• Irish Republican Ivor Bell to stand trial for 1972 murder of Jean McConville

    A judge ruled that veteran Irish republican Ivor Bell, 79, will stand trial for involvement in the 1972 murder of Jean McConville, a mother of ten children. Bell is charged with aiding and abetting the kidnapping, killing, and secret burial of the widow. The case against Bell could be brought as a result of the content of tapes police secured from an oral history archive collated by Boston College in the United States.

  • Death toll of Baghdad attack climbs to 250

    The Iraqi government said that the number of dead in Sunday’s massive suicide truck bombing near a central Baghdad shopping mall has reached 250, making it the deadliest attack in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The Iraqi health ministry said the number of dead is likely to rise as more bodies are being pulled from the rubble, and more of those seriously injured die in hospitals.

  • Iraq to stop using fake bomb detectors in wake of Baghdad attack

    In the wake of the deadliest terrorist attack in Iraq since 2003, Iraq’s prime minister Haider al-Abadi has instructed all the country’s security forces – the federal and local police and the army — to stop using fake bomb detectors at the hundreds of security checkpoints across the country. A British businessman, James McCormick, purchased thousands of the novelty golf ball finders for $19.95 each, repackaged them, and then sold them to Iraq and other nations as advanced hand-held bomb detectors. McCormick charged $40,000 for each of the repackaged golf-ball finders.

  • Women’s connections, role in extremist networks

    Researchers who examined the role of women in extreme networks or organizations, such as terrorist groups, dispelled the common assumption that women are lured into these dangerous environments solely to offer support while men are recruited and tend to be the key players. Instead, the researchers found, women are better connected within the network, essentially becoming the glue holding the system together, fueling its vitality and survival.

  • Understanding California electricity crisis may help prevent future crises

    Between 2000 and 2001, California experienced the biggest electricity crisis in the United States since the Second World War. Exactly how it happened, however, is complex. New research now reveals insights into the market dynamics at play, potentially helping regulators standardize the market and prevent future crises.

  • Baghdad terrorist attack’s death toll reaches 175

    Iraqi officials say that the death toll from Saturday’s massive ISIS suicide bombing near two busy shopping malls in Baghdad now stands at 175. The number is going to rise, as more bodies are being recovered from the destroyed and burned-down buildings. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the bolstering of security measures in Baghdad and other cities. These measures include the withdrawal of a fake hand-held bomb-detection device which has been used at Iraqi security checkpoints.

  • Suicide bombers attack mosque in Medina, other Saudi targets

    In an escalation of violence in Saudi Arabia, suicide bombers on Monday killed four Saudi security forces in an attack outside the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, one of the two holiest sites in Islam. The bombing outside the Medina mosque was one of a series of attacks in Saudi Arabia on Monday. The bombings reflected ISIS strategy of targeting of Shia Muslims and U.S. interests, as well as attacking targets important to Sunni regimes which ISIS regard as corrupt.. Experts note, though, that the attack on or near one of the holiest sites in Islam is a significant escalation in ISIS campaign.

  • The Entebbe rescue, 40 years later

    On 4 July 1976 — 40 years ago Monday — Israeli commandos carried out a daring raid to rescue over 100 Jewish and Israeli hostages held by Palestinian and German terrorists at the Entebbe airport in Uganda. A week earlier, two terrorists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and two German terrorists from the Baader-Meinhoff gang had hijacked Air France flight 139 as it took off from Athens bound for Paris, the final leg of its journey that had begun in Tel Aviv. When the plane landed in Uganda, the Jewish and Israeli passengers were separated from the others.

  • A legend is born

    On 6 July1976, two days after the daring Israeli commando raid which rescued more than 100 hostages who were being held by Palestinian and German terrorists at the Entebbe international airport in Uganda, the New York Times published an editorial, titled “A legend is Born.” “By this unprecedented action, the Israelis have demonstrated that the criminal terrorist practice of holding the lives of innocent civilians for ransom to achieve political ends can be successfully thwarted by application of sufficient amounts of resourcefulness, determination—and guts,” the Times wrote.

  • Aurora movie theater owner seeks $700,000 from families of mass shooting victims

    A Colorado jury ruled that Cinemark was not responsible for the 2012 massacre in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater, in which twelve people were killed and seventy injured – and now Cinemax, the owner of the movie theater, is demanding that the families of the victims of the mass shooting pay $699, 187.13 to cover the company’s legal costs defending itself.

  • Brazil lends $895 million to Rio de Janeiro for Olympics security

    Brazil’s government has loaned 2.9 billion reais ($895 million) to the state of Rio de Janeiro to cover some of the security costs of the Olympic Games, which open on 5 August. The state of Rio de Janeiro last week declared a state of fiscal emergency. Government officials said the loan was meant to guarantee safety and security at the Olympic Games. As many as half a million foreign visitors are expected to arrive in Rio during the state’s worst financial crisis in decades.

  • Explaining the Istanbul bombing: Turkey’s six foreign policy sins

    The terror attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport overshadowed two major headline events: Turkey’s bridging the rifts with Russia and normalizing relations with Israel. Both these events had to do with Turkey attempting to change course on policies that may well have opened the door to the airport bombing. Turkey’s view of the Kurds – in both Turkey and Syria – as the major threat Turkey was facing had led it toturn a blind eye to Islamic radicalism brewing in its backyard. In fact, Turkey helped ISIS by buying oil from ISIS-controlled oil fields, and allowed thousands of foreigners to go through Turkey on their way to join ISIS. Turkey hoped that ISIS would defeat the Syrian Kurds, and also take out President Assad, Turkey’s nemesis, but ISIS has failed on both fronts. Turkey has begun to distance itself from ISIS, and in response the Islamist organization has begun to launch suicide attacks against Turkish targets. Burying the hatchets with Russia and Israel might make Turkey more secure in the region, and signal to the rest of the international community that more substantive positive changes in Turkish foreign policy are yet to come. Only time will tell if they would include a more resolved Turkish response against ISIS.

  • New tool to measure homeland security risks

    DHS has a broad and complex mission, with priorities that include preparing for and responding to a range of terrorist events, natural disasters, and major accidents.Researchers have applied a tool originally developed to address risks in environmental policy, the Deliberative Method for Ranking Risk, to aid in strategic planning for security.

  • House committee releases encryption report, laying foundation for a national dialogue

    Terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have sparked a public debate on the use of encryption in the United States because the attackers used encrypted communications to evade detection, a phenomenon known as “going dark.” Earlier this week, the Majority Staff of the House Homeland Security Committee released a new report, titled Going Dark, Going Forward: A Primer on the Encryption Debate. The summarizes the committee’s findings, based on more than 100 meetings and briefings committee staff and members have held with key stakeholders over the past year.

  • Turkey identifies the three terrorists as a Russian, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz

    Turkish security officials have said that the three terrorists who attacked the Istanbul airport were foreign nationals – a Russian, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz. The officials, who spoke with Western news agencies, said that investigators faced difficulties identifying the bombers from their limited remains, but a pro-government Turkish newspaper had said the Russian bomber was from Dagestan, a restless province which borders Chechnya.