AUTHOR:
TerrorismCentral Editorial Staff
TITLE:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter - May 14, 2006
SOURCE:
TerrorismCentral, May 14, 2006
TEXT:
A week after Nepal's active conflict came to an end, Sri Lanka has resumed a low-intensity conflict. Such changes are tracked in this Newsletter each week. Other global coverage in this issue includes new ways to hack an ATM, the fate of those involved in lawless siphoning of oil or rubber, and a British defense report on the existence of unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
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1. Global Terrorism Monitor
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7. Recommended Reading
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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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In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mayi-Mayi warlord Kyungu Mutanga ("Gideon") has surrendered to UN peacekeepers in the southeastern province of Katanga, along with around 250 members of his renegade militia.
A series of explosions in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, have killed at least four people and injured more than 40. The worst incident was at the city's largest market, but there were eight other explosions around the city. The source of the blasts was unknown, but has been linked to the political opposition. Similar attacks have occurred several times since the 2005 disputed elections.
Read a report of Kenya's ongoing search for Fazul Abdullah Mohamed, the mastermind of the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi here:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=39&newsid=72970
Large areas of Liberia's rubber plantation countryside is lawless, as former fighters and private security officers threaten plantation workers and their families, many of whom have experienced extrajudicial detention and punishments. Gangs of young men illegally tapping rubber trees for financial gain also pose a threat to personal safety
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmil/pr61.pdf
Nigerian police are investigating the first case in which a foreigner has been killed in a drive-by shooting. Militants in Port Harcourt are suspected in the attack against a US oil worker. A day later, another foreign worker was kidnapped. Three hostages were taken on Thursday then released. The Nigerian government plans to implement integrated air, land, and naval surveillance along the Niger Delta coast.
In Somalia, fighting began on Sunday night when the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism attacked a vehicle allied to Sharia courts. Clashes overnight killed at least eleven people, including a pregnant woman and a child, and injured more than 15. Fighting intensified, killing a family of four and at least 34 more. There was a brief ceasefire on Tuesday before heavy fighting resumed, pushing the death toll over 120- almost all civilians. By Thursday the Islamist militia had control of as much as 80 percent of the capital, Mogadishu. After another brief lull that gave both sides a chance to rearm, fighting resumed on Friday, killing at least a dozen more.
For background to the situation in Somalia, read "From Clan Fighting to Ideological Battleground", here:
http://www.globalterrorismmonitor.com/2006/05/GTM1401.shtml
For details of the illegal arms fueling the conflict see AML/CFT Monitor, below.
In Sudan, UN humanitarian leader Jan Egeland has visited aid workers and displaced persons in Darfur. A march calling for foreign protection of the camps was underway when a translator was accused of belonging to a militia, sparking violence. Mr. Egeland, aid workers and journalists fled when a UN vehicle came under attack. The translator escaped with bruises, but soon after they left the African Union mission was overrun, and one of their Sudanese translators was killed.
Uganda has called for regional cooperation to tackle the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Its rebel fighters are believed hiding in northeastern DRC after being forced out of Sudan. LRA often launches its attacks on Uganda from bases in southern Sudan.
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GTM Americas
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A Brazilian criminal gang, the First Command of the Capital (PCC) is believed responsible for two nights of attacks against police. In more than 100 attacks, at least 52 people have died. The attacks are probably a response to transfer of some 600 PCC prisoners to a maximum security facility, undertaken to counter the threat of a PCC rebellion planned for Sao Paulo state.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli testified before the Senate Committee on National Security and Defense. He emphasized the trend for organized crime and criminal activities to finance terrorism. He emphasized that it is not a question of if but when Canada is attacked, and pointed to the need for complex responses to the complex threats presented by the combination of community level crime, organized crime, cyber crime and terrorist activities.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/speeches/sp_nat_secur_defen_e.htm
In Mexico, Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos - Delegate Zero -addressed last weeks clashes between peasant farmers and police in a rare television interview, warning that the country is in a state of rage as in 1994 when the Zapatistas led an indigenous uprising in the southern state of Chiapas.
http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/534040.html (in Spanish)
US Judge Leonie Brinkema summarily rejected a motion by Zacarias Moussaoui to change his guilty plea after his sentencing to life in prison over the 9/11 attacks. He said, " "I now see that it is possible that I can receive a fair trial even with Americans as jurors". She gave him 10 days to appeal against her decision.
http://notablecases.vaed.uscourts.gov/1:01-cr-00455/DocketSheet1.html
District Judge Ricardo Urbina ruled that Guantanamo detainees Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Rhuhel Ahmed and Jamal Al-Harith can proceed with their lawsuit against the US government for violating their religious beliefs by forcing them to remove their beards and harassing them as they worshipped. He found that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applies to territories and possessions of the US.
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/
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GTM Asia Pacific
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The Australian government has announced a regional counterterrorism support package that includes:
* Enhanced law enforcement counter-terrorism capacity and liaison networks, and expanded intelligence cooperation capabilities ($34.5 million over four years);
* Customs initiatives to improve border control capability and coordination in the South-East Asian region ($7.1 million over three years);
* Support the further development of the APEC Regional Movement Alert System ($10.9 million additional funding for DIMA over four years) and enhancing Indonesia's border alert system at major ports (a separate $9.8 million over four years to be absorbed by DIMA);
* DFAT initiatives to build regional awareness of the WMD and terrorist threats and coordinate efforts by nuclear agencies (ANSTO/ASNO/ARPANSA) to strengthen regional controls on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials ($5.1 million over four years);
* Increased capacity for DFAT to support Australia's growing international counter-terrorism efforts, to improve coordination with counter-terrorism partners, to build regional emergency response coordination mechanisms, and to work with regional governments to promote tolerance and counteract terrorist propaganda ($35.0 million over four years).
http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2006/fa046_06.html
Note Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty's address to the Security in Government 2006 conference, which addresses regional policing for national security.
http://www.afp.gov.au/media/national_media/speeches/security_in_government_2006_conference_regional_policing_for_national_security
Australian teacher John Howard Amundsen has been charged with three terrorism-related offences: preparation for terrorist acts, using a carriage service to make a threat, and using a carriage service for a hoax threat. The charges were laid following the discovery of four bombs and other equipment at his home. He is not thought connected to a terrorist organization.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bin-laden-in-the-classroom/2006/05/10/1146940613219.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,1911,00.html
China has demanded that Albania return five Uighurs, resettled after their release from the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay. The US feared the men would be persecuted if they were returned to China. China says they cannot be considered refugees but, rather, are terrorist suspects.
Indonesia has opened the trial of four men accused of involvement in last September's suicide bombings in Bali that left 23 people dead. They are charged under anti-terrorism laws for supporting Noordin Mohammad Top, who is believed to have led this operation and others. Prosecutors charge that Anif Solchanudinrained to be a suicide bomber; Mohammad Cholily trained to make bombs; Abdul Aziz hid Noordin Top; and Dwi Widiyarto recorded a video for Top.
Indonesian police arrested five militants in Central Sulawesi on 5 May. Initially suspected as accomplices of Noordin, they were later determined to have been involved in several murders but not involved with Noordin.
Three Kyrgyz border guards were killed in an armed attack by an unknown group possible associated with Islamic militants, possibly the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
New Zealand security officials have been meeting with universities to address possible WMD threats from research in such areas as anthrax or other potential weapons.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3661725a7694,00.html
Philippines police have arrested Abu Sayyaf member Komoni Pael, (Abu Bara), who is suspected in a number of kidnappings and murders in Basilan.
Southern Thailand was the scene or repeated bombings last week. A teacher was arrested for alleged involvement in a school explosion last Sunday that injured seven police who were ambushed when they responded to the incident. On Monday night, a bomb wounded two soldiers. On Monday three men were shot dead: a religious leader, a mechanic in his shop, and a volunteer teacher on his way to work. Tuesday, two female teachers (one pregnant), and a soldier were killed by a motorcycle bomb at a market. Sixteen people were injured. On Thursday, a fireman gun was shot dead in front of his daughter and a hospital worker was injured in another shooting. Other assaults on Thursday killed two more. To address the ongoing violence, the government is supporting new educational efforts to help understanding of Islam; job programs, and using women in the army.
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GTM Europe
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Ivica Rajic, a former commander in the Bosnian Croat Army, was sentenced in UN war crimes court to 12 years in prison for willful killing; inhuman treatment; and extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity. The charges were in connection with a 1993 attack on a village in which 31 Muslim civilians were killed.
http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1075-e.htm
http://www.un.org/icty/rajic/trialc2/judgement/index.htm
Greek prosecutor Nikos Degaitis has filed charges against unidentified suspects, believed to be foreign intelligence agents, for the abduction of at least ten Pakistanis in July 2005.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100004_12/05/2006_69613
Italian newspapers have reported that an army officer admitted participating in the US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) extraordinary rendition of Osama Mustafa Hassan ("Abu Omar"), although the outgoing government continues to assert that it had no knowledge of such operations.
http://www.espressonline.it/eol/free/jsp/detail.jsp?idCategory=4821&idContent=1522775 (in Italian)
http://www.repubblica.it/2006/04/sezioni/cronaca/abu-omar/precisazione-governo/precisazione-governo.html (in Italian)
http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/05_Maggio/11/omar_governo.shtml (in Italian)
http://www.governo.it/notizie/not_notizia.asp?idno=1569 (in Italian)
A Spanish court released Saed El Harrak. The Moroccan national had been held for two years in connection with the Madrid train bombings. That is the maximum time a suspect can be held without trial. An investigation has been ordered into why authorities failed to apply for an extension. Harrak has been ordered to stay in Madrid and register with the police twice a day.
Spanish police have arrested two suspected members of the Real IRA, an illegal dissident offshoot of the Irish Republican Army, on suspicion of attempting to smuggle cigarettes to the UK.
Ahmed Rukhsar of Pakistan and Spaniard Enrique Cerda Ibanez were sentenced in Spanish court to five years in prison for sending money to help finance a 2002 suicide attack at a Tunisian synagogue that killed 21 people ,and for which al Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Read a portrait of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerilla Shilan here:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=24298
UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith addressed the Royal Services Institute. His speech on UK Terrorism Legislation in an International Context included a call to close the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The government had previously commented that it would be better closed, now Lord Goldsmith clearly states it is unacceptable:
"[A]lthough I think it is essential in some cases to be flexible and to be prepared to countenance some limitation of rights in order to ensure collective security, if properly justified and proportionate, there are certain principles on which there can be no compromise. Fair trial is one of those -- which is the reason we in the UK were unable to accept that the US military tribunals proposed for those detained at Guantanamo Bay offered sufficient guarantees of a fair trial in accordance with international standards. As you may know having spent time negotiating with counterparts in the United States I was unable to accept that the procedures proposed for the military tribunals were adequate to ensure a fair trial. I am pleased to note that, following this decision, all the British detainees were returned to the UK. But the existence of Guantanamo Bay remains unacceptable. It is time, in my view, that it should close. Not only would it, in my personal opinion, be right to close Guantanamo as a matter of principle, I believe it would also help to remove what has become a symbol to many – right or wrong- of injustice. The historic tradition of the United States as a beacon of freedom, liberty and of justice deserves the removal of this symbol."
http://www.rusi.org/events/ref:E43DE3137A7A3D/info:E44620B3D00A61/ (transcript and audio)
In the UK, two reports regarding the 7 July bombings have been released. The government released "Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7 July", which provides a chronological report. The parliament's "Intelligence and Security Committee Report into the London Terrorist Attacks on 7 July 1005" considered evidence from the security services to conclude that lack of resources was more to blame in not preventing the attacks, rather than any failure of individuals. Also note the government response to that report. The government has ruled out an independent inquiry, such as that conducted in the US by the 9/11 Commission.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/7-july-report.pdf
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/reports/intelligence/isc_7july_report.pdf
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/reports/intelligence/govres_7july.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,,1773194,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,,1773114,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,542-2176663,00.html
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article364330.ece
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/11/news/london.php
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/05/12/dl1201.xml
The High Court has ruled that nine Afghan asylum seekers who hijacked a plane in 2000 can stay in the UK until it is safe to return home. The Home Office plans to appeal the "bizarre" ruling.
Four men and seven women were arrested in a national operation addressing suspected animal rights extremist activities. Those arrested were freed on bail pending future court appearances. In a separate case, Jon Ablewhite, John Smith, and Kerry Whitburn were jailed for 12 years and Josephine Mayo to four, in a conspiracy to blackmail connected with their campaign to terrorize a family running a guinea pig farm. The animal rights extremists actions included protests, freeing animals, threatening the family, friends, employees, and associated, and stealing the body of grandmother Gladys Hammond from her grave.
Unrelated to these cases is a campaign launched against GlaxoSmithKline, which collaborates with Huntingdon Life Sciences. In this case, an emergency court injunction has been obtained against animal rights extremists that have threatened GlaxoSmithKline shareholders.
http://www.gsk.com/investors/shareholder_information_advice.htm
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GTM Middle East
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Egyptian police have shot dead Nasser Khamis al-Mallahi, the suspected head of the Islamic militant group blamed for the April bombings in Dahab, and possibly for other attacks in Sinai. During the shootout Mallahi's associate, Mohammed Abdullah Abu Grair, was arrested. Today, four others wanted in connection with the Dahab attacks surrendered to police.
In Gaza, a spate of tit-for-tat kidnappings was followed by clashes between Fatah and Hamas gunmen in which three people have died, and ten been injured. Three people were killed on Monday. On Tuesday, another gunbattle injured nine people, including five schoolchildren.
Two explosions at government buildings in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah injured six people. Responsibility is unknown, but the town is near Iraq and has a large Kurdish population. Gunmen on a remote southeastern road dressed as police officers stopped four cars and shot dead 12 of their occupants. One 11-year-old boy survived. The Jundallah ("Army of God") claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call, but the leader of Jundallah denied involvement.
Read Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to US President George Bush, with analysis from George Perkovich, here:
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/npp/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=18317
Note this portrait of life on the Iran-Iraq frontier for Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerilla Shilane:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=24298
In Iraq on Monday, a car bomb near a Baghdad courthouse exploded, killing five and injuring ten. Another car bomb injured 12, a bus driver transporting government workers was ambushed and shot dead, and the bodies of six people tortured to death were found. An oil pipeline bombing closed the Mussayab power station. A car bomb at a market in Talafar on Tuesday killed 24 and injured 35. In Baquba on Wednesday eleven people were killed when gunmen ambushed their bus, which was blown up when police arrived. Roadside bombs on Thursday killed eight people. Ten more bodies were found on Friday. Today, at least 30 people were killed. The worst incident was a double suicide attack near the Baghdad airport in which 14 people were killed.
Surging civilian deaths are the topic of Louise Roug's Los Angeles Times article, "Targeted Killings Surge in Baghdad: Nearly 4,000 civilian deaths, many of them Sunni Arabs slain execution-style, were recorded in the first three months of the year."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-civilians7may07,0,1349034.story
President Talabani said he was "shocked and angry" at daily reports of sectarian murders in Baghdad as the morgue reports 1,091 people killed in April alone. This number reflects only those bodies brought in for autopsy, and does not reflect those killed in bombings, gunfights, and a range of other causes.
There has also been a surge in killing journalists and media assistants.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=32943&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.rsf.org/special_iraq_en.php3
The US military reports that a 6 May raid in Baghdad killed Ansar al-Islam member and chemical expert Ali Wali and his driver.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/20060508_5053.html
An Israeli court has charged four Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) members in the October 2001 assassination of Israeli minister Rehavam Zeevi, in revenge for the killing of its leader. Those charged include Bassel al-Asmar, alleged to have fired the shot; Madji al-Rimawi, the alleged driver; and PFLP members Hamdi Quraan and Ahed Ghulmeh. Current PFLP leader Ahmed Saadat is suspected but there is not yet sufficient evidence to charge him. All suspects had been taken from the Palestinian jail in Jericho in March.
Jordan has provided details, including three broadcast confessions, of an alleged Hamas plot to attack Jordanian intelligence and other targets, allegations that Hamas rejects as brazen lies. King Abdullah II said that despite such actions by some Hamas members, it till not affect the country's historic relationship with Palestinians.
In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli troops shot dead an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member during a raid that involved a gun battle.
Yemeni forces have arrested al-Qaeda militants Abdullah Ahmad al-Raymi, who was among the group that escaped from a prison in Sanaa in February.
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GTM South Asia
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Air strikes in Afghanistan have reportedly killed four Taleban fighters near the Pakistan border.
Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have killed Mohammad Zuber, an alleged militant involved in the March bombings n Varanasi that killed 15 and injured more than 100. Militant threats against 40 cable television operators led to cancellation of programming for 24 hours, but broadcasting has resumed despite continued warnings. Militant organizations say the cable programs are obscene and depraved. Fresh threats of suicide attacks from groups including he Al-Madina Regiment, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Ah-Badar Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen have forced the channels off the air yet again. The main militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen, opposed the shutdown, which it claims was orchestrated by the Indian authorities to distract attention from a scandal involving high-ranking government officials.
Nepal's government says that it has dropped murder charges against Matrika Yadhav, a high-ranking Maoist rebel leader currently in jail, and Maoist central committee member Suresh Ale Magar. Over 1,000 Maoists remain imprisoned.
In Pakistan's Balochistan province, a police training academy in the regional capital, Quetta, lost six policemen in explosions from five booby trap bombs planted in a firing range. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility. Four suspects have been arrested.
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels sank a navy gunboat. During the sea battle, some 40 Tigers and 17 sailors were killed. The Tigers claim they were defending their waters, to which the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission responded as follows:
"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have committed gross violations of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) in recent days by moving at sea with the aim of provoking the Sri Lankan navy and now finally embarking on an offensive operation against the navy sinking one vessel and putting SLMM monitors in grave danger. The sea surrounding Sri Lanka is a Government Controlled Area. This has been ruled so by the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in line with international law. Non-state actors cannot rule open sea waters or airspace. The LTTE has therefore no rights at sea. The LTTE has made, what the SLMM feels are threats to our monitors warning them not to participate in patrols in Navy vessels. The SLMM takes these threats very seriously and would like to remind the LTTE of its responsibility as an equal partner to the Ceasefire Agreement to do everything in its power not to jeopardise the monitors’ safety. We therefore demand that the LTTE immediately ceases all activities and operations at sea as they are a serious violation of the CFA. This sort of reckless behaviour can only lead to a dangerous escalation resulting in growing hostilities and jeopardising any possibility for future peace talks. We would also like to urge the Government of Sri Lanka not to be pushed by these provocative acts and to show as much restraint as possible."
http://www.news.lk/news_2006_05_117.htm
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18103
http://www.slmm.lk/
The Tigers condemned this statement and asked for an explanation.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18111
On Saturday, there was a report that the Sri Lankan navy was assaulted with grenades, injuring three, and responded by opening fire in a civilian area, killing eight.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18118
The Mission says that Sri Lanka is now in a state of low intensity war.
http://www.slmm.lk/
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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With several key members failing to pay their dues, the African Union's Pan-African Parliament may need to cancel its next session, scheduled for October.
http://www.pan-african-parliament.org/index2.htm
Comoros is holding second round presidential elections on 14 May. Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, of the Islamic National Front for Justice; current Vice President of the National Assembly Mohamed Djanffari; and Abderemane Ibrahim Halidi, a teacher and former Prime Minister, with the Movement for the Comoros Party are the three candidates.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from April to December 2005 compared with 2004, large-scale human rights violations decreased but individual cases of summary executions, torture, rape and other serious abuses by police and army troops increased. The UN mission called for the transitional government to demonstrate zero tolerance for such actions, and provided a number of recommendations to end impunity.
http://www.monuc.org/News.aspx?newsID=10977
Madagascar's parliament dismissed speaker Jean Lahiniriko for praising Iran's nuclear program. He later announced plans to run against President Ravalomanana in elections set for December.
Nigeria's Senate is debating constitutional changes that would allow a third presidential term. The Vanguard newspaper has posted these comments from the debate, which continues next week:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/may06/13052006/f213052006.html
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has warned that ministers cannot serve in the government if they are also leading militias into battle.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4768857.stm
South African Judge Willem van der Merwe acquitted former Deputy President Jacob of raping a family friend and HIV-positive AIDS activist, based on her prior history of false accusations. While his political fate is unclear, one of the biggest messages from the trial is the willful ignorance of the HIV pandemic displayed by senior government officials. Zuma used no protection in his encounter, claiming he was at low risk of infection and that he took a shower. (Showers do not prevent HIV infection.) The judge strongly condemned this behavior. South Africa has the largest number of HIV-infected persons of any country in the world. Mr. Zuma will be tried in July on the corruption charges that led to his dismissal last year.
Sudan is increasingly resisting a UN force, although the African Union, which lacks sufficient resources to address the problems, supports the change.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been sworn in to his third term.
Zambia's general elections will be held later this year. Labor unions, who made sacrifices to help the country qualify for debt relief under the HIPC initiative, want something in return, as explained in this article:
http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/2006/05/PRM1401.shtml
http://www.elections.org.zm/
Zimbabwe's inflation rate in April soared to 1,042.9 percent. The increase of 129 percent over March and represents an increase in the average price of goods by about eleven times.
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PRM Americas
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Argentina has requested that Uruguay extradite Jose Ricardo Arab Fernandez, Jose Nino Gavazzo Pereira, Ricardo Jose Medina Blanco, Ernesto Avelino Rama Pereira, Jorge Alberto Silveira Quesada, and Gilberto Valentin Vazquez Bisio. The six former security officers are in custody in Uruguay, but are wanted in Argentina for the 1976 disappearance of famed poet Juan Gelman's daughter-in-law, Maria Claudia Garcia. Investigators believe she was held until giving birth then killed. Her baby was adopted but Juan Gelman traced her nearly 25 years later.
Canada and the US have renewed the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Agreement through the exchange of diplomatic notes.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias , of the National Liberation Party, has been sworn in as the new president of Costa Rica.
"Haiti after the Elections: Challenges for Preval's First 100 Days" is a new briefing from the International Crisis Group that suggests:
" If Rene Preval, who is to be inaugurated as president on 14 May, acts decisively in his first 100 days and receives international backing, he can capitalise on an improved security situation to address some of the underlying causes of violence and crime. His government needs to disarm and demobilise gangs and strengthen the Haitian National Police (HNP) by professionalizing it and purging it of corrupt officers and politically-linked cells. The judicial system must also be overhauled, beginning with establishment of a joint international/national panel to review the cases of prisoners detained for long periods without trial. Haitians have high expectations that the new elected government will quickly improve their lives, and Preval needs to take advantage of a rare moment of optimism or the much suffering country could become the hemisphere's first permanent failed state."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4104
Puerto Rican officials have reached agreement to obtain an emergency loan to finance the budget shortfall ($740 million) that has closed non-essential government services and led to massive street protests. The loan will pay government salaries through the 30 June end of the fiscal year.
US President Bush named General Michael Hayden to be the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As an active military officer and former head of the National Security Agency (NSA), his nomination is controversial, particularly following the revelation that NSA has been secretly and without warrants collecting phone call records of tens of millions of US citizens. Disclosure of the scale of domestic surveillance has led to a firestorm of criticism from both parties in Congress, including promises of hearings and demands for a special counsel to undertake a criminal investigation. However, a Justice Department investigation into the conduct of department attorneys who approved the secret NSA surveillance program has been closed because the investigators were denied security clearances.
http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20060508_2_release.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-11-nsa-reax_x.htm
http://mediamatters.org/items/200605120018
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/10/AR2006051002106.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa_x.htm
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nsa12may12,0,7384012.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051100539.html
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PRM Asia Pacific
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China has accused the Dalai Lama of violating religious freedom by stirring up 17 Tibetans who destroyed a pair of statues at Lhasa's Ganden Monastery on 14 March. The statues depicted the deity Dorje Shugden, which followers of the Dalai Lama, see as a divisive force. These charges are likely to be politically motivated.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-05/09/content_4527524.htm
East Timor Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, has called recent violent protests led by soldiers was an attempt to provoke the government to fall in a coup. Australia has sent ships to the area in case security assistance is requested.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200605101200/3048c5b0
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19118691-31477,00.html
Fiji has completed a weeklong general election, with preliminary turnout just over 50 percent. Results are expected in the middle of next week.
Fiji's Former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka, the military leader who led a 1987 coup has been charged with inciting the November 2000 mutiny that killed eight soldiers.
Kyrgyz businessman, elected Member of Parliament, and suspected murderer Ryspek Akmatbayev has been shot dead while leaving a mosque near the capital Bishkek. Although he was unable to take up his seat because of the pending criminal proceedings, he is the fourth parliamentarian killed in recent months.
The Lao People's Revolutionary Party has won 113 of 115 seats in parliament. It is the only legal political party, and the two seats not won by the ruling Communists were won by independents.
North Korea and the World Food Program (WFP) have reached agreement on new working arrangements, including some on-site monitoring, that will allow resumption of emergency assistance that the government discontinued last year.
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2092"
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has appointed Charles Dausebea as new minister or police, and Nelson Ne as tourism minister, even though both men were refused bail on charges of inciting the April riots. Sogavare says they are innocent until proven guilty and there is nothing in the constitution to prevent the appointment of two men in jail.
Thailand's Constitutional Court has ruled, in a vote of nine to five, that the 2 April general election was unconstitutional. An opposition boycott meant that not all seats were filled, even after two by-elections, and therefore parliament could not assemble. The court has asked the five Election Commission members to resign for failing to stop abuse. Since elections must now take place within 60 days, there isn't enough time to appoint new commissioners, so judges will organize the new elections. King Bhumibol Adulyadej has put the judges in charge of sorting out the problems.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/110506_News/11May2006_news02.php
Uzbekistan's violent response to pro-democracy demonstrators in the city of Andijan began one year ago on 13 May. A year since hundreds of people lost their lives, there is still not international consensus on the events, whose consequences continue to reverberate. On this anniversary, human rights groups and governments have called for an independent, international inquiry.
http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/2006/05/PRM1402.shtml
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/424e6fc8b8e55fa6802566b0004083d9/b94d5d9cc0e61fc2c125716c004f40f8?OpenDocument
http://hrw.org/reports/2005/uzbekistan0605/
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/stoptorture-110506-features-eng
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4768439.stm
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PRM Europe
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Belarus opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich, has been released from jail after serving a 15-day sentence. More than 150 protesters arrested at an opposition rally marking the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have also been freed.
In Belgium, a suspected right-wing extremist has been shot and injured by police, and remains in detention in hospital, following a shooting spree in which he badly injured a Turkish woman then killed a pregnant black African woman and a young white child in her care, in what is believed to be a racially motivated murder.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/11/news/belgium.php
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1193952,00.html
Estonia's parliament has ratified the European Constitution. It is the 15th EU country to do so. Finland is expected to follow in the next few weeks.
Italy's Grand Electors chose Giorgio Napolitano as the new President. The 80-year-old won the fourth round of voting with an absolute majority. A former communist, he is with the Democrats of the Left, which is the biggest party in Prime Minister Prodi's coalition government.
Spanish police have arrested nine suspects in the country's biggest ever fraud. The chairman, three board members of Forum Filatelico and five directors of Afinsa Bienes Tangibles are suspected of gaining billions from 250,000 stamp collectors' purchases that were either overvalued or fake. All business activities of both companies have been frozen. These unregulated investments are not covered by any government-backed insurance scheme and such companies are not monitored. There are concerns that panic following this case could have an adverse impact on official investments. Prime Minister Zapatero said he will protect the small investors caught up in the fraud, and has begun a review of the laws, but it is unclear how the government could compensate the victims of this classic pyramid scheme.
http://www.afinsa.es/ (in Spanish)
http://www.forum-filatelico.es/ (in Spanish)
http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/life/stamp-fraud-forum-filatelico-chairman-and-3-board-members-sent-to?itemId=D30926&cl=%2Feitb24%2Fsociedad&idioma=en
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article364617.ece
The UK House of Lords European Union Committee considered "Illegal Migrants: proposals for a common EU returns policy", expressing concern that judgments are hindered by the lack of accurate and complete statistical data.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldeucom/166/16602.htm
The Northern Ireland Act has passed, restoring the provincial assembly from 15 May.
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PRM Middle East
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Thousands of Egyptian police have been deployed to control demonstrators outside a hearing in the case of two senior judges who were dismissed for criticizing last year's presidential election. There have been violent clashes, and dozens of Muslim Brotherhood supporters, other protestors, and journalists have been arrested. Following significant gains by the Brotherhood last November, electoral reform in Egypt entered a hiatus, including a 2-year postponement of local elections that were due in April.
Egypt is among the largest recipients of US foreign aid, behind only Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq. Despite this largess, the US Departments of State and Defense have no specific measures to assess effectiveness of the billions spent on Egyptian military assistance. See the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, "Security Assistance: State and DOD Need to Assess How the Foreign Military Financing Program for Egypt Achieves U.S. Foreign Policy and Security Goals".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-437
The Middle East Quartet is developing a plan to bypass the Hamas-led Palestinian government and provide aid directly to the people. The World Bank is one of many international organizations warning of the potential collapse of the Palestinian Authority and the dire humanitarian situation, already seen in the failing healthcare system and increased levels of malnourished children. In addition to the EU and US withholding aid, Israel has refused to hand over customs duties of some $60 million per month since Hamas was elected in March.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/PalestinianFiscalCrisis,PotentialRemediesMay7.pdf
http://www.ohchr.org/english/press/media.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4761677.stm
Palestinian faction leaders with Fatah and Hamas, jailed in Israel, have drafted a proposal to end factional fighting, form a national unity government, limit armed activities to areas occupied by Israel since 1967, and implicitly recognize an Israeli state.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4762683.stm
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/715049.html
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=24420
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4765897.stm
Read Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to US President George Bush, with analysis from George Perkovich, here:
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/npp/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=18317
Iranian President Ahmadinejad's decision to allow women to attend major sporting events has been overruled by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who finds it a violation of Sharia law.
Iraq continues negotiations to form a new cabinet. However, the Islamic Virtue party has withdrawn from the main Shia alliance to form an opposition bloc in parliament because they feel the cabinet discussions have not been conducted in a spirit of national unity.
Israel's High Court has upheld a law banning Arab Israelis from living with their spouses and children inside Israel itself.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/715699.html
The Israeli air force flew over Lebanese air space six times on Thursday, raising concerns that a relative period of calm at the Blue Line of withdrawal has seen in recent weeks. Lebanon has received support from the UK to increase pressure on Israel to withdraw troops from the disputed Shebaa Farms.
Lebanon and Syria have agreed to take steps to remove sand barricades, known as berms, that were built by Syria on Lebanese territory.
Syria has taken in a group of 244 Palestinians stranded for two months at the Iraq-Jordan border. Another group of 43 was allowed entry on Friday.
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=4460ceca2
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=24313
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PRM South Asia
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The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has agreed to set up a joint police force similar to Interpol that would deal with transnational crimes including terrorism and trafficking, and improve information sharing and cooperation.
In Afghanistan's Sar-i-Pul province, opium poppy farmers attacked anti-drug police with stones and sticks. The police opened fire, killing two farmers. Ten police and two other farmers were injured. This is the first time that such clashes have proven fatal.
Indian elections in four states and the union territory of Pondicherry have led to major gains for communist parties, demonstrating their return to national influence. The alliance led by the main Communist Party of India - Maoist (CPI-M) has returned to power in West Bangal for a record seventh straight term and, as the Left Democratic Front, won the southern state of Kerala from the Congress Party. There is a coalition government in Tamil Nadu, led by DMK with Congress party support, while the ruling AIADMK was voted out.
Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi was re-elected in Rae Bareilly, having quit in March during a political dispute.
Nepal's new government has annulled all appointments made by King Gyanendra after his assumption of direct rule in October 2002. Twelve ambassadors appointed during that period have been recalled. Five ministers and two senior police from the ousted government have been arrested in connection with an inquiry into excessive force and other human rights abuses.
Nepal's Maoist rebel leader, Prachanda, will lead negotiations with the government.
Meanwhile, the International Crisis Group offers suggestions to move "From People Power to Peace":
"The defeat of King Gyanendra's absolute rule marks only the first step in Nepal's long road to peace. The pro-democracy movement was a victory not only for the mainstream political parties and their tactical alliance with the Maoist insurgents, but above all for the Nepali people themselves. Donors must now understand their role as one of safeguarding the difficult transition from people power to peace. The new interim administration faces four immediate challenges: keeping the peace process with Maoist insurgents on track; containing the king and controlling the army; planning for constitutional change; and responding to calls for transitional justice. The outside world must help the government as it tackles these challenges in an environment which remains precarious, and it should coordinate an approach based on explicit shared principles to make stability and peace the top order of business."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4099
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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Ahmed Rukhsar of Pakistan and Spaniard Enrique Cerda Ibanez were sentenced in Spanish court to five years in prison for sending money to help finance a 2002 suicide attack at a Tunisian synagogue that killed 21 people, and for which al Qaeda claimed responsibility.
The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $120,000 civil money penalty against the Frosty Food Mart, a money services business in Florida, for failing to develop and implement a written AML program, which led to failure to file required currency transaction reports.
http://www.amlcftmonitor.com/2006/05/AML1403.shtml
Bulgaria's deputy director of the Agriculture State Fund, Krasimir Nedelchev, has been charged with corruption and money laundering connected with the solicitation and receipt of bribes. The Sofia City Court has decided he can remain in office because there is insufficient evidence.
http://news.dnevnik.bg/print.php?id=7612
http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/official-accused-of-corruption-in-bulgaria-remains-in-office/id_15258/catid_64
The UN Security Council has reestablished the Monitoring Group on Somalia, after receiving the following information about the growing conflict:
" The Monitoring Group has identified the Transitional Federal Government, the Mogadishu-based opposition alliance, the militant fundamentalists, the business elite, pirate groups and feuding sub-clans as the main actors to whom arms, military materiel and financial support continue to flow 'like a river' in violation of the arms embargo. Three fundamental sources feed this flow: a widening circle of States -- each with its own agenda -- arms trading groups and economically powerful individuals, and the business elite. ..[A] secondary row of main actors comprises the feuding sub-clans and pirate groups that are aggressively and, at times violently, taking advantage of the lack of central authority to pursue criminal activities or attempting to resolve clan feuds through violent armed confrontations. As a result, a process of overall militarization continues alarmingly throughout central and southern Somalia. The national-level standoff between the Transitional Federal Government and the Mogadishu-based opposition has mutated to include a powerful militant fundamentalist element.... The two alliances have been reconfigured due to political and military factors, the most notable of which involve the withdrawal of the Jowhar local administration from the Transitional Federal Government to join the opposition and the rise of the militant fundamentalists as a third, ideologically motivated force, independent of the opposition, but still opposed to the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government. As a result, the Mogadishu-based opposition has also been severely degraded by a series of bloody fights with militant militia forces, resulting in the strengthening of the militants’ hold over significant areas formerly under opposition influence. ...[A]ll six main actors are heavily armed, organized and aggressively keen to protect and ensure the survival of their respective vested interests, be they fundamentally economic, as in the case of the local administrations run by warlords and the huge and powerful cartels of the business elite, or ideological as in the case of the militants. In the Monitoring Group’s view, economic vested interests, and now the ideological interests of the militants, are driving the opposition to the establishment of a central government. In addition, the pirate groups and the feuding sub-clans operate on the margins of the main contest between the Transitional Federal Government and the other principal antagonists, adding immeasurably to the lawless trauma and widespread instability in Somalia."
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8715.doc.htm
Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Yemen all provided military equipment and supplies to the various warring groups during the past year, although most of these countries have denied the Monitors' allegations.
Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has forwarded a case, including over 4,000 pages of investigative detail, for prosecution in a case involving ten people implicated in a 2004 fraud involving dried longan, a fruit, purchased through a government program.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/110506_News/11May2006_news13.php
Money laundering charges against former treasurer of the US state of New Mexico, Robert Vigil, were dismissed by a district judge. Vigil still faces 24 public corruption charges.
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AML/CFT Legislation and Regulation
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EU member states have agreed to proposed technical implementation measures regarding politically exposed persons, simplified customer due diligence, and limited exclusions.
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/company/financial-crime/index_en.htm
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is revising the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, the Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, and the Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations to add general licenses authorizing certain transactions with the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.amlcftmonitor.com/2006/05/AML1402.shtml
The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance to clarify the due diligence obligations of broker-dealers, futures commission merchants, and introducing brokers in commodities.
http://www.fincen.gov/312securities_futures_guidance.html
The Japan Financial Intelligence Office has advised financial institutions to report transactions suspected of connections with the Taleban and Taleban associates.
http://www.fsa.go.jp/news/newsj/17/sonota/20060512-1.html (in Japanese)
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is implementing measures to monitor cross-border cash movements, in another step in its effort to be removed from the FATF list of non-conforming countries.
http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=05/08/2006&qrTitle=Customs%20to%20checkmate%20money%20laundering
The Nigerian Stock Exchange was visited by officials of FATF to assess compliance with international AML/CFT standards.
http://www.efccnigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=903&Itemid=2
The Governor of the Central Bank of Syria (CBS), Adib Mayaleh, opened a 3-day seminar with a speech emphasizing Syria's commitment to AML/CFT in accordance with international norms.
http://www.sana.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=33401&newlang=eng
http://www.uabonline.org/event/event-details.php?eventid=18
CBS General Manager Dr. Duraid Dergham said that the US decision to freeze assets and ban transactions were taken without legal or practical evidence, and in contradiction to International Monetary Fund norms.
http://www.sana.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=33742
US President Bush renewed a ban on US exports to Syria, even while an oil contract between Syria and a US oil company was being signed.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=24312
Canada's FINTRAC Director Horst Intscher addressed the Second Public Private Sector Summit on National Security, on the topic of "Detecting and Deterring Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing"
http://www.fintrac.gc.ca/publications/presentations/2006-05-10_e.asp
FinCEN has extended the comment period of its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Money Service Businesses for 60 days, to 10 July.
http://www.fincen.gov/msb_anpr_extension.html
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AML/CFT Modalities
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Spanish police have arrested nine suspects in a multi-billion pyramid scheme. The management and staff of Forum Filatelico and Afinsa Bienes Tangibles are accused of profiting from 250,000 stamp collectors whose purchases were either overvalued or fake. These unregulated investments are not covered by any government-backed insurance scheme and such companies are not monitored. The accused are charged with fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and embezzlement.
http://www.afinsa.es/ (in Spanish)
http://www.forum-filatelico.es/ (in Spanish)
http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/life/stamp-fraud-forum-filatelico-chairman-and-3-board-members-sent-to?itemId=D30926&cl=%2Feitb24%2Fsociedad&idioma=en
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article364617.ece
North Korea's trafficking in drugs, weapons, and "supernotes" was discussed in a recent US Senate hearing. We have compiled the testimony and made it available here:
http://www.amlcftmonitor.com/2006/05/AML1401.shtml
The International Drug Enforcement Conference in Montreal, Canada, concluded with a final report containing a number of best practices and next steps on issues ranging from the global spread of methamphetamine (the topic addressed by US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Karen Tandy) to how drug traffickers launder money.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/news/n_0604_e.htm
http://www.dea.gov/speeches/s050906.html
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli testified before the Senate Committee on National Security and Defens, where he pointed to the trend for organized crime and criminal activities to finance terrorism. He emphasized that it is not a question of if but when Canada is attacked, and pointed to the need for complex responses to the complex threats presented by the combination of community level crime, organized crime, cyber crime and terrorist activities.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/speeches/sp_nat_secur_defen_e.htm
In the UK, a joint operation between HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) dismantled a fuel-laundering plant and seized 12,000 liters of contaminated fuel in a rural building in County Armagh, near a public road. During the operation more than four tons of highly toxic acid waste was removed, but there was evidence of leakage into the surrounding countryside and may have reached the water supply. Investigations continue, with no arrests as yet.
A new report on the impact of extractive industries on the developing world comes from CAFOD:
http://www.cafod.org.uk/var/storage/original/application/a8328c4f2485f55eb75f27035c23efaa.pdf
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 Corruption and Transnational Crime
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Japan's financial regulator has imposed unprecedented harsh penalties against Chuo Aoyana PWC. The Japanese branch of the audit firm failed to establish proper internal controls thereby permitting collusion in a corporate fraud. Despite the scandal, it will be difficult for companies to find alternatives due to severe restraints on capacity across the entire industry. Chair of the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants warned that firms should not attempt to take clients or staff from the firm, attempting to avoid the type of meltdown that killed Andersen after the Enron debacle.
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2006/20060510.html
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200605120190.html
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20060512a4.html
http://www.jicpa.or.jp/n_eng/
US federal agents raided the home and offices of ousted Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Executive Director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo. The number three official was forced to resign during a criminal investigation into government corruption and bribery connected with a corrupt defense contractor.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12757804/
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/13/washington/13foggo.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/washington/12foggo.html
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/05/13/opinion/13dowd.html
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1193658,00.html
Neil G. Volz pleaded guilty to conspiring to corruptly influence US Congressional Representative Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) who left Congress to join Jack Abramoff's lobbying team. Volz, Abramoff and three other former associates have all agreed to cooperate with the government and testify against Ney, who continues to insist he did nothing wrong, in the growing public corruption scandal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050800443.html
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed securities fraud charges against a New Jersey letter carrier who leaked information from a grand jury. Jason Smith is one of 14 people charged in an international scheme that netted at least $6.7 million in illicit gains through tactics that included stealing information from Merrill Lynch and advance copies of BusinessWeek Magazine.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2006/2006-70.htm
The SEC filed a civil injunctive action against Morgan Stanley for failing to produce tens of thousands of e-mails during the SEC investigations from Dec. 11, 2000, through at least July 2005, making numerous misstatements, and violating provisions of the federal securities laws that require timely reporting. Subject to court approval, Morgan Stanley, without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint, has consented to a permanent injunction and payment of a $15 million civil penalty. It also agreed to adopt and implement policies, procedures and training focused on the preservation and production of e-mail communications; and to hire an independent consultant to review these reforms. http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2006/2006-69.htm
Indonesian prosecutors have closed the criminal corruption case against former President Suharto, suspected of embezzling millions of state funds, due to his deteriorating health.
Bulgaria's deputy director of the Agriculture State Fund, Krasimir Nedelchev, has been charged with corruption and money laundering connected with the solicitation and receipt of bribes. The Sofia City Court has decided he can remain in office because there is insufficient evidence.
http://news.dnevnik.bg/print.php?id=7612
http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/official-accused-of-corruption-in-bulgaria-remains-in-office/id_15258/catid_64
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a new website where people can report public corruption. Details are provided in FBI Director Mueller's speech:
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/mueller051106.htm
http://reportcorruption.fbi.gov
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns that a plan to exempt smaller public companies from provisions of the Sarbanse Oxley Act need to be scaled back despite the higher proportional expense they face. See "Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Consideration of Key Principles Needed in Addressing Implementation for Smaller Public Companies".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-361
The BBC World Service's Global Perspective program is focusing this year on crime. The latest documentary is on mobile phone theft in Ghana, which has become a massive transnational operation and major source of criminal profit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/documentary_3.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/technology/4977898.stm
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ETM Economies and Financial Systems
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"Managing the Challenges of WTO Participation: 45 Case Studies" examines experiences among economies participating in the World Trade Organization. From Argentina to Vietnam, the examples demonstrate that success or failure is strongly influenced by how governments and private-sector stakeholders organize themselves at home.
http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/casestudies_e/casestudies_e.htm
The World Tourism Organization reports that international tourism in Africa grew by ten percent last year, nearly twice the world average, but still only gets a four percent share of the world market. African tourism ministers met to discuss ways to stimulate tourism growth, calling for three critical changes:
* A significant increase in the number of new flights both within the region and with other continents through opening up air transport services.
* Easing visa requirements, especially on a regional basis, and using new information communication technology to provide visas on arrival with even better border security.
*Improvement in the human and financing capacities needed to provide high quality tourism services.
http://www.world-tourism.org/newsroom/Releases/2006/may/CAF.html
http://www.icao.int/index.html
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ETM Environment and Climate Change
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Denmark credits environmental policies developed in the 1970s for supporting economic growth of 56 percent with increased energy use of only two percent.
http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,610577&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ic_itemid=923235
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ETM Human Rights
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Human traffickers forced some 140 Ethiopians and Somalis at gunpoint to jump overboard when one of three boats developed mechanical problems and the smugglers wanted to avoid coast guards. At least 39 people were drowned. This is an increasing problem, with an average of 30 boats per month for the last several months, during which hundreds of people have died. Authorities in Somalia and Yemen are attempting to inform people of the hazards of such journeys.
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=445f6a622
Canada has approved compensation of C$1.9 billion for students from the 1930s-1970s that were forced into indigenous schools designed to erase native culture and indoctrinate Christianity, often abusing the pupils.
http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=2655
http://www.anglican.ca/Residental-Schools/qa-2005-11-23.htm
The UK High Court ruled that families exiled from the Chagos islands in the 1960s and 70s to make way for a US Indian Ocean airbase have the right to return. Before that happens, they may face further challenges from the UK and US.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/12/wchag12.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/12/ixnews.html
Pfizer tested an unapproved drug on Nigerian children with brain infections at a field hospital during a 1996 epidemic. This violation of Nigerian and international law is described in a confidential report by a panel of Nigerian medical experts that was obtained by the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/06/AR2006050601338.html
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Jakob Kellenberger completed talks with US officials including the secretaries of state and defense, in which they refused to let the Red Cross visit secret detention centers. Kellenberger said, "No matter how legitimate the grounds for detention, there exists no right to conceal a person's whereabouts or to deny that he or she is being detained", and the ICRC will continue to push for access to these secret detainees.
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/washington-news-120506!OpenDocument
The US completed its presentations to the UN Committee against Torture. Read the details in Gabor Rona's diary here:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/etn/cat/blog/post-050906-rona.asp
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats36.htm
Frontline has developed a program and supplementary material that addresses "The Torture Question: In fighting the war on terror, how far should the United States be willing to go to protect itself?"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/
France is marking its first - and the first in Europe - Slavery Remembrance Day. 10 May also marks the fifth anniversary of a French law recognizing slavery as a crime against humanity.
http://www.elysee.fr/elysee/elysee.fr/francais/actualites/deplacements_en_france/2006/mai/journee_commemorative_du_souvenir_de_l_esclavage_et_de_son_abolition.48752.html (in French)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4759995.stm
The UN General Assembly elected 47 members to the new Human Rights Council. Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia won seats despite poor human rights records, but Iran and Venezuela failed to garner enough votes.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=114&Body=human%20rights%20council&Body1=
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/05/10/global13343.htm
US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules to make internet phone calls easier to tap were greeted with derision by a US court reviewing civil rights complaints. The appeal panel's verdict will be issued in several months, while the FCC rules go into effect in May 2007.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-05-internetwiretaps_x.htm
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-187A1.pdf
http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/
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ETM Infectious Diseases
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Djibouti has confirmed its first human case of H5N1 avian influenza infection. Cumulative cases of confirmed human infections reported to the World Health Organization stand at 208, of which 115 have died.
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_05_12/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2006_05_12/en/index.html
Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Alan Wertheimer write in " Who Should Get Influenza Vaccine When Not All Can?" that " Rather than thinking only about saving the most lives when considering vaccine rationing strategies, a better approach would be to maximize individuals' life span and opportunity to reach life goals". The article which provides an ethical perspective different from current government guidelines, is published in the 12 May issue of Science.
http://www.sciencemag.org/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051101601.html
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N11210854.htm
http://www.canada.com/chtv/hamilton/story.html?id=e7414ec9-e23b-483a-9485-8e1d3f89b4ed&k=35795
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4761221.stm
The Ottawa Citizen obtained a Defense Department report on pandemic flue response, through the Access to Information law. The report says the country should expect to be on its own and have insufficient resources to meet the needs of all those infected.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=58482bb4-36e4-4380-9403-f8f50b807eab&k=61349
The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions released "Pandemic Flu Roundtable on Preparation, Productivity and Profitability". It notes that a pandemic flu outbreak in any part of the world would potentially cripple supply chains, dramatically reduce available labor pools, and greatly diminish businesses' ability to meet scheduled obligations.
http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/us_chs_pandemicissue_050506.pdf
Standard and Poor's Ratings Services released "How Ready Is The U.S. For A Pandemic?" The study says that governments are focusing on containing the flu, while companies are figuring out how they would continue to operate during the potentially difficult times that would ensue--and that could impair the credit quality of several major industries, depending on an epidemic's extent and duration.
http://www2.standardandpoors.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=sp/sp_article/ArticleTemplate&c=sp_article&cid=1145724670341&s=&ig=&b=5&dct=34
"Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" was a made-for-television movie broadcast in the US by ABC. The US Department of Health and Human Services has made available information about the movie, including a viewer's guide that explains where the fictional depiction departs from the facts of pandemic influenza. The web site also offers extensive information for pandemic preparation.
http://pandemicflu.gov/news/birdfluinamerica.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1902688
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002464644 (movie review)
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 13 pharmaceutical companies have agreed to phase out single-drug artemisinin medicines for oral treatment of malaria. WHO finds its use hastens the development of resistance to the drug in malaria parasites and recommends instead to focus on Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs). When used with other anti-malarial drugs artemesinin is nearly 95 per cent effective in curing uncomplicated malaria and the parasite is highly unlikely to become drug resistant. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr23/en/index.html
Note the case of South Africa's former Deputy President Jacob, which reveals government attitudes towards HIV/AIDS, described in PRM/Africa, above. Also note this web site, which supported the AIDS activist that brought the charges.
http://www.oneinnine.org.za/default.asp
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ETM Legal Systems
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Afghanistan's notorious Pul-i-Charkhi prison, once described as a kind of Buchenwald, is becoming a model for prison reform following new laws, and the ongoing implementation of a comprehensive rehabilitation strategy.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18391&Cr=Afghanistan&Cr1=
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to assess the prevalence of sex offenders and others on parole living in long-term facilities and to identify legal and other requirements for offenders. GAO recommends that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assess the completeness of the National Sex Offender Registry, including state submission rates, and evaluate options to increase its competitiveness. See "Long-Term Care Facilities: Information on Residents Who Are Registered Sex Offenders or Paroled for Other Crimes":
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-326
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ETM Populations
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin's annual address to the nation included a warning that declining population is the biggest problem the country faces. Russia, with a current population of just below 143 million, has seen annual declines of 700,000 attributed to falling birth rates along with rising mortality and migration. He outlined a strategy to reverse the situation within ten years, including increasing support to young mothers and encouraging them to have more children.
http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2006/05/10/1823_type70029_105566.shtml
Haiti's first census in 24 years shows that :
* Half of the population is younger than 20
* Unemployment is 33 percent
* Less than half of school-age children are attending primary school
* The maternal mortality ratio is 523 deaths per 100,000 live births, the highest in the Western Hemisphere
* The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is between 4 and 5 percent, also the highest in the Western Hemisphere
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=777
The US Census Bureau's latest figures show that a third of the population is part of a minority and that 45 percent of US children under five are non-white, with the Latino population growing the fastest.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/006808.html
The Save the Children charity has released a discussion paper on the exploitation of children in Liberia. "From Camp to Community" reports that despite UN initiatives to end abuse, girls as young as eight are still forced to have sex in exchange for food. The World Food Program, identified in the report, will investigate and take action, but government officials and teachers also contribute to the abuse. This study focuses on children, but is actually part of a larger problem throughout Liberia, where rape was used as a weapon of war and has left a legacy that is now shown to span at least two generations. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made addressing this scourge a priority.
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/scuk_cache/scuk/cache/cmsattach/4042_Liberia_sexual_exploitation_edited_LB2.pdf
http://www.unmil.org/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4632874.stm
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ETM Social Responsibility
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The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) launched the "Unearth Justice: Stop Undermining the Poor" campaign to ensure that poor communities benefit from the wealth that they are surrounded by, rather than being damaged by extractive industries. In connection with this campaign, they have published a report, " Unearth Justice: Counting the cost of gold" that reveals the environmental and social costs of gold mining in developing countries, with case studies of the Honduras and Democratic Republic of Congo.
http://www.cafod.org.uk/get_involved/campaigning/unearth_justice
http://www.cafod.org.uk/var/storage/original/application/a8328c4f2485f55eb75f27035c23efaa.pdf
The UN Environment Program released "Class of 2006: Industry report cards on environment and social responsibility". The report finds growing numbers of business and industry groups are making efforts to improve environmental and social performance, particularly in areas such as global warming. It gives report cards for industries involved in extractives, infrastructure, manufacturing, and services, as well as considering organized labor.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=477&ArticleID=5267&l=en
http://www.unep.fr/outreach/csd14/
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/review.htm
http://www.unep.fr/outreach/csd14/docs/Class_of_2006.pdf
Disparities in health care based on income are cited in two recent reports. The Save the Children charity's "State of the World's Mothers 2006", reports that the US survival rate for newborns in the developed world is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a rate of 5 per 1,000. Only Latvia is worse with a rate of 6 per 1,000 births. Another recent study finds that middle-aged Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts, although Americans spend twice as much.
http://www.savethechildren.org/news/releases/release_050906.asp?stationpub=i_hpln_050906&ArticleID=&NewsID=
http://www.rand.org/news/press.06/05.02.html
Wharton School accounting professor Mary Ellen Carter addresses executive compensation here:
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1465
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ETM Technology
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The UK Ministry of Defense report, "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region" (the Condign Report) has been declassified under a Freedom of Information Act request by Sheffield Hallem University. It finds no proof of alien life forms, but does say that:
* UAPs exist but they are not space ships. They are natural, atmospheric and other phenomena, some of which are not fully understood.
* Although extremely rare, UAPs may pose a hazard to air traffic. No evidence for the existence of solid objects was found by the study but some natural phenomena, such as plasmas, could be dangerous to aircraft particularly those flying low and fast (a risk assessed as being lower than bird strikes).
* UAPs do not pose a threat to UK airspace, and there is no evidence they are aircraft from hostile nations.
* Despite claims of an international UFO cover-up, there has been absolutely no collaboration between UK and other countries on the subject of UAPs.
* Some UAPs may represent over-flying military black projects from friendly powers.
* There are no artifacts left by UAPs, or radiation traces, or any useful video or still camera photos held by MoD.
*. MoD is keenly interested in research by scientists in the former Soviet Union into UAPs and their possible military applications.
* One outcome of the study was a recommendation that further research should be carried out into the possible military applications of plasma-type phenomena, such as battlefield weapons and decoys.
* The MoD relied upon poor quality data (single page UFO report forms) for their raw data for the study and were not allowed to interview witnesses. The limitations of scientific evaluation based on such poor data are acknowledged.
* The study identified definitive links between clusters of UAP reports and meteor showers.
http://www.shu.ac.uk/cgi-bin/news_full.pl?id_num=PR1022&db=06
http://www.uk-ufo.org/condign/
GlaxoSmithKline, which collaborates with Huntingdon Life Sciences, has obtained an emergency court injunction against animal rights extremists that have threatened GlaxoSmithKline shareholders.
http://www.gsk.com/investors/shareholder_information_advice.htm
Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have found a way to use an electric field to create a light-signal that can communicate with computers, potentially making the internet a thousand times faster. Their work is reported in the 11 May issue of Nature.
http://www.com.dtu.dk/English/Research/Strain.aspx
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ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
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A planned meeting of foreign ministers from China, France, Germany, UK and UK failed to reach a joint strategy for dealing with Iran's nuclear programs, but the US has agreed to hold off punitive actions while France, Germany and the UK prepare proposals for incentives in exchange for cooperation. Pressure has increased for full disclosure not that IAEA inspectors have found preliminary indications of traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment from a former research site. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says it will reject any coercion or any suggestion that Iran will halt its peaceful activities.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/index.shtml
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2179407,00.html
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=42858&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/12/AR2006051201860.html
Also note Ahmadinejad's letter to US President George Bush, with analysis from George Perkovich, here:
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/npp/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=18317
Indonesia and Iran have been developing close economic ties and during President Ahmadinejad's visit, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offered to mediate in the nuclear dispute. Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population.
"Blowback in the Gulf", by retired US Army Colonel Daniel Smith, says:
"Although the Bush administration and its 'coalition of the willing' ignored those opposed to war, both in the United States and in other countries, the anti-war movement succeeded in slowing the rush to war in 2002. With regard to Iran, because of the public record on Iraq, one has a better idea of the Bush administration's tactics and can key actions that impede the rush to armed conflict with Iran."
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/3262
South Korea said that it could grant many concessions, even unconditional aid, to North Korea if it would help resolve the nuclear crisis, but that its policy to North Korea has not changes.
http://www.washtimes.com/world/200-7868r.htm
http://search.hankooki.com/times/times_view.php?term=iglauer++&path=hankooki3/times/lpage/nation/200605/kt2006051118105511990.htm
The US Congress would be unlikely to pass legislation to permit the sale of US civilian nuclear to India in its current form. It would be better received if the US and India first negotiate a formal nuclear cooperation agreement. A hearing on "The US-India 'Global Partnership': Legislative Options" was held on 11 May.
http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/109/full051106.htm
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N11340018.htm
Australian Foreign Minister Downer denied reports that the country was considering uranium sales to India, maintaining the policy of no sales to countries that are not party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/transcripts/2006/060511_ds.html
The US House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, held a hearing on "Anthrax Protection: Progress or Problems", with witnesses from he Government Accountability Office, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, Department of Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://reform.house.gov/NSETIR/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=43448
A glitch in Canadian gun laws in which the Canada Post is required to get signatures for mail ordered guns, but the shipper is not required to inform Canada Post that guns are in the package, is described in this article:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1147384212014
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 Agriculture and Food
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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released "Crop Prospect and Food Situation". The new report forecasts a slight decrease from good harvests in 2005, but consumption remaining steady. 39 countries need external food assistance, most in southern and eastern Africa, and global cereal stocks may be drawn down for the second consecutive year.
http://www.fao.org/giews/english/cpfs/index.htm
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CIM Banking and Finance
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Citibank Japan has recovered from a computer glitch that caused 274,800 incorrect transactions, including missing and duplicated operations, over the course of a week. This incident occurs while the company and its parent Citigroup have been under fire from Japan's Financial Services Agency, which has forced Citigroup to close private banking services and halt all new operations from 2 May for failure to ensure ongoing compliance, including anti-money laundering safeguards.
http://www.citibank.co.jp/en/info/transaction_processing_incident.html
http://www.citibank.co.jp/en/info/transaction_processing_incident2.html
http://www.fsa.go.jp/
Lloyds TSB has warned that bank cards are being copied in the UK before being used abroad to bypass chip and pin security. The less secure magnetic strip is read on older machines not equipped with chip and pin readers.
http://www.vnunet.com/actions/trackback/2155977
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/05/11/1647626.htm
http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/credit_card_news/052006/LloydsTSB_Admits_Chip_Pin_Problem.html
EMarketer's new report, "Online Banking: Remote Channels, Remote Relationships?" warns that US consumers are losing confidence in online banking, mainly due to doubts about bank security measures.
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=128505
Carnegie Mellon and the Financial Services Technology Consortium have collaborated on a new technical note that benchmarks business continuity. "Sustaining Operational Resiliency: A Process Improvement Approach to Security Management" focuses on:
" Organizations face an ever-changing risk environment. The risk that emanates from the day-to-day activities of the organization, operational risk, is the subject of increasing attention, particularly in the banking and finance industry, because of the potential to significantly disrupt an organization's pursuit of its mission. Security, business continuity, and IT operations management are activities that traditionally support operational risk management. But collectively, they also converge to improve the operational resiliency of the organization--the ability to adapt to a changing operational risk environment as necessary. Coordinating these efforts to sustain operational resiliency requires a process-oriented approach that can be defined, measured, and actively managed. This report describes the fundamental elements and benefits of a process approach to security and operational resiliency and provides a notional view of a framework for process improvement."
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/publications/documents/06.reports/06tn009.html
The UK Financial Services Agency has banned credit union chairman Dr Albert Alphonso Carlyle Waite from carrying out any regulated activity in respect of credit unions for a willful and persistent disregard for FSA rules that led to failure of the credit union.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2006/046.shtml
US Federal Regulators have requested comment on a revised proposed statement regarding complex structured finance activities. The revised statement describes the types of internal controls and risk management procedures that should help financial institutions identify, manage and address the heightened legal and reputational risks that may arise from certain complex structured finance transactions.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/board/0659r4.pdf
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/board/0659r5.pdf
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/board/0659r6.pdf
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CIM Cybersecurity
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Sophos has announced a critical vulnerability in the way its antivirus products handles Microsoft cabinet files in a way that could be remotely exploited.
http://www.sophos.com/support/knowledgebase/article/4934.html
Microsoft has issued its May security update. Of the three patches, two are considered critical, including flaws in Exchange and Adobe's Macromedia Flash Player.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS06-019.mspx
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/security/security_zone/apsb06-03.html
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS06-020.mspx
Wells Fargo has notified customers of a fourth loss of personal data, this following a company computer from its mortgage group stolen during transportation between facilities by a global express shipping company.
https://www.wellsfargo.com/wf/press/20060505_suspectedtheft?year=2006
Shell oil has suspended chip-and-pin payments following discovery of a financial fraud in which about GBP 1 million was stolen from customer accounts. Eight people have been arrested, and the investigation continues.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4980190.stm
Chip and pin cards are facilitating fraud at ATMs in older machines, particularly abroad, which use the less secure magnetic strip. Cards are being copied in the UK before being used abroad, leading to significant financial losses.
http://www.cardforum.com/article.html?id=20060509PYHQ0TDI&from=home&fmse=cl
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/05/11/1647626.htm
http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/credit_card_news/052006/LloydsTSB_Admits_Chip_Pin_Problem.html
Webroot's latest "State of Spyware" report finds that "the first quarter of 2006 saw a 15 percentage point jump in the share of consumer PCs infected with spyware: from 72 percent in Q4 2005 to 87 percent in Q1 2006. The average instances of spyware on infected machines increased 18 percent over the previous quarter to an average of 29.5 instances of spyware per infected PC, up from 24.9 instances in Q4 2005. Webroot also witnessed a significant rise in Trojan horse infection rates with an increase to 29 percent, up from 24 percent during the fourth quarter of 2005. The overall incidence of the most prevalent Trojan horse, Trojan–Downloader–Zlob, doubled during the first quarter."
http://www.webroot.com/resources/archive/pr/0605-sos06q1.html
McAfee's Site Advisor warns of the most common searches that are likely to lead to malicious software:
http://www.siteadvisor.com/studies/search_safety_may2006.html
Cloudmark reports a phishing attack that used Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) to copy a bank's automated voice system and thereby steal personal customer information.
http://www.cloudmark.com/press/releases/?release=2006-04-25-2
Press reports describe weaknesses in keyless entry systems, such as the software locks used in some automobiles.
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/67132/thieves_key_in_laptop_threat.html
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/05/03/gone-in-20-minutes-using-laptops-to-steal-cars/
Ahead of the US primary season, concerns over security of electronic voting machines has increased:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/us/12vote.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/11/BAGI1IPASN1.DTL
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
http://avirubin.com/vote.pdf
http://www.epic.org/privacy/voting/crsreport.pdf
http://www.diebold.com/dieboldes/
The US House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, held a hearing on "Social Security Numbers in Commerce: Reconciling Beneficial Uses with Threats to Privacy"
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/05112006hearing1871/hearing.htm
UK district court has recommended that hacker Gary McKinnon should be extradited to the US, where he is wanted for serious computer intrusions into US military networks. The decision to extradite rests with the Home Secretary.
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/mckinnonIndict.htm
http://freegary.org.uk/
Christopher Maxwell has pleaded guilty to a botnet attack whose victims included Northwest Hospital in Seattle, where control systems did not work properly or were shut down. Under a plea agreement, the hospital will be paid $252,000 in compensation. He also pleaded guilty to damaging US military computers. Maxwell, age 20, and two juveniles launched the attack last January, and profited with more than $100,000 from fraudulently installed ad programs. Sentencing will be on 4 August.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/waw/press/2006/may/maxwell.htm http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/maxwellIndict.htm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/259169_botnet11.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2006-04-23-bot-herders_x.htm
In another botnet case, Jeanson James Ancheta was sentenced in US court to 57 months in prison for violations of the Computer Fraud Abuse and CAN SPAM Acts, in connection with running a zombie network that he used to install adware and sell space to others.
Nations Title Agency, Inc., Nations Holding Company, and Christopher M. Likens reached a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission in connection with discarding consumers' confidential information in a dumpster, creating an open invitation for identity theft. They have agreed to correct their procedures.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/05/nationstitle.htm
English police working with US authorities have determined that a man who, using a dead baby's identity, went under the name of ("Lord") Christopher Buckingham for more than 20 years is actually US citizen Charles Albert Stopford III, from Florida. He had been jailed for 21 months in November 2005 for obtaining a passport using his false identity, His sentence was reduced to nine months. He is now in the custody of immigration authorities, while UK and US officials determine the next steps to take.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-buckingham0906may09,0,5607160.story
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CIM Dams
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India's Supreme Court has ruled the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river is acceptable and can continue. Thousands of people have been displaced by the massive project, and now anti-dam campaigners have failed to limit the increased height of the dam. Relief and rehabilitation of affected families is in the hands of Prime Minister Singh.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/4065.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1518632.cms
http://www.narmada.org/
http://www.sardarsarovardam.org/
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CIM Energy
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reduced its demand forecast from 85.1 to 84.8 million barrels a day. This led to a fall in light crude oil prices, but overall oil prices are increasing, with significant fluctuations driven by the situations in Iran and Nigeria.
Bolivia's state energy firm Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) has agreed to discuss compensation for Brazil's Petrobras, after Bolivia nationalized to Petrobras refineries. Compensation may take the form of natural gas rather than cash.
http://www.noticiaspetrobras.com.br/
http://www.ypfb.gov.bo/
Denmark credits environmental policies developed in the 1970s for supporting economic growth of 56 percent with increased energy use of only two percent.
http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,610577&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ic_itemid=923235
US state of Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco vetoed a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal off the coast for fear of its impact on local fisheries. The plan is being revised using a closed-loop system rather than seawater to heat the supercooled gas.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1146897684274960.xml
http://nola.live.advance.net/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1147154786303390.xml
http://www.mcmoran.com/
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced plans to replace the current 17 percent oil royalty with an extraction tax of 33 percent. Foreign companies that currently pay 34 percent income tax will pay 50 percent. These new taxes are subject to National Assembly approval. The proceeds are to support his social initiatives, including a housing program.
The US Federal Trade Commission has launched a revised Oil and Gas Industry Initiatives website to help better educate consumers.
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/oilgas/index.html
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CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
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The International Atomic Energy Agency warns that deliveries of lifesaving radioactive medical isotopes are too often delayed or blocked during international transport, potentially causing patients to miss critical medical treatment or diagnosis. The problem has arisen from increased regulations as well as fewer available carriers and routes.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2006/inttransport.html
A legal challenge brought by residents near the uranium enrichment plant in Rokkasho, Japan, has failed. Residents has asked for the plant to close because of inadequate safety checks, but a high court has upheld the lower court's rejection of the alleged flaws.
Repairs at South Africa's Koeberg nuclear power station will be completed later this month. An investigation into the loose bolt that caused the damage continues.
http://www.eskom.co.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=1241
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1931356,00.html
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued an interim final rule for risk insurance for advanced nuclear facilities, to cover regulatory and legal delays and thereby speed construction of new facilities and support "resurgence of nuclear power", a key component of the Bush administration's energy initiative. Here are the press release and a Fact Sheet:
http://www.doe.gov/news/3630.htm
http://www.criticalinfrastructuremonitor.com/2006/05/CIM1401.shtml
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CIM Public Health and Healthcare
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The Save the Children charity released "State of the World's Mothers 2006", reporting two million babies born annually in the developing world die the day they are born, most from preventable causes including infections, low weight, of a difficult birth, most preventable or treatable by simple, inexpensive methods. Their "Mothers Index" ranks the best and worst countries around the world to be a mother and child. Niger comes last and Sweden first. The difference? In Sweden a skilled health worker is present at nearly every birth, and nearly all women are literate and use modern contraception. In Niger only 10 percent of women are literate, only four percent use modern contraception, and only 16 percent of births are attended by a skilled health worker. In Sweden, one in 333 children die before their first birthday. In Niger that figure is one in seven.
http://www.savethechildren.org/news/releases/release_050906.asp?stationpub=i_hpln_050906&ArticleID=&NewsID=
Another key finding in this report is the US survival rate for newborns. In the developed world the Us is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a rate of 5 per 1,000. Only Latvia is worse with a rate of 6 per 1,000 births. Another recent study finds that middle-aged Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts, despite spending twice as much. In both cases, the studies site major discrepancies in health care based on income.
http://www.rand.org/news/press.06/05.02.html
The UN Population Fund recommends recruiting midwives, especially in developing countries, to help save the lives of five million women and prevent 80 million illnesses from pregnancy or childbirth by 2015.
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=776
The US Department of Defense contests the findings in this Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that few returning service members are given appropriate mental health care. See "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: DOD Needs to Identify the Factors Its Providers Use to Make Mental Health Evaluation Referrals for Servicemembers".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-397
Colombia's constitutional court has voted with a 5-3 majority to permit termination of pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother or fetus is in danger. This is in line with other Latin American countries, but Chile and El Salvador continue to ban abortion under any circumstances.
The British Medical Journal has launched "Best Treatments", a new web site designed to give independent, accurate, up-to-date and jargon-free information on dozens of diseases to help patients make decisions about their treatments.
http://www.besttreatments.co.uk/btuk/home.jsp
Do short-term acute care hospitals with physician owners or investors that primarily treat patients who have specific medical conditions or need surgical procedures have an impact on general hospitals? GAO found little, in its investigation of "General Hospitals: Operational and Clinical Changes Largely Unaffected by Presence of Competing Specialty Hospitals".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-520
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CIM Transportation
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US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials are considering a request by Israel's national airline, El Al, to provide its own second baggage screening at Newark airport, as it currently does at New York's Kennedy, Chicago's O'Hare, Miami International, Newark Liberty, and Los Angeles. No other airline has such arrangements.
http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1147324584193820.xml?starledger?ntop&coll=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/nyregion/12airport.html
TSA has issued proposed rules for transportation worker identification credentials, published in conjunction with Coast Guard rules for port workers.
http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=40&content=09000519801db7db
Long-range identification and tracking of ships is under discussion at the International Maritime Organization's Maritime Safety Committee Meeting, 10-19 May.
http://gisis.imo.org/
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/enav/ais/default.htm
In Australia, the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Anzac Bridge will boost security with an A$2.9 million investment in additional surveillance, but experts don't believe this will prevent an attack.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/smile-youre-on-bridgecam--constantly/2006/05/10/1146940613345.html
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,1908,00.html
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/majorconstructionprojectssydney/sydneyharbourbridge/index.html
Kazakhstan has signed an agreement with the US National Nuclear Security Administration under which the US Second Line of Defense program will install radiation detection and communications equipment, and provide training, for detection of nuclear or radiological material smuggled in cargo.
http://www.doe.gov/news/3628.htm
The UK Parliament Transport Committee held a second hearing on Travelling Without Fear, addressing rail security.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmtran/uc1085-ii/uc108502.htm
The New York City police have changes their tactics for protecting underground rail tunnels that cross rivers, putting more on trains and fewer at fixed posts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/nyregion/09booth.html
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CIM Water
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The UK Select Committee on Public Accounts released "Environment Agency: Efficiency in water resource management". Their conclusions and recommendations are as follows:
* The Agency claims to have achieved efficiency savings of around 3% per year for the last three years, but is only now putting in place management information systems which will enable it to cost its activities more rigorously. Without such information, the Agency cannot be well positioned to identify and implement efficiency savings, or to make sure that costs are apportioned appropriately between its activities.
* The Agency's implementation plans for activity based costing systems are likely to take two more years to complete, though the project to improve management information systems started in 2001. The Agency is seeking to build capacity in the organisation and achieve cultural changes, but nevertheless the rate of progress is slow. It should set targets for completion of the project, and determine how the additional management information available will be used to streamline activities where appropriate.
* The Agency has also been slow to implement an Asset Management Strategy, despite being responsible for assets with a replacement value of over £20 billion and annual upkeep, maintenance and renewal costs of £400-£500 million. The Agency should appoint someone with appropriate expertise to own and lead this important area of activity, with a brief to secure the savings which ought to be deliverable from better asset management.
* The Agency should streamline its water resource management activities by:
- vesting oversight of the network in a single team so that pressures to increase the number of monitoring sites receive appropriate challenge and there is clear consideration of whether other sites can be removed;
- employing risk based techniques to determine the number of site visits needed; and
- looking to automate such activities where it is cost effective to do so.
* Costs have been incorrectly allocated between water resource and flood management activities. Where the costs of its activities are recovered through fees, the Agency should deploy rigorous cost allocation processes annually to avoid either over or under charging. The Agency should act promptly to reallocate to flood management any costs which have been incorrectly charged to its water resource management activities.
* There is a mis-match between licence fee charges and the availability of water in some regions of England. The Agency should consider whether the current practice of cost recovery by region is appropriate or whether national cost recovery would be more equitable and efficient. The Agency should provide fee paying abstractors with information on the make up of their charges each year to provide greater transparency and impetus for making the service efficient.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmpubacc/749/74902.htm
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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More than 9 million people, more than half children, face illness or death in drought-stricken East Africa and the Horn.
http://www.wfp.org
http://www.unicef.org
Angola reports more than 32,000 cholera cases and over 1,100 deaths, over half of these children under five.
http://www.msf.org
In Nigeria, a ruptured fuel pipe caught fire and exploded, killing at least 165 people, and perhaps as many as 200 or more. The impoverished local population was taking advantage of the leak to obtain fuel when they were caught up in an inferno that has left few identifiable remains, and no survivors. There has been a mass burial, and an investigation was launched into the incident.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/nationalx/nr414052006.html
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=qw1147606383980B252
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4767033.stm
A heat wave in Pakistan has killed more than 20 people.
An Egyptian bus carrying weaving company employees overturned and plunged into a canal, killing 21 and injuring many others.
The Philippines coast guard reports that a small ferry was caught up in Typhoon Caloy and sank, killing 21 people.
In eastern Nepal, a 3-wheel bus taking 21 young children to school crashed into a canal, killing 13.
A fire at a disco in a Thai beach resort killed seven and injured 500. An electrical fault is believed to have been the cause.
Tornadoes in the US state of Texas killed three and injured ten, causing serious property damage there and in the neighboring state of Oklahoma.
Flooding in Suriname has displaced 37,000 people, including 22,000 whose homes were destroyed.
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DRM Response and Recovery
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Two Australian miners, trapped for two weeks deep underground in a transit cage in the Beaconsfield gold mine, have been successfully rescued and have returned home following brief medical checks. A third miner was killed in the 25 April accident that followed a rockfall caused by a tremor. Their painstaking and dangerous rescue involved establishing a vertical tunnel through rock five times harder than concrete. An independent inquiry into mine safety is planned. The mine will not reopen for months.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Mine-rescue-makes-headlines-around-globe/2006/05/09/1146940542561.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200605/1634560.htm?northtas
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19087484%255E911,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19086544-601,00.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200605/s1634197.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/09/world/main1600649.shtml
http://www.beaconsfieldgold.com.au/
The UK Health and Safety Executive and Environment Agency issued its third progress report regarding the investigation of the Buncefield oil storage depot fire, finding that two separate safety devices failed:
"The first was a float - a level gauge - which got stuck and therefore didn't rise and register as the tank continued to fill. And then it did fill, and just before that happened, an alarm should have been triggered - a so-called high-level alarm - and that doesn't appear to have operated either." The overflow caused a huge vapor cloud to build up, which was then ignited by a spark, causing a 32-hour inferno.
http://www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk/reports/index.htm
http://www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk/reports/report3.pdf
Daniel Biechele, manager of the Great White rock band, has been sentenced to four years in prison for manslaughter. In February 2003, he organized a pyrotechnic display at a concert that triggered a fire in the Station Club, a nightclub in the US state of Rhode Island, Emergency exits were hidden or defective, and 100 people were killed. The nightclub owners are awaiting their manslaughter trial.
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DRM Risks
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Indonesia has ordered a full evacuation around Mount Merapi after scientists warned of an imminent eruption. Some villagers have remained to tend to their livestock. Emergency funds have been set aside but the fate of crops and livestock was left unclear.
AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) issued "Understanding Climatological Influences on Hurricane Activity: The AIR Near-term Catalog". The white paper reviews the current state of research on climatological influences on hurricane activity and confirms the correlation between elevated sea-surface temperatures and overall hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin, but warns against relying on near-term 5-year projections because there is considerable uncertainty in the expected magnitude and time horizon of potentially elevated risk along the coastline and its impact on regional insured losses.
http://www.air-worldwide.com/_public/html/newsitem.asp?ID=941
http://www.air-worldwide.com/_public/images/pdf/AIR_Near_Term_Catalog.pdf
The US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enacted rules that industry experts believe will increase driver fatigue and accidents, by increasing the number of hours commercial truckers can drive before taking a break and the hours per week they can drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) blames nearly a third of truck driver fatalities on fatigue.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos/hos-2005.htm
http://www.saferoads.org/
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-wheels10may10,0,2849446.story
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DRM Mitigation
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The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two reports regarding emergency preparedness:
"Continuity of Operations: Selected Agencies Could Improve Planning for Use of Alternate Facilities and Telework during Disruptions"
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-713
"Federal Emergency Management Agency: Factors for Future Success and Issues to Consider for Organizational Placement."
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-746T
Given the growing controversy over US National Security Agency (NSA) domestic operations, we couldn't resist pulling out a favorite book:
James Bamford's "Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret national Security Agency, from the Cold War through the Dawn of a New Century" (Doubleday, 2001; Anchor 2002)
http://www.randomhouse.com/anchor/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385499088
This book followed from Bamford's bestseller, "The Puzzle Palace: Inside America's Most Secret Intelligence Organization", which explains the beginning of signals intelligence in a secret 1947 treaty signed by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US, from whence was born the NSA.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140067485/103-475?v=glance&n=283155
From cracking Soviet codes to becoming the world's "eavesdropping superpower", these books provide historical coverage and technical analysis that lifts the lid on this most secretive of secret agencies.
Also note his recent publication, "A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies".
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307275042
Here are reviews of Bamford's books:
http://archive.salon.com/books/review/2001/04/25/nsa/
http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0385499086.asp
http://www.unc.edu/~rhanna/INLS187/book.htm
http://ergo-sum.us/Members/cmcurtin/puzzlepalace/view
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04EFDC1639F93BA25755C0A9629C8B63
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,646366,00.html
Here are author interviews:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/24/1516253
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5058734
http://www.eyeonbooks.com/iap.php?authID=482
And finally, an author profile:
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/bamford/author.html
8. Asset Management Network News
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