• Norwegian ambassador: A more restrictive society” is not the answer

    Following the deadly terrorist attacks in Norway that left at least seventy-six people dead, Svein Sevje, Norway’s ambassador to Israel, said in an interview that the Norwegian government will not become a surveillance state and instead focus on maintaining freedom and transparency; “The answer to this is not closing in and a more restrictive society, it’s more transparency, more involvement, that must be the answer,” Ambassador Sevje said; “Our prime minister and foreign minister have stated that Norway will still be recognizable tomorrow,” he said; the ambassador added that some new security measures will be introduced, but he hopes that they will not come at the cost of democratic freedoms

  • Study finds U.K. at greatest risk of terror attack

    A recent study found that the United Kingdom was at greater risk from terrorist attacks than any other Western nation; the study, complied by Maplecroft and dubbed the Terrorism Risk Index, ranked the United Kingdom at higher risk than the United States, France, and Spain; overall the United Kingdom ranked thirty-eighth behind nations like Somalia, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, which topped the list in that order; the U.K. ranked higher than other nations due to the internal threat from dissident Irish Republican terrorists; “The U.K. continues to face terrorist threats posed by Islamist militants and dissident Irish republicans. The Islamist terrorist threat has both international and domestic elements,” the report wrote; it added, “The majority of perpetrated attacks continue to be committed by dissident Irish Republican terrorists”

  • U.K. asks citizens to report anarchists along with terrorists

    The U.K.’s counterterrorism police force has asked local businesses and residents to report any anarchists in their neighborhoods along with religious extremists; the notice comes in the wake of the attacks on Norway which left seventy-six people dead; the Metropolitan Police is urging residents to report any suspicious activities from Muslim terrorists like al Qaeda, Irish dissidents, and political groups like anarchists; anarchists were the only political group mentioned which is drawing criticism for singling out the organization

  • Italy to ban burkha in public, joining Belgium and France

    This summer Italy’s Parliament will debate proposed legislation that would ban the wearing of burkhas in public; the proposed law would also ban the niqab, which covers the bottom part of the face, as well as other head-covering garments “of ethnic origin”; under the law, people wearing the traditional garments would be fined between 150 to 300 euros; Italy is home to over one million Muslims; the law was introduced by the anti-immigration Northern League; if the law passes Italy will join Belgium and France who also have similar bans in place

  • Poll shows U.S. Muslims happier than ever

    A new Gallup poll found that Muslim-Americans are more optimistic about their lives than nearly every other faith group in the United States; three out of five Muslims say they are “thriving,” as their economic situation improves and they feel more politically enfranchised; the only group to rank higher was Jewish-Americans, which placed higher by one percentage point; the results are a marked shift, showing a large increase from sentiments in 2008; the percentage of Muslims who said they were thriving increased 19 points from 2008; only 3 percent of Muslim-Americans said they were suffering while 37 percent said they were struggling

  • Chinese governor promises crackdown in wake of violent unrest

    Following a pair of violent terrorist attacks in northwest China, the top government official of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region declared that he would severely crack down on any who instigate such violence; the chairman of the autonomous region Nur Bekri visited the city of Kashgar, where the attacks took place, and urged the ethnic Uighurs and the Han Chinese to unite in the face of the tragedy; last Saturday attackers hijacked a truck and plowed it into a crowded street where they then jumped out and began killing civilians at random; on Sunday a group of people set a restaurant on fire and then began attacking civilians with knives; at least fourteen people were killed and forty-two others injured; authorities considered the attacks an act of terrorism plotted by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement; local police say there is no evidence to suggest any link to the religious extremists

  • China pledges greater cooperation with Pakistan to combat terrorism

    A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said that China will increase its cooperation with Pakistan to combat terrorism to help maintain regional peace and stability; “China and Pakistan have forged excellent cooperation in anti-terrorism,” said spokesman Ma Zhaoxu in a statement on Wednesday; Zhaoxu added that China and Pakistan will jointly crack down on the “three evil forces” of terrorism, separatism, and extremism

  • UN adds Russian terrorist group to sanctions list

    On Tuesday the UN Security Council moved to add the Caucasus Emirate, an extremist organization, to its sanctions list; Russia welcomed the move as the terrorist organization’s goal is to gain more autonomy for the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia through violent attacks on Russia; in a statement Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, “We welcome this step of the UN Security Council as … an understanding of the need to jointly address the threat of terrorism that does not recognize borders or nationalities”; the ministry added that the UN’s decision was “a manifestation of support of the international community for Russia’s attitude towards terrorist elements in North Caucasus”