TerrorismCentral Newsletter Archive
For the year 2004
For the year 2007 | For the year 2006
For the year 2005 | For the year 2003 | For the year 2002
For the week ending December 26, 2004
From this morning's disastrous earthquake in Asia to the latest terrorist assets frozen by the Bank of England, News Highlights summarize events from the past week around the world. The Feature Article provides a warning and hopeful path forward in "Papua New Guinea: Preventing Another Failed State?"
For the week ending December 19, 2004
News Highlights this week include concerns over Canada's border security, Australia's maritime security, and the latest failure of the US missile defense program. The Feature Article continues last week's theme of cyber security with a look at "Steganography: a case study in dual use".
For the week ending December 12, 2004
From the Transparency International's new report on global corruption to confirmation of the dioxin poisoning of Ukrainian presidential candidate Yushchenko, News Highlights cover key events from the past week around the globe. The Feature Article reviews new reports on computer risk and mitigation in "Cybersecurity '05".
For the week ending December 5, 2004
From the large global issues addressed in the new UN report on 21st century threats to local piracy in Guyana, News Highlights covers stories from around the world last week. The Feature Article, marking World AIDS Day 2004, reviews this year's them of women and HIV/AIDS as well as new reports on the business impact of the pandemic.
For the week ending November 28, 2004
As this Newsletter goes out, delegates are arriving in Nairobi for the first conference to review the Ottawa convention prohibiting landmines. To mark this event, the Feature Article, " Littered With Invisible Killers", introduces the topic. News Highlights cover the troubled elections in the Ukraine, arrests in Indonesia over the Australian embassy bombing, new OLAF statistics, Iran's nuclear program, and other events from the past week around the globe.
For the week ending November 21, 2004
From the World Bank's view of economic prospects to the suggestions for monitoring bioweapons the News Highlights provide summaries of key events from the past week around the globe. The Arte of Phishing (2004) is this week's Feature Article, reviewing the characteristics of this serious new method of fraud and identity theft.
For the week ending November 14, 2004
Following the World Health Organization's Advisory Committee on Variola Virus Research recommendation that scientists should be allowed to conduct genetic manipulation of smallpox, this week's Feature Article provides background to the issues raised. In News Highlights you will find reports of the deteriorating situation in Ivory Coast, extensions of states of emergency in Indonesia's Aceh province and many areas of Iraq, a lawsuit against drinks companies accused of money laundering, and other highlights from last week's events around the world.
For the week ending November 7, 2004
News Highlights this week include deteriorating events in Ivory Coast, Sudan and Iraq; the first awards under the US Bioshield program and other events from the past week around the world. The Feature Article reviews key findings of the Independent Monitoring Commission's Third Report on Paramilitary Activities in Northern Ireland.
For the week ending October 31, 2004
This Newsletter is published in Massachusetts, US, and this week we could not resist the opportunity to celebrate the Red Sox - our local baseball team - win of the World Series with a Feature Article on the role of sports in peace and development. News Highlights summarize key events from the past week around the world.
For the week ending October 24, 2004
From the latest Corruption Index to the death of legendary Indian bandit Veerappan, the News Highlights review key events from the past week. This week's Feature Article discusses the use of Economic Sanctions.
For the week ending October 17, 2004
This week TerrorismCentral dips a toe into the muddy US election waters with a Feature Article about cargo container inspections, an issue that arose after the last presidential debate. In News Highlights, Afghanistan has begun counting votes in its first presidential election; opposition candidate Sergei Bagapsh won the presidential elections in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia; and Cameroon President Biya has been reelected with 75 percent of the vote. In addition there is coverage of the extradition of the "Caliph of Cologne", Singapore's terrorism training program for taxi drivers, and other events from around the world in the past week.
For the week ending October 10, 2004
As 2004 winds down and people look towards end of the year festivities and gift-giving, it seemed an opportune time to alert readers of the latest trends in fraud in this week's Feature Article, " Recent Fraud and Cybercrime Reports". News Highlights cover key events around the globe, ranging from series of explosions in Egypt and India to the list of top 20 cyber risks.
For the week ending October 3, 2004
The theme of World Maritime Day 2004 was "Safe, Secure and Efficient Shipping on Clean Oceans". Seafarers, hard-hit by security measures taken after September 11, used the occasion to highlight a particular concern by sounding their sirens and whistles at noon all around the world will sound their sirens and whistles to sound the alarm over restrictions on shore leave. This is the topic of this week's Feature Article. Other news from the world, including the first case of person-to-person transmission of avian influenza, the string of bombings in India, and the notorious interview of a former Guantanamo detainee on Dutch television, can be found in News Highlights.
For the week ending September 26, 2004
From the annual meetings of the UN General Assembly and International Atomic Energy Agency to fighting Nigeria's Taliban, News Highlights provides summaries of key events during the past week from around the globe. This week's Feature Article takes a look at the new US "Secure Flight" Program.
For the week ending September 19, 2004
This week's Feature Article looks at "Electronic Extremism: How terrorist and other extremist groups use the internet", including details of the Daniel Pearl case. News Highlights report on Batman and Robin visiting Buckingham Palace, ethnic violence caused by water shortages in Angola, the nuclear programs in Iran and the Koreas and a nuclear trafficking case in South Africa and other recent developments around the world.
For the week ending September 12, 2004
As the US marks the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Russians are burying the dead from the Beslan school siege and Indonesians recovering from the bombing of the Australian embassy. News Highlights about these and other global events demonstrate the wide spread of international terrorism, a bitter reality that is addressed in the Feature Article, "Losing the 'War on Terrorism'".
For the week ending September 5, 2004
After a week that included serious suicide bombings in Israel, Iraq and Russia as well as the devastating siege of the school in the Russian province of North Ossetia, it is worth turning to more positive events in this week's Feature Article on "The IRA Ceasefire, Ten Years On". In addition to the bombings, News Highlights reviews the latest twists in the Equatorial Guinea mercenaries affair, failures in the US federal marshals service and transnational issues in quarantine as well as other key events from the past week around the globe.
For the week ending August 29, 2004
From reports on the Abu Ghraib prison abuse to the Russian airliner explosions, the News Highlights cover the key events from last week around the globe. In this week's Feature Article, we look at how shell corporations (those with no physical presence anywhere in the world) are used for money laundering and terrorist financing.
For the week ending August 22, 2004
This week the News Highlights begin with a call from the Non-Aligned Movement calling for true multilateralism and conclude with warnings of a possible human pandemic from avian influenza jumping species. The Feature Article reviews the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's new Counter-terrorism Strategy.
For the week ending August 15, 2004
Last week's Feature Article on "Terrorism Warnings" included the recommendation to provide guidance on recommended measures to counter the threat. This week, "Comparative Emergency Preparedness" looks at how Australia, Britain, and the US have addressed emergency preparedness for individuals. News Highlights range from new terrorism legislation in Australia to warnings in the run-up to elections in Zimbabwe as well as other events from the past week around the globe.
For the week ending August 8, 2004
On August 1 the US Department of Homeland Security warned that, "al-Qaeda is targeting several specific buildings, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in the District of Columbia; Prudential Financial in Northern New Jersey; and Citigroup buildings and the New York Stock Exchange in New York". This report and the US terrorism warning system are the subject of this week's Feature Article. News Highlights feature threats that have become reality, from the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb to the latest violence in the Middle East and elsewhere around the globe.
For the week ending August 1, 2004
At the eleventh hour, the World Trade Organization managed to pull off an agreement for completing the Doha negotiations that will determine the future direction of global trade and commerce. If reform is achieved, it can have a material impact on preventing future state failures and thereby remove one of the bulwarks of organized crime and terrorism such as we see in diverse areas from North Korea to Haiti. News Highlights cover the latest events in these areas and the rest of the world, while the Feature Article looks at "Terrorist Financing and Charitable Organizations: The Case of the Holy Land Foundation".
For the week ending July 25, 2004
From the 60th anniversary of the Bretton Woods institutions (the World Bank and IMF) to intelligence reports in Australia and the US, News Highlights cover events around the globe from the past week. The Feature Article completes the 3-part series on maritime security with a brief review of its status today.
For the week ending July 18, 2004
This week's News Highlights include several new reports on critical international issues ranging from the impact of AIDS on labor forces to the situation in Ivory Coast to criticism of the US Department of Homeland Security's color-coded threat alert system. Other highlights provide brief updates on events around the world in the past week. The Feature Article continues last week's topic of Maritime Security with a look at measures in place now. Next week winds up the series with a look at the status and efficacy of these measures.
For the week ending July 11, 2004
This week's Newsletter starts with News Highlights on the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the psychology of terrorists before continuing with more news from around the globe, then ends with the first of a 3-part Feature Article series on Maritime Security.
For the week ending July 4, 2004
News Highlights this week start with the ASEAN security forum and the first cabinet-level talks between North Korea and the US since 2002. They continue with the UK Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee's annual report, the Sudan communique aimed at ending the emergency in the south, US Supreme Court decisions regarding detainees, and other news around the globe. The Feature Article is truly international in reviewing the Financial Action Task Force Annual Report, including their special reviews of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, and their evaluation of new money laundering typologies.
For the week ending June 27, 2004
At midnight on June 30, Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) will cease to exist and the interim Iraqi government will take its place. "Iraq's Transition" is the subject of this week's Feature Article. News Highlights review events on the ground in Iraq, as well as the large attacks in the North Caucasus, Turkey and elsewhere around the globe. We also include information about the context and consequences of such actions, including news of the latest cyber threats, the key role of infrastructure in development, the latest air-transportation security measures in the EU, and current legal issues.
For the week ending June 20, 2004
News Highlights are dominated by continued violence in the Middle East, the growing tragedy in southern Sudan, and the final testimony taken by the 9-11 Commission that included reliving the events of the day. By contrast, the Feature Article looks at Canada's strategic plans to secure the country against such threats in the future.
For the week ending June 13, 2004
Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Sudan and many other areas in Africa are struggling to maintain a path towards peace after prolonged conflicts. News Highlights provide brief updates on these and other situations around the world, while the Feature Article takes a look at the role of sanctions in one transnational conflict: Liberia, where sanctions were imposed for its role in Sierra Leone's civil war.
For the week ending June 6, 2004
This was a week for reflection, as we look back on such diverse events as the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy in World War II, the 20th anniversary of the storming of Amritsar's Golden Temple, and the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacres in China. With so many conflicts burning across the globe today, there is much to learn from our history, including the notion that we should not forget the lessons of the past. But with the eyes of the world turned elsewhere, the conflict in Afghanistan is devolving into another forgotten war. That is the topic of this week's Feature Article. In addition, News Highlights provide updates of international events from the past week.
For the week ending May 30, 2004
Whether it's the latest kidnapping statistics from Chechnya or the reorganization of the US Centers for Disease Control to better manage bioterrorism threats, News Highlights provide updates of international events from the past week. This week's Feature Article reviews "Forty Years of the FARC": the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia was founded on May 27, 1964.
For the week ending May 23, 2004
Testimony from emergency services in Australia and the US as well as the purple flour attack against British Prime Minister Blair continued to point out weaknesses in critical infrastructures and the ability to respond to massive disasters. News Highlights covers these reports as well as other events from around the world. This week's Feature Article on "Saudi Arabia and Terrorist Financing" continues the theme begun in last week's on "Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and Riggs Bank".
For the week ending May 16, 2004
News Highlights this week begin with the beginning of working group meetings about North Korea's nuclear programs and conclude with a list of newly published books of interest. In between we cover other news around the world, including the week's violence in the Gaza Strip, the latest UN report on Kosovo, and sanctions imposed against Syria. The Feature Article investigates the record $25 million fine imposed on Riggs Bank for transactions with Equatorial Guinea and Saudi Arabia. (More details next week on Saudi Arabia's alleged connections with terrorist financing.)
For the week ending May 9, 2004
This week we welcome guest author Captain Wayne Turnbull who contributed his study "A Tangled Web of Southeast Asian Islamic Terrorism: The Jemaah Islamiyah Terrorist Network". We have excerpted one section, "The Origins of Jemaah Islamiyah" in this week's Feature Article. News Highlights range from the assassination of Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov to the impact of the Sasser worm.
For the week ending May 2, 2004
G7 leaders are meeting to discuss economic growth that also provides the foundation for conflict resolution and recovery and is badly needed in many of the regions described in this week's News Highlights. Other news includes the first Independent Monitoring Commission report for Northern Ireland, a new outbreak of SARS, and a security loophole in a fundamental internet protocol. The Feature Article continues celebrating South Africa's decade of democracy, with part II of "South Africa: Past, Present, and Future".
For the week ending April 25, 2004
With South Africa's celebration of Freedom Day on April 27 marking the tenth anniversary of multi-racial elections, we complete the 3-part Feature Article on "South Africa: Past, Present, and Future". The week also marked one year since US President Bush announced the end of major combat in Iraq. Concerns over the direction of the invasion have been highlighted by the number of casualties in April that exceed the total number that died in assuming control of the country. Other News Highlights range from the death of AUC leader Carlos Castano to attacks in Thailand that killed more than a hundred as well as other incidents of terrorism and political violence around the world.
For the week ending April 18, 2004
South Africans celebrated a decade of democracy, with their third multi-racial general elections both peaceful and fair. This shows such promise for others in conflict situations that we are launching a 3-part Feature Article on "South Africa: Past, Present, and Future". Meanwhile, the News Highlights review the areas where violence continues, recent events in cyberterrorism, terrorist financing, and other important issues around the globe.
For the week ending April 11, 2004
This week the world has commemorated the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. But this tragic event is not isolated. This week's Feature Article discusses genocide and measures to prevent and respond to it. News Highlights cover events from the past week around the globe, from the trillion-dollar bill for bribes to the illegal internet sale of military body armor.
For the week ending April 4, 2004
From the latest reports by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on enhanced efforts against money laundering and terrorist financing, to the death of the Madrid bombing mastermind Serhane ben Abdelmajid Farkhet, the News Highlights review events of the past week from around the world. Following the World Water Day feature on "Water and Disasters" last week, the Feature Article continues the theme with a view to prevention of manmade disasters by securing the water infrastructure.
For the week ending March 28, 2004
Water, the most precious of all natural resources, is too often taken for granted. We previously have discussed linkages between water and conflict. This week's Feature Article takes up the theme with coverage of "Water and Disasters", the theme of World Water Day 2004 and will continue the topic with a discussion of key critical infrastructure protection issues. News Highlights reveal Transparency International's top ten corruption list, continue looking at governance issues with a new Global Witness report on the need for transparency in exploiting natural resources, and includes information on the latest incidents of terrorism and political violence from around the world.
For the week ending March 21, 2004
This month has been a constant reminder of how the past is always with us. The initial belief that Basque separatist group ETA was responsible has provided a lesson in making assumptions and learning from past behavior and tactics. Another perspective is found in the life and death of Abu Abbas of the Palestine Liberation Front, which is the subject of this week's Feature Article. In addition, News Highlights provide summaries of events from the past week, from the one-year anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq to most recent economic sanctions and extraditions around the globe.
For the week ending March 14, 2004
The multiple coordinated attacks in Madrid illustrated both the global span and long history of terrorist operations. This week's Feature Article illustrates this in "Terrorism and Political Violence in Spain". We don't forget other major events around the world with the News Highlights. This week's topics range from the South African and British mercenaries arrested in Zimbabwe on their way to support a planned coup in Equatorial Guinea, to the Vukovar massacre trials.
For the week ending March 7, 2004
March came in like a lion with attacks in Iraq and Pakistan on the Shia Muslim holy day Ashura that killed more than 300 people. Many other cases of ethnic and religious violence, expanding questions about intelligence, and global work on weapons of mass destruction are also among the stories covered in the News Highlights. This week's Feature Article summarizes the key findings in the recently released Financial Action Task Force and Narcotics Control Strategy reports in "Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: Lessons from the Past Year".
For the week ending February 29, 2004
Ugandans suffered the worst massacre in several years, leading to widespread protests against the government, a declaration of humanitarian emergency, and please for international aid. This week's Feature Article looks at the 18-year-old conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army to understand the background to the latest tragedy. In other News Highlights, we review a groundbreaking report by the International Labor Organization, fines imposed on banks for illegal transfers, a narco-terrorist incident in Bolivia, election violence in Kashmir and Sri Lanka, and other events from the past week around the world.
For the week ending February 22, 2004
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat was the target of a bomb explosion at his home that may be the work of extremists opposed to reunification of the island. For details of this long-running conflict, see this week's Feature Article. Other News Highlights include the latest Guantanamo Bay detainee transfers, Mexico/US border security initiatives, new tactics from Basque separatist group ETA, another suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem, progress in a vaccine against bubonic plague, and the latest phishing statistics.
For the week ending February 15, 2004
From Islamic rebels and elections in Algeria to new reports on dual-use export controls, News Highlights cover the latest events around the globe. Supplementing the regular coverage of cyberterrorism and terrorist financing, this week's Feature Article looks at the latest trends in identity theft, a rapidly growing crime that enables both.
For the week ending February 8, 2004
Following the appearance of the deadly ricin toxin in the US Senate, this week's Feature Article reviews US Public Health Preparedness from the fall 2001 anthrax attacks to the present day. News Highlights cover the discovery of a nuclear supermarket, the latest on intelligence controversies over Iraq, Greek security rehearsals ahead of the Olympics, and other events around the globe.
For the week ending February 1, 2004
Debates over intelligence dominate this issue, with a Feature Article"From Dossiers to Deconstruction" that uses the findings of the Hutton inquiry to anchor related events last week. News Highlights range from warnings of an avian influenza pandemic to Algerian peace talks and from new documents related to the Taliban to the new Annual Piracy Report.
For the week ending January 25, 2004
Reports in the News Highlights section include the International Labor Organization's record global unemployment figures, Congressional Budget Office's look at the costs of Iraqi reconstruction, and the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman's investigation into the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) murder of Sean Brown in 1997. There are also updates on other news around the world and a Feature Article on "Financial Institution Fraud and Failure".
For the week ending January 18, 2004
From Al Qaeda's new online terrorist manual to the 40th anniversary of Zanzibar's revolution, News Highlights reviews events from the past week around the world. The Feature Article turns from last week's discussion of biometrics to a review of DNA fingerprinting and its impact on law enforcement and public policy.
For the week ending January 11, 2004
With the launch of the new US-VISIT program, this week's Feature Article investigates the project and its use of biometric technologies. News Highlights review other transportation security issues, Thailand's new efforts against militants, the 2003 statistics of Chechen rebel attacks, a Mexican prison break, the latest developments on WMD in Iraq, Australian anti-money laundering initiatives, new information on monkeypox, and many more global issues.
For the week ending January 4, 2004
Welcome to the annual Year in Review issue, featuring the key events of 2003 all around the world. There is good news about nuclear controls in Iran and Libya, peace agreements in several African countries and progress against terrorist financing. On the other side are such events as the SARS epidemic and rising HIV/AIDS rates, major attacks in Colombia, Indonesia, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey (etc.) and increasing threats to human rights.