people.
http://www.globalterrorismmonitor.com/2006/03/GTM1901.shtml
Syrian forces fought members of Tanzim Jund al-Sham lil-Jihad wa al-Tawhid ("Jund al-Sham", "Organization of the Soldiers of the Levant for Jihad and Monotheism"), killing two militants: Mohammed Ali Nassif and Yasser Adawi.
Israeli border police in an arrest operation shot and killed a 10-year old Palestinian girl in the West Bank. Her uncle was shot in the head and arrested. Another Palestinian was shot dead for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at troops.
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GTM South Asia
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Afghanistan's Taleban militants reported that four foreigners kidnapped at the weekend killed, and four Afghans captured at the same time were freed. Returning from retrieving the bodies, five Afghan policemen were killed in a roadside bomb. In Paktia, local official Mohammed Zahir shot dead a suspected Taleban attacker before he was killed. In Ghazni province, suspected Taleban ambushed and shot dead former provincial governor Mullah Taj Mohammad ("Qari Baba") and three companions.
Military forces in Afghanistan have seen a major upsurge in attacks against them, including suicide attacks and roadside bombings. Last weekend a roadside bombing killed four US marines. Eleven suspects have been detained. Canadian troops in Kandahar opened fire on a civilian taxi as it approached a checkpoint, killing a passenger. This incident is under investigation.
Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) forces laid siege to the Shakil home in the eastern town of Comilla. Suspected Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) member and leading bomb-maker Shakil ("Mollah Omar") was shot dead. His wife and their two children, aged four years and 18-months, were blown to bits in bomb explosions meant to defend them. JMB leader Abdur Rahman's son Nabil and colleague Alamgir ("Bijoy") were arrested.
In India's Jkarkhand state, Maoist rebels seized a passenger train with as many as 200 passengers on board. They held passengers captive for about 12 hours before releasing them, prior to the arrival of authorities.
Gujarat police killed four militants who opened fire during routine police searches. They have been identified as Harkat-ul-Mujahideen members based in Kashmir, and believed to have been planning attacks in India.
Three Maoist rebels in West Bengal have been found guilty of waging war against India. Santosh Debnath and Patit Paban Haidar were sentenced to life in prison. Sushil Roy was sentenced to five years, because of poor health. Zakir Hussain was found not guilty.
In Indian-administered Kashmir, security forces killed Laskhar-e-Toiba militants Abu Muzafa Shah of Pakistan and Abu Marsan, who were suspected of murder. Suspected Hizbul Mujahhideen militants are believed responsible for shooting dead a man and his wife, apparently in connection with the surrender of their son-in-law, an HM member, last month. Indian security forces also killed three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants and Pakistani commander of Harkat-ul-Mujahadeen, Asaan.
Nepal's Maoist rebels have expelled Rabindra Shreshtha and Ankul for the counterrevolutionary activity of publicly criticizing its top leaders.
Maoist rebels began a blockade to help force King Gyanendra to end direct rule. The indefinite blockade began on Tuesday, and caused great hardship among the public by crippling transportation, stopping supplies, and driving up food prices. After reaching agreement with the main opposition party, the blockade has been lifted. A general strike is planned for next month.. There have been a number of attacks against security forces and civilians.
In Pakistan's Balochistan province, an improvised explosive exploded in front of a grocery store near a girl's college, injuring 14 people, mostly schoolgirls. Rocket fire blew up two power transmission towers and damaged checkpoints.
Pakistan's security forces demolished the Khalifa Islami Madrassa in North Waziristan, which has alleged Taleban links, and ordered all Afghan nationals to leave the area. Pakistan denies reports that Taleban groups are dispensing Sharia justice committees. Militants in South Waziristan are blamed for a remote-controlled roadside bomb that killed three police, three paramilitary soldiers, and a passer-by.
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are blamed for the abduction of three teenagers, which led to student protests that injured a bus driver. The Tigers deny any involvement, and say that a rival group was responsible. The Tigers warn that unless the government disarms militias, including the breakaway rebel commander Karuna, the peace talks are in danger.
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.
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PRM Africa
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Benin will hold the second round of presidential elections on 19 March after no candidate reached the 50 percent mark needed for outright victory. Former banker Boni Yayi, with 25.64 percent of the first-round vote, will face politician and lawyer Adrien Houngbedji, who had come in second with 24.12 percent.
Central African Republic has confirmed that rebellion, not banditry, is underway. President Bozize said that his ousted rival, Patasse, is recruiting mercenaries and has established a training camp near the border with Sudan.
Chad reports that the army foiled an attempt to shoot down President Idriss Deby's plane and launch a coup. Those allegedly involved have been arrested.
Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing for its first elections. To understand how difficult this will be, read this:
http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/2006/03/PRM1901.shtml
Eritrea and Ethiopia met with UN and US representatives and agreed to reopen field offices and allow border demarcation to resume. Further talks will be held next month.
Ethiopia blamed Eritrea for three explosions earlier this month that injured four people. Eritrea denies the charge.
Ivory Coast's fragile security situation is threatened by violent rhetoric in the media that encourages resumption of conflict. There has been a marked increase in violence against women and children. However, rebel New Forces leader Guillaume Soro has returned to Abidjan for the first time in more than a year, and has taken his seat in the government of national unity, which held its first meeting since 2004.
Kenya's Attorney General Amos Wako has charged five people with fraud in connection with the Goldenberg affair, in which millions were paid for non-existent exports of gold and diamonds in the early 1990s, under Daniel arap Moi's administration. Those accused are Kamlesh Pattni, a business, and four former government officials: James Kanyotu, intelligence head; Wilfred Karunga Koinange, treasury secretary; and central bank governors Eric Kotut and Eliphaz Riungu. The former vice-president was named in the investigation but cannot be prosecuted. President Moi was also implicated.
The Nigerian Bar Association reports that its 2-day protest over government's disregard for the rule of law was a complete success, in which nearly all of its 50,000 members stayed away from court for two days, shutting down legal proceedings across the country.
Somalia's transitional federal parliament held its first session in Somalia.
The International Crisis Group describes an approach "To Save Darfur". Their report suggests:
Without rapidly boosting international forces in the region, the Darfur crisis and "the escalating proxy war between Sudan and Chad will cost tens of thousands more lives and destabilise a wide swathe of Africa. The small African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) has reached its military and political limits, and the African Union has accepted in principle a UN mission after September 2006. However, the situation cries out for a new multinational force with a strong protection mandate, distinct from AMIS but working with it, to bridge the gap over the crucial next six months. A militarily capable UN member state ñ France seems the most promising candidate ñ should offer to the Security Council to lead for this purpose a blue-helmet stabilisation force, consisting of some 5,000 troops."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4027
Togo opposition leader Harry Olympio is being sought after 13 people arrested in connection with a bomb attack on police headquarters last month said they were working for him.
Ethnic Pokot warriors from Kenya attacked a Ugandan camp for displaced people. The Pokot used assault rifles to kill 16 Ugandans and steal their cattle.
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PRM Americas
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Bolivia's Attorney General Pedro Gareca is attempting to bring charges against former presidents Carlos Mesa, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and Jorge Quiroga for corrupt contracts with foreign oil companies that violate the constitution. Interim President Eduardo Rodriguez also faces charges for destroying Bolivian missiles in the US, weakening Bolivian defenses. The Supreme Court is reviewing the allegations and will decide whether to pass the cases on to congress.
Brazilian human rights organizations and Amnesty International warn that police are using black tank-like vehicles known as the caveirao (big skull) to terrorize people in the favelas (slums). The military tactics are having devastating consequences on the local population.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR190092006
"Colombia: Towards Peace and Justice?" is the topic of a new report from the International Crisis Group that warns:
"If the Colombian government does not change its policy on the demobilisation of paramilitaries, it risks prolonging the 40-year armed conflict and damaging democracy. Paramilitary demobilisation is now drawing to a close, but President Alvaro Uribe may be prioritising a quick fix removal of the extreme right-wing group from the conflict at the cost of justice for their victims and at the risk of leaving their criminal power structures largely untouched. While the July 2005 Justice and Peace Law has serious shortcomings that make it difficult to end impunity and establish the truth for grave crimes committed by demobilised individuals and to achieve fully satisfactory reparations for victims, it can be an important vehicle for protecting Colombiaís democracy against dangerous paramilitary and criminal interference. It needs, however, to be revised and implemented effectively."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4020
Ecuador is investigating another possible violation of its airspace by Colombia. Such border incidents have provoked tension between the two countries.
Ecuador's indigenous population continued protests against a proposed free trade agreement with the US, but eased their nationwide blockades at the end of the week, warning that if the trade deal is signed their activities will increase.
In Mexico City, peaceful protests surrounding the World Water Forum turned violent when a small number of radical youths brought out a variety of explosives. The situation was kept under control and 17 people were arrested.
US President Bush issued a new "National Security Strategy" that labels Iran the greatest threat. It lists the essential tasks as:
* Champion aspirations for human dignity;
* Strengthen alliances to defeat global terrorism and work to prevent attacks against us and our friends;
* Work with others to defuse regional conflicts;
* Prevent our enemies from threatening us, our allies, and our friends with weapons of mass destruction (WMD);
* Ignite a new era of global economic growth through free markets and free trade;
* Expand the circle of development by opening societies and building the infrastructure of democracy;
* Develop agendas for cooperative action with other main centers of global power;
* Transform America's national security institutions to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century; and
* Engage the opportunities and confront the challenges of globalization.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss/2006/
"Operation Community Shield" undertaken by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was designed to arrested disrupt and dismantle transnational, violent street gangs. During the latest 2-week operation 375 gang members and associates in 23 states were arrested in a combined, national effort.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0878.xml
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PRM Asia Pacific
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Cambodia and the UN have signed key agreements to set up the legal foundations for the administration and operation of the Extraordinary Chambers to try Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings and other crimes during the 1970s.
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference concluded its annual session with a resolution to oppose and check forces and activities supporting Taiwan independence. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has promised to improve lives of poor farmers by punishing officials who seize land without compensation and to take measures to address growing economic divisions.
Thousands of Taiwanese have joined two protest rallies this week to ask President Chen to scale back a US weapons deal and his pro-independence stance, which have stoked tensions with China.
East Timor has dismissed more than a third of its soldiers for refusing to return to service. A promised government inquiry did not meet their demands for better working conditions and an end to selective promotion.
Indonesia's Supreme Court reinstated a 10-year prison sentence for Eurico Guterres for crimes against humanity in East Timor before its 1999 independence vote.
Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi said a US troop relocation plan will proceed despite Iwakuni city's 8-to-1 vote against expanding the US airbase.
In Papua province, protestors demanding the closure of the Freeport gold mine stormed the Sheraton Timika hotel where a number of local officials were staying. They caused significant property damage but no damage, and 15 people have been arrested. The next day, Indonesian police came under attack while using force to control protesters. Three policemen and a soldier were beaten to death, and 19 were injured. Dozens were arrested.
South Korea has opened immigration checkpoints at the demilitarized zone, supporting South Koreans commute to a new industrial zone in the north.
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan has resigned for playing golf rather than returning to work to deal with a national rail strike.
Thailand's military opposes a suggestion by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to declare a state of emergency, since widespread demonstrations have remained largely peaceful.
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PRM Europe
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Belarus held presidential elections today in which President Alexander Lukashenko has gone to great lengths to ensure re-election. In addition to threatening to wring the necks of opponents, poll monitors have been refused entry, independent papers barred, and harassment, intimidation and arrest of opposition activists. As the voting ended, opposition supporters gathered to protest fraud and ballot rigging.
Estonia's first post-independence president, Lennart Meri, has died age 76. He had served from 1992-2001.
While trade unions threaten a general strike and students across France continue sometimes violent protests against controversial government reforms regarding youth employment, a new report from the International Crisis Group addresses another aspect of youth unrest. "France and its Muslims: Riots, Jihadism and Depoliticisation" explains:
" France faces a problem with its Muslim population, but it is not the problem it generally assumes. The October-November 2005 riots coupled with the wave of arrests of suspected jihadists moved the question of Islam to the forefront of French concerns and gave new life to concerns about the threat of a Muslim world mobilised by political Islamism. Yet the opposite is true: paradoxically, it is the exhaustion of political Islamism, not its radicalisation, that explains much of the violence, and it is the depoliticisation of young Muslims, rather than their alleged reversion to a radical kind of communalism, that ought to be cause for worry. The key to minimising the risks of rioting and militant jihadism is to curb forms of state violence being exercised against predominantly Muslim, working-class neighbourhoods and to promote political participation by their residents."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4014&l=1
Kosovans of both Albanian and Serbian ethnic groups have resumed talks on the future of the province.
Latvia arrested 60 people for defying a ban on nationalist demonstrations honoring Latvians who fought in Nazi Germany's Waffen SS.
Slobodan Milosevic's autopsy revealed he died of a heart attack caused by two underlying heart conditions. He had expressed the belief that he was being poisoned, so a toxicological screening was also conducted, and provisional findings show no indication of poisoning or toxic levels of prescribed substances. A final report may be available at the end of next week. Russian and Serbian officials are participating in the investigation. He has now been buried in his home town of Pozarevac in Serbia.
http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1052-e.htm
http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1056-e.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/yugo/article/0,,1729610,00.html
Britain's House of Lords rejected a government plan to introduce mandatory identity cards for a third time.
Government officials have acknowledges that aircraft operated by the CIA to undertake renditions landed in the UK 73 times since 2001.
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PRM Middle East
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Gaza faces economic and human catastrophe connected with limits on movement imposed by Israel. The Center for the Defense of the Individual has petitioned Israel's High Court of Justice to reduce or lift the present ban on all movement between Gaza and the West Bank. Greenhouses purchased by the Palestinian Economic Development Company have been forced to destroy tons of agricultural produce that was not allowed to cross the border, at the height of the European sale season. The World Bank has also warned of the need to prevent economic calamity.
http://www.hamoked.org.il/
Hamas has formed a government of its members and technocrats. Their efforts to form a coalition government failed to attract support from other factions, particularly Fatah, which fears damaging its relationship with the US.
Iran has released Akbar Ganji from prison. The country's most prominent dissident journalist, he had served five years for writing articles linking senior officials to the death of dissidents. Read a profile here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4715439.stm
Facing the third year since the US-led invasion of Iraq, demonstrations against the war for the first time have been coordinated among Iraq, the UK and US. Large demonstrations took place in Baghdad, Basra, Madrid, New York, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, and elsewhere. From former Prime Minister Allawi to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr to US Congressman John Murtha, there is a growing consensus that Iraq is now in a state of civil war. As Allawi said, "...it's unfortunate that we are in a civil war, we are losing a day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more. If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is." Iran and the US are concerned enough to hold joint talks regarding Iraq's security situation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/sunday_am/4822496.stm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/
Meanwhile, a travel ban was in place to support the opening session of parliament, while the US military launched "Operation Swarmer", using a well-publicized air assault but involving few troops and facing little response to the action that is targeting suspected insurgents near Samarra.
Israel is anticipating attacks by Fatah members and revenge strikes from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Fatah, out of political power, is turning towards attacks, partly as a way to finance security operatives. PFLP is interested in retaliating against the raid on a Palestinian prison to seize prominent Palestinians, including PFLP leader Ahmed Saadat. The raid led to riots across the territories and widespread regional criticism. Palestinian leader Abbas called Saadat's seizure a humiliating and unforgivable crime. Egyptian President Mubarak said the actions violated an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Jordan's King Abdullah called it an escalation that threatened the peace process and regional security. Saudi Arabia hosted an Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting that called the raid state terrorism.
US policy in the Middle East driven is discussed in a new study released by Harvard University and University of Chicago researchers. "The Israel Lobby" by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt finds that:
"For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread 'democracy' throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides. Instead, the thrust of US policy in the region derives almost entirely from domestic politics, and especially the activities of the 'Israel Lobby'. Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US interests and those of the other country - in this case, Israel - are essentially identical."
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html
Lebanon's continuing National Dialog has reached agreement that the disputed Shebaa Farms is Lebanese, to establish diplomatic relations with Syria, and to disarm Palestinian factions outside refugee camps.
Lebanon and Syria have promised to pay for the damages caused to the Danish embassies in February during the Mohammed cartoon riots.
Syria has switched from US dollars to Euros for its budget
An Israeli soldier killed in the West Bank died from friendly fire, not from militant attacks.
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PRM South Asia
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Afghanistan and Pakistan launched its first cross-border bus service after nearly 30 years. The first route will link Jalalabad to Peshawar, running once a week.
Bangladesh's government, which includes supporters of militant Islam linked to Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), is under increasing pressure to investigate whether politicians had supported extremists and to complete investigations of the actual perpetrators, rather than merely latching on to opposition groups. There is also increasing pressure to ban all militant Islamist organizations, including Hizbut Tahrir. Bangladesh has banned only four organizations: JMB, Jamatul Mujahideen, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (HuJi).
An Indian parliamentary committee has recommended that four members of parliament (Fhaggan Singh Kuleste of BJP, Churchill Alemao of Congress, Paras Nath Yadav of Samajwadi, and Ramswaroop Koli of BJP) be suspended for improper conduct for their role in a public works corruption scandal.
Nepal's Supreme Court has ruled that the detentions of opposition party Nepali Congress-Democratic leaders Bimalendra Nidhi and Pradip Giri were illegal. They have been released.
In Pakistan, more than 500 people were arrested in Lahore for flying kites despite a ban prohibiting them following a number of deaths caused by glass-coated or metal kite strings.
Sri Lanka's in peace process is in jeopardy following charges by the Tamil Tigers that the government has not kept its promise to disarm paramilitary units. Norway has appointed Jon Hanssen-Bauer as the new mediator.
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.
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AML/CFT Incidents/Cases
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Bangladesh Bank (BB) is investigating three branches of Islami Bank, one of Rupali Bank, and one of Janata Bank, which have been linked to accounts held by Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) kingpin Sheikh Abdur Rahman. The central bank gave notice of violations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, including lapses in customer identification in opening accounts and suspicious transactions. Islami Bank defended itself against the accusations, saying there were no definitions of what constituted a suspicious transaction, no way to tell who is a militant, and that transactions outside the banking system were outside their jurisdiction. Five bank officials have been suspended and 18 charged with negligence. Bangladesh's home ministry formed a 3-member committee to pursue the investigation and determine what actions to take. They will report next week.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/15/d6031501096.htm
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/16/d60316060464.htm
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/17/d6031701033.htm
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/19/d60319070188.htm
Lebanese banker Rana Abdel Rahim Koleilat was arrested in Brazil. She is wanted in Lebanon on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and forgery in connection with the 2003 collapse of Bank al-Madina, which has been linked to Lebanese and Syrian officials as well as the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. She will be questioned about her possible in financing Hariri's assassination. At her arrest, she attempted to bribe officials and in detention she cut her wrist, in what was deemed an attempt to draw attention. Brazil and Lebanon do not have an extradition treaty, but the transfer is expected to proceed without problem.
http://internacional.radiobras.gov.br/ingles/materia_i_2004.php?materia=259229
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=23050
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=22995
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/13/AR2006031301044.html
The UK Financial Services Agency (FSA) has fined Capita Financial Administrators Limited (CFA) GBP 300,000 for poor anti-fraud controls over client identities and accounts. This is the first time FSA has fined a company for failures of anti-fraud systems and controls, which had contributed by a small number of frauds facilitated by insiders. CFA is a third party administrator of collective investment plans.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2006/019.shtml
Malachy James Molloy and Patricia Molloy of Northern Ireland have had assets, including houses and land in the Irish Republic, worth about GBP 1.4 million frozen by the High Court. Their assets were allegedly derived from fuel smuggling.
http://www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk/
Bangladesh's central bank has fined Oriental Bank Taka 100,000 (about $1,500) for failure to report some suspicious transactions at its Karwan Bazar branch.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/16/d60316012519.htm
Cheng Chui Ping ("Sister Ping") has been sentenced to 35 years in prison following her money laundering and conspiracy in human trafficking conviction. She received the maximum penalty under law for running a multi-million dollar scheme that transported hundreds of illegal immigrants to the US in crowded cargo ships.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/17/content_4310322.htm
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/march06/sisterping031706.htm
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AML/CFT Legislation and Regulation
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In China, the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress has approved the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-03/13/content_533430.htm
The Control Arms Campaign has found that each of the 13 UN arms embargoes imposed in the past ten years has been systematically violated. Monitoring teams have inadequate resources, state officials are often complicit, many member states have not ratified UN embargoes into criminal laws, and prosecutions are rare.
http://www.iansa.org/
The Dutch Ministry of Finance sponsored a conference on Countering the Financing of Terrorism, held in The Hague 15-16 March. Participants agreed that significant progress has been made and that now countries, international institutions and the private sector, need to expand and refine systems to create an effective and comprehensive system. Necessary measures include:
* Enhance financial investigation as standard part of (criminal) investigations into terrorist activity
* Information from financial investigations, storing and moving funds, should be used to help recognize possible threats and suspicious transactions and for applying targeted financial controls.
* Communication between the public/private sector
* Remove obstacles to exchange of relevant information
* Help countries improve implementation of FATF recommendations
Ministerial conclusions
http://www.minfin.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=MFCWD8B8A94B0222E4A7C958792AB67647C95X2X81081
Speech by Minister Zalm
http://www.minfin.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=5BF05969A8C5418CA91958446F318E24X1X48336X99
Remarks by US Under-Secretary Levey
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js4119.htm
US President Bush renewed economic sanctions against Iran that have been in place since 1995.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060313-9.html
The Institute for International Economics has updated its chronology and assessment of the impact of economic sanctions on Iran.
Case study:
http://www.iie.com/research/topics/sanctions/iran.pdf.
Hufbauer and Schott's analysis:
http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/paper.cfm?ResearchID=606
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AML/CFT Modalities
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Human Rights Watch issued a new report, "Funding the 'Final War': LTTE Intimidation and Extortion in the Tamil Diaspora" that details expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers using intimidation, extortion, and violence to finance their independence campaign. Also note previous reporting in the Toronto star, and calls for a government investigation.
http://hrw.org/reports/2006/ltte0306/
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
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1142376616829
A Philippine Information Agency report given to Sun.Star Zamboanga confirms that some congressmen and other party list legislators have channeled countryside development funds to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People's Army. A military investigation into the allegations is under way.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2006/03/14/news/people.s.money.funds.terrorist.group.html
http://www.css.org.ph/
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.
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ETM Economies and Financial Systems
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The US Senate voted to increase the debt limit to $8.965 trillion, which is seven percent of gross domestic product (GDP). When Bush took office in 2001, the national debt was 5.7 trillion. Foreigners own nearly half of the debt, with Japan and China the largest creditors. To put this in perspective:
* a stack of this many 1-dollar bills would reach 600,000 miles, two and a half times the distance to the moon.
* this is enough to purchase 28 Eiffel towers made of gold, or 9,000 Buckingham Palaces
The 14 least developed countries in Asia-Pacific met to review progress in meeting development goals. To meet these goals, they called on their trading partners to provide bound, duty- and quota-free access to all exports, and to simplify rules of origin.
http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2006/mar/g05.asp
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ETM Environment and Climate Change
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The World Water Forum is underway in Mexico City, 16-22 March. Full coverage of this topic is in Critical Infrastructure Protection/Water, below.
The US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has overturned a Bush-administration regulation that would exempt most equipment changes from Clean Air Act emission rules. A coalition of more than a dozen states and environmental groups brought the suit and called this a victory for public health. The court said that the plain language of the Act permitted no other interpretation and that "Only in a Humpty Dumpty world would Congress be required to use superfluous words while an agency could ignore an expansive word that Congress did use. We decline to adopt such a world-view".
http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200603/03-1380a.pdf
Global greenhouse gases increased to the highest levels ever recorded, mainly due to human activity. This was reported in the World Meteorological Organization's first annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.
http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html
Global warming is threatening World Heritage sites including Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Sagarmatha National Park (Mount Everest in Nepal), the Tower of London and Timbuktu (Mali).
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=32113&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.unesco.org/bpi/pdf/memobpi27_worldheritage_en.pdf
A new ocean is forming that will, relatively quickly in geological terms, separate the Horn of Africa from the rest of the continent.
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,405947,00.html
The UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology is being restructured, closing four of its eight research stations and reducing staff from 600 to 400. These cuts, coming despite government support for measures to stem global warming, have been widely criticized as a devastating blow to environmental research.
http://www.ceh.ac.uk/
http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/23224/
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ETM Human Rights
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The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved creation of the new Human Rights Council, which replaces the discredited Human Rights Commission. The US was isolated in its opposition to the move, with only Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau joining its "no" vote. Belarus, Iran and Venezuela abstained.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17811&Cr=rights&Cr1=council
http://www.ohchr.org/english/press/hrc/index.htm
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/03/16/ap2599128.html
http://hrw.org/doc/?t=united_nations
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sponsored the High-level Conference on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children: Prevention - Protection - Prosecution. The meeting called for a focus on the victims, and global cooperation to address the entire chain of criminal networks and apprehend the traffickers.
The US Department of Justice released "Report on Activities to Combat Human Trafficking, Fiscal Years 2001-2005". During this time, the department filed 91 trafficking cases, an increase of more than 300 percent over the previous five years. In these cases, 248 defendants were charged and 140 convicted.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/trafficking_report_2006.pdf
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ETM Infectious Diseases
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As human deaths from avian influenza H5N1 climb to 100, new outbreaks have been reported in Afghanistan, Burma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Malaysia and Sweden. Falling poultry consumption has made demand and prices fall or collapse, and several countries have undertaken campaigns to encourage people to continue to eat bird products. The World Health Organization has issued a revised rapid response and containment protocol. US financial regulators have issued new interagency advice for influenza pandemic preparedness. The International Monetary Fund has issued guidance for business continuity planning.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/guidelines/draftprotocol2006_03_17/en/index.html
http://www.criticalinfrastructuremonitor.com/2006/03/CIM1901.shtml
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/afp/2006/eng/022806.htm
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ETM Populations
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In the last five years, the number of asylum seekers arriving in all industrialized countries has fallen by half, according to preliminary annual figures released by the UN refugee agency on Friday. Asylum applications in 50 industrialized countries fell sharply for the fourth year in a row in 2005, reaching their lowest level in almost two decades.
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=441929762
Mauritania and Spain have agreed new border controls to deter illegal migration that has resulted in the death of more than a thousand people in the last few months.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-08T162510Z_01_L08671669_RTRUKOC_0_US-SPAIN-IMMIGRATION-DEATHS.xml
http://www.la-moncloa.es/ActualidadHome/170306-Mauritania.htm (in Spanish)
"Education at a Glance" from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Europe, reports that Europe has fallen behind Asia in terms of education and skills. France and Germany are blamed for class bias that contributes to mediocre education, while praising Finland and South Korea for making educational investment a priority, and the increasing ability of China and India to deliver high skills at low costs.
http://www.oecd.org/document/34/0,2340,en_2649_201185_35289570_1_1_1_1,00.html
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Technology
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British scientists have used a virus that infects black-eyed peas as a scaffold on which to attach electronically active nanoparticles. They believe this use of virus particles as nanotech building blocks could be used in the future to build tiny electrical devices.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/107640323
http://www.jic.ac.uk/
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ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
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India has issued guidelines for implementing the 2005 Weapons of Mass Destruction Act.
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1018019
Russia has agreed to provide nuclear fuel to India to allow two fuel-starved reactors at the Tarapur power station to continue to operate safely. Russia has provided a limited quantity under a safety clause of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group. Since India is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) normal sale of nuclear material is prohibited. The US agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation with India cannot proceed without new congressional legislation. Although President Bush instructed congress to ratify the agreement without negotiation, the congress seems likely to put conditions on the complex technology sharing arrangements.
Indications that India has been involved in illicit nuclear activity have been supported in a new report from the Institute for Science and International Security. This report says:
"Indian nuclear and government officials have stated that India has an 'impeccable' nonproliferation record. Officials go so far as to claim that India does not engage in illicit nuclear procurement and has an exemplary record of preventing nuclear secrets from falling into the wrong hands. ISIS has uncovered a well-developed, active, and secret Indian program to outfit its uranium enrichment program and circumvent other countries' export control efforts. In addition, ISIS has concluded that Indian procurement methods for its nuclear program lead sensitive nuclear technology".
http://www.isis-online.org/publications/southasia/indianprocurement.pdf
Meanwhile, Pakistan has warned of the unraveling of the NPT. Iran has promised to continue nuclear research, while the UN Security Council is at an impasse over how to deal with the situation, and US President Bush has threatened use of force against Iran. North Korea says it will increase its efforts to produce more weapons to counter the threat of a US attack.
Libya and France have signed a cooperation agreement for peaceful nuclear energy.
The US Pentagon's 2007 budget request includes funds to support space weapons.
http://www.stimson.org/media/?SN=ME20060308964
Vietnam has become the 34th country to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
http://www.ctbto.org/press_centre/press_release.dhtml?item=275
Gotthard Lerch is on trial in Germany for breaking arms and export laws to provide gas centrifuge technology to Libya, through his connection to AQ Khan's international nuclear supermarket.
The Control Arms Campaign has found that each of the 13 UN arms embargoes imposed in the past ten years has been systematically violated. Monitoring teams have inadequate resources, state officials are often complicit, many member states have not ratified UN embargoes into criminal laws, and prosecutions are rare.
http://www.iansa.org/
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 .
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CIM Banking and Finance
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The International Monetary Fund and US financial regulators have issued guidance for influenza pandemic preparedness.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/afp/2006/eng/022806.htm
http://www.criticalinfrastructuremonitor.com/2006/03/CIM1901.shtml
Recent banking scandals in Italy have led the Milan stock exchange to introduce new corporate guidelines, bringing standards for director independence and financial literacy in line with international best practices.
Credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, have agreed on a new way to present consumer scores with uniform letter grades in place of traditional numeric ranges. "VantageScore" combines data from all three bureaus.
http://experian.global-pressoffice.com/documents/showdoc.cfm?doc=2127
CUNA Mutual Group reports increasing levels of credit and debit card fraud among the credit unions it insures. To stem the tide, they are offering competitive rates to credit unions adopting its Plastic Card Security Best Practices
http://www.cunamutual.com/cmg/articleDetail/0,1452,14793,00.html
A majority of physical attacks against ATMs in Europe still involve heavy vehicles crashing into a machine, but almost as many have involved gas or other explosives, and the number using this tactic is rising. Overall, skimming remains the dominant ARM crime.
http://www.atmmarketplace.com/research.htm?article_id=25262&pavilion=23&step=story
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CIM Chemical
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The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) advisory committee on children's health has warned that perchlorate (a military contaminant) poses a danger to health that EPA should regulate and that, prior to setting specific limits, must issue a health advisory to specifically protect exposed babies. The commonwealth of Massachusetts joined this criticism of administration policies against regulation by proposing their own standard to limit perchlorate levels in public water supplies.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/whatwe_recomm.htm#10
http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/press/perchlorate.htm
Members of the European Parliament have agreed to a ban on EU mercury exports by 2008, steps to extract and collect the dangerous substance from waste, and to limit its use, including a ban in new measurement devices.
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CIM Cybersecurity
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Researchers at the University of Michigan and Microsoft have created prototypes of a virtual machine rootkit, making it almost impossible to detect.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1936666,00.asp
VeriSign warns against a particularly dangerous distributed denial of service attack that uses domain name service recursion.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39257938,00.htm
http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/DNS-recursion121605.pdf
Microsoft has issued cumulative patches to vulnerabilities in its Office suite.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS06-012.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS06-011.mspx
http://secunia.com/advisories/19138
McAfee is offering assistance to customers of its anti-virus updates that misidentified legitimate programs as a virus.
http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/press/corporate/2006/20060313_154613.htm
Adobe has issued a patch to critical vulnerabilities in the Flash media player.
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/security/security_zone/apsb06-03.html
PWSteal-Bancos-Q is a Trojan that steals mouse clicks as well as keystrokes.
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/trojvbhv.html
The Dropper-FB Trojan's email claims to prove that former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic was murdered.
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/trojdropperfb.html
Compromised ATM cards have been blamed on theft, but a researcher at Gartner suggests there could be a widespread security problem related to storage of personal identification numbers (PINs).
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=138479
VISA warns that some cash registers may store personal customer data, which could then be hacked or stolen. Storage of this data is prohibited under card industry guidelines.
The European Data Protection Supervisor warns that the ease of sharing databases could compromise security of biometric data.
http://www.edps.eu.int/
The US House Government Reform Committee held hearings, "Is the Government Ready for a Digital Pearl Harbor?" at which its annual report card on federal computer security was released. The Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Health and Human Services, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Interior, and Agriculture were all given a failing grade of F. Barely above were the departments of Treasury, Commerce, Housing, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The overall average grade for federal computer security was D+.
http://reform.house.gov/GovReform/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=40762
US Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 200 sets out mandatory minimum-security requirements for federal information and information systems that are not national security systems and a risk-based process for selecting security controls necessary to satisfy these requirements.
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/
FIPS 201 for smart card-based identification of federal employees and contractors (the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card) has been modified to be consistent with other federal guidance.
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/#fips201-1.
In what JP Morgan Chase called an internet prank, a man was given a new credit card although the application form had been torn up, taped, and contained out-of-date and inconsistent information on it.
http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/creditcard/application.shtml
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/03/what_if_a_despe.html#posts
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/03/credit_card_com.html
Ruth Brier-Haephrati and Michael Haephrati pleaded guilty to industrial espionage charges over use of a Trojan horse. Subject to an Israeli judge accepting a plea bargain, they will face fines and up to four years in prison.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/694137.html
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CIM Defense Industrial Base
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Australian defense analysts have responded to a US Defense Department downgrade of their fighter jets, warning a parliamentary inquiry that this expensive purchase is aerodynamically incapable of maintaining air dominance.
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/esstrends/index.htm
http://smh.com.au/news/national/not-so-stealthy-the-15b-fighters/2006/03/13/1142098404532.html
The US Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings on the Joint Strike Fighter F136 Alternate Engine Program. UK Defense procurement minister Lord Drayson testified that the UK could withdraw from the joint purchase unless the US provides the technology transfer necessary for maintenance and upgrades.
http://armed-services.senate.gov/e_witnesslist.cfm?id=1803
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CIM Energy
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Russia agreed to provide nuclear fuel for two power stations in India. Pakistan plans to build two new nuclear power plants. Nepal was refused electricity from India for lack of supply.
As Kuwait's oil reserves are declining, they are considering opening the nationalized oil industry to foreign companies.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0316/p07s02-wome.html
Ken Miller writes in the Denver Business Journal about lack of security in the power generation sector.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2006/03/13/focus2.html
The US House Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines held oversight hearings on Pipeline Safety, finding reasonable standards in place.
http://www.house.gov/transportation/
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CIM Information Technology
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The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studied whether fingerprint system vendors could successfully use the Minutiae Interoperability Exchange Test (MINEX), rather than images of actual prints as the medium for exchanging data between different fingerprint matching systems. In multi-vendor tests, the new standard was found to be highly reliable.
http://fingerprint.nist.gov/minex04/
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CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
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Following the announcement in February of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, conversations are under way over preventing proliferation and the likelihood that the new fuel technology proposed in GNEP could readily be acquired by terrorists and used to create bombs.
http://www.thebulletin.org/article.php?art_ofn=ma06kuperman
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0316/p01s02-uspo.html
http://www.gnep.energy.gov/
http://fpc.state.gov/fpc/61808.htm
Scientists at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have designed and demonstrated the world's most accurate gamma ray detector, which eventually is expected to be useful in verifying inventories of nuclear materials and detecting radioactive contamination in the environment.
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/gammaraydetector.htm
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CIM Public Health and Healthcare
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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries launched a $4 million project to improve HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment among drug users and prisoners in five Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/press_release_2006-03-16.html
http://www.opec.org/home/
The US Department of Health and Human Services have released a pandemic influenza preparedness planning checklist designed for medical offices and clinics.
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/medical.html
A Special Article in the New England Journal of Medicine reports, "differences among sociodemographic subgroups in the observed quality of health care are small in comparison with the gap for each subgroup between observed and desirable quality of health care. Quality-improvement programs that focus solely on reducing disparities among sociodemographic subgroups may miss larger opportunities to improve care".
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/11/1147
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CIM Telecommunications
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The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) warns not to let lack of competition in the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy) limit the benefits of cheaper, faster internet access, as happened with a similar project in western and southern Africa.
http://www.apc.org/
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CIM Transportation
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The Philippines is in discussion with Indonesia and Malaysia regarding possibly establishing anti-terrorist sea lanes, using joint patrols and inspections.
The International Maritime Bureau has issued privacy alerts to address increasing threats in Somalia and new incidents at anchorage in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Ongoing port security problems are discussed in a US Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report:
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_06-24_Feb06.pdf
The European Commission has opened a public inquiry regarding rail and urban passenger transport security.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/security/consultations/index_en.htm
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CIM Water
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The World Water Forum is underway in Mexico City, 16-22 March. Further discussion of this topic will follow next week, after the meeting comes to an end on World Water Day.
Proceedings of the Forum are at the official web site here, which includes streaming video:
http://www.worldwaterforum4.org.mx
Supporting the meeting, a triennial study, "Water, a shared responsibility", was released by UNESCO. The comprehensive assessment finds that corruption, lack of appropriate institutions, bureaucratic inertia, lack of investment in physical infrastructure and a shortage of investment in human capacity result in these critical issues:
* Almost one fifth of the planet's population - 1.1 billion people - still lacks access to safe drinking water
* 40 per cent - 2.6 billion people - do not have basic sanitation
*Only 12 per cent of countries have so far developed integrated water resources management and water efficiency plan
* Financial resources for water are stagnating. Official development assistance averaged some $3 billion in recent years, plus $1.5 million in non-concessional loans. Only about 12 per cent reaches those most in need, and only 10 per cent is directed to support development of water policy, planning and programs.
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr2/index.shtml
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released multiple reports for this forum as well as those held earlier. The issues they cover include financing water supply and sanitation systems, monitoring aid for water, pricing water, improving governance of water resources, achieving sustainable management of water in agriculture, and making water clean and drinkable. They can be found online at:
http://www.oecd.org/worldwaterforum4
Additional news coverage and commentary can be found here:
Eva Mariani, "Privatization issue bogs down water forum in Mexico"
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20060318.B01
New Scientist feature, "The Parched Planet", 26 February (by subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/contents/issue/2540.html
Stephen Scharper, "Water for life or profit?"
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1142463011562&call_pageid=970599119419
Katherine Sierra, "Making water available for all"
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2006/03/14/2003297311
Waterland
http://www.waterland.net/index.cfm/site/Waterland.net/pageid/20F10368-1805-4CB2-847A9021E4E39BD3/newsid/0465D39A-9DEB-DEF5-B5082DB851C76613/index.cfm
World Water Forum Promises New Wave of Action
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2006/2006-03-17-02.asp
Specific countries are discussed in these articles:
Angola
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=425803
China
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article351717.ece
Kenya
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_33030.shtml
Lebanon
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=1&article_ID=22825&categ_id=2
Malawi
http://www.nationmalawi.com/articles.asp?articleID=15724
Mexico
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/16/international/americas/16mexico.html
Mozambique and South Africa
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=266970&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/
Pakistan
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/93c9c51895429d80f786283fde5256a7.htm
Previous Newsletter Coverage on this topic is here:
"Water for Life"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2005/032705.html#FeatureArticle
"Water Infrastructure Security"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2004/040404.html#FeatureArticle
"Water and Disasters"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2004/032804.html#FeatureArticle
"World Water"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2003/032303.html#FeatureArticle
"Water Conflicts"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2002/072802.html#FeatureArticle
Also note Recommended Reading below, which focuses on Fred Pearce's new book, "When the Rivers Run Dry: Water - The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century".
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
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DRM Incidents
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The Uruguay television program, "A Challenge to the Heart" had set up a fundraiser for a local hospital in which contestants competed in a test of strength by pulling and pushing a train and two carriages. The train gained speed and ran over them, killing seven and seriously injuring at least 11. Three days of mourning have been declared.
Cholera outbreaks reported in Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia have killed dozens in each country. Regional drought and cyclical floods have aggravated the outbreak. Cholera is associated with poor sanitation and lack of potable water.
On 12 March six tornadoes swept through Missouri and other areas of the Midwestern US, killing at least three, injuring six, and causing widespread damage.
At least seven people were killed in the US state of Texas, which has been hit by a drought exacerbated by high winds.
A 6.4 earthquake in Indonesia's Maluku islands triggered a small tsunami that killed two people.
A state of emergency has been called in parts of Bulgaria and Greece where heavy rains have inundated farmland and caused dangerous rises in several rivers and lakes.
Last week the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation reported that a minimum of 4,785 barrels of crude oil spread from a pipeline over 1.9 acres of tundra in the North Slope's Prudhoe Bay field, which is the largest in the US. Corrosion is suspected as the cause, and recovery operations are underway. Although this is the largest spill in that area, it is localized, and much smaller than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
http://www.dec.state.ak.us/spar/perp/response/sum_fy06/060302301/060302301_index.htm
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DRM Response and Recovery
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The International Crisis Group released "Pakistan: Political Impact of the Earthquake". The new report finds:
"Its response to the October 2005 earthquake calls into question the superior efficiency on which Pakistan's military government bases its claim to power and its commitment to fighting jihadi extremism. While it eventually provided important logistical help, the army's inadequate initial response cost lives, and its domestic priorities translated into encouraging a major relief role for jihadi groups banned as terrorists. Its attempt to maintain central control threatens to waste much international effort while increasing extremism and sectarianism in political life. As reconstruction and rehabilitation of the devastated areas begins, donors should form partnerships with secular political parties and civil society and seek to persuade the Musharraf government to broaden its approach by allowing civilian oversight and transparency measures and preventing banned groups from gaining credibility through privileged positions."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4023&l=1
The US Army Corps of Engineers has issued initial findings into a study of the levee failures that flooded New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. So far, the report has identified a circumstance not previously considered, involving the combination of soil weakness with the effect of floodwaters slicing in a canal. Weak, sandy soil will present a risk to any rebuilding efforts.
http://www.usace.army.mil/
Oxfam has closed some tsunami recovery operations in Indonesia's Aceh province pending investigation into missing funds.
http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/pressreleases2006/pr060316_aceh
The Scottish Parliament may need to move to longer-term accommodation while investigations into the source of a roof strut that came loose continue. Structural engineers Arup confirmed that a bolt was missing but since it can't be found they don't know how long the bolt was gone. A second bolt was damaged It has emerged that 890 faults were identified during final inspections, and it is not clear who will be responsible for their repair.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4822582.stm
The International Coal Group says that the January coal mine explosion that killed 12 miners in the US state of West Virginia was probably caused by a lightning strike that ignited methane case. State and federal investigations are still under way, but the mine has reopened.
http://www.intlcoal.com
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DRM Risks
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The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council of South Cotabato in the Philippines have ordered Lake Sebu villagers to relocate due to an impending landslide
A section of tunnel collapsed on a metro train in Moscow, Russia. Passengers were evacuated and there were no casualties. However, the collapse followed unauthorized workers driving a pillar in the ground to hold a billboard, and the results highlight the poor state of repair of the entire underground system.
The UN says that the threat of a second wave of deaths in Kashmir caused by the winter cold is over.
A US Government Accountability Office report, "Observations on Planning and Project Management Processes for the Civil Works Program" finds that the Army Corps of Engineers generally understated costs and overstated benefits, making it impossible to make reasonable decisions. Further, internal review processes did not detect problems. The Corps built the levee system to hold back water from New Orleans, Louisiana.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-529T
In Bangladesh, workplace accidents have caused rising casualties, while a draft law gathers dust.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/17/d6031701022.htm
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DRM Mitigation
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Thailand is preparing evacuation plans for tourists and residents on the south coast hit by the 2004 tsunami. A series of underwater tremors in the Andaman Sea have made this an urgent priority.
The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina have published a Disaster Planning Guide for members and residents.
http://www.iianc.com/html/Disaster%20Planning/index.htm
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency is reviewing the goals and performance of the National Flood Insurance Program, established in 1968. Supporting this, RAND released "The National Flood Insurance Program's Market Penetration Rate". The report finds that most homeowners buy flood insurance only because it is required. Only 20 percent of homeowners in the most flood-prone areas buy it when not required, and overall only about half of homeowners in the most flood-prone areas buy federal flood insurance. This puts millions of families at risk of severe financial loss.
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR300/index.html
The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is the US government program to reduce the risks to life and property from earthquakes. NEHRP is seeking public comment on updating its strategic plan.
http://www.nehrp.gov
http://www.1906eqconf.org
As the World Water Forum is underway in Mexico City, we thought it time to turn to a new book by a favorite author. Fred Pearce is a science writer at New Scientist and many other publications. His new book is "When the Rivers Run Dry: Water - The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century".
http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?SKU=8572
This remarkable book focuses on the state of the world's rivers to provide a compelling and frightening portrait of the growing water crisis and its near-term consequences. Travelling to over 30 countries, he describes the disappearing Colorado River in the US, the Indus River in Pakistan that salts the land, silt in China's Yellow and Yangzte rivers, and the contribution of poisoned wells in the Middle East that fuel conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Consider these statistics:
To grow a kilo of rice takes up to 500 liters of water
A kilo of coffee requires 20,000 liters
For a cow to deliver a liter of milk requires 4,000 liters of water for fodder.
11,000 liters makes a quarter pounder
To address this dire situation, Pearce recommends efficiency and a focus on social responsibility over narrow self-interest.
Reviews of the book can be found here:
Institute for Sustainable Development in Business
http://www.susdev.co.uk/book_rivers_run_dry.htm
Water Observatory
http://www.waterobservatory.org/headlines.cfm?refID=78676
Author interviews:
The World's Water Crisis
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2006/03/20060316_b_main.asp
California Literary Review
http://www.calitreview.com/Interviews/pearce_8026.htm
Related article
Climate change heralds thirsty times ahead
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn5011
8. Asset Management Network News
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