Two killed as earthquake shakes Serbia - Telegraph

Two killed as earthquake shakes Serbia - Telegraph: "Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said that the quake's epicentre was less than one mile north of the city of Kraljevo, about 94 miles southwest of the capital Belgrade.
Local health authorities said at least 15 people were hurt in and around Kraljevo, a city of about 70,000.

people lost their lives at Grdica, close to Kraljevo, in the earthquake during the night,' Ivica Dacic, the interior minister, said, quoted by the Tanjug news agency.
Witnesses there reported that buildings were damaged and parts of the town were left without electricity or running water.
The quake was also felt in Belgrade."

BBC News - Woman jailed for life for attack on MP Stephen Timms

BBC News - Woman jailed for life for attack on MP Stephen Timms: "21-year-old student has been jailed for life at the Old Bailey for trying to murder Labour MP Stephen Timms because he voted for the war in Iraq.
Roshonara Choudhry, of East Ham, stabbed the 55-year-old MP for East Ham twice in the stomach at a constituency surgery in Newham, east London, in May.
She was found guilty of attempted murder and two counts of possessing a knife on Tuesday.
Choudhry, of Central Park Road, was jailed for a minimum of 15 years.
She stabbed Mr Timms as he held a constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe community centre in east London on 14 May."

BBC News - Theresa May defends UK's defences against terrorism

BBC News - Theresa May defends UK's defences against terrorism: "Home Secretary Theresa May has defended the UK's security measures in her first major speech on counter-terrorism.
She also said that British extremists had already travelled to Somalia to train and fight.
If UK security services did not intervene, then these individuals would return home to the UK to attempt to commit mass murder, Mrs May added.
She promised to do 'absolutely nothing which will put at risk Britain's national security'.
And she said core counter-terrorist policing capabilities would be maintained.
Spending on counter-terrorism 'will remain high', she added, with more than £2bn for policing alone being spent in the next four years."

Woman who 'posted Al Qaeda printer bombs' arrested in Yemen | Mail Online

Woman who 'posted Al Qaeda printer bombs' arrested in Yemen | Mail Online: "woman accused of posting two printer bombs found on board cargo planes in the UK and Dubai has been arrested in Yemen.Investigators said the woman was detained as part of a manhunt for a number of suspects believed to have used forged documents and ID cards that played a role in the plot that was thwarted yesterday.Yemeni officials this evening said the suspects are believed to have links to Al Qaeda's faction in Yemen.Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates had provided him with information that helped identify the woman as a suspect.
He said security forces had surrounded a house in the capital city of Sanaa that was believed to be holding the woman. A security official later confirmed the woman had been arrested.Investigators in Yemen confirmed they traced the woman through a telephone number left with courier company UPS. They are also searching for several accomplices linked to Al Qaeda.Tonight's developments came as David Cameron said the explosive device found hidden in a printer cartridge on a cargo plane at East Midlands Airport was apparently designed to blow the aircraft out of the sky."

Terror: ‘f***ing calm down’ and carry on | spiked

Terror: ‘f***ing calm down’ and carry on | spiked: "First they came for our shoes. Then they came for our bottles of water, medicine and mascara. Now they come for our printer ink cartridges. What will the UK and Western authorities target next in their ludicrous war on terror at the airports?
The pseudo-security measures that are now hastily imposed on air travel as a reaction to each terror alert bring to mind the generals who pinned their hopes for protecting France from invasion by Nazi Germany on the old static defence system of the Maginot line, constructed after the First World War. By the time of the Second World War, the new mobile German army simply deployed its blitzkrieg tactics to go around the Maginot’s dusty defences and waltz into Paris.
The security authorities today are not, of course, facing an enemy comparable to the Nazis. But like those generals of yore, they are always fighting the last battle, engaging in a fantasy war rather than facing reality. Thus they impose one knee-jerk ban or restriction after another, in a futile effort to prevent the attack or plot that has already happened – and probably already failed. The only effect of these retrospective security measures is to cause the air transport system to seize up even further, and to reinforce the politics of fear and paralysis."

UK, Australia raise Philippine terror alert -- 2010/november/3

Manila Standard Today -- UK, Australia raise Philippine terror alert -- 2010/november/3: "AUSTRALIA has advised its nationals to exercise a “high degree of caution” when traveling to the Philippines, while the United Kingdom said there was a “high threat” of terrorism throughout the country.
“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in the Philippines because of the high threat of terrorist attack and the high level of serious crime,” according to www.smartraveller.gov.au.
“Terrorist attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in the Philippines, including in Manila. We continue to receive credible reports indicating terrorists are planning attacks against a range of targets in a variety of locations, including places frequented by foreigners. You should avoid places known to be terrorist targets.”"

UK says no plan to change security threat level | Reuters

UK says no plan to change security threat level | Reuters: "Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday that Britain had no plans to raise the security threat level following a recent aircargo bomb scare.
'We review the status of our terror alert regularly,' he said during a visit to London by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
'We have no plans to change it at the moment, but it is already... at a level where we believe attacks are likely, so we have a very high level of alert.'
The level is currently at severe, the second highest, suggesting an attack is highly likely."

Junior minister learned of bomb threat six hours before David Cameron - Telegraph

Junior minister learned of bomb threat six hours before David Cameron - Telegraph: "Baroness Neville-Jones, the security minister, disclosed that she was aware by 8am that a suspicious item had been found on a plane containing cargo thought to have been dispatched by al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen.
However, Downing Street confirmed that David Cameron was unaware of the threat until 2pm on Friday.


Passengers at risk as cargo not X-rayed Questions have been raised over why Mr Cameron was not told of the alert until 11 hours after the device was found.
The printer cartridge containing explosive material was discovered at 3.30am on a cargo plane which was stopping on its way to the United States.
A spokesman said that “lessons would be learned” from the decision to keep Mr Cameron in the dark for so long.
No 10 refused to disclose whose decision it was not to inform the Prime Minister of the existence of the threat at 3am, when the device was discovered at East Midlands Airport by police acting on an intelligence tip off."

US suspected Yemen-based terrorists would use cargo holds two months ago - Telegraph

US suspected Yemen-based terrorists would use cargo holds two months ago - Telegraph: "Last week's bombs, found in Dubai and at East Midlands Airport, were addressed to synagogues also in Chicago.

Cargo plane terror alert: bombs 'designed to harm US synagogues'The sender is understood to have been someone in the Yemen with known links to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, according to reports. The packages contained books, religious literature and a computer disc, but no explosives.
'At the time, people obviously took notice and, knowing of the terrorist group's interest in aviation, considered the possibility that AQAP might be exploring the logistics of the cargo system,' an official told The New York Times.
'When we learned of last week's serious threat, people recalled the incident and factored it in to our government's very prompt response.'
The fact that the packages were allowed to go on their way, to apparently random addresses, after no explosives were found will raise questions about how last week's bombs were allowed to travel as far as they did, given they were addressed to Chicago synagogues."

Greek terrorists accused of bomb attacks

Greek terrorists accused of bomb attacks: "Greek terrorists are suspected of unleashing an unprecedented two-day wave of mail bombings targeting embassies in Athens, international organizations and foreign leaders, with devices exploding Tuesday at the Russian and Swiss embassies and German authorities destroying a bomb sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
By Tuesday evening, at least 11 mail bombs had been detected in the Greek capital - one addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and eight to the embassies of Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia and Switzerland."

Yemen: Al-Qaeda insider told Saudis of bomb plot - World - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

Yemen: Al-Qaeda insider told Saudis of bomb plot - World - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News: "Information that helped thwart the plot of US-bound mail bombs wired to explode on cargo planes came from an al-Qaeda insider who was secreted out of Yemen after surrendering to Saudi authorities, Yemeni security officials said Monday.

The tip reflects how Saudi Arabia has worked aggressively for years to infiltrate al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is operating in the unruly, impoverished nation on its southern doorstep.

The tip came from Jabir al-Fayfi, a Saudi who was held for years at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007. Soon after, he fled Saudi Arabia and joined the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, until he turned himself in to Saudi authorities in late September.

Yemeni security officials said they believe al-Fayfi may have been a double agent, planted by Saudi Arabia in Yemen among al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula militants to uncover their plots. The officials said that after his return to the kingdom, he told authorities that al-Qaeda was planning to send bomb-laden packages."

United States, along with four other countries, issued travel warnings about potential terror threats in the Philippines

US, 4 other countries warn of terrorist attacks in PHL - Nation - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News: "One week after a near attack by terrorists on its shores, the United States, along with four other countries, issued travel warnings about potential terror threats in the Philippines, particularly in parts of Mindanao.

The US issued on Wednesday (Manila time) a warning against traveling to the Philippines due to “high risk' of terrorist activity not only in southern Philippines, but also in the country’s capital city, Manila.

“Terrorist attacks could be indiscriminate and could occur not only in the southern islands but also in other areas, to include Manila,' the US’ travel warning read.

New Zealand travelers were also advised on Wednesday (Manila time) of “extreme risk' of traveling to the Philippines, particularly in the southern provinces of Basilan and Sulu.

The US’ and New Zealand’s travel warnings came days after three other countries – Australia, United Kingdom and Canada – issued similar travel advisories to its nationals, following the foiled terror attack on the US."

Terrorists Simulated Bomb Delivery Plot in September | Middle East | English

Officials: Terrorists Simulated Bomb Delivery Plot in September | Middle East | English: "U.S. intelligence officials say the shipment of three suspicious packages from Yemen to the U.S. in September was probably a test run for last week's terrorist plot of parcel bombs.

Officials disclosed that the packages sent in September were intercepted by intelligence agents before they reached their final destination of Chicago. They contained books, papers, compact discs and other materials.

Authorities said the Yemeni-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula used the shipments to plan the route and timing for two cartridges (or containers) of computer printer ink that were filled with explosives. The containers were intercepted last week in Britain and Dubai after being shipped from Yemen.

Intelligence officials said they already were aware of the terrorists' interest in attacking the aviation industry, and considered the possibility they would target cargo planes. Officials said the September incident prompted their quick response to last week's plot."