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*Disclaimer*
While majority of this data was not realised during the semester we still wanted to include it to give greater context to our Padlet and to provide an element of interactivity.

It is also important to note that the accuracy of this data is significantly limited to the reporting of terrorist activity and hence it cannot be comprehensively representive or an accurate picture of terrorist activity across the globe.

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Analysis of terrorism in the Philippines:

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Analysis of terrorism in the Philippines:

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The inability of the Philippines to extinguish various Islamic strongholds became evident in the 2017 siege in Marawi.

On the 23rd of May 2017, Marawi, a city in the Philippines, was subject to a firefight between the Philippine government forces and militants who were IS-aligned.  The shock siege was the result of years of suppression from the Philippine Governments' attempts to control terrorism in their region after 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

The brutal siege of five months saw several civilians detained in inhumane conditions for copious amounts of time.

The Islamic stronghold was established in the Philippines through the Abu Sayyaf Group and their affiliation with Al Qaeda and now with ties to the Islamic state. The Abu Sayyaf Group has and still has an active base in the Philippines which raises concerns of a repeat of the 2017 atrocities in Marawi. Conflict supposedly began after the Philippine Government became aware of Isnilon Hapilon potentially meeting with militants of the Maute Group. Isilon Hapilon was the leader of the ISIL-affiliated Abu Sayyaf group hence the government began planning his capture which sparked conflict. The Maute group were founded by Omar Maute and Abdullah Maute and was a Islamic group composed of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas and foreign fighters. The Maute group were affiliated with the IS and alleged that they were the founders of the Dawlah or the Islamic state base in the Philippines. The group has around 60-70 members. The siege left 360,000 displaced Marawi citizens and more from neighbouring states. This increases the risk of disenfranchised children becoming targeted for Islamic recruitment hence the growing worry of Islamic presence in the Philippines.

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Israel has had an eventful series of months, which has seen the occurrence of great violence and diplomatic troubles. During this semester, the media has reported on the repeated references to terrorism by the Israel government against their political enemies in order to justify the extreme actions they have used against them. And additionally, the media has highlighted on conduct Israel has done, which has been labelled as acts of ‘terrorism’ in order to further their own interests. Israel’s recent relations with Iran, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip are good examples of this reporting.

Because of Israel and Iran’s historic tumultuous relationship, due to their sectarian divide, (that sparked off from the creation of Israel in 1948) they have acted rather passionately against each other. Such as in April 2021, when Iran accused Israel of committing the act of ‘terrorism’ of bombing their Natanz nuclear facility that occurred in July 2020 (which Israel has not denied). And in retaliation, Iran has announced it will boost its uranium enrichment programme.

Along with that, Israel has as well been described as a "terrorist camp" by the Iranian Supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in an effort to encourage Palestinians to rise against Israel on the 7th of May this year.

Furthermore, during May this year, Israel has reasoned in favour of their 11 days of consecutive bombardments in the Gaza Strip (before the recently announced ceasefire, due to pressure from the UN and America) as a measured response to the Palestinian based terrorist organisation (as defined by Israel, America and the European Union) Hamas launching rockets at Jerusalem on the 10th of May. This is despite the current UN estimate of 248 killed Palestinians (66 of which were children) and 1900 wounded in the Gaza, while Israel has only suffered the loss of 12 people. The dispute as well caused the destruction of around 260 buildings in the Gaza. With 53 schools, 6 hospitals, 11 primary healthcare centres, and the Gaza’s only coronavirus testing lab being at the very least heavily damaged or worse. And on top of that, around 80,000 people have become displaced within the Gaza, and access to clean water has drastically lowered.

And finally, we have seen Israel politicians use terrorism to explain their support of the settlement of Palestine. After the International Criminal Court announced it would investigate Israel’s alleged war crimes in the occupied territories and settlements of Palestine that occurred since the 13th of June 2014. In April 2021, the Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid, criticised it and stated he was “proud of the IDF soldiers and officers defending us against...terrorism”.

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Analysis and Overview on the Phenomenon of Lone Wolf Terrorists

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Analysis and Overview on the Phenomenon of Lone Wolf Terrorists

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A lone actor terrorist, or lone wolf is defined as being someone who prepares and commits violent acts alone, outside of any command structure and without material assistance from any group. Lone wolf terrorists typically act out of strong political, ideological or religious conviction.

The age of lone wolf terrorism can be traced to August 15, 2011, when President Barack Obama announced that a lone wolf terrorist strike in the United States is more likely than a major coordinated effort like the 9/11 attacks. The ongoing threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has not only inspired fear amongst many powerful nations but in the recent years has inspired the act of many lone wolf terrorist attacks.

Unfortunately, a challenge of defeating lone actor terrorists is having to deal with its leaderless model. Often governments can struggle to identify these long actor attacks before they happen because of their unpredictability.

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Global Terrorism Index (2020) - Statistica

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Global Terrorism Index (2020) - Statistica

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The Global Terrorism Index ranks countries from most affected to least affected by terrorism based on the amount of terrorist activity.

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The global terrorism index systematically ranks countries of the world according to their terrorist activity. In 2021, Afghanistan ranked first on the global terrorism index with a score of 9.11 points, making it the country most affected by terrorism on Earth. In conclusion with the ranking, Afghanistan suffered from the most terrorist attacks in 2020, with 1,722 attacks and the most fatalities from terrorist attacks, with 8,514.
Additional information on the Global terrorism index
The Global Terrorism Index is an annual ranking produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace. As even the definition of terrorism is hotly debated, it is essential to highlight that the methodologies used to measure terrorism are also contested. The Global Terrorism Index ranks 163 countries on four indicators weighted over five years. These four factors are: the number of terrorist incidents per year, the number of fatalities caused by terrorists per year, the number of injuries caused by terrorists per year, and total property damage caused by terrorism per year.
Terrorism comes in a number of forms from a variety of groups with differing intentions. The recent destruction caused by the Taliban can help to explain the high ranking of Afghanistan. The operation of numerous groups alongside or in conflict with Islamic State and the Taliban led to Afghanistan falling victim to the largest number of attacks in 2020. The effect of including this metric in the Global Terrorism Index is the high rankings of Syria and Iraq who were first and second respectively in the most attacks globally for 2020.
On the non-human casualty side of the index, property loss is an important metric as loss of shelter or livelihood has a long lasting impact on those who survive the attack physically unharmed. The high percentage of attacks in advanced economies in the most expensive terrorist attacks by insured property loss demonstrates the limitation of using comparative financial data. Although the insured losses are lower in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, this does not suggest the impact of property loss is lower. The instability in these countries often makes insurance unaffordable for most citizens.

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The global terrorism index systematically ranks countries of the world according to their terrorist activity. In 2021, Afghanistan ranked first on the global terrorism index with a score of 9.11 points, making it the country most affected by terrorism on Earth.

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Terrorism in Afghanistan is complex and multifaceted.
The long history of war within the country makes the notion of peace in the immediate future unconvincing and uncertain.
Since 9/11 Afghanistan has been ravaged with violence, taking the lives of many prematurely and destroying that of too many. It is unlikely that any Afghani has not been significantly impacted by the war and terrorism in present in their country.
This semester, some of the most significant events regarding terrorism in Afghanistan include the U.S.’s and NATO’s vow to withdraw troops by May 1st. However, they have failed to do so, and have instead promised their withdrawal by September 1st this year. Further, the Taliban and the Afghan government announced the agreement of a three-day ceasefire for the holiday of Eid, however acts of terror still occurred during this time, yet no one has claimed responsibility for those acts.
Australian troops role within Afghanistan has been highlighted as one not previously considered so widely as the documentary (the Killing Field) as well as other news reports indicate some special forces personnel carried out acts of war while deployed.
Overall, the future existence of terrorism in Afghanistan is unfortunately not unrealistic and its foreseeability puts the lives of many more at risk.

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When Australian man Brenton Tarrant conducted a mass-shooting terror attack last year at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, guns were not his only weapon. Before commencing, he posted links to a Facebook live-stream of the attack, while also uploading a self-penned manifesto onto 8chan's "/pol" board. As Tarrant killed 51 people and wounded 49, he had effectively weaponised social media platforms in order to broadcast the propaganda to a global online audience.

In the wake of this international terrorist incident, researchers from Macquarie University in Sydney, in collaboration with Victoria University in Melbourne, mined and analysed data from six social media platforms to examine the spread of right-wing extremist sentiment across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, where Tarrant had lived before travelling in Europe. A mixed-method research design was created to investigate what had been this unstudied online community.

From August to November 2019, anonymised data was collected from Twitter (37,422 tweets from 3,321 users), Gab (1,357,391 toots from 23,836 accounts) and a sample of archived message boards on Reddit, 4chan and 8chan (now named 8kun). In addition, ten years of historical data was sampled from 30 Australian right-wing extremist Facebook group pages.

Movement from low- to high-risk platforms exposes users to increasingly smaller communities with less access to different content or opinions, reflecting the potential for the construction of an increasingly extremist social identity.

A snapshot of the project's key findings shows related levels of risk emanate from the online right-wing extremist milieu.

One is a creeping threat to liberal democracy. The findings show a shifting of the acceptable window of political discourse towards an extreme end point, described as a shifting of the Overton window, creating an insidious and creeping threat to political norms in Australia. This environment is characterised by narratives that challenge the fundamentals of pluralist liberal democracy through exclusivist appeals to race, ethnicity and nation.

Within this right-wing extremist milieu, there are individuals who advocate for the use of violence as a tactic for expressing political grievances. Communities on more "high risk" platforms engaged in increasingly extreme rhetoric, including narratives supporting violence.

The findings also showed online right-wing extremist communities largely consist of networks of socially connected individuals who engage and share content across diverse social media platforms. Online right-wing extremism in NSW can be thought of as a loosely connected "milieu", rather than series of clearly defined extremist or terrorist groups. Within this wider social milieu, formal extremist groups do exist and pose a threat. For instance, despite proactive attempts by Facebook to moderate right-wing extremist groups, by 2019 the groups were steadily returning to the platform.

Although hateful and extreme, the right-wing extremist milieu is a highly social space. Social connections are created and maintained around shared values and norms engendering positive experiences for those involved in the networks. The content often conceals its revolutionary anti-government agenda behind appeals to nationalism and "traditional" Australian values. These extremist perspectives are often presented through online content that is entertaining, provocative and supposedly ironic.

The right-wing extremist milieu makes use of multiple social media platforms that afford users different forms of social interaction. These create a right-wing extremist "social media ecology" that individuals move through searching for rewarding social connections. The research classified this ecology from low to high risk in relation to the strength of echo chambers and level of platform moderation. Twitter, Facebook and Reddit were lower risk than Gab, 4chan and 8chan. Movement from low- to high-risk platforms exposes users to increasingly smaller communities with less access to different content or opinions, reflecting the potential for the construction of an increasingly extremist social identity.

The content analysis of extremist posts also revealed that online extremist communities in NSW have a high interest in real-world issues occurring in Australia and the United States, in particular American populist politics. This is highlighted in the hashtag frequency analysis with #MAGA and #auspol occurring in the top five hashtags in posts by Twitter and Gab users.

Conspiracy theories were prevalent across the dataset, with #Qanon, for example, being the fourth most popular hashtag present in the Twitter data. These conspiracy theories create an alternative reality that instils a sense of unprecedented crisis in the audience and the need for an authoritarian response.

Conspiracy theories serve to delegitimise government, present right-wing extremists as protectors of the social good, and opponents as belonging to an international cabal that is inherently evil. At the same time, consensual facts about reality are disputed, eroding the potential for meaningful communication between right-wing extremists and others.

The theme of "white identity under threat" was observed in some form across all platforms, relying on a shared narrative that posits white identity as vulnerable and requiring robust authoritarian defence from hostile others. Irony and humour provide users with opportunities to innovate and adapt to the specificities of given platforms. However expressed, these narratives consistently seek to delegitimise liberal democratic government while dehumanising the "other", in particular Muslims, Asians, Jews, women, liberals and members of the LGBT+ community.

On low-risk platforms, references to "Trumpism" and conspiracy theories such as #QAnon provide users with an opportunity to engage with content that references the defence of a "white identity under threat" without violating platform moderation policies.

On high-risk platforms, this theme is framed in far more explicit terms that consistently draw on antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of violent "othering". On messaging boards such as 8chan, these themes are explicitly extremist and incorporate a willingness for violent action in response.

This article is part of a year-long series examining extremism and technology also available at the Global Network on Extremism and Technology, of which the Lowy Institute is a core partner.

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After Christchurch: Mapping online right-wing extremists

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When Australian man Brenton Tarrant conducted a mass-shooting terror attack last year at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, guns were not his only weapon. Before commencing, he posted links to a Facebook live-stream of the attack, while also uploading a self-penned manifesto onto 8chan's "/pol" board.

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Afghanistan - Visualising the impacts of 20 years of war

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Afghanistan - Visualising the impacts of 20 years of war

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This article looks at the 20-year war between the U.S. and Afghanistan as it comes to an end with US troops leaving Afghanistan. 20 years after President George W Bush decided to have US troops invade Afghanistan, the US and NATO allies have vowed to leave the country by September 11 2021. However it is expected the US will use their air force bases, drones and weapons for targeted operations within Afghanistan.

As of 2021, there have been nearly 10,000 international troops in Afghanistan from 36 different countries with 80 being from Australia.

It estimates that 241,000 people have died as a direct result of the war since the US invaded Afghanistan post 9/11. Approximates that 71,344 of the deaths were civilian deaths. Afghan police and military who fought together with US troops have lost an estimated 66,000+ soldiers. This artcile also illustrates how this war between the U.S. and Afghanistan has resulted in less direct subsequent deaths. For example, thousands of deaths can be attributed to hunger, disease and injury.

The blog identifies the life condition’s which have improved since the US invaded (however, it cannot be said that these improved due to US invasion) such as life expectancy, unemployment rate and maternal mortality.

It depicts how attacks against civilians are on the risk and expects 2021 to be on track to be the worst year since 2017.

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The human cost of war

An estimated 241,000 people have died as a direct result of the war since the US invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, according to the most recent figures from Brown University's Costs of War. Hundreds of thousands more, mostly civilians, have died due to hunger, disease and injury caused by the devastating war.

Of the people killed, 71,344 were civilians who died on both sides of Afghanistan's long, porous border with Pakistan. At least 47,245 civilians have died in Afghanistan and 24,099 in Pakistan.

Afghanistan shares a 2,670km (1,659-mile) largely mountainous border with Pakistan that has seen frequent cross-border clashes and US drone attacks.

The Afghan military and police, who have fought alongside the US, are estimated to have lost between 66,000 and 69,000 soldiers. The US and its NATO allies have brought home 3,586 coffins, and at least six times as many wounded veterans, according to a tally kept by iCasualties.org. The number of rebels, including Taliban fighters, killed is estimated to be 84,191.

An Afghan woman and girl approach US soldiers in Kandahar April 2, 2010. [REUTERS/Tim Wimborne]

Afghanistan continues to be one of the deadliest places in the world to be a child. In the past decade alone, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ( UNAMA), has recorded at least 7,792 children killed and 18,662 injured. Many of the wounded children have lost limbs to improvised roadside bombs and air attacks.

Women have paid a heavy price too, with more than 3,000 deaths due to the war and 7,000 injuries since 2010. Last year has been the deadliest for women in Afghanistan in the past decade, with 390 deaths recorded.

At least 2.7 million of Afghanistan's population of 38 million has been forced to flee due to the war, becoming refugees in neighbouring Pakistan, Iran and beyond. An additional four million are internally displaced according to the UN [ PDF].

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Afghanistan: Visualising the impact of 20 years of war

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An estimated 241,000 people have died as a direct result of the war since the US invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, according to the most recent figures from Brown University's Costs of War.

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Untangling Taliban Ties with Al-Qaeda 'Extremely Difficult'

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Untangling Taliban Ties with Al-Qaeda 'Extremely Difficult'

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In February 2020, the Taliban vowed to cease its cooperation with Al-Qaeda and begin peace talks with the Afghanistan government in a deal with the US. The US pledged their troops would leave by May this year in exchange.

However, this article illustrates the long history between Al-Qaeda and the Taliban due to mutual interest, being fighting against the US and hence raises uncertainty about the possibility of the two breaking ties. It also mentions that the 2020 Taliban-US deal does not explicitly state the Taliban’s commitment to cease its relations with Al-Qaeda.

In Feb 2020, a UN specialised group expressed that they had obtained evidence illustrating the still-existing link between Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and the discovered Al-Qaeda fighters training and advising Taliban members.

The article illustrates the cooperation between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda as Afghan special forces stormed an isolated mudbrick house in Taliban controlled area where they killed Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf (Al-Qaeda’s no.2 figure). This comes 19 years after the US forces deposed the Taliban’s system for protecting Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda’s founder.

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Afghan special forces stormed an isolated mudbrick house in a Taliban-controlled district of Ghazni Province in October, killing six suspected militants -- including Husam Abd-al-Ra'uf, the No. 2 figure in the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The Egyptian national, also known as Abu Muhsin al-Masri, was on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list for conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens.

Just weeks later, Afghan forces killed another senior Al-Qaeda leader named Mohammad Hanif in a Taliban-controlled district of the southwestern Farah Province.

Such high-profile killings have shown the Taliban still hosts Al-Qaeda more than 19 years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban regime for harboring Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden following the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States.

Since late 2001, the United States' core strategic aim in Afghanistan has been to ensure that terrorist groups cannot launch attacks against the United States again from Afghan territory.

Under a deal struck with the United States in February 2020, the Taliban pledged to end its cooperation with Al-Qaeda and start peace talks with the Afghan government.

In exchange, U.S. troops were meant to leave Afghanistan by May 2021.

The Taliban has opened talks in Doha with Afghan government delegates about a possible peace settlement.

But it remains unclear whether the Taliban is willing or able to end its deep links with Al-Qaeda -- a decades-old relationship forged through ideological sympathies and a history of shared battlefield struggles.

Now, the Taliban's apparent failure to fulfil that obligation is complicating efforts to end the war in Afghanistan.
'Shared History'
The roots of Al-Qaeda date from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s when bin Laden and future Taliban leaders fought alongside U.S.-backed mujahedin factions that were battling Soviet forces.

After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, bin Laden and other Saudi fighters in the conflict returned to Saudi Arabia. Then, bin Laden and his Saudi allies moved to Sudan before returning in 1996 to Afghanistan, where they were offered accommodation and protection by the Taliban regime.

In return, Al-Qaeda provided crucial military training, funds, and weapons to the Taliban -- which had emerged just a few years earlier in Kandahar and had seized large swaths of Afghan territory following a brutal civil war between rival mujahedin factions.

From its sanctuaries in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda orchestrated a series of attacks against U.S. targets around the world, culminating in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.

A U.S.-led military campaign since then has severely weakened Al-Qaeda, which is now thought to have only a few hundred fighters remaining in Afghanistan.

But observers say the terrorist network remains a crucial part of the Taliban insurgency, with Al-Qaeda figures serving as military advisers, explosives experts, and instructors on their extremist interpretation of Islam.

"It will be extremely difficult to untangle these two groups," says Weeda Mehran, an Afghanistan expert at Britain's University of Exeter. "Their ties have been cemented through factors such as shared history, close collaboration, and shared patrons that, at the very least, will take time and effort to be severed."

A United Nations monitoring team said in February that it had evidence of Al-Qaeda fighters who are still training and advising the Taliban.

It said Al-Qaeda members are often embedded in Taliban units to act as military advisers for key operations.

The U.N. monitoring team also said the Taliban had "regularly consulted" with Al-Qaeda during negotiations with the United States last year and "offered guarantees that it would honor their historical ties."

Mehran expects that the Taliban will continue to maintain its ties to Al-Qaeda even if an intra-Afghan peace deal is agreed upon.

"Certain elements of the Taliban will continue with Al-Qaeda," Mehran says. "Up to a certain degree, this might be tolerated by everyone as this can be a buffer against more pernicious groups in the region, such as Islamic State."
'Incremental Steps'
In fact, the 2020 U.S.-Taliban deal does not include an explicit Taliban commitment to break off ties with Al-Qaeda.

The agreement states that the Taliban "will not allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including [Al-Qaeda], to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies."

It also says the Taliban must "send a clear message" to Al-Qaeda that they "have no place in Afghanistan," not to "cooperate" with them, and to "prevent them from recruiting, training, and fundraising."

It also says the Taliban cannot "provide visas, passports, travel permits, or other legal documents" that allow Al-Qaeda members to enter Afghanistan.

Ibraheem Bahiss, an independent Afghan research analyst, says the Taliban has made "some incremental steps" in fulfilling its commitments.

Bahiss says the Taliban has "taken a very strong stance" toward the rival IS militants, although it has been "less forceful" with other transnational groups such as Al-Qaeda.

In February, the Taliban issued instructions to its members to avoid recruiting or harboring foreign fighters and stipulating punishment for violators. It is unclear if those rules have been implemented.

Observers say it will be difficult to determine if the Taliban has met all of its obligations. The U.S.-Taliban deal includes secret annexes while the publicly available text contains ambiguities that make it difficult to verify compliance.

It is unclear, for example, if the Taliban's commitments extend to territories where they have full control or include contested areas. The definition of control is also vague. The distinction is significant because nearly half of Afghanistan's districts are contested by the Taliban and control over specific territory is often changing.

The Taliban's obligation to prevent Al-Qaeda from using Afghan soil to plot and mount attacks on the United States and its allies is the most specific stipulation in the deal. But proving they have failed to comply with that obligation also is difficult.

"The Taliban has the luxury of plausible deniability," says Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center. "It's easy to find examples of the Taliban providing space to the group. It's a lot harder to point to examples where the Taliban is providing space to Al-Qaeda members that are plotting attacks on the United States. There's no smoking gun."

Kugelman says the difficulty of verifying Taliban compliance on its counterterrorism commitments is a "reflection of a flawed deal."

In February, a report to Congress by the Office of the Inspector General on the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan said "it was unclear whether the Taliban was in compliance with the agreement, as members of Al-Qaeda were integrated into the Taliban's leadership and command structure."

The Pentagon warned in July that that while Al-Qaeda currently poses a "limited threat" to the United States in Afghanistan, the group is resilient and its interest in attacking U.S. and Western targets "persists."

Ultimately, the question of whether the Taliban has met its obligations regarding Al-Qaeda will be a political one rather than a legal interpretation of the agreement.

"It will be determined by the United States at its sole discretion and with view to overarching political considerations," Bahiss says.
Counterterrorism Lens
Analysts say President Joe Biden could threaten to hold up the withdrawal from Afghanistan of the remaining U.S. troops if there is no indication, or insufficient evidence, that the Taliban has ended its cooperation with Al-Qaeda.

Biden has long seen the war in Afghanistan through a counterterrorism lens. Before assuming office in January, he said Washington should pull out of the country, save for a relatively small number of troops -- "several thousand" -- to fight Al-Qaeda and IS militants.

If Biden's concerns are not addressed, observers say he could retain a small counterterrorism force that would remain in Afghanistan beyond a major military withdrawal -- even though the existing U.S.-Taliban deal includes no provision for a continued U.S. military presence.

But his administration has been surprisingly silent about Al-Qaeda in its messaging on Afghanistan. A new U.S. peace proposal and accompanying draft peace deal submitted to the Afghan government and the Taliban in late February was largely quiet on counterterrorism issues.

Kugelman says it could be an issue of sequencing, with Washington first looking to focus on reviving the Afghan peace process, building a regional consensus for peace, and incentivizing the Taliban to reduce violence.

"The United States has not downgraded Al-Qaeda as a concern," Kugelman concludes.

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Untangling Taliban's Ties With Al-Qaeda 'Extremely Difficult'

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Under a February 2020 U.S.-Taliban peace deal that paved the way for Afghan peace talks, the Taliban pledged to end cooperation with Al-Qaeda. But more than a year later, it remains unclear if the Taliban is willing or able to cut its deep ties with the terrorist network.

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*Heads-up this documentary may be confronting to some people*

This documentary explores the culture of impunity experienced by military personnel accused of civilian killings.
This video makes you question Australian troops’ role in terrorism within Afghanistan and whether exposure to war and terrorism can encourage others to partake in similar activity, or whether the capability to carry out such behaviour exists in some people and not others.
The video also depicts the beauty of Afghanistan’s landscape which is often not an immediate association with the nation as we generally link the country with war and terrorism.
This documentary leaves the audience questioning the culture within Australia’s special forces and why there is generally a lack of accountability towards special forces personnel who have committed war crimes. It makes you consider why some personnel decide to go to warn torn countries to ‘help’, but instead damage infrastructure and carry out acts of violence that are unwarranted.

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Who Will Keep Afghanistan Safe as Foreign Troops Leave? (Video)

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Who Will Keep Afghanistan Safe as Foreign Troops Leave? (Video)

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Who will keep Afghanistan safe as foreign troops leave?

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Taliban increases attacks as US and NATO begin to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan.

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Why Can't the U.S. End the War in Afghanistan? | The Bottom Line (Video)

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Why Can't the U.S. End the War in Afghanistan? | The Bottom Line (Video)

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Why can’t the US end the war in Afghanistan? | The Bottom Line

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Three-day Eid Ceasefire Comes into Force in Afghanistan

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Three-day Eid Ceasefire Comes into Force in Afghanistan

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The Taliban and Afghan government have agreed to a three-day ceasefire which will come into effect for the celebration of Eid which was recommended by the Taliban. This agreement has come weeks after significant fighting within the nation.
The article identifies that violence and fighting has become more prevalent since US troops have not left the country as originally promised by May 1st.
The author points out that ceasefires have largely been recommended by the Taliban as a way to exert and prove their ‘power’.
At this stage, NATO and the US have vowed to withdraw their troops by September 11.
The article states how the hashtag #AfghansWantPermanentCeasefire trended on social media prior to the celebration of Eid. Despite the ceasefire there have still been acts of violence which have gone unclaimed, however officials blame the Taliban.

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Three-day Eid ceasefire comes into force in Afghanistan

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The temporary deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government follows a surge in violence in recent weeks.

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At Least 11 Killed in Afghanistan Bus Bombing

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At Least 11 Killed in Afghanistan Bus Bombing

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A bomb which hit a bus in Zabul Province has killed 11 people and left dozens injured.
The article identifies how violence have peaked since the US declared the withdrawal of their troops.
This attack came not long after the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire.

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At least 11 killed in Afghanistan bus bombing

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Interior ministry says dozens of people, including children, have been injured in the attack in southern Zabul province.

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Several Afghan Worshippers Killed in Blast at Mosque Near Kabul

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Several Afghan Worshippers Killed in Blast at Mosque Near Kabul

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During the second day of the agreed three-day ceasefire between the Taliban and Afghan government, 12 people were killed with many injured by an explosion at a mosque in the countries capital city.
The article explains how there was no responsibility taken for the blast.

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No immediate claim of responsibility for explosion that happened on second day of temporary ceasefire agreed between gov't and Taliban.

Afghan authorities said they have opened an investigation into the explosion [File: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]

At least 12 people have been killed and more wounded in an explosion at a mosque on the outskirts of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, according to police.

The blast during Friday prayers in Shakar Dara district came on the second day of a three-day ceasefire agreed between the Afghan government and the Taliban on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said explosives had been placed inside the mosque beforehand, adding that authorities had opened an investigation.

"The death toll has jumped to 12 killed including the imam of the mosque and 15 others are wounded," said Ferdaws Framurz, a spokesman for Kabul police, updating an earlier toll.

An image circulating on social media showed three bodies lying on the floor of the mosque, where there seemed to be minor damage.

The explosion happened a day after at least 11 people were killed in four separate incidents across Afghanistan that shattered the relative calm of the ceasefire agreed between the government and the Taliban.

Although there were no reports of direct fighting between the two warring sides as they observe the temporary ceasefire, roadside bombs continued to inflict casualties on civilians.

The blast comes after Afghan officials on Friday said the United States had pulled out completely from a major southern air base in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

US airstrikes were launched from the base just last week to help Afghan forces push back a major Taliban offensive.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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Several Afghan worshippers killed in blast at mosque near Kabul

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No immediate claim of responsibility for explosion that happened on second day of temporary ceasefire agreed between gov't and Taliban. At least 12 people have been killed and more wounded in an explosion at a mosque on the outskirts of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, according to police.

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Afghan Explosion Kills 55, Including Young Schoolgirls

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Afghan Explosion Kills 55, Including Young Schoolgirls

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A car bomb and mortars exploded in Kabul, near a girls school which ultimately killed 55 people (mostly schoolgirls) and injured more than 150 people.
The Taliban denied responsibility and instead blamed Islamic State.
The article highlights how the Taliban has refuted any accountability for initiating or carrying out any attacks since February 2020, however the Afghan president blames the Taliban for this attack.

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At least 55 people, mostly young schoolgirls, have been killed and more than 150 more injured after a car bomb and mortars exploded near a girls' school west of the capital Kabul, Afghan officials say.

The Taliban condemned the attack and denied any responsibility

The European Union delegation in Afghanistan said it was a "despicable act of terrorism"

Officials said an investigation had begun into the explosion

The bombs that struck an area populated largely by the Shiite Hazara community killed many female students between 11 and 15 years old.

TV footage showed chaotic scenes outside the school, with books and school bags strewn across a bloodstained road, and residents rushing to help victims.

At a nearby hospital, staff wheeled in injured students while dozens of distressed relatives searched for their sons and daughters.

A senior security officialsaid most of the casualties were students and many were badly wounded in hospital.

The Taliban condemned the attack and denied any responsibility, instead blaming the Islamic State group.

The explosion rocked the west Kabul district of Dasht-e-Barchi - a regular target of Sunni Islamist militants - as residents were out shopping ahead of Eid-al-Fitr next week that marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.

It comes as the United States military continues to pull out its last remaining 2,500 troops from violence-wracked Afghanistan, despite faltering peace efforts between the Taliban and Afghan government to end a decades-long war.

This is what the US withdrawal means for Afghan women

Sodaba Herari is a prominent female journalist in Afghanistan. But she fears a US withdrawal could see female professionals like her lose more than just their jobs.

Interior ministry deputy spokesperson Hamid Roshan said an investigation had begun into the explosion.

"I saw many bloodied bodies in dust and smoke, while some of the wounded were screaming in pain," said Reza, who escaped the blast, adding that most of the victims were teenaged female students who had just left the school.

"I saw a woman checking the bodies and calling for her daughter. She then found her daughter's blood-stained purse after which she fainted and fell to the ground."

Health ministry spokesman Dastagir Nazari said several ambulances had been rushed to the site and were evacuating the wounded.

He said an angry crowd had beaten the ambulance workers at the site.

No organisation took responsibility for the attack but President Ashraf Ghani blamed the Taliban for the blast, which took place near the entry gate of Sayed Al-Shuhada girls' school.

"This savage group [Taliban] does not have the power to confront security forces on the battlefield, and instead targets with brutality and barbarism public facilities and the girls' school," he said in a statement.

Blast a 'despicable act of terrorism'

The Taliban has denied carrying out attacks in Kabul since February last year, when they signed a deal with the United States that paved the way for peace talks and withdrawal of the remaining US troops.

But the group has clashed in near-daily battles in the rugged countryside with Afghan forces even as the US military reduces its presence.

The United States was supposed to have pulled all forces out by May 1 under a deal struck with the Taliban last year, but Washington pushed back the date to September 11 - a move that angered the insurgents.

The top US diplomat in Kabul, Ross Wilson, called the blast "abhorrent", tweeting: "With scores murdered, this unforgivable attack on children is an assault on Afghanistan's future, which cannot stand."

The European Union delegation in Afghanistan condemned what it said was a "despicable act of terrorism".

"Targeting primarily students in a girls' school, makes this an attack on the future of Afghanistan. On young people determined to improve their country," it said on Twitter.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed its "deep revulsion" at the blast.

And Pakistan's foreign ministry called the attack "reprehensible" and vowed to support Afghanistan in its peace efforts.

The Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood has been a regular target of attacks from Sunni Islamist militants.

In May last year, a group of gunmen attacked a hospital in the area in a brazen daylight raid that left 25 people killed, including 16 mothers of newborn babies.

The hospital was supported by the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders, which later pulled out of the project.

No group claimed that attack, but Mr Ghani blamed the Taliban and the jihadist Islamic State group.

On October 24, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a tuition centre in the same district, killing 18 people including students in an attack that also went unclaimed.
ABC/AFP

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Blast outside girls' school in Afghanistan kills 55, including young students

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At least 55 people, mostly young schoolgirls, have been killed and more than 150 more injured after a car bomb and mortars exploded near a girls' school west of the capital Kabul, Afghan officials say.

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Suicide Bombing Kills Dozens in Afghanistan's Logar Province

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Suicide Bombing Kills Dozens in Afghanistan's Logar Province

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Suicide bomb kills 21 people in Afghanistan's Logar province

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The truck bomb in the provincial capital of Pul-e Alam also wounded more than 90 people, interior ministry says.

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biden's plan to fight domestic terror will mark shift from trump - cnnpolitics

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Biden's plan to fight domestic terror will mark shift from Trump

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The Biden administration will release its highly anticipated national strategy for fighting domestic terrorists in the coming weeks, the White House announced Tuesday, signaling a major break from President Donald Trump's administration in addressing more directly the threats posed by White supremacists and right-wing militia groups.

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A US jury has found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd, whose death sparked worldwide protests, violence and a furious re-examination of racism and policing.

Chauvin, who pinned Mr Floyd to the ground with his knee during an arrest last May, was found guilty on all three charges against him - second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter - and could be sent to prison for decades when he faces sentencing in two months.

Jury deliberations began after a full day of closing arguments on Monday (local time) and lasted for just 10 hours before a verdict was delivered.

The Minneapolis courthouse was ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire, and thousands of National Guard troops and law enforcement officers were brought in ahead of the outcome.

How George Floyd's murder unfolded

The decision to convict Chauvin of murder was up to 12 jurors - six white people and six people who are black or multiracial. Here is the evidence they used to make their decision.

Mr Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after being arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $US20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market.

He panicked, pleaded that he was claustrophobic and struggled with police when they tried to put him in a squad car.

They put him on the ground instead.

The centrepiece of the case was the bystander video of Mr Floyd gasping repeatedly, "I can't breathe".

Onlookers yelled at Chauvin to stop as the officer pressed his knee on or close to Mr Floyd's neck for what authorities said was nine-and-a-half minutes.
RECAP: Look back on all the reaction to Derek Chauvin's conviction with our live blog
'This has to end'

After the verdict was read, Chauvin's bail was immediately revoked, and he was led away with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Three other former Minneapolis officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Mr Floyd's death will stand trial in August.

At a joyous family news conference, Mr Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, said he had been receiving messages from around the world.

He told reporters that "they're all saying the same thing: 'We won't be able to breathe until you're able to breathe.' Today, we are able to breathe again."

"America, let's pause for a moment to proclaim this historical moment, not just for the legacy of George Floyd but for the legacy of America," added Floyd family lawyer Ben Crump.

"This is a victory for those who champion humanity over inhumanity, those who champion justice over injustice."

Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell, who interrogated Chauvin's witnesses during the trial, said the verdict sent a message to Mr Floyd's family "that he was somebody, that his life matters".

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

CCTV video of George Floyd that was shown at Derek Chauvin's trial.

Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison commended the bystanders at Mr Floyd's death who "raised their voices because they knew that what they were seeing was wrong", and then "told the whole world" what they saw.

Mr Ellison went on to read off the names of others killed in encounters with police.

"This has to end. We need true justice. That's not one case," he said.

"That's social transformation that says no-one is beneath the law and no-one is above it."

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Derek Chauvin was found guilty of Mr Floyd's murder.

Minneapolis streets filled with cheers and car horns

The jury, made up of six white people and six black or multiracial people, weighed charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, with convictions on some, none or all of the charges possible.

George Floyd's death changed America - how did we get here?

It was one of the most prominent killings in a years-long string of African-American deaths at the hands of police in the US, and set off global protests over the treatment of people of colour.

The most serious charge carries up to 40 years in prison.

As the judge asked jurors if they had reached a verdict, a hush fell on the crowd of about 300 in a park adjacent to the courthouse, with people listening to the proceedings on their mobile phones.

When the final guilty verdict was announced, the crowd roared, with many people hugging and some shedding tears.

People elated by the verdict flooded the streets of central Minneapolis upon hearing the news. Cars horns blared and people ran through traffic waving banners.

Floyd family members gathered at a Minneapolis conference room could be heard cheering from the next room as each verdict was read.

In the wake of Mr Floyd's death, demonstrations and scattered violence broke out in Minneapolis and around the country.

The furore also led to the removal of Confederate statues and other offensive symbols, such as Aunt Jemima.

In the months that followed, numerous US states and cities restricted the use of force by police, revamped disciplinary systems and subjected police departments to closer oversight.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

Minneapolis streets erupted after the guilty verdict was read out.

Chauvin lawyer's call for mistrial rejected

After closing arguments were heard, Judge Peter Cahill rejected a defence request for a mistrial based in part on comments from a Democratic Representative, Maxine Waters, who attended protests in Minneapolis this week and said "we've got to get more confrontational" if Chauvin wasn't convicted of murder.

The judge told Chauvin's lawyer that the politician's comments "may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned".

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said he was praying for the "right verdict" in the murder trial.

"I'm praying the verdict is the right verdict, which is - I think it's overwhelming in my view," he said.

"I wouldn't say that unless the jury was sequestered now, (would) not hear me say that."

The city has been on edge in recent days - not just over the Chauvin case but over the deadly police shooting of a 20-year-old black man, Daunte Wright, in the nearby Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on April 11.

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George Floyd murder trial jury finds ex-police officer Derek Chauvin guilty

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Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who pinned George Floyd to the ground with his knee, could be sent to prison for decades after being found guilty on all three charges against him - second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will investigate the potential threat of domestic violent extremism within its own ranks, the department said on Monday.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not say what prompted the internal review at DHS, but referred to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. He said it highlighted the threat of U.S.-based extremists.

A group of senior DHS officials "will immediately begin a comprehensive review of how to best prevent, detect, and respond to threats related to domestic violent extremism within DHS," the department said in a statement.

President Joe Biden called for funding to investigate any complaints of white supremacist beliefs at immigration enforcement agencies within DHS in his first budget proposal, which was unveiled this month. read more

The U.S. military has also faced concerns over white nationalism and other extremism in its ranks after current and former military service members were found to have participated in the attack on the Capitol. read more

Mayorkas said in a statement on Monday that domestic violent extremism "poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country today," adding that "hateful acts and violent extremism will not be tolerated" within DHS.

Domestic extremism is a major focus of investigations into the Capitol attack, and members of right-wing extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are among those now facing federal charges in connection with the violence.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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U.S. Homeland Security to investigate domestic extremism in its ranks

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will investigate the potential threat of domestic violent extremism within its own ranks, the department said on Monday. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not say what prompted the internal review at DHS, but referred to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S.

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Rise of Right Wing Extremist Terrorism in the US Analysis and Overview

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Rise of Right Wing Extremist Terrorism in the US Analysis and Overview

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Unlike other forms of terrorism, right wing extremist terrorism has significantly increased in recent times. There has been increasing concern from governments all over the world surrounding the rise of right-wing terrorism, but the unnerving spike in America has caused its government to include it as of a greater threat than any other terrorism type, according to Homeland security. From 2009 to 2018, the far right has been responsible for 73% of domestic extremis-related fatalities, according to a 2019 study by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Right wing terrorism is a global problem, resulting in devastating attacks from New Zealand to Norway. However, it is a particular dangerous in the U.S., which has more guns per capita than anywhere else in the world. This threat is tied with the nation's bedrock tradition of free speech that protects the expression of hateful ideologies and laws that make it challenging to confront a disaggregated movement that exists largely in the shadows of cyber space.

Overall, as a movement, right wing terrorism is ambiguous and is loosely defined as terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right wing and far right ideologies, most prominently by neo-Nazism, neo-fascism, white nationalism and anti-government patriotism or sovereign citizen beliefs. The terrorist attacks are always vicious and merciless, with the far-right perpetrators almost always aiming to induce the highest number of casualties possible.

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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has asked a judge for a new trial two weeks after he was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, court records showed.

Chavin's lawyer said the court abused its discretion and that the verdict should be impeached

He said the jury committed misconduct, felt pressured, and/or failed to adhere to jury instructions

One of the jurors participated in a march to honour Martin Luther King Jr

In a series of motions filed to District Court Judge Peter Cahill, Chavin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, said his client was deprived of a fair trial, adding there was prosecutorial and jury misconduct and errors of law, and that the verdict was contrary to the law.

Chauvin, who is white, was convicted last month of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 25 death of Mr Floyd, a black man.

Evidence at trial showed Chauvin pressed his knee against Mr Floyd's neck for 9.5 minutes, even after Mr Floyd said he couldn't breathe and went motionless.

Defence lawyer Eric Nelson said Judge Peter Cahill abused the discretion of the court and violated Chauvin's right to due process and a fair trial when he denied Mr Nelson's request to move the trial to another county due to pretrial publicity.

He also said Judge Cahill abused his discretion when he denied an earlier request for a new trial based on publicity during the proceedings, which Mr Nelson said threatened the fairness of the trial.

Mr Nelson also took issue with Mr Cahill's refusal to sequester the jury for the trial or admonish them to avoid all media, and with his refusal to allow a man who was with Mr Floyd at the time of his arrest to testify.

Mr Nelson asked the judge to impeach the verdict on the grounds that the jury committed misconduct, felt pressured, and/or failed to adhere to jury instructions, though the filing did not include details about that assertion.

To impeach a verdict is to question its validity.

Juror defends rally participation

Brandon Mitchell is one of the 12 jurors who convicted Chauvin of murder and manslaughter.(
AP: Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune
)

The brief did not mention recent reports that one of the jurors participated in an August 28 march in Washington, DC, to honour Martin Luther King, Jr.

A photo that was shared on social media showed juror Brandon Mitchell at the rally wearing a black T-shirt with a picture of Martin Luther King Jr, with the words "Get your knee off our necks".

How George Floyd's murder unfolded

The decision to convict Chauvin of murder was up to 12 jurors - six white people and six people who are black or multiracial. Here is the evidence they used to make their decision.

Mr Mitchell, has defended his actions, saying the event was to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington and was not a protest over Mr Floyd's death.

"The opportunity to go to DC, the opportunity to be around thousands and thousands of black people; I just thought it was a good opportunity to be a part of something," Mr Mitchell told the Star Tribune.

Mr Mitchell told the Star Tribune that the march held historic significance beyond the Chauvin case.

"This was a big deal," he said of the event. "It's a national thing."

Mr Floyd's brother and sister, Philonise and Bridgett Floyd, and relatives of others who had been shot by police addressed the crowd at the march last summer.

Mr Nelson did not immediately return a message seeking details on his allegation of juror misconduct.
ABC/wires

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Derek Chauvin demands new trial as juror defends attending rally wearing 'get off our necks' shirt

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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has asked a judge for a new trial two weeks after he was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd, court records showed.

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have indicated that the Biden administration is contemplating adding domestic extremists-including some of the Jan. 6 riot participants-to the terrorism No Fly List. These stories come in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol and in the wake of numerous for the federal government to reorient the No Fly List toward domestic extremism. But the picture isn't fully clear. Media outlets have of how feasible such a move would be in the absence of broader domestic terrorism legislation. Adding to the confusion surrounding the potential expansion of the No Fly List, of apparent Jan. 6 participants being turned away from flights in the days after the attack on the Capitol. (It later that they were denied access because of their presence on the No Fly List but, rather, for unruly behavior or for refusing to wear masks.)

The No Fly List is a high-profile and powerful anti-terror tool in the government's arsenal, but how it works is often poorly understood-in no small part because the government does not make the list nor its processes for adding, maintaining, or removing individuals publicly available, despite the list's nonclassified status. Here we will provide a high-level primer on the list's legal foundation, exactly what the list is and how it works, available measures of redress for people who believe they should not be on the list, and the feasibility of adding suspected domestic extremists. We offer one overarching caveat to the information we discuss here: Much about the No Fly List has not been publicly disclosed, and its workings are subject to change largely at the discretion of the executive branch.

The List's Legal Foundation

In 2008, a Homeland Security Presidential Directive ( ) directed agencies to use all biometric information associated with persons nominated to the TSC for the TSDB and established "articulable and reasonable basis for suspicion" as the threshold for inclusion in the TSDB.

What Exactly Is the No Fly List, and How Does it Work?

The TSC accepts a nomination when "there is to believe that the person is a known or suspected terrorist." Per a 2013 NCTC manual providing guidance on the watchlisting process, reasonable suspicion requires that the nominator must rely on "articulable intelligence" and "rational inferences from those facts" that, together, "reasonably warrant[] a determination that an individual is known or suspected to be or has been knowingly engaged in conduct constitution, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism and/or terrorist activities." The TSC looks at a when considering whether to add a nominated individual to the TSDB, including the person's "travel history, associates, business associations, international connections, financial transactions, and ethnic or religious affiliations." Basing a nomination "solely" on First Amendment activities-like speech or protest-or "mere guess or hunches" is "prohibited" A nomination satisfies the reasonable suspicion prong and must also include " "-at the very least a last name and another piece of information, like a first name or date of birth-so that the airlines and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) can determine whether to allow the individual to board. The TSDB contains an individual's identifying information, not any classified intelligence or other underlying facts that warranted the individual's nomination.

The TSC frequently provides curated portions of the TSDB to five federal agencies, including TSA, which is a branch of DHS. Using data pulled from the TSDB, TSA runs three different, related lists: the No Fly List, the Selectee List and the Expanded Selectee List. Individuals placed on any of those lists are subject to heightened scrutiny while traveling. This displays the flow of information from agencies to the TSDB and then to TSA's three lists.

The largest and most well known of the three sublists is the No Fly List. Much smaller than the TSDB-it contained 64,000 people as of 2014, compared to 800,000 in the TSDB-the No Fly List has than its larger counterpart and the Expanded Selectee List, at least according to DHS. As its name suggests, anyone on the No Fly List is from boarding a commercial aircraft that "traverses U.S. airspace." A 2013 NCTC document lays out [ ] the criteria for inclusion on the No Fly List: An individual "regardless of citizenship" must represent a threat of committing an act of international terrorism (as defined by ) or domestic terrorism (as defined by ) against the U.S., federal government facilities overseas, or any aircraft or passenger on one; or be "a threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism and who is operationally capable of doing so." For purposes of the list, an act of terrorism is defined as any violent act prohibited by

When it comes to potential domestic extremists being placed on the No Fly List, these criteria are quite broad. As we have discussed , the definition of domestic terrorism under § 2331(5) is expansive: acts within the U.S. that are dangerous to human life, violate the laws of the U.S. or a state, and "appear to be intended-(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or cercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping[.]" For the purposes of the No Fly List, any person who poses a threat of violating any law, state or federal, with the purpose of intimidating civilians or coercing a government can be barred from commercial flight. As for the second prong, § 2332b(g)(5)(B) bans more than 50 specific acts, ranging from extremely serious conduct like the use of an improvised explosive device to property crime, like the of federal property under or arson of property used in interstate commerce under § 844(i). For example, are facing § 1361 charges for their participation in forcibly storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, and are facing § 844(i) charges for destroying property during Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. These defendants, or anyone else whom federal authorities conclude poses a threat of such conduct or other proscribed conduct under , could be placed on the No Fly List.

As discussed above, the 2013 NCTC guidance document explains that an individual whom federal authorities deem to pose a "threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism" and is "operationally capable" may be placed on the No Fly List. The guidance does not further define what it means to pose a "threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism." As for the second prong, potential indicators of being "operationally capable" include "terrorist training," indicating an "intent to participate in planning/conducting an attack," "express[ing] desire to martyr [one]self," being in repeat contact with a "known terrorist facilitator," "planning an attack either alone or as part of a group," or being "associated with a terrorist group/cell and accumulating weapons/explosives."

Nominating agencies must that their No Fly List nominations satisfy one of these criteria, and the Watchlisting Guidance requires that the agencies periodically review nominations of U.S. persons to the TSDB.

The Expanded Selectee List was created after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (commonly known as the Underwear Bomber) but failed to detonate explosives hidden in his clothes while on a Christmas Day flight to Detroit in 2009. It includes [ ] TSDB records of anyone who does not meet the No Fly List or Selectee List criteria but about whom the government nevertheless has reasonable suspicion that they are involved in some sort of terrorist activity. It appears that the Expanded Selectee List is only in times of particular emergency, but the government has not publicly explained how it uses this information or what qualifies as an emergency. Like the Selectee List, individuals on the Expanded Selectee List are subject to enhanced security screening before being allowed to board a commercial aircraft. In , the government has said the Selectee List requires "additional substantive derogatory criteria,'' while the Expanded Selectee List does not. Essentially, the government uses the Expanded Selectee List as a of everyone currently in the TSDB whose full name and date of birth are known but who is on neither the No Fly List nor the Selectee List.

What Options Are Available to People Who Have Been Added to the List?

As explained above, numerous people have mistakenly ended up on the No Fly List, the Selectee List or the Expanded Selectee List. Even some individuals who are correctly identified on these lists might have been added based on incomplete or inaccurate information about the alleged threat they pose. What options do these people have to get themselves removed? Upon being denied boarding or being subjected to additional screening, individuals can file a complaint with DHS's Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP). DHS sends the complaints to the TSC. At the outset, it may be difficult to if a person is on one of these lists, as " the U.S. government's general policy is to neither confirm nor deny a person's watchlist status, except in very limited circumstances involving the No Fly List." For U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, DHS TRIP will inform them of their status on the No Fly List and an opportunity to receive additional information, including the general criteria that resulted in their placement on the list and possibly a summary of the reasons for their inclusion. The government does not share any of the evidence it relied on, nor does it provide an opportunity for hearings at which people could contest their placement on the list. Upon receipt of this additional information, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can submit a response that includes information and documents demonstrating why they should not be on the list, which the government reviews before informing the complainant of its final decision. DHS TRIP does not inform non-U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of their status on the No Fly List nor provide them with the above redress process.

Individuals on any of these lists-even if they do not have official confirmation that they are in fact on a particular list-can challenge that status in court. When hearing challenges to the No Fly List and the TSDB, however, courts have sided with the government and upheld these programs as constitutional. In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in that the No Fly List criteria are not unconstitutionally vague and that the procedures available to the plaintiffs to challenge their placement on the list satisfied due process. The Sixth Circuit in and the Tenth Circuit in have both recently rejected plaintiffs' claims of due process violations based on their inclusion on the Selectee List. And just last month, the Fourth Circuit in held that the procedures for inclusion in the TSDB do not violate due process, overturning a lower court decision that held Notably absent from these cases are First Amendment as-applied challenges to the criteria for inclusion on the No Fly and Selectee lists or the TSDB, likely because the plaintiffs do not know and cannot determine whether their speech played a role in their inclusion in these lists or databases.

Can the Federal Government Add Domestic Extremists to the No Fly List?

Yes, the federal government's existing authorities empower it to include known or suspected domestic terrorists on the No Fly List. The vast majority of individuals on the No Fly List over the past two decades have been foreign nationals, but the U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents for years. While U.S. persons receive heightened review by nominating agencies before being added to the TSDB, the standard of evidence is the same as for non-U.S. persons: reasonable suspicion [ ]. Since 9/11, the federal government's counterterrorism apparatus has focused primarily on international rather than domestic terrorism, so the TSDB, and consequently the No Fly List, largely comprise individuals with known or suspected links to international terrorism. Furthermore, the NCTC's mission has historically focused on integrating intelligence from other agencies pertaining to international terrorism, although the NCTC is to receive intelligence on exclusively domestic terrorism as well. It's possible that the rise of domestic terrorism in the past few years has led to a greater number of known or suspected domestic terrorists ending up on the list, but there's no clear . Regardless, none of these guidelines or directives prevents the federal government from adding domestic terrorists to the No Fly List, including those involved in the Capitol riot whose conduct meets § 2331(5)'s definition of domestic terrorism.

Despite the prohibition on adding a candidate to the TSDB or the No Fly List based "solely" on First Amendment activity, the broad (and at times vague) placement criteria create the danger that First Amendment activity will play a substantial role in someone's inclusion in the TSDB. As discussed above, the government may place individuals on the No Fly List if it concludes they are "a threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism" and are operationally capable. Individuals could be deemed "operationally capable" for expressing an "intent to participate in planning/conducting an attack," indicating a desire to martyr themselves, or associating with a known terrorist group while purchasing weapons Certain speech that authorities might construe as expressing an intent to plan or an intent to conduct an attack could fall , as could various forms of association with a domestic terrorist group. As for "accumulating weapons/explosives," U.S. persons are obviously allowed to buy a wide range of weapons as long as they do so lawfully. The bottom line is that the placement criteria are open ended and flexible to the point that First Amendment activity could prominently factor into someone being placed in the TSDB and subsequently on the No Fly List.

All that being said, it is not difficult to imagine scenarios in which U.S. persons could be placed on the No Fly List according to a nomination process that, while following the requisite legal guidelines, still relies substantially on constitutionally protected activity. For example, citizens can be deemed operationally capable by declaring a desire to martyr [pg. 53] themselves. If the government concludes that they could pose a threat of a violent act of terrorism, which includes property crimes, then they may be placed on the list. Alternatively, imagine a citizen who is loosely connected with a group involved in the Jan. 6 riot-like the Oath Keepers or the Proud Boys. If that person publicly or privately indicates a desire to similarly rebel against the government, perhaps by rioting at a state capitol building or other government target, and then legally buys a weapon, the individual will probably have satisfied the criteria necessary for inclusion on the No Fly List. Even the additional protections afforded to U.S. persons in the screening process discussed above may not prevent someone from being added for meeting the criteria laid out by the guidance. The opacity of the nomination process means that it is difficult to tell exactly what conduct or related speech will trigger placement on the No Fly List. The U.S. government could adhere to the bounds of the existing legal framework even as it tiptoes to the edge of First Amendment (or other constitutional) protections by placing someone on the list.

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Adding Domestic Extremists to the No-Fly List

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have indicated that the Biden administration is contemplating adding domestic extremists-including some of the Jan. 6 riot participants-to the terrorism No Fly List. These stories come in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol and in the wake of numerous for the federal government to reorient the No Fly List toward domestic extremism.

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The U.S. Justice Department expects to charge at least 100 more people for taking part in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, signaling prosecutors are far from finished investigating an attack that a judge on Thursday called an act of terrorism.

"Over 400 individuals have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack," federal prosecutors said in a court filing on Thursday. "The investigation continues and the government expects that at least one hundred additional individuals will be charged."

The Justice Department made the disclosure in a set of similar court filings asking judges to postpone deadlines in pending prosecutions.

"The investigation and prosecution of the Capitol attack will likely be one of the largest in American history, both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence," the court filings stated.

Supporters of former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6 stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from formally certifying President Joe Biden's election victory.

The violence started shortly after Trump rallied his supporters and urged them to fight to stop the certification of Biden's win.

The siege left five people dead and more than 130 police officers injured.

A magistrate judge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia described the attack as an act of terrorism during a court hearing for Charles Donohue, a leader of the Proud Boys extremist right-wing group.

"The acts alleged in the indictment would meet, in my view, the statutory definition of a federal crime of terrorism," U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey said, adding that the attack "struck at the very heart of our democracy."

The FBI has been increasingly focused on suspects with ties to right-wing extremist groups including the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.

More than 40 members or associates of the two groups have been arrested and charged so far.

A founding member of the Oath Keepers last week became the first person to plead guilty to taking part in the riot, and prosecutors have said other defendants are in plea discussions.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Prosecutors expect at least 100 more arrests for U.S. Capitol riot

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The U.S. Justice Department expects to charge at least 100 more people for taking part in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, signaling prosecutors are far from finished investigating an attack that a judge on Thursday called an act of terrorism.

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Despite Isis no longer being as prevalent and powerful as they once where they continue to be a significant threat. As can be seen through Isis's recent terrorist activity they continue to cause serious harm and threaten society.

Isis's strong ideology's continue to inspire acts of violence across the world in their honour. The terrorist group demonstrates a complete lack of humanity, seen through using chemical weapons on prisoners and bombing a school.

Terrorist organisations such as Isis continue to threaten society and harm the inhabitants. Isis losing strength and power has resulted in a decrease in terrorist attacks, however it has not completely halted them. This further demonstrates the lengths to which terrorist groups are willing to go to in order to enforce and uphold their ideology's. Hence, terrorist groups such as Isis continue to be a threat to society.

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Killings by American domestic extremists in 2019 were the worst in the nation in 24 years, according to a chilling new report released by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Of the 32 killings by extremists in five separate attacks in 2019 - the most lethal year for domestic extremist assaults since 1995 - 24 were committed by white supremacists, according to the report.

"Gamification" - in which attackers seek to "score" a high "kill count" - "inspired" some of the assaults in 2019, and will likely continue to be a factor in future attacks, the report noted.

There were 57 deaths linked to domestic extremists from 2017 through 2019, with 47 of them racially motivated, according to the report.

"The greatest terrorism threat to the Homeland we face today is posed by lone offenders, often radicalized online, who look to attack soft targets with easily accessible weapons," the report noted. "Many of these violent extremists are motivated and inspired by a mix of socio-political goals and personal grievances against their targets."

Deaths from domestic extremists in America rose from 2017 to 2019, though former President Donald Trump focused during that time on shutting borders with claims of foreign threats.

The threat from domestic extremists is expected to continue to grow.

"In 2019, the FBI and DHS assessed [that] Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists, primarily those advocating for the superiority of the white race, likely would continue to be the most lethal Domestic Violent Extremist threat to the Homeland," the report stated.

The disturbing assessment was based on right-wing extremists' ability in 2019 to "select weapons and targets to conduct attacks, and the effectiveness of online ... messaging calling for increased violence," the report noted.

The report warned that "political disagreements within the United States could present opportunities for Domestic Violent Extremists to engage in violence against individuals perceived to have opposing ideologies, prominent political or public figures, or members of the media covering these events."

House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued a statement saying that the report findings confirm "what has been clear for some time: The greatest terrorist threat we face comes from radicalized lone offenders with easy access to weapons."

"They attack soft targets and have a variety of motivations. But a large majority of the most significant attacks have been carried out by white supremacists extremists," he added.

Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified at a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that white supremacy is the greatest domestic terrorism threat facing the nation.

Garland noted that "domestic violent extremists pose an elevated threat in 2021, and in the FBI's view, the top ... threat we face comes from racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race."

The Department of Homeland Security issued a new terrorism threat bulletin on Friday which warned that "through 2020 and into 2021, government facilities and personnel have been common targets" of domestic violent extremists. "Historically, mass-casualty ... attacks linked to racially- or ethnically-motivated violent extremists have targeted houses of worship and crowded commercial facilities or gatherings," the bulletin warned.
The entire report by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security is available here.

BEFORE YOU GO

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America's Deadly Domestic Extremism Worst In 24 Years, Reveals New FBI Report

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Killings by American domestic extremists in 2019 were the worst in the nation in 24 years, according to a chilling new report released by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Of the 32 killings by extremists in five separate attacks in 2019 - the most lethal year for domestic extremist assaults since 1995 - 24 were committed by white supremacists, according to the report.

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The Rise of Domestic Extremism in America

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The Rise of Domestic Extremism in America

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Analysis and Overview of US Capitol Attack 

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Analysis and Overview of US Capitol Attack 

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On the 6th of January 2021, protesters launched an attack on Capitol Hill in the United States (US). This event took place after remarks were made by the 45th President of the US, Donald Trump, who stated that the November 2020 election was fraudulent. This caused a violent right-wing riot on the Capitol, which involved raiding and looting. As police officers where understaffed to take on the rioters, many officers were injured in the attack. According to the FBI Chief, Christopher Wray, this event was a case of domestic terrorism. He declared that US citizens attacked and terrorised against fellow citizens and the nation’s core democratic values. In addition, Republican representatives have attempted to “whitewash” the events that happened on the Capitol. This is because the Republican Party does not want these events to reflect poorly on their values and supporters.

In the aftermath of the event, there has been policy formulation in an attempt to prevent a similar event from occurring again. If legislated, this would allow the US Government and law enforcement to be better prepared in terms of domestic terrorism, knowledge sharing and resource allocation. The current President of the US, Joe Biden has declared that this event of terrorism was not only an attack on the Capitol but democracy. Offenders that have been caught in the attack are already starting to be released. For example, a man who sat at the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi’s desk with his feet up, has been released from custody. However, there are further offenders that have not been caught or sentenced yet. These violent acts caused further civil unrest and divide within the US, which was promulgated by the November 2020 election campaign and other recent events like the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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A rally in support of President Donald Trump turned deadly when thousands of of attendees stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday.

The unprecedented chaos in the nation's capital began midday Wednesday at a "Save America" rally at the Ellipse, a park near the White House, where Trump incited his supporters to march to Capitol Hill, where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States.

Federal law enforcement vehicles raced to the Capitol in an effort to beat the mob there. Soon, after breaching through barricades and security checkpoints, the protesters were inside the building -- forcing lawmakers to go into lockdown.

Members of the angry mob went door to door waving Confederate flags, looting the offices of senators and congressmen and repeating the false rhetoric that the president has spread since November -- that Trump was the real winner of the election.

Lawmakers were forced to retrieve gas masks from under their seats as tear gas was released into the rotunda.

A woman was shot amid a standoff between police and protesters in a stairwell outside the House chamber. The woman, Ashli Babbitt, was one of four people who died as a result of the mayhem.

As the minutes turned to hours of violence, politicians called on Trump to instruct his supporters to leave the Capitol. In a Twitter video that was later removed, Trump told them to go home, but repeated that the election was "stolen" from him and said he "loved" the protesters.

People still remained in the Capitol minutes before the 6 p.m. curfew ordered by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser began.

Senators returned to the session at 8 p.m. to confirm electoral votes, but the building was not deemed cleared until about 1:30 a.m., nearly 12 hours after the frenzy began.
For an expanded look into what happened at the Capitol riots watch the ABC News special, "24 Hours: Assault on the Capitol," exclusively on Hulu beginning in the evening on Jan. 11.

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A visual timeline on how the attack on Capitol Hill unfolded

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A rally in support of President Donald Trump turned deadly when thousands of of attendees stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday. The unprecedented chaos in the nation's capital began midday Wednesday at a "Save America" rally at the Ellipse, a park near the White House, where Trump incited his supporters to march to Capitol Hill, where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States.

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And what else you need to know today.

Image

It's hard to think of another crime that the perpetrators documented so thoroughly and publicly.

The people who participated in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6 posted thousands of videos of it to Parler, a social network. Journalists and other witnesses have released dozens of their own videos, too. Over the past several days, news organizations have been studying these videos and have begun releasing more details about what happened.

This reconstruction work is important, because the attack was a signature moment in U.S. history: A mob, incited by the president of the United States, stormed the halls of Congress in an effort to prevent it from certifying the president's electoral defeat. During the attack, the mob killed a police officer and went looking for members of Congress.

Below, my colleagues and I have summarized the key points from the latest news accounts, and we've provided links for people who want to go deeper:

The mob came very close to lawmakers. At several points, rioters were within feet of members of Congress, separated by only a small group of police officers, a multimedia article in The Washington Post shows. Some rioters passed within 100 feet of Vice President Mike Pence, who was hiding with his family in an office near the Senate chamber.

Many of the attackers openly discussed committing violence, and lawmakers feared for their lives. "Drag them out!" one man yelled inside the Capitol, referring to lawmakers; another group chanted "Hang Mike Pence!" As the mob closed in, members of Congress hiding inside the House chamber called loved ones and told one another to remove their lapel pins so rioters could not identify them.

Rioters abused the police. One man, carrying an American flag, profanely yelled at a line of Washington police officers that his 5-year-old son was more of a man than they were. Others beat, knocked over and pushed past officers, and threatened to kill one with his own gun.

Police officers inside the Capitol were often outnumbered and chose not to use force. In the Post video, Officer Eugene Goodman, facing down a large group by himself, lured the mob to chase after him - away from the Senate chamber.

Later, after senators had evacuated, a lone officer politely pleaded with rioters to leave the chamber. "Any chance I could get you guys to leave the Senate wing?" the officer asks in video captured by The New Yorker's Luke Mogelson. "Just want to let you guys know this is, like, the sacredest place."

Only after the arrival of more backup, some from the D.C. National Guard, did officers end the riot.

Some rioters may have been collecting information. The New Yorker video shows a group of men rifling through Senate desks and snapping photos. One says he is looking for something to "use against these scumbags."

The F.B.I. is also investigating whether a Pennsylvania woman stole computer equipment from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and intended to sell it to Russian agents. The woman turned herself in to the police yesterday.

The mob felt empowered by Republican leaders. As rioters pushed their way down a hallway, one shouted at a police officer, "We are listening to your boss: Trump." And as a few men looked through documents on the Senate floor, one, referring to Senator Ted Cruz, said: "I think Cruz would want us to do this, so I think we're good."

Multiple military members, active and retired, were part of the mob. The F.B.I. is investigating the role of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia made up largely of former law enforcement and military veterans. (In response, the Pentagon says it will intensify internal efforts to combat far-right extremism.)

Another rioter was Klete Keller, a gold-medal-winning swimmer. One of Keller's former Olympic teammates described him as an "aimless, rudderless, 30-something man who ... became a perfect candidate to fall into a radical, conservative rabbit hole of conspiracy theorists and rioters involved in insurrection," according to The Post. Since the riot, Keller told a former coach that he "didn't mean for any of this to happen," The Times reported.

So far, at least 70 people have been arrested and charged with participating in the attack. The authorities say they are still seeking information, as this F.B.I. poster with suspects' photos shows.

The Times put together maps, images and videos from the day to show how President Trump's rally gave way to violence.

ProPublica collected more than 500 videos, offering a view of what the attack looked like from inside the mob.

Brazil started its vaccination campaign. The country's death toll is second only to that of the United States.

Almost 400,000 people in the U.S. have died from the virus. President-elect Joe Biden will honor Covid-19 victims during a ceremony tonight at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Times reporters researched the people who died on a single day in January - including a youth football coach, a police chief and a Disneyland photographer.

Steven Dillingham, the Trump-nominated director of the Census Bureau, resigned a year before the end of his term after claims that he politicized his role.

On his first day in office, Biden is expected to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit, as environmentalists had hoped he would.

The Trump administration released its "1776 Commission" report, which - among other things - likens progressivism to fascism. Historians derided the report.

Alex Padilla, who will fill Kamala Harris's Senate seat, discussed impeachment and his status as California's first Latino senator in an interview.

Trump is preparing pardons. Among those under consideration: the former New York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver and the rapper Lil Wayne.

Trump wants to build a National Garden of American Heroes with statues of Whitney Houston, Dr. Seuss and Nikola Tesla, among others. ( The project is unlikely to happen.)

The N.Y.P.D. arrested dozens of people who had gathered near City Hall in Manhattan for a march on Martin Luther King's Birthday.

Jared Porter, the general manager of the New York Mets, sent explicit, unsolicited text messages to a female reporter in 2016, ESPN reported.

A Morning Read: Nine years ago, the rock climbing champion Lai Chi-wai was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident. It didn't stop him from trying to ascend a skyscraper.

From Opinion: Jamelle Bouie and Jennifer Senior have columns.

Lives Lived: Harry Joseph Brant was a founding member of the next-generation jet set and a new-look "It" boy known for pushing the boundaries of gender stereotype in both cosmetics and clothing. He died at 24.

Canada invented the sport of ice hockey, and much of the country is obsessed with it. But the country's professional teams have had a rough few decades: No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup - the trophy that goes to the National Hockey League champion - since the Montreal Canadiens 28 years ago. Canada's previous longest drought was a mere six years.

This year promises to be different. Even if an American team wins the cup, Canada will at least be able to crown its own champion.

Because the Canadian government has restricted travel to and from the U.S., where the pandemic is worse, the N.H.L. has reorganized its divisions - and has placed all seven Canadian teams in the new North Division.

The Canadian teams will play only one another during the regular season, and the top four will then meet in the playoffs this spring. Whichever team emerges - the champion of Canada - will face the three winners from the U.S. divisions in a Stanley Cup bracket.

"Every night is going to feel like Saturday night, 'Hockey Night in Canada,' coast to coast," the general manager of the Calgary Flames told The National Post, referring to a popular television broadcast. "It may only be one season, but I think it's going to be awesome."

The season began last week, and oddsmakers like the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have famously struggled for much of the past half-century.

Credit... Linda Xiao for The New York Times

The pangram from yesterday's Spelling Bee was collectible. Today's puzzle is above - or you can play online if you have a Games subscription.

Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Fly traps (four letters).
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. - David
P.S. Recent print editions of The Times have featured an usually high number of banner headlines. You can explore some of them - from the presidential election to the vaccine rollout and the Capitol riot - here.

You can see today's print front page here.

Today's episode of " The Daily" features conversations with Trump's supporters about the Capitol riot. On the latest " Sway," the actor Bryan Cranston breaks down his method.
Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. themorning@nytimes.com.

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And what else you need to know today. It's hard to think of another crime that the perpetrators documented so thoroughly and publicly. The people who participated in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6 posted thousands of videos of it to Parler, a social network.

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Actions Against Police Officers Being Condemned 

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Actions Against Police Officers Being Condemned 

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A January meeting of mayors and police chiefs of large American cities criticized "failed leadership by Capitol police and a failure to plan" over the rightwing insurrection in Washington on 6 January, according to emails reviewed by the Guardian.

The revelations were contained in an email sent by a senior police officer in Washington state. Additional emails from local, state, and federal agencies sent in January show that following the attack, authorities in Washington state paid increased attention to far-right groups such as QAnon adherents, the Three Percenters and Joey Gibson, the founder of the Vancouver-based street protest group Patriot Prayer.

The emails, provided to the Guardian by the transparency non-profit Property of the People, show how the events of the attack on the Capitol sent ripples around the US, and how agencies in states across the country scrambled to monitor local far-right activists, track down locals wanted for their role in the insurrection, and protect their own state capitols from groups who were openly planning to breach them.

The first email was sent to officers in police departments in cities within Snohomish county, north of Seattle, by Ryan Dalberg, the police lieutenant in Everett, Washington.

The email summarized a "US conference of mayors/major cities police chiefs to discuss the riot at the US Capitol" and "the potential for ongoing civil unrest related to the election outcome and upcoming presidential inauguration", which the email said the Everett police chief, Dan Templeman, had attended.

Following the comment about "failed leadership", Dalberg added: "Much of the intel about the number of participants and the potential for violence was available via open-source information, and for whatever reason, the US Capitol police did not appear to be fully prepared for what they encountered."

Dalberg added that participants had connected the events of 6 January "to domestic terrorism, in that it is both real and perceived grievances that are driving people and groups to take violent and extreme actions".

Property of the People's executive director, Ryan Shapiro, said: "The intelligence was there, coming from the agencies and right in the open. Despite ample warning, US Capitol police leadership failed to defend democracy. The question is why."

Everett police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other emails show that even before the Capitol attack, analysts at the Washington State Fusion Center had been keeping close tabs on far-right groups and their plans to occupy that state's capitol, in Olympia.

On 28 December, Alexandria Forbush, an intelligence analyst at the Fusion Center, sent an email to Stefan Pentcholov, a University of Washington police department detective currently seconded to the Joint Terrorism Task Force based at the FBI's Seattle field office.

In the email, which she later forwarded to the Washington State Fusion Center director, Curt Boyle, Forbush warns that "Washington 3 Percenters sent out an email calling for action at the Olympia legislative building when the session begins on 11 January".

The plan outlined in the email was "to crowd all the entrances to the building and gain entrance to the gallery when people enter or exit the building by following after them". In addition, they said they would be "making every attempt to enter the building - per the constitution. For every person that makes their way through our gauntleted entrances, we will attempt to go right along with them inside."

Other signs of concern in the wake of the Capitol riot came in the form of an email sent by Pentcholov, the JTTF officer, to Sgt Debra Winsor, who runs the critical infrastructure section of the Washington State Fusion Center, advising of a 23 February lecture at the University of Washington by Joey Gibson.

Gibson, the founder of Patriot Prayer, was the organizer of a long string of confrontational pro-Trump protests in Portland, Oregon, between 2017 and 2020. Many of the protests became violent, and some descended into riots.

In the email, Pentcholov advises that "the same setup applies - indoor venue, 100% ID and weapons check, etc", adding "local antifa regulars are also aware of the re-scheduled event. There is unconfirmed info that Washington 3%-ers will also attend."

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Capitol police condemned by US states for January attack failures, emails show

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A January meeting of mayors and police chiefs of large American cities criticized "failed leadership by Capitol police and a failure to plan" over the rightwing insurrection in Washington on 6 January, according to emails reviewed by the Guardian. The revelations were contained in an email sent by a senior police officer in Washington state.

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FBI Chief Calls Attack Domestic Terrorism 

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FBI Chief Calls Attack Domestic Terrorism 

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The FBI director, Chris Wray, has condemned the 6 January riot at the US Capitol as an instance of "domestic terrorism", while defending the bureau's handling of intelligence indicating that violence was likely.

"That attack, that siege, was criminal behavior, plain and simple, and it's behavior that we, the FBI, view as domestic terrorism," Wray told the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday. He also said the bureau was pursuing about 2,000 domestic terrorism investigations, up from 1,400 at end of 2020.

Donald Trump incited the Capitol attack, telling supporters at a rally near the White House to "fight like hell" in an attempt to overturn his electoral defeat based on the lie, repeatedly thrown out of court, that Biden won thanks to electoral fraud.

Five people including a Capitol police officer were killed. Trump was impeached on a charge of inciting an insurrection but acquitted when only seven Republican senators voted to convict.

Wray told senators the attack had "no place in our democracy, and tolerating it would make a mockery of our nation's rule of law".

The FBI was aggressively pursuing those who carried out the attack, he said, adding that investigations were under way in 55 of 56 FBI field offices. More than 200 people have been charged.

His comments in his first appearance before Congress since the Capitol attack amounted to the FBI's most vigorous defense against the suggestion it did not adequately communicate to police the distinct possibility of violence as lawmakers gathered to certify presidential election results.

Wray told lawmakers information was properly shared before the riot, even though it was raw and unverified.

A 5 January report from the FBI field office in Norfolk, Virginia, warned of online posts foreshadowing a "war" in Washington the following day. Capitol police leaders have said they were unaware of that report and received no intelligence from the FBI that would have led them to expect the sort of violence which ensued.

Wray said the Norfolk report was shared though the FBI's joint terrorism taskforce, discussed at a command post and posted on an internet portal. Ideally the FBI would have had more time to try to corroborate it, he said.

"Our folks made the judgment to get that to the relevant people as quickly as possible," Wray said.

He was also pressed on how the FBI is confronting a national security threat from white nationalists and domestic violent extremists and whether it has adequate resources to address those issues. Wray described white supremacist extremism as a "persistent, evolving threat" that has grown since he took over the FBI in 2017.

White supremacists make up "the biggest chunk of our domestic terrorism portfolio overall", he said, adding that such people "have been responsible for the most lethal attacks over the last decade".

The violence at the Capitol made clear that a law enforcement agency that remade itself after the 11 September 2001, attacks to deal with international terrorism is now scrambling to address homegrown violence from white Americans. The Biden administration has asked its national intelligence director, Avril Haines, to work with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to assess the threat.

In his opening statement, Wray said: "6 January was not an isolated event. The problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing across the country for a number of years now, and it's not going away any time soon."

The committee chairman, Dick Durbin, asked if the FBI believed the insurrection was carried out by "fake Trump protesters". The Illinois Democrat's question came two weeks after the Republican Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson amplified baseless claims that leftwing provocateurs carried out the Capitol attack.

"We have not seen evidence of that at this stage," Wray said. In answer to Patrick Leahy of Vermont, another Democrat, he said: "We have not to date seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa [antifascist groups] in connection with [6 January]."

Wray has kept a low profile since the Capitol attack. Though he has briefed lawmakers and shared information with law enforcement, Tuesday's hearing was his first public appearance before Congress since before the election.

He was also likely to face questions about a massive Russian hack of corporations and US government agencies, which happened when elite hackers injected malicious code into a software update.

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FBI chief calls Capitol attack 'domestic terrorism' and defends US intelligence

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The FBI director, Chris Wray, has condemned the 6 January riot at the US Capitol as an instance of "domestic terrorism", while defending the bureau's handling of intelligence indicating that violence was likely. "That attack, that siege, was criminal behavior, plain and simple, and it's behavior that we, the FBI, view as domestic terrorism," Wray told the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday.

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Inaugural Address by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | The White House

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The Inaugural Address of the 46th President of the United States, as delivered at the United States Capitol.

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A Washington police officer who was attacked by Trump-supporting rioters during the Capitol attack on 6 January has decried the efforts of some politicians and other public figures to "whitewash" and downplay the insurrection.

Michael Fanone, 40, gave an emotional interview with CNN on Tuesday night in which he laid bare the personal impact of having been engulfed in the baying crowd.

He was beaten with sticks and stun-gunned, and in the aftermath has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and what he called "psychological injuries".

Fanone said that since the riot, it had been "very difficult seeing elected officials and other individuals whitewash the events of that day or downplay what happened. Some of the terminology that has been used, like 'hugs and kisses' and 'very fine people' - very different from what I experienced and what my co-workers experienced on the 6th."

Though he did not mention the former president by name, Fanone was making a clear reference to Trump's interview with Fox News last month in which he said the conflagration posed "zero threat". Attempting an extreme makeover of history, Trump said of the rioters that "some of them went in, and they're hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know? They had great relationships."

Asked what he thought of Trump's remarks, Fanone said: "I think it's dangerous. It's very much not the experience I had on the 6th. I experienced a group of individuals that were trying to kill me to accomplish their goals."

More than three months on, the Capitol insurrection still casts a shadow over Washington. Joe Biden is expected to discuss the attack and its lasting impact when he addresses a joint session of Congress for the first time as president on Wednesday, standing at the same podium in the House of Representatives that was defiled by rioters.

The assault, and Trump's efforts to diminish its anti-democratic and violent nature, where he encouraged supporters at a rally immediately prior to "fight" to stop Congress certifying Biden's election victory, also continue to distort American politics.

Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, this week clung to his support for Trump and the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him - rhetoric that directly instigated the insurrection.

Adam Kinzinger, a congressman from Illinois who was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in February for "incitement of insurrection", challenged McCarthy. Kinzinger posted on Twitter a clip of Fanone on CNN, along with the barbed comment that he was curious whether the Republican leader had "an opinion about this interview".

Fanone was among a cordon of District of Columbia and Capitol police who were defending the edifice, where members of Congress were in session in both chambers, when Trump supporters ran amok.

Photos from 6 January show the officer entirely surrounded by protesters lunging at him with wooden clubs.

A video also captured him being pulled out of the building by the rioters and dragged down stairs.

"I thought it was a distinct possibility I would die," he told CNN's Don Lemon. "They started attacking me from all directions. Guys ripped my badge off, ripped my radio off, started grabbing at my firearm. It was overwhelming."

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US officer beaten by rioters condemns effort to 'whitewash' Capitol attack

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A Washington police officer who was attacked by Trump-supporting rioters during the Capitol attack on 6 January has decried the efforts of some politicians and other public figures to "whitewash" and downplay the insurrection. Michael Fanone, 40, gave an emotional interview with CNN on Tuesday night in which he laid bare the personal impact of having been engulfed in the baying crowd.

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Richard Barnett released as hundreds of cases related to the January insurrection continue in US courts.

Richard Barnett sits at the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after rioters breached the US Capitol security in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021 [File: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE]

The man infamously photographed with his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk during the January 6 Capitol riot was released from detention on Monday afternoon.

Richard Barnett, a self-proclaimed white nationalist and apparent follower of the QAnon conspiracy movement, was released due to recent changes making it more difficult to keep people in pretrial detention in the District of Columbia.

Supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol to interrupt a joint session of Congress certifying Joe Biden's 2020 presidential victory.

The rioters were largely members of far-right and militia movements who had grown close to Trump during his four-year term.

US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper said "January 6 was a criminal effort to undermine one of the essential pillars of our democracy" carried out by "people who were sold and willingly bought a bill of goods that the election was stolen".

But Cooper did not find evidence that Barnett met the tightened criteria for pretrial detention: "The burden faced by the government, clear and convincing evidence, has just not been met in this case, in my view."

Barnett's lawyer told TMZ the accused rioter will be kept in home detention and "is barred from having any weapons in his home".

The judge told Barnett, who lives in Arkansas, he will be sent back to jail if he violates the terms of his release.

Federal prosecutors said in court documents last week that more than "400 individuals have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack ... The investigation continues and the government expects that at least one hundred additional individuals will be charged".

The scope of the investigation into the riot is unusually large and spans suspects from the entire US.

Members of militia movements, such as the Oath Keepers, have been charged with conspiracy in relation to planning the insurrection.

The charge allows prosecutors to bring cases against members of the conspiracy, even if they committed no crime other than being aware of the plot.

Jon Schaffer, a founding member of both the Oath Keepers and metal band Iced Earth, pleaded guilty to two felony charges of obstructing the certification of the 2020 election and breaching a restricted building on April 16.

He is now cooperating with investigators.

Authorities have also charged 18 members of the far-right Proud Boys with crimes ranging from conspiracy to assaulting a police officer.

Five people died as a result of the riot, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Video footage and images show far-right rioters assaulting under-equipped police officers.

Michael Fanone was among the officers attacked that day. He was dragged down a long flight of Capitol stairs and hit with a stun gun, causing a mild heart attack, prosecutors allege.

Officer Michael Fanone tells @donlemon it's been very difficult to see elected officials whitewash what happened on Jan. 6.

He was stun-gunned several times and beaten with a flagpole during the Capitol attack.

Watch part 1 of his first in-depth interview: pic.twitter.com/4LzuJcfztl

- CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) April 28, 2021

Fanone said watching Trump and other politicians downplay the events of January 6 has been difficult.

"I experienced the most brutal, savage hand-to-hand combat of my entire life, let alone my policing career, which spans almost two decades," Fanone told CNN on Tuesday.

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Man who put feet on Pelosi's desk during US Capitol riot released

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Richard Barnett released as hundreds of cases related to the January insurrection continue in US courts. The man infamously photographed with his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk during the January 6 Capitol riot was released from detention on Monday afternoon.

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The Republican House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, should testify before the commission to investigate the 6 January Capitol attack, the Wyoming representative Liz Cheney said on Friday, because he has "said publicly that he's got information about the president's state of mind that day".

House Democrats and Republicans have agreed to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol riot. The terms of the proposed commission fell short of Republican demands, however, casting doubt on whether the GOP will vote for its creation.

This week, McCarthy presided over the ejection of Cheney from Republican House leadership, over her refusal to back Donald Trump's lie that his election defeat by Joe Biden was the result of mass electoral fraud and the role of that lie in stoking the attack on Congress.

Speaking to ABC News' This Week in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Cheney said McCarthy "absolutely should" testify before any commission, and that she "wouldn't be surprised if he were subpoenaed".

As agreed by the Democratic chairman of the House homeland security committee, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and the ranking Republican, John Katko of New York, the commission would have subpoena power if its Democratic-appointed chair and Republican-appointed vice-chair agree, or if a majority of the evenly split 10-person panel voted in favor.

I'm very glad they rejected Leader McCarthy's suggestions that somehow we should dilute the commission

The panel would be modeled on the 9/11 Commission, which was created in late 2002 and published its report in 2004. A vote on the National Commission to Investigate the 6 January Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act, legislation necessary to create the panel, could happen as early as next week.

McCarthy did not immediately back the deal.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, proposed a commission in February but the process stalled. Democrats wanted the commission to focus solely on the 6 January attack. Republicans wanted to include violence during protests over police brutality last summer, which they attribute to leftwing groups.

There was also disagreement about the makeup of the commission and its subpoena powers.

Thompson was asked to negotiate with Katko, like Cheney one of 10 House Republicans who voted for Trump's impeachment on a charge of inciting an insurrection. Trump was not convicted, as only seven Republican senators voted to do so.

Should the commission be formed, it would only investigate the events of 6 January. Five members, including the chair, would be selected by Pelosi and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer. Five, including a vice-chair, would be appointed by McCarthy and the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell.

Current government employees would not be appointed. The members would have "significant expertise in the areas of law enforcement, civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, intelligence and cybersecurity". A final report will be required, outlining facts and causes and providing recommendations to prevent future attacks.

Authorities are still examining videos and photos from 6 January.

Told by Trump to "fight like hell", hundreds of his supporters broke into the Capitol. Some looked for lawmakers, including Trump's vice-president, Mike Pence, to capture and possibly kill. Five people died.

More than 440 people have been arrested in connection with the attack and charged with crimes including use of a deadly or dangerous weapon and assaulting a police officer. Prosecutors have said they expect to charge about 100 more.

McCarthy spoke to Trump as the attack proceeded. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Washington state Republican, has said McCarthy told her that when he asked the president to call his supporters off, Trump replied: "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."

In a recent interview on Fox News, McCarthy, who has aligned his party firmly with Trump, avoided questions about Beutler's statement but did not deny it.

Cheney told ABC: "I would hope he doesn't require a subpoena, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were subpoenaed."

Announcing his deal with Katko, Thompson said: "There has been a growing consensus that the January 6 attack is of a complexity and national significance that what we need is an independent commission to investigate."

Pelosi said: "It is imperative that we seek the truth of what happened on January 6 with an independent, bipartisan 9/11-type commission to examine and report upon the facts, causes and security relating to the terrorist mob attack."

Cheney said "the elements of that commission are exactly as they should be. I'm very glad they rejected Leader McCarthy's suggestions that somehow we should dilute the commission. It's really important that it be focused on just on 6 January and the events leading up to it."

Cheney, a hardline conservative, is the daughter of the former vice-president Dick Cheney and a member of the Republican establishment. But she has been replaced in House leadership by Elise Stefanik, a New Yorker backed by Trump.

Cheney said her ejection was "dangerous. I think that we have to recognise how quickly things can unravel. We have to recognise what it means for the nation to have a former president who has not conceded and who continues to suggest that our electoral system cannot function, cannot do the will of the people."

She also said she regretted voting for Trump.

"I was never going to support Joe Biden and I do regret the vote," she said. "It was a vote based on policy, based on substance and in terms of the kinds of policies he put forward that were good for the country. But I think it's fair to say that I regret the vote."

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Liz Cheney: McCarthy should testify about Trump's views on Capitol attack

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The Republican House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, should testify before the commission to investigate the 6 January Capitol attack, the Wyoming representative Liz Cheney said on Friday, because he has "said publicly that he's got information about the president's state of mind that day".

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Global Map of Deaths From Terrorism - Our World in Data (2017) 

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Global Map of Deaths From Terrorism - Our World in Data (2017) 

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- latest data we could find.

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Confirmed deaths, including all victims and attackers who died as a result of the incident.

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Terrorism and Political Violence - AON Empower Results

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Terrorism and Political Violence - AON Empower Results

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- Click Terrorism and Political Violence

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Political Risk, Terrorism and Political Violence Maps - 2019 | Aon

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Populism, protectionism, and evolving terrorism can translate to uncertainty. From keeping people safe to threats to overall business continuity, how are organizations managing the volatility? Explore Aon's 2019 Risk Maps.

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What Determines the Amount of Media Attention a Terrorist Attack Recieves - Our World in Data

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What Determines the Amount of Media Attention a Terrorist Attack Recieves - Our World in Data

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The attacks of terrorists receive a lot of attention from the media and often dominate the public discourse. How many people die from these attacks and how did it change over time?

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Fatalities Due to Terrorism (2006-2019) - Statistica

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Fatalities Due to Terrorism (2006-2019) - Statistica

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Number of fatalities due to terrorist attacks worldwide between 2006 and 2018

The statistic shows the number of deaths due to terrorism worldwide between 2006 and 2018. 32,836 people were killed by terrorists in 2018. The
Terrorism is often defined as unlawful violence or systematic use of terror against civilians or politicians for ideological or political reasons, with the intention to create fear. Terrorism is practiced by nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.

The fear of terrorism is still instilled in many people's minds. According to Gallup's survey, which was conducted among adults in the United States in 2013, 34 percent of the participants stated that they were very worried about the possibility of future terrorist attacks. Only 10 percent of the participants said that they were not at all worried. number of terrorist attacks worldwide declined between 2006 and 2017. In 2006, about 14,371 terrorist attacks were counted, while in 2018, 8,093 terrorist attacks were counted.

Show more

Number of fatalities due to terrorist attacks worldwide between 2006 and 2018

Number of deaths

2018

32,836

2017

18,753

2016

25,722

2015

29,424

2014

32,763

2013

18,066

2012

11,098

2011

12,533

2010

13,186

2009

15,310

2008

15,708

2007

22,719

2006

20,487

Number of deaths

2018

32,836

2017

18,753

2016

25,722

2015

29,424

2014

32,763

2013

18,066

2012

11,098

2011

12,533

2010

13,186

2009

15,310

2008

15,708

2007

22,719

2006

20,487

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The statistic shows the number of deaths due to terrorism worldwide between 2006 and 2018. 32,836 people were killed by terrorists in 2018. The number of terrorist attacks worldwide declined between 2006 and 2017. In 2006, about 14,371 terrorist attacks were counted, while in 2018, 8,093 terrorist attacks were counted.

Terrorism is often defined as unlawful violence or systematic use of terror against civilians or politicians for ideological or political reasons, with the intention to create fear. Terrorism is practiced by nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.

The fear of terrorism is still instilled in many people's minds. According to Gallup's survey, which was conducted among adults in the United States in 2013, 34 percent of the participants stated that they were very worried about the possibility of future terrorist attacks. Only 10 percent of the participants said that they were not at all worried.

Show more

Show sources information

Show publisher information

Release date

October 2019

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

2006 to 2018

Supplementary notes

Data for previous years can be found here: Country Reports on Terrorism.

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition. Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians).

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Source

Show sources information

Show publisher information

Release date

October 2019

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

2006 to 2018

Supplementary notes

Data for previous years can be found here: Country Reports on Terrorism.

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition. Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians).

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Terrorism: death toll worldwide 2006-2017 | Statista

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Number of fatalities due to terrorist attacks worldwide between 2006 and 2018 The statistic shows the number of deaths due to terrorism worldwide between 2006 and 2018. 32,836 people were killed by terrorists in 2018. The Terrorism is often defined as unlawful violence or systematic use of terror against civilians or politicians for ideological or political reasons, with the intention to create fear.

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Australia security and counter-terrorism (29/4) 

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Australia security and counter-terrorism (29/4) 

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Canberra ACT, Australia
This article discusses how Australia's counter-terrorism agencies are calling for new powers to tackle religious and ideologically motivated terrorism. It has been discovered that a terrorist attack is likely to occur in the next 12 months as the growing threat of ideologically motivated extremism increases. The author argues that lone wolf terrorism has more of an intent to launch attacks in Australia.

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Australia's spy agency has revealed it believes a terrorist attack is likely to happen in the next 12 months, as the Australian federal police called for extremist insignia and online propaganda to be banned.

Law enforcement and counter-terrorism agencies gave evidence to the parliament's extremism inquiry on Thursday, spruiking the need for new powers and an increased budget to tackle both religiously motivated and the growing threat of what Asio now calls ideologically motivated extremism.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director general, Mike Burgess, told the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security the terrorist threat level remained "probable".

This is based on an assessment that lone wolf individuals and small terrorist groups have both the capability and intent to launch attacks in Australia.

While Sunni Islamist terrorism is still rated the greatest threat, there is a growth in nationalist and racist ideologically motivated extremism, he said.

"We anticipate there will be a terrorist attack in the next 12 months, and it can come from either ideology," Burgess said.

Burgess confirmed that ideologically motivated terrorism now makes up 40% of its counter-terrorism work and is a threat that "won't diminish any time soon".

But he added it was "important to put it in context" because the National Socialist threat is not on par with Isil and the Grampians - where neo-Nazis staged a high-profile outing - "is not a caliphate".

The Australian federal police deputy commissioner, Ian McCartney, argued there were gaps in the criminal law relating to dissemination of terrorist material which is helping to radicalise young people online.

"Outside of legitimate research, [and] public interest reporting ... there are no circumstances where individuals should be accessing or sharing instructional terrorist manuals, propaganda magazines, and graphically violent images, videos and other content produced by terrorists," he said.

McCartney said the AFP also "strongly support the criminalisation of the public display of flags and other extremist insignia".

Chris Teal, the deputy secretary of social cohesion and citizenship, told the inquiry the home affairs department agreed in principle that such insignia should be banned.

Teal added that laws would need to take account of the "purpose of the display of flags and insignia" because there was "a difference between owning it and displaying it for a purpose of vilification".

Through her questioning, Labor's Kristina Keneally described proscribing individual terrorists - not just groups - as an "attractive proposition".

But Burgess responded that he is "not sure how that helps" because listing individuals might "draw attention to them" and cause others to be "inspired by them".

Asked if his agency needed more powers to combat encrypted messaging, Burgess replied that the AFP has particular needs, a reference to a bill proposing to give them access to the Australian Signals Directorate's expertise to disrupt criminal activity.

Burgess said Asio already had the right "legal mechanisms" enacted by encryption legislation in late 2018 but signalled that it had sought further "capabilities" in a request that is now subject to "budget consideration", indicating a request for more funding to help it break encryption.

Burgess also clarified what he described as a misreading of Victoria police's submission, which had mentioned increased violence from leftwing groups.

Asked if this had created a false equivalence between left and rightwing extremism, Burgess said Victoria police appeared to be referring to protests and that leftwing groups "might get involved in a bit of biffo" which is "not what concerns Asio".

Labor's deputy chair, Anthony Byrne, told Asio he believed the spy agency had never lost its focus or underestimated the threat of rightwing extremism.

Law enforcement agencies and the department of foreign affairs and trade all said they learned from Australia's allies' knowledge and experience of ideologically motivated terrorism.

In a speech to the US Congress on Wednesday, the president Joe Biden pledged that his administration "won't ignore what our own intelligence agencies have determined - the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today is from white supremacist terrorism".

Earlier this month the US director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, released a worldwide threat assessment report that said: "Australia, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom consider white racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, including Neo-Nazi groups, to be the fastest growing terrorist threat they face."

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Asio chief says a terrorist attack in Australia is 'probable' in the next 12 months

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Australia's spy agency has revealed it believes a terrorist attack is likely to happen in the next 12 months, as the Australian federal police called for extremist insignia and online propaganda to be banned.

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Makassar, Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

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Suspected Islamist militants behind Indonesian cathedral suicide bombing (28/3) 

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Suspected Islamist militants behind Indonesian cathedral suicide bombing (28/3) 

# data[].attributes.body
Makassar, Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
This article discusses a suicide bomb attack in Makassar, Indonesia. The author highlights how the two people suspected of being involved in the attack are believed to belong to the Islamist State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD). The two people attacked a Catholic church, and waited until mass was finished before detonating the device. However, they are believed to have acted on their own terms and not on behalf of the group.

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Suspected Islamist militants behind Indonesian cathedral suicide bombing

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Two suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist militant group attacked a Catholic church in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sunday on the first day of the Easter Holy Week, wounding 19 people, police said. The mass was finishing when the attackers detonated at least one device outside the church.

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Woman shot dead after opening fire at Indonesia's national police headquarters (31/3) 

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Woman shot dead after opening fire at Indonesia's national police headquarters (31/3) 

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Jakarta, Indonesia
This article discusses how a women opened fire at officers at the national police headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Indonesian police fired at the women, who is now diseased, in order to stop the attack that is believed to have been a lone wolf attack with the ideology of the Islamic State. This incident came only three days after the suicide bombing at a cathedral on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

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Indonesian police have shot dead a woman who opened fire at officers at the national police headquarters in Jakarta, in an attack authorities say was inspired by the Islamic State.

The woman had posted a photo of the Islamic State flag on her Instagram account before the shooting

Police said she was a "lone wolf"

The attack came three days after a suicide bombing at a cathedral on the island of Sulawesi

Indonesian National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said on Wednesday the 25-year-old woman, identified only by her initials ZA, fired six times at officers near an entrance post to the headquarters before being killed.

He didn't say whether any police were injured.

The woman was a former college student who lived in Jakarta and she had posted a photo of the Islamic State, or ISIS, flag on her Instagram account hours before the shooting, Police-General Sigit said.

"From the profiling of the person in question, that person was a suspect or a lone wolf with the ideology of radical ISIS," Police-General Sigit told a news conference, adding that she had left a note for her parents bidding farewell.

"However, we will continue to thoroughly investigate any possible connection of radical networks to the suspect."

Footage aired by local television stations showed a person in a blue veil and long black clothing entering the grounds of the police complex as gunshots could be heard.

She was later seen falling to the ground amid more gunshots.

A bomb squad member approached her body, which was lying in the rain with the gun nearby, and determined there were no dangerous materials in the area before the body was removed, the videos showed.

The incident came three days after a husband and wife carried out a suicide bombing at a cathedral on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Palm Sunday, wounding 20 and killing only themselves.

They were believed to have been members of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and carried out a series of suicide bombings in Indonesia.

Authorities imposed a counterterrorism crackdown and went on heightened alert for possible attacks against police and places of worship.

At least 13 people have been arrested by police in Jakarta, Sulawesi and West Nusa Tenggara provinces following the Sulawesi attack.

Terrorism analyst Al Chaidar said Wednesday's attempted attack was likely intended as revenge for a sweep of police arrests of suspected religious extremists in recent days.
AP/Reuters

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'Lone wolf' woman shot dead after opening fire at Indonesia's national police HQ

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Indonesian police have shot dead a woman who opened fire at officers at the national police headquarters in Jakarta, in an attack authorities say was inspired by the Islamic State.

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Royal Malaysian Police Headquarters, Jalan Bukit Aman, Perdana Botanical Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Malaysian police thwarted the 'lone wolf' terrorist attack conspiracy suspects to assassinate several politicians (26/3)

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Malaysian police thwarted the 'lone wolf' terrorist attack conspiracy suspects to assassinate several politicians (26/3)

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Malaysia
This article discusses how the Malaysian police have detected several lone wolf attacks against various politicians, including former Prime Minister Mahathir and former Finance Minister Lim Guanying. The police have arrested seven terrorist suspects involved in promoting the Islamic State and issuing death threats to national leaders. The counter-terrorism team have launched dozens of raids and arrests against terrorists, which has led to a decrease in terrorist activities.

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China News Service, March 26. According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao report on the 26th, the Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Political Department of the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters in Malaysia defeated an "independent party" against politicians such as former Prime Minister Mahathir and former Finance Minister Lim Guanying in 2020. The "wolf" terrorist attack conspired and arrested a man associate

China News Service, March 26. According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao report on the 26th, the Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Political Department of the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters in Malaysia defeated an "independent party" against politicians such as former Prime Minister Mahathir and former Finance Minister Lim Guanying in 2020. The "wolf" terrorist attack conspired and arrested a man associated with the "Islamic State" organization.

Data map: former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir.

Azman, Assistant Director of the Counter-Terrorism Section of the Political Department of the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters, pointed out on the 25th that the counter-terrorism police arrested a man before the movement control order (management order) was implemented in March 2020.

The man admitted that he planned to launch a "lone wolf" attack in an attempt to assassinate Mahathir, Lim Guanying, former Attorney General Tommy Thomas, and former Minister of the Prime Minister's Department Mugahi Mugahi, who is in charge of religious affairs.

Azman pointed out that in early January 2020, the police arrested seven terrorist suspects involved in producing videos promoting the "Islamic State" and issuing death threats to national leaders.

He said that one of the suspects confessed that he was planning to assassinate Mahathir, Lim Guanying and others with a knife.

In response to terrorist attacks in Malaysia, Azman pointed out that in the past two to three years, the number of terrorists arrested by the police has shown a downward trend, indicating that the situation has been brought under control.

He said that in 2019, the police launched dozens of raids and arrests against terrorists. Compared with the 109 operations in the previous year, the number was significantly reduced.

In terms of the number of arrests, the counter-terrorism group arrested 119 and 72 people in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and the number dropped sharply to seven in 2020, including the men who planned to assassinate Mahathir.

He pointed out that as the leader of the "Islamic State" Baghdadi and several Malaysian terrorists active in Syria were killed one after another, those who supported the "Islamic State" lost their motivation and passion, so terrorist activities were gradually reduced.

But he reminded that this does not mean that the region is free from the threat of terrorism, and all parties must still be vigilant.

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malaysian police thwarted the "lone wolf" terrorist attack conspiracy suspect to assassinate several politicians

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Malaysian police thwarted the "lone wolf" terrorist attack conspiracy suspect to assassinate several politicians | tellerreport.com

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China News Service, March 26. According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao report on the 26th, the Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Political Department of the Bukit Aman Police Headquarters in Malaysia defeated an "independent party" against politicians such as former Prime Minister Mahathir and former Finance Minister Lim Guanying in 2020.

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Azhar warns of 'lone wolf' terrorist attacks during Ramadan (14/4)

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Azhar warns of 'lone wolf' terrorist attacks during Ramadan (14/4)

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This article discusses how the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism warns of the likelihood of an increase in lone wolf attacks around the time of Ramadan. They called on countries around the world to take all necessary action towards avoiding attacks. The observatory states that it will remain vigilant towards following the movements of IS and any other terrorist organisations.

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Azhar warns of 'lone wolf' terrorist attacks during Ramadan - Egypt Independent

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Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism warned that the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization has called on its "lone wolves" to conduct attacks during Ramadan.

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Palestinian Farah calls on locals to delete evidence of terror attack (5/5) 

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Palestinian Farah calls on locals to delete evidence of terror attack (5/5) 

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Palestine
This article discusses an attack on three Jewish teenagers who were shot at close range in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank. Fatah's Nablus branch makes a controversial call on Palestinians who were living/working in the area to delete any footage of the assault in order to stymie attempts by Israeli security forces to locate the terrorist. This is because of the ongoing tension between Jewish extremism and Palestinians. The IDF believes that the shooting was a lone-wolf attack.

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Fatah's Nablus branch called on Palestinians living and working in the vicinity of the terror attack on Sunday, in which three Jewish teenagers were shot at close range in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank, to delete security footage of the assault in order to stymie attempts by Israeli security forces to locate the terrorist, according to Palestinian Media Watch.

A Palestinian gunman shot and wounded three 19-year-old seminary students at the Tapuah Junction in the Samaria region of the West Bank on Saturday. Two of the three victims remained in Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva on Tuesday in serious condition, while the third victim was released. All three study at the Itamar Yeshiva.

The IDF believes the shooting to be a lone-wolf attack.

Fatah Nablus made a post on its official Facebook page, within hours of the attack, calling on "honored" members of the Palestinian community to delete the security footage so that the suspect at large could escape.

"Our lauded people, honored members of our people, we call on you to get rid of the contents that were stored in the [security] cameras of your homes or your businesses today, and not to transfer any media content among yourselves that the occupation is spreading," it asked the public.

"Members of our people in the towns and villages in the southern Nablus district who are standing firm, we salute you for your stand alongside those who were caught in a dead-end from among our people that gives much of itself," it added.

"We salute you and your struggle," Fatah Nablus concluded, signing: "The Fatah Movement, Nablus branch."

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Besides the branch's controversial calls to delete security footage of the event in support of the terrorist, it later made an insidious call for further terror attacks, saying that terror itself is the "right of the Palestinian people."

"The Fatah Movement's Nablus branch emphasized that resistance is a natural right of the Palestinian people against the Zionist arrogance and the attacks against our people wherever they are, and particularly in Jerusalem," the branch said, blaming the violence on Israel.

"In a press release issued by its information office today, Sunday, Fatah emphasized that the Palestinian people will not leave Jerusalem alone against the occupation forces and its settler herds," it said.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA Watch director Itamar Marcus highlighted that while the Palestinian Authority and Fatah denounce terror in English, they "routinely support, honor and encourage terrorists" in Arabic to terrorize Israeli citizens.

Despite the efforts of the Nablus branch to aid the Palestinian terrorist, the suspect was identified as Muntasar A-Shalabi, a Hamas operative from the town of Turmus Aiya, near Ramallah, Channel 12 reported citing Palestinian media reports. Shalabi had recently returned from living in the US, the report said.

As part of its efforts to locate the suspected terrorist, Israeli security forces on Tuesday arrested dozens of Palestinians suspected of aiding him. One of those arrested was Shalabi's wife, who was brought in for questioning but later released Wednesday morning. Another was his 17-year-old son, who was captured in a raid on the suspect's village earlier in the day.

The city of Akraba, where the burnt remnant of the alleged shooter's bullet-ridden car was found, has for the time being been placed under lockdown while Israeli forces have been going door to door, scanning the area for the terrorist and family members of the suspect on suspicion that they provided shelter or other support to Shalabi, who has since been on the run.

Those arrested were transferred to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

"As part of the extensive intelligence and operational activities of the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police to apprehend the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack at Tapuah Junction in which three civilians were wounded, IDF fighters arrested several suspects in the area" overnight on Monday, the IDF said. "In addition, the forces confiscated the suspicious vehicle used to carry out the attack. The IDF, Shin Bet and Israel Police will continue to pursue the terrorists."

THE RECENT wave of violence that erupted between Jewish extremists and Arab populations in Jerusalem in recent weeks has snowballed into a malicious medley of terror attacks, violent clashes, rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and a swell of blame passed between the warring factions. Both sides believe the other is in the wrong.

The terror attack itself created a domino effect of violence that has now stretched outside of Jerusalem, with Jewish extremists, presumed to be settlers, vandalizing Palestinian vehicles and homes, mainly in the village of Jalud, near Nablus. The Jewish extremists have also thrown stones at Palestinians, lightly injuring two, according to reports from the left-wing organization Yesh Din.

Clashes also broke out between Palestinians and the IDF during the manhunt, including on Sunday in the town of Beita, near Nablus, where the search was originally focused.

Settlers are also intentionally constructing unauthorized outposts near where the terror attack took place, a clear indication of their discontent and a move that could spark further violence within the area.

Concerned that violent attacks could increase along with copy-cat attacks, the IDF has sent reinforcements to the West Bank.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the military to maintain high vigilance following recent events and ahead of the coming days, which could make the area even more volatile than usual.

Anna Ahronheim and Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.

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Palestinian Fatah calls on locals to delete evidence of terror attack

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Fatah's Nablus branch called on Palestinians living and working in the vicinity of the terror attack on Sunday, in which three Jewish teenagers were shot at close range in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank, to delete security footage of the assault in order to stymie attempts by Israeli security forces to locate the terrorist, according to Palestinian Media Watch.

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France, Britain Fearful of Resurgent Jihadist Threat After Lockdown (11/5)

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France, Britain Fearful of Resurgent Jihadist Threat After Lockdown (11/5)

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France
This article discusses the introduction of new antiterrorist measures in France and Britain. These measures aim to enhance restrictions on suspicious people and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism. The author explains how the pandemic and the lockdowns have led to a decrease in radical Islamist terrorist attacks. However, the author argues that there is likely to be a new wave of so-called lone wolf assailants combined with the release of dozens of jailed jihadists.

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Nearly 200 jihadists imprisoned in France are due to be released over the next two years and French security officials are pressing French lawmakers to approve fresh antiterrorist measures to impose enhanced restrictions on those freed and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism.

British officials, likewise, are fearful of a resurgent jihadist threat and are considering overhauling Britain's 650-year-old treason law to make it easier to prosecute militants returning from Syria and Iraq.

And it is not only returnees from the Levant who are preoccupying European security officials.

During the pandemic jihadist assaults have subsided - the consequence, officials think, of society-wide lockdowns and other travel restrictions that have stymied would-be attackers. The lack of crowds and public events have also deprived militants of high-profile targets. But in the meantime there has been increased activity online by radical Islamists, according to security officials.

Neil Basu, assistant commissioner for specialist operations at London's Metropolitan Police told The Times newspaper this week that he fears large numbers of vulnerable and marginalized youngsters have been trapped online during lockdowns and surfing increased amounts of propaganda that have been posted online during the pandemic.

"I don't know what effect that is going to have on people who are vulnerable to that kind of message, who may want to take action, who may have been sitting on that suppressed feeling for 12 months or more," he said.

New wave alert

The possibility of a new wave of recruits and so-called lone-wolf assailants combined with the release of dozens of jailed jihadists is a toxic mix, say counter-terrorism officials. They say they will be stretched to maintain surveillance of released jihadists let alone trying to detect radicalization online.

A woman hands flowers to an officer to be taken to the police station where a female police worker was stabbed to death two days earlier, in Rambouillet, southwest of Paris, France, April 25, 2021.

The last eight attacks on French soil were carried out by assailants who were previously unknown to French security services - including last month's stabbing by a Tunisian immigrant of a female civilian police employee in Paris and the murder in October of middle-school teacher Samuel Paty in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a suburb of the French capital.

Of the 500 jihadists currently in French prisons, most were convicted for joining the Islamic State or al-Qaida in Syria and Iraq, or assisting others to do so. Fifty-eight are scheduled to be released this year after serving an average five-year sentence. And more than another 100 are due to be freed by 2023.

New controls

New counterterrorism measures before the National Assembly would give the French security services new powers to help them, they say, both to keep tabs on those released after they have served their sentences and to monitor what's happening online and to try to unmask potential attackers. The measures would enable authorities to track communications by Islamist extremists when they are using encrypted message. School-teacher Paty was killed by an 18-year-old Chechen who used Instagram messaging to maintain contact with French jihadists in Syria.

FILE - The coffin of slain teacher Samuel Paty is carried away in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris.

Security services would also be able to use algorithms to enable them to spot people who consult extremist websites and will have more access to satellite communications. Last month, Gérald Darmanin, France's interior minister, acknowledged that security services had been unable to detect messages between militants involved in the past nine attacks.

"We continue to remain blind with just surveillance of normal telephone lines that no one uses any more. We are now dealing with isolated individuals, increasingly younger and unknown to intelligence services, and often without any links to established Islamist groups," he said.

When it comes to jihadists released from prison the measures awaiting the legislature's approval would extend the time freed prisoners are kept under surveillance from one to two years. Courts will also have new powers to require released offenders to check in frequently with probation officers and to enroll in training schemes for up to five years after being freed.

FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the weekly question time debate at the House of Commons in London, Britain, March 10, 2021. (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters)

The ruling Conservative government in Britain, too, has already recently passed legislation ending early release for anyone convicted of a serious terror offense. And it is considering new measures to make it easier to prosecute British jihadists returning from overseas - and if convicted serve long jail terms, possibly life imprisonment. Ministers say they are planning to overhaul the treason laws to cover membership or support of non-state actors who seek to harm Britain - that would include terrorist groups and hackers.

New national security legislation may also place the burden of proof on returnees from countries designated as terrorist hotspots to provide a legitimate reason for their travel - or face prosecution for treason. Ministers complain that the evidence needed to convict people who travelled to Syria and Iraq to join militant groups in the past ten years makes it too difficult to mount prosecutions. And they have fulminated against the ancient treason law, which dates back to 1351 and was amended in 1946.

The last person to be convicted for treason in Britain was William Joyce, a Nazi propagandist known as Lord Haw-Haw. Around 400 British jihadists have returned to the UK since 2011, but only 10 percent were prosecuted.

Revamping the treason law has strong support from Conservative lawmakers. "We need tough sanctions for betrayal," Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the British parliament's the foreign affairs committee, said last week.

Other European countries have also been toughening counter-terrorism measures recently, prompting Amnesty International in February to warn that a side effect is to inflame anti-Muslim sentiments. The rights group said an environment was being created "in which Muslims are more likely to be the subject of hate speech and attacks."

"In the never-ending 'War on Terror,' Muslims continue to endure ethnic profiling and are disproportionately subjected to surveillance, limitations on their movements, arrest and deportation," said Eda Seyhan, author of the research guide published by Amnesty.

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France, Britain Fearful of Resurgent Jihadist Threat After Lockdown

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Nearly 200 jihadists imprisoned in France are due to be released over the next two years and French security officials are pressing French lawmakers to approve fresh antiterrorist measures to impose enhanced restrictions on those freed and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism.

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Online terrorist content law wins EU lawmakers' backing despite concerns from rights (29/4)

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Online terrorist content law wins EU lawmakers' backing despite concerns from rights (29/4)

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Europe
This article discusses the proposed enforcement of an EU law that aims to force social media platforms to remove terrorist content within an hour of publication. The author explains that this proposed law has been discussed in recent years due to the role of social media in a series of attacks by radicalised lone-wolf attackers across Europe.

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A proposed EU law that forces Google, Facebook and Twitter to remove terrorist content within an hour of publication cleared its final hurdle after EU lawmakers gave their backing despite concerns from civil rights groups.

The European Commission had proposed the law in 2018, worried about the role of such content after a series of attacks by radicalized lone-wolf attackers in several European cities.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The EU executive defines online terrorist content as material inciting terrorism or aimed at recruiting or training terrorists as well as material that provides guidance on how to make and use explosives and firearms for terrorist purposes.

The European Parliament approved the law late on Wednesday.

Lawmaker Patryk Jaki said the legislation "balances security and freedom of speech and expression on the internet, protects legal content and access to information for every citizen in the EU, while fighting terrorism through cooperation and trust between states."

The companies can face fines up to 4 percent of their global turnover for non-compliance. They have said they shared regulators' efforts to tackle the issue and keep the content off their platforms.

Some lawmakers who had opposed the law warned of far-reaching consequences.

"We really are risking censorship across Europe. Hungarian and Polish governments already demonstrated they have no issues removing content that they disagree with," Vice President of the European Parliament Marcel Kolaja said.

"This regulation allows them to spread these practices to the territory of any other member state," he said.

Civil rights groups, which had campaigned to get lawmakers to reject the legislation, criticized the procedure, saying that the legislation had been approved with no final vote by the assembly.

They said the new rule could bolster authoritarian governments.

"As the state of the rule of law in Europe is continuously deteriorating, the EU is giving further sweeping powers to law enforcement authorities to crack down on legitimate protests, freedom of expression, and media and artistic freedoms online," said Anna Mazgal, EU policy adviser at Wikimedia Deutschland.

The law will come into force 20 days after it is published in the EU Official Journal.
European leaders weigh terrorism strategy after attacks in France, Austria

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Online terrorist content law wins EU lawmakers' backing despite concerns from rights

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A proposed EU law that forces Google, Facebook and Twitter to remove terrorist content within an hour of publication cleared its final hurdle after EU lawmakers gave their backing despite concerns from civil rights groups. The European Commission had proposed the law in 2018, worried about the role of such content after a series of attacks by radicalized lone-wolf attackers in several European cities.

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Port Authority Bomber Is Sentenced to Life in Prison (22/4)

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Port Authority Bomber Is Sentenced to Life in Prison (22/4)

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New York, NY, USA
This article discusses the conviction of a man who set off a bomb in the New York City subway system in 2017. However, it was not until the 22nd of April that Akayed Ullah was sentenced to life imprisonment for his terrorist attack. The author explains how this long wolf terrorist attack, inspired by a foreign terrorist group, is only one of many in the recent years.

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Akayed Ullah, who detonated a pipe bomb in a crowded subway tunnel near Times Square in the name of ISIS in 2017, became radicalized online.

Akayed Ullah was convicted in 2018 of setting off a bomb in the New York City subway system. His lawyers had sought a sentence of 35 years. Credit... NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, via Associated Press

It was 6 a.m. on a Monday in December in 2017 when Akayed Ullah left his Brooklyn apartment with a homemade pipe bomb packed with metal screws strapped to his chest. He headed into the 18th Avenue subway station, boarded an F train and took it to Jay Street MetroTech.

There, he changed to an A train and while riding into Manhattan, he posted a message on Facebook: "O Trump you fail to protect your nation."

Mr. Ullah got off at Port Authority and entered the crowded underground passageway that runs toward Times Square. There, as he walked, he detonated the bomb, setting off a blast that filled the tunnel with smoke and sent thousands of commuters fleeing.

It was, the authorities have said, nothing short of a miracle that Mr. Ullah, an immigrant from Bangladesh, did not kill anyone. The makeshift bomb malfunctioned, seriously injuring him and sending shrapnel into the leg of a nearby pedestrian. Some victims experienced partial hearing loss.

On Thursday, Mr. Ullah, 31, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a federal judge who rejected his request for mercy.

"This was a calculated, premeditated decision to kill as many people as you could," the judge, Richard J. Sullivan, said, "all in the name of an organization that is dedicated to spreading terror."

The fact that Mr. Ullah had failed to execute his plan did not make him any less culpable or his intent less sinister, the judge said.

"This is about as serious a crime as there is," Judge Sullivan added.

Two victims of the attack also submitted letters that described its lasting impact on their lives. One, David Wall, who had testified at Mr. Ullah's trial about being left with shrapnel in his right leg and having serious hearing problems, wrote to the judge about the anxiety he still feels when he enters the subway and rides crowded trains.

"At times, I leave the subway system abruptly because my heart is racing and I just can't breathe," he wrote. "Never am I relaxed on mass transit any more. My eyes constantly rove around my fellow passengers looking for a person carrying a bomb."

Federal prosecutors had asked the judge to impose life imprisonment on Mr. Ullah, who was convicted at trial in November 2018 on charges that included using a weapon of mass destruction, bombing a public transportation system and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, ISIS.

The bombing was the first attempted suicide attack in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001, and was one of several in recent years in which law enforcement has said that a lone-wolf terrorist, inspired by a foreign terrorist group, carried out an attack on civilians in the city.

Just weeks earlier, Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek man, had been charged with using a truck to kill eight people in the name of ISIS on a crowded Manhattan bike path. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

On the morning Mr. Ullah carried out his attack, security surveillance cameras tracked his movements from his apartment to the subway and into Manhattan and the tunnel where he set off the device.

"Ullah's motive was clear and unambiguous: a deeply held ideological hatred for America," Audrey Strauss, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement after the sentencing.

Ms. Strauss's office said in a sentencing letter to the judge that Mr. Ullah, while in jail less than two weeks after the attack, demonstrated what the prosecutors called "the depths of his radicalization, as he chillingly warned a correctional officer: 'You started this war, we will finish it. More is coming, you'll see.'"

At Mr. Ullah's trial, his federal defenders did not dispute that he had detonated the bomb but told the jury that he was trying to kill himself and not harm others.

His lawyers said in their own sentencing letter that Mr. Ullah, in the fall of 2017, " was in the middle of a major depressive episode and, regrettably, searched for and ultimately found hope on the internet in the distorted messages of the Islamic State and its radical supporters."

Mr. Ullah's lawyers asked that he receive 35 years in prison, the minimum sentence he faced.

One lawyer, Amy Gallicchio, told the judge in Federal District Court on Thursday that her client's actions were "no doubt abhorrent but they do not reflect his true nature."

"They do not foretell future danger and they do not deserve a life sentence," she said.

Mr. Ullah addressed the judge briefly, apologizing to his victims, the city, the country and others. "What I was doing was wrong," he said.

After the hearing, Ms. Gallicchio said Mr. Ullah planned to appeal.

In arguing for life imprisonment, the government told the judge that Mr. Ullah had carried out his attack during rush hour at New York City's busiest subway station in order to cause maximum damage and terror. His location of choice - a tunnel - amplified the bomb's effects, the prosecutors said.

In court, Rebekah Donaleski, an assistant U.S. attorney, noted that Mr. Ullah had spent 15 to 20 days before the attack building the bomb, meticulously collecting materials from stores and a construction site where he had been working, carefully wiring the bomb and, "most gallingly," she said, "packing the pipe bomb full of screws."

At Mr. Ullah's trial, another prosecutor, George D. Turner, had told the jury that all Mr. Ullah had to do to set off the bomb was touch the loose ends of a wire on his device to a 9-volt battery in his pocket.

"He acted as the trigger, the switch - he made himself part of the bomb," Mr. Turner said.

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Port Authority Bomber Is Sentenced to Life in Prison

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Akayed Ullah, who detonated a pipe bomb in a crowded subway tunnel near Times Square in the name of ISIS in 2017, became radicalized online. It was 6 a.m. on a Monday in December in 2017 when Akayed Ullah left his Brooklyn apartment with a homemade pipe bomb packed with metal screws strapped to his chest.

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Our group wanted to take a look at the prevalence of Terrorism and its impact on people on a wide scale.  We wanted to be able to provide means for comparing where terrorism has occurred and how it’s affected different countries in 2021 so far.  This Padlet aimed to explore different types of “terrorism” and identify that Terrorisms’ appearance in the media may not always (and often does not) reflect its reality and often we are sheltered from the harsh realities of war-torn countries and terrorist activity.

Overall our group wanted to be able to explore what has happened (in terms of terrorism) around the world throughout this semester.

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We don’t recognise our own city: Israeli barrage redraws the map of Gaza

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We don’t recognise our own city: Israeli barrage redraws the map of Gaza

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As they emerge from hiding, people living in Gaza City have had to adapt their memories. So deformed is this small place on the coast that a mental map of its roads and landmarks from two weeks ago is largely useless today. Shortcuts to avoid traffic may no longer work, as craters dot back streets and rubble blocks roads. Locally famous high-rises no longer exist.

Eleven days of bombardment have buckled the city. Air attacks shook the ground so violently that some bomb sites appear as if buildings have been pulled into the earth rather than hit from above.

On one street, the bent walls of a kindergarten descend downwards at an angle until they disappear completely.

Israel's latest war with Hamas, which ended in a ceasefire on Friday, killed 248 Palestinians, including 66 children as well as scores of fighters, and left more than 1,900 wounded in Gaza.

In Israel, 12 people, including one soldier and two children, were killed by militants firing rockets, mortars and anti-tank missiles. The country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his forces had done "everything possible" to keep their own citizens safe, but also to make sure Palestinian civilians were not in harm's way.

Statements like those would lead to scoffs along al-Wehda Street, a main road in the centre of Gaza City. The boulevard has been rocked by several strikes during the past week, including the deadliest single attack of the latest round, which killed 42 people.

At one end of al-Wehda, Gaza's largest medical facility, Shifa hospital, contains many who survived.

Amjed Murtaja, 40, lay in a hospital bed, his legs dotted with scratches. He was in his fourth-floor rented apartment on al-Wehda when he said a missile hit his balcony. "The building was shaking. My only thought was to get to my wife and son," he said. Murtaja ran to the other room just in time to embrace his family before a second strike hit, causing the entire structure to collapse. "We fell together," he said. When they landed, Murtaja had his arms pinned, although his wife, Suzan, and his two-year-old boy were next to him.

As he spoke of being trapped, other patients, visitors and a hospital cleaner stopped what they were doing and listened intently. Murtaja and his wife, who doctors would later confirm had broken her back, would be trapped for four hours until neighbours and rescuers dug down and dragged them out.

In the same strike, several members of the al-Auf family, including one of Gaza's most prominent doctors who worked as the head of Shifa's coronavirus response, would be pulled out dead. Murtaja said that while he was trapped, he could hear neighbours from inside other parts of the debris. "They were screaming," he said.

His wife was now in the same hospital, but two floors down in a women's ward. A drip fed liquid into her hand, and a plastic water bottle and yoghurt pot sat on a shelf by her bed. Under heavy pain killers, her eyes rolled as she spoke. Suzan Murtaja, 36, said that when the building fell in on itself, she was so disorientated that she first thought only a cupboard had fallen on them. But, with one free arm, she was able to reach her phone. "I turned on the phone light and we realised the building had collapsed."

For those four hours, even before she knew they would be found and would live, she tried to calm her son to sleep, but bits of rubble and dust kept falling and waking him up.

Israel said the aim of its attack on al-Wehda last Sunday was to destroy an extensive network of tunnels it called the "Metro". The military said it had not intended to make the building collapse.

What Hamas was hiding in those underground passageways, if they existed, is unclear. Al-Wehda is deep within the city and far from the frontier with Israel.

Nearly a week after the attack, large mounds of concrete still lined the road. A seven-storey building that survived stood at an ominous angle, as men quickly removed wooden furniture from the ground floor. Further up al-Wehda stood a giant pile of debris that once housed the Murtajas' apartment. Amid the dust were twisted plastic water tanks, a washing liquid bottle, pillows and a frying pan. All that remained was a three-storey-high internal staircase at the back. A sign has been erected with the names of the dead and "Al-Wehda massacre" written on it in Arabic.

A yellow taxi pulled up, and a woman got out with her teenage son. She said her name was Zakia Abu Dayer, 44, and she lived in the next building. It was the first time she had been back, she said, to collect some belongings.

On the night of the bombing, as the Murtajas were trapped under the rubble, Abu Dayer, her husband and her son moved further up the street to a relative's home. They thought they would be more secure there as it was on the ground floor, possibly allowing them to rush outside quickly.

But two days later, she and other family members were eating rice and lentils outside when another strike hit. "There is no safe space," she said, her leg still wrapped in bandages. "The whole place went black."

Abu Dayer remembers smoke and then rushing water as the tanks on the building above exploded in the blast. Her husband, who was a few metres away from her, was killed after shrapnel hit his head. An 11-year-old relative was also killed.

The building that was hit still stands, although its windows were blown out. The ground floor was a bank with two ATMs covered in dust. A dental clinic sits on the first floor. Several local charities operated there. Higher up, a box with "US AID" written on it is visible through the smashed glass.

Across the road stands the damaged shell of another building. "It's a very old primary health clinic, maybe the oldest in Gaza," said Abdel-Latif al-Hajj, director-general of international cooperation at the ministry of health in Gaza, who stood by the gate.

At first glance, the clinic appears to have been bombed, with large pockmarks across its walls and football-sized bits of debris covering the ground. However, it was not hit directly. Instead, when the Israeli missile struck the building across the road, it ripped off the top two floors, which then slammed into the clinic.

Al-Hajj said the building was Gaza's main testing centre for Covid. Staff had been working inside during the explosion, and several were wounded. Gaza was already suffering a dangerous spread in infections, and another outbreak is expected, he said.

"Anyone can imagine what will happen if we stop doing tests," said al-Hajj. In addition, the war had meant thousands of displaced people were now crowded together, which could speed up transmission.

According to the United Nations, the violence on Gaza has destroyed nearly 260 buildings. Fifty-three schools, six hospitals and 11 primary healthcare centres have been damaged. Nearly 80,000 people were internally displaced, and 10 times that number have little access to piped water. As well as Israeli strikes, armed groups have launched faulty rockets that landed short, with reports of extensive damage and even fatalities within Gaza.

The strip's two million inhabitants already live inside what they call the "world's largest prison", with more than 50% unemployment, a collapsed healthcare system, sometimes-poisonous water, and relentless power cuts.

Israel and Egypt, Gaza's other neighbour, have maintained a crippling blockade, locals say "siege", for 14 years. Israel, which recalled its forces occupying the area in 2005, says the restrictions are for its security. But the UN says the blockade constitutes collective punishment.

At the damaged clinic on al-Wehda Street on Saturday, Lynn Hastings, the UN's deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, had come to assess the impact.

Flanked by aides and bodyguards, she was asked by a television reporter if this round of violence might, unlike the previous three wars, spur significant political change.

"Everyone is saying it should not be business as usual," she responded. "You know what the definition of insanity is," she added rhetorically. She was referring to a quote usually attributed to Einstein, that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Friday's ceasefire brought some Palestinians and Israelis hope that the violence would spur a renewed push to resolve the crisis. Hamas kicked off this round of fighting when it launched rockets at Jerusalem on 10 May, but it followed weeks of growing frustrations over the treatment of Palestinians by Israel, which has for decades dictated how millions live their lives.

The head of Oxfam in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Shane Stevenson, said the truce should not be celebrated as a solution. Israel should be held to account "for the atrocities it has committed over the last 12 days", as should armed factions in Gaza for their indiscriminate targeting of Israeli towns and cities.

The truce, he added, "will not change the illegal occupation and denial of human rights which Palestinians are subjected to daily. This inhumane and brutal status quo has to change, once and for all."

Lying in Shifa hospital, Amjed Murtaja had less ambitious reasons to be happy. Despite his exhaustion and injures, he had stayed up late on Thursday as rumours of a ceasefire circulated. He had been waiting for the ceasefire announcement, he said, "because I don't want to lose the rest of my family".

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We don't recognise our own city: Israeli barrage redraws the map of Gaza

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As they emerge from hiding, people living in Gaza City have had to adapt their memories. So deformed is this small place on the coast that a mental map of its roads and landmarks from two weeks ago is largely useless today.

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Israel 'will not co-operate' with ICC war crimes investigation

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Israel 'will not co-operate' with ICC war crimes investigation

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At least 2,251 Palestinians dead, including more than 1,462 civilians, according to the UN, and 11,231 others injured. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed, with scores more wounded.

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Israel 'will not co-operate' with ICC war crimes investigation

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At least 2,251 Palestinians dead, including more than 1,462 civilians, according to the UN, and 11,231 others injured. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed, with scores more wounded.

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Iran Natanz nuclear site suffered major damage, official says

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Iran Natanz nuclear site suffered major damage, official says

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Thousands of machines used to refine nuclear material were destroyed or damaged in an attack at a key site on Sunday, an Iranian official has said.

Alireza Zakani, head of the Iranian parliament's Research Centre, said the incident had "eliminated" Iran's ability to carry out the process.

The attack took place in a facility up to 50m (165ft) underground, another official said.

Iran has blamed Israel for what it called an act of "nuclear terrorism".

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement, but Israel public radio cited intelligence sources as saying it was a Mossad cyber-operation.

Iran says it will replace the affected centrifuges - machines used to refine, or enrich, the chemical element uranium for use in nuclear energy or potentially nuclear bombs - with more advanced ones.

It also announced on Wednesday that it would greatly increase the quality of enrichment - from 20% to 60% purity. Enriching to either level is prohibited under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, and while 60% is significantly closer to the 90% required for a nuclear weapon, it is still some way off.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Arab media reports say an Israeli-owned vessel has been damaged in an attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

Unnamed officials quoted by Israel's Channel 12 TV blamed Iran for the strike on the Hyperion Ray. If confirmed, it would be the latest in a series of alleged tit-for-tat attacks on Israeli and Iranian vessels.

How serious is the damage?

Iran had initially acknowledged that centrifuges were damaged, but without elaborating.

However, speaking on state-run Ofoq TV channel, Mr Zakani said the damage was extensive.

"Is it normal that today they reach a pit of our electricity system and take actions so that several thousand centrifuges are damaged and destroyed in one instant?" he asked.

"Should not we be sensitive over the incident that happened [on Sunday], eliminating the main part of our enrichment capacities?"

Iran nuclear crisis: The basics

World powers don't trust Iran: Some countries believe Iran wants nuclear power because it wants to build a nuclear bomb - it denies this.

So a deal was struck: In 2015, Iran and six other countries reached a major agreement. Iran would stop some nuclear work in return for an end to harsh penalties, or sanctions, hurting its economy.

What is the problem now? Iran re-started banned nuclear work after former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. Even though new leader Joe Biden wants to rejoin, both sides say the other must make the first move.

The issue of Iran's centrifuges is particularly controversial. If enriched to a very high level - which Iran says it is not doing - in the machines, uranium can be used in nuclear bombs. Iran says its centrifuges are enriching uranium only to levels of purity usable for civilian purposes, such as nuclear fuel, agriculture or medicine.

Iran had activated more advanced centrifuges - barred under the 2015 deal - at Natanz, one day before the site was hit by the blast.

US intelligence officials told the New York Times that a large explosion had completely destroyed the independent internal power system that supplied the centrifuges inside the underground facility. They estimated it could take at least nine months to resume enrichment there.

Separately, the former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation has revealed that a blast which hit Natanz in July 2020 was caused by explosives hidden inside a table.

Fereydun Abbasi-Davani told state TV the perpetrators "amended the explosive [in the table] and sealed it, using, perhaps, resin or welding the steel" before managing to get it past security staff.

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country would "take revenge" for Sunday's attack, implicitly blaming Israel.

Iran's Nour News agency, which is affiliated to the Supreme National Security Council, cited an intelligence ministry source as saying the "main perpetrator" had been identified and an operation was under way to arrest them.

Israel has recently stepped up its warnings about Iran's nuclear programme amid efforts to revive the nuclear deal that was abandoned by former US President Donald Trump.

His successor, Joe Biden, has said he wants to return to the landmark accord. But Iran and the five other world powers still party to it - China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK - need to find a way for him to lift US sanctions and for Iran to return to the agreed limits on its nuclear programme.

Iran, which insists it does not want nuclear weapons, has retaliated against the sanctions reinstated by the Trump administration by rolling back key commitments under the deal.

US and Iranian officials are holding indirect talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna, to try to break the impasse, with European officials acting as intermediaries.

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Iran Natanz nuclear site suffered major damage, official says

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Thousands of machines used to refine nuclear material were destroyed or damaged in an attack at a key site on Sunday, an Iranian official has said. Alireza Zakani, head of the Iranian parliament's Research Centre, said the incident had "eliminated" Iran's ability to carry out the process.

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Your questions answered on Iran and Israel relations

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Your questions answered on Iran and Israel relations

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Tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, after Israel launched missile attacks on Iranian targets in Syria, in response to rockets fired at its positions in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday night.
There has been international condemnation of the rocket-firing, which Israel blamed on Iran, with the United States accusing Iran of trying to provoke a wider Middle East conflict.

So what could happen next in the region, and why are the countries in conflict? The BBC's defence and diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus has answered some of your questions:

There is little doubting Iran's fundamental antipathy towards Israel or its desire for the removal of the Jewish State. It has long supported radical groups opposed to Israel but now, because of its involvement in the war in Syria, it finds itself potentially on Israel's northern border.

Syrian President Assad's victory is now Iran's regional opportunity.

Iran's regional influence is growing. It is eager to establish itself as a military player in Syria. This - separately from its nuclear programme - is something that Israel sees as a fundamental threat.

The nuclear dimension is now rearing its head again. Remember before the nuclear agreement with Iran - the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA - that Mr Trump just abandoned, Israel and Iran were potentially heading for conflict, with fears that Israel (and/or the US) would strike at Iran's nuclear facilities.

While everyone is worried and urging caution, outside actors can only impact events in a limited fashion. Israel and Iran are on a strategic collision course. Russia - also a player in Syria - has largely turned a blind eye to Israel's use of Syrian air space. It does not see its own and Iran's regional interests as necessarily intertwined.

The US has a diminishing diplomatic influence in the region and President Trump is likely to be a strong advocate of Israel's muscular stance.

I don't know. It is certainly sending a very strong message to Tehran to think again. Iran sees Israel's actions in Syria as provocative. Israel is opposed to Iran's growing military role on its border.

I'm not sure about active "backing". Britain is certainly unhappy about Iran's wider regional role and concerned about its nuclear ambitions. Unlike the US, it wants to stick with the nuclear deal. I think all major governments and international institutions will want to avoid a major regional conflagration between Israel and Iran.

In the UK's first formal response to Wednesday night's attacks, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest terms the Iranian rocket attacks against Israeli forces. We strongly support Israel's right to defend itself."

And he urged Iran to "refrain from further actions which will only lead to increased instability in the region."

Israel's red lines up to now have been related to the transfer of advanced weaponry by Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has attacked arms convoys and weapons dumps. It is concerned about more accurate long-range missiles, sophisticated anti-ship and anti-armour weapons reaching the Shia militia.

Now, though, things have moved on - Iranian forces are now establishing themselves in Syria - and by the scale and scope of its strikes on Wednesday night, Israel is saying that enough is enough. Effectively, these Iranian forces are a long way from home and should go back to Tehran!

Israeli military spokesmen insist that all the 70 or so targets they hit on Wednesday night were core Iranian Revolutionary Guard installations - not pro-Iran militias or proxy forces.

Produced by Sherie Ryder, UGC and Social News team
I would be surprised if there were any direct contacts at all. Others may act as intermediaries - Russia for example - but the "message" from Israel to Iran has clearly been delivered in a more direct way.

In the days of the Shah, Israel was a close ally of Iran. Relations were broken off after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, though it is thought that for a period Israel continued to supply arms to Iran which was then waging a bitter struggle with Iraq. Ultimately, relations went into the freezer.

Iranian rhetoric and policy is strongly anti-Israel. Iran has given strong military support, not only to its Shia allies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, but is widely thought to have helped sponsor terrorism against Israeli or Jewish targets abroad - something of course that Iran has always denied.

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Your questions answered on Iran and Israel relations

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Tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, after Israel launched missile attacks on Iranian targets in Syria, in response to rockets fired at its positions in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday night. There has been international condemnation of the rocket-firing, which Israel blamed on Iran, with the United States accusing Iran of trying to provoke a wider Middle East conflict.

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Iran boosts uranium enrichment over Israel's 'terrorism'

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Iran boosts uranium enrichment over Israel's 'terrorism'

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On Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said the Iranian government's decision to boost uranium enrichment to 60% was a response to Israel's "terrorism" days after an attack on the Natanz nuclear facility.

"What you did was nuclear terrorism. What we do is legal," he said.

On Tuesday, Iran's government announced that it would start enriching uranium to 60%, which could bring the country a step closer to building a nuclear bomb.

The announcement comes after the Islamic Republic accused Israel of being behind Sunday's attack on Natanz, a key atomic site.

It also casts a shadow over diplomatic efforts in Vienna to revive the 2015 deal that former US President Donald Trump withdrew from three years ago.

"We expect to accumulate the product next week," wrote Kazem Gharibabadi, the country's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy, on Twitter.

What are the consequences?

The move puts Iran's enriched uranium stockpile closer to the 90% threshold for military use and shorten the country's potential "breakout time" to build an atomic bomb.

Gharibabadi, however, said that the step would "improve significantly both the quality and quantity of radiopharmaceutical products."

Tehran has always claimed that its program is peaceful, for medical and power generation purposes.

As part of the nuclear deal, Iran vowed to keep enrichment to 3.67%, though it had stepped this up to 20% in January.

Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, is opposed to US President Joe Biden's effort to revive the deal.

What is the response from the West?

The United States said it stood by Israel but remained committed to the Iran talks despite Tehran's enrichment plan.

"We are certainly concerned about these provocative announcements," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

"We believe that the diplomatic path is the only path forward here and that having a discussion, even indirect, is the best way to come to a resolution," Psaki added.

This satellite image, taken last year, shows Iran's Natanz nuclear facility

The foreign ministries of Germany, France and the United Kingdom have raised concerns over Tehran's move, saying that the timing of the decision was "particularly regrettable" as the US and other participants resume talks.

"Iran's dangerous recent communication is contrary to the constructive spirit and good faith of these discussions," the three countries, known as the E3, said in a statement.

"In light of recent developments, we reject all escalatory measures by any actor, and we call upon Iran not to further complicate the diplomatic process," the statement read

How does Iran see the Natanz incident?

Israel's Kan public radio cited intelligence sources as saying that Israel's Mossad spy agency had carried out a cyber attack at the site.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday vowed to get "revenge" for the strike, blaming the Israeli government for trying to scupper talks with world powers in the Austrian capital.

Moscow and Tehran's top diplomats met in Tehran on Monday

Zarif, after talks with his visiting Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, said the P5+1, the world powers who helped strike the nuclear deal, would gain no extra leverage in Vienna through "acts of sabotage" and sanctions.

"If they think our hand in the negotiations has been weakened, actually this cowardly act will strengthen our position in the talks," he was quoted by Iranian state media as saying.

What is happening in Vienna?

Diplomats are looking at how to revive the 2015 accord with delegates describing last week's discussions as "constructive."

Representatives from Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom are expected to be back around the table on Wednesday.

US representatives are not officially part of the talks as Iran says it will not engage directly with them until all sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump are lifted.

European diplomats relay messages on their behalf.

As part of the original deal, struck under the Obama administration, Iran also agreed to allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

Tehran also agreed not to engage in activities, including research and development, which could contribute to the development of a nuclear bomb.

jf/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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Iran boosts uranium enrichment over Israel's 'terrorism' | DW | 13.04.2021

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On Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said the Iranian government's decision to boost uranium enrichment to 60% was a response to Israel's "terrorism" days after an attack on the Natanz nuclear facility. "What you did was nuclear terrorism. What we do is legal," he said.

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Israeli airstrikes wrecked the only coronavirus testing lab in Gaza

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Israeli airstrikes wrecked the only coronavirus testing lab in Gaza

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Gaza's only COVID-19 testing facility was damaged by Israeli airstrikes on Monday, officials said.

The clinic was damaged when a nearby building was hit, forcing it to stop conducting tests.

Gaza already has a high rate of positive coronavirus test, and a low vaccination rate.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Israel's airstrikes damaged the only coronavirus testing facility in Gaza, Palestinian officials said.

Agence France-Presse reported that local authorities said the al-Rimal clinic had to stop carrying out testing after it was wrecked as part of a strike.

Middle East Eye reported that the facility was damaged after a nearby residential building was struck, forcing testing to be suspended.

Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Qidra said that Israel's strikes "threaten to undermine the efforts of the health ministry in the face of the COVID pandemic," AFP reported.

AFP reported that Gaza has one of the world's highest positive coronavirus test rates, 28%.

Its vaccination rate has also been slow, especially compared to Israel's rapid rollout.

Last week UN and WHO officials in Gaza told The New York Times they feared of a surge in cases as a result of civivlians having to cram into shelters to avoid the fighting.

Israel has launched airstrikes into Gaza and Hamas, the Gaza-based militant group, has fired rockets toward Israel since last Monday. Dozens of people have died, mostly on the Palestinian side.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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Israeli airstrikes wrecked the only coronavirus testing lab in Gaza

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Gaza's only COVID-19 testing facility was damaged by Israeli airstrikes on Monday, officials said. The clinic was damaged when a nearby building was hit, forcing it to stop conducting tests. Gaza already has a high rate of positive coronavirus test, and a low vaccination rate. See more stories on Insider's business page.

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‘Israel is not a country, but a terrorist camp,’ Iran’s leader Khamenei says

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‘Israel is not a country, but a terrorist camp,’ Iran’s leader Khamenei says

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has blasted Israel as nothing more than a "terrorist camp" and urged the Palestinians to unite their efforts in fighting Tel Aviv.

Israel has "turned occupied Palestine into a base for terrorism," Khamenei tweeted.

"Israel isn't a county; it's a #TerroristCamp against Palestinians & other Muslim nations," he wrote, adding that it was "everyone's responsibility" to fight against it.

Since day 1, Zionists turned occupied Palestine into a base for terrorism. Israel isn't a country; it's a #TerroristCamp against Palestinians & other Muslim nations. Fighting this despotic regime is fighting against oppression & terrorism. And this is everyone's responsibility.
- Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 7, 2021

Khamenei made his comments on the so-called Quds Day, an annual day designated by Iran to mark support for the Palestinian independence movement.

In follow-up tweets, the Iranian leader urged Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and in Gaza to "form a single unit" and "use the tools at their disposal" against Israel despite Tel Aviv signing normalization agreements with several Arab countries last year.

Khamenei said that Palestinians must demand a referendum, during which "original residents" of all ethnicities and religions will vote on a new "political system."
Also on rt.com Iran decries 'cherry-picked' & 'illegal' reports of classified chat that claim foreign minister revealed power struggles with army
Iran previously blamed Israel for a major blackout on its chief nuclear site in Natanz in April. Officials in Tehran often accuse Tel Aviv of carrying out acts of sabotage and assassinations on Iranian soil.

Israel says that Iran uses Palestinians and its proxies in Syria to attack Israeli citizens. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Iran was behind the February explosion on board Israeli-owned cargo vessel MV Helios Ray, which occurred as the ship was sailing in the Gulf of Oman.
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'Israel is not a country, but a terrorist camp,' Iran's leader Khamenei says

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has blasted Israel as nothing more than a "terrorist camp" and urged the Palestinians to unite their efforts in fighting Tel Aviv. Israel has "turned occupied Palestine into a base for terrorism," Khamenei tweeted.

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Israel-Gaza: Biden tells Netanyahu he wants 'path to ceasefire'

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Israel-Gaza: Biden tells Netanyahu he wants 'path to ceasefire'

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Clashes erupt in East Jerusalem between Palestinians and Israeli police.

Palestinians are angry over barriers which had been placed outside the Damascus Gate entrance to the Jerusalem's Old City preventing them from gathering there after prayers at the Old City's al-Aqsa Mosque on what is the first night of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Palestinian discontent had been stoked earlier in the day when President Mahmoud Abbas called off planned elections&comma; implicitly blaming Israel over voting arrangements for Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

Hamas - Mr Abbas' Islamist rivals who control Gaza and were running in the elections - react angrily to the postponement.

Violence around Damascus Gate and elsewhere in East Jerusalem continues nightly.

Hundreds of ultra-nationalist Jews shouting "Death to Arabs" march towards Damascus Gate in protest at the Arab assaults on Jews. Clashes erupt at the site between Palestinians and police trying to separate the two groups&comma; injuring dozens of people.

Violence between Arabs and Jews spreads to other parts of the city.

President Abbas' Fatah faction and Hamas condemn the looming threatened eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem by Jewish settlers ahead of a planned court hearing. Hamas calls on Arabs to form "human shields of resistance" there.

In the days that follow&comma; police and protesters repeatedly clash at the site as it becomes a focal point for Palestinian anger.

Two Palestinian gunmen are shot dead and a third is wounded after opening fire on Israeli security forces in the northern West Bank. Israeli authorities say the group planned to carry out a "major attack" in Israel.

Later on after Friday prayers - the last of Ramadan - major clashes erupt at the al-Aqsa mosque compound&comma; injuring more than 200 people. Israel's police force says it used "riot dispersal means"&comma; firing rubber bullets and stun grenades after officers came under a hail of stones and bottles.

A second night of violence erupts in East Jerusalem after tens of thousands of worshippers prayed at the al-Aqsa mosque for Laylat al-Qadr&comma; the holiest night of Ramadan.

Police and protesters clash at Damascus Gate&comma; with police using water cannon&comma; rubber bullets and tear gas against crowds of Palestinians&comma; some throwing stones.

More than 120 Palestinians and some 17 police are injured.

Early morning clashes break out between police and Palestinians at the al-Aqsa mosque compound&comma; where crowds throw stones and officers fire stun grenades.

Palestinian anger has been inflamed by an annual Jerusalem Day march planned for later in the day by hundreds of Israeli nationalists to celebrate Israel's capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.

The march is due to pass through predominantly Arab parts of the Old City in what is seen by Palestinians as a deliberate provocation. It is rerouted at the 11th hour&comma; but the atmosphere remains volatile with more than 300 Palestinians and some 21 police injured in the violence at the holy site.

Hamas issues an ultimatum to Israel to "withdraw its soldiers... from the blessed al-Aqsa mosque and Sheikh Jarrah" by 18:00. When the deadline passes without an Israeli response&comma; rockets are fired towards Jerusalem for the first time in years.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the group has "crossed a red line" and Israel retaliates with air strikes&comma; killing three Hamas fighters.

A continuing exchange of rocket-fire and air strikes quickly escalates into the fiercest hostilities between the two sides since they fought a war in 2014.

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Israel-Gaza: Biden tells Netanyahu he wants 'path to ceasefire'

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Clashes erupt in East Jerusalem between Palestinians and Israeli police. Palestinians are angry over barriers which had been placed outside the Damascus Gate entrance to the Jerusalem's Old City preventing them from gathering there after prayers at the Old City's al-Aqsa Mosque on what is the first night of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

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ISIS-Linked Siege In Philippines: Can Marawi Recover, 4 Years On? | Insight | Extremism In Asia

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Different perspectives of Philippine Terrorism

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Different perspectives of Philippine Terrorism

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This bibliography contains journal articles, book chapters, books, edited volumes, theses, grey literature, bibliographies and other resources on terrorism affe...

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On his Facebook account on Sunday, May 23, Lucman shared a post from 2019, written on the siege's second anniversary: "Marawi burned on this day...undefended and helpless and whatever honor and dignity is left was taken away by the people who caused its destruction. Ranao (Lanao) will never see the light of day for a long time to come unless God forgives us and leads us to greater Jihad." - Rappler.com

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Marawi hardships, slow rehab may breed future terror group - former Lanao official

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On his Facebook account on Sunday, May 23, Lucman shared a post from 2019, written on the siege's second anniversary: "Marawi burned on this day...undefended and helpless and whatever honor and dignity is left was taken away by the people who caused its destruction.

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Overview

Since being sworn in as president of Malawi following an election rerun on 23 June 2020, Lazarus Chakwera has vowed to fight government corruption, and this has resulted in several high-profile arrests. There is an elevated risk of contract cancellations and revocation of licences for exploration in the nascent oil and gas sector, particularly where these have been awarded improperly. This is most likely to occur beyond the 12-month outlook, when legislation governing the sector has been finalised. Gaining the support of the Malawi Defence Force is vital to President Chakwera cementing his position and establishing peace throughout the country. This is particularly important in the south of the country, where former president Mutharika enjoys the most support and where there have been confortations between the two leaders' supporters. Small-scale attacks using petrol bombs and other acts of sabotage on government property are still likely in the south.During his presidency, Mutharika gave assent to a new Mines and Minerals Act in February 2019. This is intended to regulate illegal artisanal and small-scale mining and promote the local supply of equipment and investment to the sector. The outdated Petroleum Act 1983 is under review, and changes are likely to facilitate further commercial interest in Malawi's nascent oil and gas sector.Real GDP estimates for 2020 and 2021 have been revised down to a 0.3% decline and 1.5% growth, respectively, to reflect the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and spillovers from the global slowdown.

Malawi has made recent advances in regulations easing starting a business, but investors face other obstacles. Corruption, including requests for bribes, is a notable risk. Strikes and labour-related protests, particularly among civil servants and truck drivers, will likely continue in 2020. Operational obstacles for businesses also lie in Malawi's poor basic infrastructure: the country is landlocked and high transport costs are exacerbated by poor roads. The labour market is poorly developed, with skilled labour being limited. The legal system is often subject to delay through budgetary shortfalls.

No major non-state armed groups are active in Malawi, with the terrorism threat being minimal. A de-escalation in fighting between government forces and Mozambican National Resistance (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana: RENAMO) militants in neighbouring Mozambique has led most Mozambican refugees to leave Malawi and return home. In March 2016, UN refugee agency UNHCR indicated that refugee numbers in Malawi had climbed to around 11,500, with most arriving in Kapise, some 5 km from the joint border.

Crime levels are moderate and increasing in urban areas, but low in rural areas. This includes petty theft, as well as burglary, in urban areas, including in Lilongwe and Blantyre. Armed vehicle theft and carjacking is becoming more frequent. Businesses, especially Asian owned, have been targeted by armed robbers and other criminals. In July 2013, the Chinese embassy called on the Malawian government to address rising crime. A number of police officers have been accused of involvement in crimes such as armed robbery, including at banks. Malawi has also experienced increased incidents of mob justice; poor police work has reportedly contributed to declining public confidence in the security forces.

War risk is low despite an ongoing border dispute with Tanzania. A previously dormant border row between Malawi and Tanzania over Lake Malawi (also known as Lake Nyasa) was reignited in 2011 when Malawi began issuing licences for oil and gas exploration in a disputed portion of the lake. Military conflict is unlikely, with diplomatic avenues and regional mediation being pursued. Malawi is likely to seek a ruling from the International Court of Justice if Tanzania challenges the jurisdiction of oil blocks 35N and 35S issued by Malawi.

On 3 February, Malawi's High Court ordered a rerun of the May 2019 presidential election on 3 February 2020, to be held within 150 days. This makes violent protests from those disgruntled at President Mutharika's election victory unlikely during the 150-day period preceding elections. However, the risk of violent protests amassing tens of thousands of attendees with damage to public and private property in the event of Mutharika successfully appealing the High Court ruling to annul the election, or winning in the rerun, is high. Protests caused by power blackouts are also likely. Civil society and religious movements have significant leverage in mobilising for mass protests.

Vaccinations required to enter the country

Proof of vaccination against yellow fever is required for travelers over one year of age arriving from or having passed through countries with risk of yellow fever (YFV) transmission and for travelers who have been in transit >12 hours in an airport located in a country with risk of YFV transmission.

Routine Vaccinations

Hepatitis A: A vaccine is available for anyone over one year of age. The vaccine may not be effective for certain people, e.g. those born before 1945 and who lived as a child in a developing country and/or have a past history of jaundice (icterus). These people can instead get a shot of immune globulin (IG) to boost their immunity against the disease.

Hepatitis B: A vaccine is available for children at least two months old.

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Polio: A booster shot should be administered if necessary (once every ten years).

Other Vaccinations

Typhoid Fever: If your travels take you to regions with poor sanitary conditions (for children two years old and up).

Rabies: For prolonged stays in an isolated region (for children from when they can walk).

Malaria: Recommended preventive medication - mefloquine (sometimes marketed as Lariam) or doxycycline (sometimes marketed as Vibramycin).

For Children: All standard childhood immunizations should be up-to-date. In the case of a long stay, the BCG vaccine is recommended for children over one month and the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine for children over nine months.

There is a risk of earthquakes in Malawi; in 2009, a series of quakes hit the areas around Karonga, northern Malawi, with some registering 6.2-magnitude, resulting in a number of fatalities and damage to infrastructure.

The country also experiences severe flooding during the rainy season (November to April). In January 2015, deadly flooding killed 200 and directly impacted 100,000 others. It is imperative to research road and weather conditions before traveling by car during the rainy season.

Roads tend to be in poor condition, which, in combination with other factors (e.g. the presence of animals and people on the sides of roads, vehicles traveling after dark without lights), makes for dangerous driving conditions. Road conditions are particularly poor during the country's rainy season, resulting in washouts and potholes. Malawi has one of the highest rates of road accidents on the African continent. Avoid driving after dark.

Travel by public transport is not recommended. Public transport is extremely limited and consists primarily of unregulated private mini-buses and pick-up trucks used to travel between towns, which are overburdened and dangerous. Larger coach services between major towns are safer and more reliable. Bicycle taxis and small motorized tricycles used as public transport in urban areas are also unsafe. Emergency services are limited.

Climate

Malawi's climate is tropical and the country experiences two seasons: the dry season (May to October) and the rainy season (November to April).

Heavy rains are common throughout the country, particularly in plateau regions and the northwest. Temperatures are often high in valleys and cooler at higher elevations.

Useful Numbers

Country Code:
+265

Police:
997

Fire Dept.:
999

Ambulance:
998

Electricity

Voltage: 230 V ~ 50 Hz
Outlets:

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Since being sworn in as president of Malawi following an election rerun on 23 June 2020, Lazarus Chakwera has vowed to fight government corruption, and this has resulted in several high-profile arrests. There is an elevated risk of contract cancellations and revocation of licences for exploration in the nascent oil and gas sector, particularly where these have been awarded improperly.

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Prevention of terrorist groups recruiting young kids.

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9 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2021

Date Written: March 4, 2021

Abstract

This study adopted the descriptive-evaluative design to gather information about the challenges of madaris in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data regarding the challenges in different traditional madaris in BARMM. The respondents who participated in this study were 293 asatidz. They were randomly selected from the selected cities in BARMM such as Marawi City, Lamitan City, and Cotabato City, and the province of Lanao del Sur. Furthermore, the results showed that: (1) the challenges on funding budget are considered serious; (2) the challenges on competency of faculty and staff are challenging but not serious; (3) the challenges on facilities are moderately serious; and (4) the curriculum is a challenge but not serious. In view of the aforementioned findings, the following recommendations were put forth for considerations: appoint qualified asatidz, trainers and consultants in every madrasah; revise the instruction materials to make them informative and updated; renovate existing facilities; regularly monitor the asatidz in terms of their performance; acquire foreign scholarship for asatidz; and the BARMM government and local government units should continually support the traditional madrasah and allocate budget thereof. It is strongly recommended that further studies be conducted to assess the need for traditional madrasah in the other areas in Mindanao, Luzon and Visayas.

Keywords: Madaris, Asatidz, Madrasah Education, Islamic Teachers

Solaiman, Saddam Mangondato, Challenges of Madaris Educational System in Educating the Youth in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines (March 4, 2021). Journal of Social and Political Sciences, Vol.4 No.1 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3797606

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challenges of madaris educational system in educating the youth in the bangsamoro autonomous region in muslim mindanao

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Challenges of Madaris Educational System in Educating the Youth in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines

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9 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2021 Date Written: March 4, 2021 This study adopted the descriptive-evaluative design to gather information about the challenges of madaris in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data regarding the challenges in different traditional madaris in BARMM.

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Result of Islamic presence in the Philippines.

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Result of Islamic presence in the Philippines.

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Colonizing Workers: Labor, Race, and U.S. Military Governance in the Southern Philippines

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Colonizing Workers: Labor, Race, and U.S. Military Governance in the Southern Philippines

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How Islamist is the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)? An ideological assessment

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How Islamist is the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)? An ideological assessment

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Library Authentication - La Trobe University

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Over the course of the semester our research for this Padlet has indicated that terrorism is still a prevalent threat and it’s reach across the globe adds further concern and complexities. In other words, terrorism is a risk across the globe in different variants and to different degrees. Terrorisms impact on people cannot be disputed. Our research this semester has also highlighted the subsequent consequences of terrorism which can lead to other issues of their own. For example, injury, starvation, disease and displacement are a few of many subsequent ramifications of terrorism. In this sense, terrorism can result in a cycle where subsequent repercussions lead to other detrimental outcomes and so forth. Terrorism in all its forms inevitably results in devastating conditions for those affected which has been evident across the world in 2021 so far and our finding also highlight that terrorism leads to instability on a global scale.

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 How do we combat the various types of terrorism and their immediate consequences?
 Is it possible to face terrorism with anti-violent movements and strategies?
 How will terrorism change in the future with technologies ever changing nature? (i.e. will we see more incorporation of drones and unmanned technology)
 Is it possible to eliminate terrorism when people have fundamentally different political and social views?
 How do we address to many threats facing societies today when there are so many, one being terrorism. How do we prioritise threats?

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This article discusses the global ramifications subjected to the global community and its overall prosperity as a result of widespread terrorism.

NATO's counter-terrorism sector aims to span across three main areas: collective defence, crisis managment and cooperative security.

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Terrorism in all its forms poses a direct threat to the security of the citizens of NATO countries, and to international stability and prosperity. It is a persistent global threat that knows no border, nationality or religion and is a challenge that the international community must tackle together.

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Artifical Intelligence and the Future of Warfare

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Artifical Intelligence and the Future of Warfare

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This piece identifies that the changing nature of technology will inevitably lead to unprecidented implications.

It also explains how the workplace environment will significantly change. For example, commanders and commbatants may operate artifical intelligent attackers from a safe location and thus change the nature of warfare and terrorism as we know it.

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Artificial intelligence is changing the world we live in. It will redefine the workplace and have significant implications for everything we do, probably by the end of this decade. Some AI applications are already a part of our everyday lives, such as intelligent car navigation systems.

So, what is artificial intelligence? AI can be defined as 'the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence'.

AI has in fact been around for several decades. The IBM chess-playing computer called 'Deep Blue' defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov as far back as 1997. But the development of AI has been accelerating rapidly in recent years with a substantial increase in the number of real-world applications where AI is now practical.

According to the US Department of Defense's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, the reasons for this are more massive datasets, increased computing power, improved machine-learning algorithms, and greater access to open-source code libraries.

Let's look at these in turn.

First, massive datasets. Today, computers, digital devices and sensors connected to the internet are constantly producing and storing large volumes of data, whether in the form of text, numbers, images, audio or other data files.

Second, increased computing power has come from graphics processing units, or GPUs, that are highly parallelised, which means they can perform large numbers of calculations at the same time. Massive parallelism is speeding up the training of AI models and running those models operationally.

Third, better algorithms have made machine-learning models more flexible, more robust and more capable of solving different types of problems.

Fourth, access to open-source code libraries now allows organisations to use and build on the advanced work of others without having to start from scratch.

In defence areas, it means that autonomous platforms could in the future operate without the need to carry a vulnerable or capability-limiting human, be they airborne or underwater systems. Platforms should still be controlled by humans for moral, ethical and legal reasons, but 'kill' decisions could end up being distilled down to simple 'yes' or 'no' commands.

A control problem might arise in a conflict situation where there's difficulty in maintaining a continuous link to an autonomous platform. In those circumstances, for example, an underwater attack drone placed on the ocean bottom in the Sunda Strait could be programmed to identify enemy submarines and automatically destroy them if they pass by.

The same decision delegation could be made to long-endurance solar-powered drones programmed to eliminate key insurgents and terrorists through facial or gait recognition.

AI could mean that high-tech countries like Australia will have far fewer battle casualties, but glamourous hotshot jobs like being a fighter pilot or stealthy submariner might no longer exist. Instead, commanders and combatants would more likely be controlling robot attackers from behind computer screens in relatively safe locations.

The 'risk to blue force' factor will of course depend on the nature of the enemy-whether it's a low-tech insurgent group like al-Shabaab or a high-tech nation-state like China.

The most practical areas to invest in military AI-at least in the short term-are those that are relevant to technologically uncontested domains, like Afghanistan. In state-versus-state conflict we must assume that potential adversaries are a match for us in AI-if not more advanced in the case of China-and will attempt to manipulate our AI systems or destroy them kinetically.

For the time being at least, AI is still short of human achievement when it comes to multitasking. A soldier can identify an enemy target, decide on a weapon system to employ against it, predict its path, and engage it. AI cannot currently accomplish that simple set of related tasks.

Potential AI problems can also arise from biased data and context misunderstanding. AI systems have problems distinguishing between correlation and causation. (One example is the correlation between drowning deaths and ice-cream sales. An AI system fed with data about these two outcomes would not be aware that the two correlate because they are a function of warmer weather. AI might conclude that to prevent drowning deaths, we should restrict ice-cream sales.)

However, AI is rapidly overcoming these basic limitations and we could see a much more comprehensive range of AI capabilities by 2030, particularly in the defence sector.

In the interim, we are likely to see an exponential increase in the use of AI in crewed platforms to allow humans to concentrate on the tasks that humans do better.

In the longer term, removing humans from combat platforms is a logical and likely progression. The US Air Force's next-generation air superiority fighter is expected to include optional unmanned autonomous operation. And autonomous unmanned underwater attack platforms are expected to be in service with China's navy long before Australia gets its first Attack-class submarine in the mid-2030s.

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Artificial intelligence and the future of warfare | The Strategist

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Artificial intelligence is changing the world we live in. It will redefine the workplace and have significant implications for everything we do, probably by the end of this decade. Some AI applications are already a part of our everyday lives, such as intelligent car navigation systems. So, what is artificial intelligence?

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Teenage Terrorism Inspired by Social Media is on the Rise. Here's What We Need to Do.

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Teenage Terrorism Inspired by Social Media is on the Rise. Here's What We Need to Do.

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Farah Pandith, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations,

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Opinion | Why teenage terrorism is on the rise — and what to do about it

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When radicalization occurs in the living room and acts of terrorism no longer require complex planning, even teenagers can take part in them.

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The Intersection of Cybercrime and Terrorist Activity

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The Intersection of Cybercrime and Terrorist Activity

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This post is an edited extract from ASPI's Counterterrorism yearbook 2021. A full PDF of the yearbook, which includes notes and sources for each chapter, is available on ASPI's website.

The risk of terrorism, like the risk of most criminal activities, can be evaluated as a combination of opportunity, capability and intent. Legislative measures that allow for the arrest, detention and incarceration of people who are found to be planning an attack and laws that make it illegal to travel to certain conflict zones to join terrorist groups address opportunity. Targeting terrorism financing, recruitment and training addresses capability.

But in a contemporary, low-tech terrorist environment-where a terrorist attack can be carried out by a single person with a simple weapon such as a knife, gun or vehicle with little or no planning, no financial investment and no special training- opportunity and capability are much more difficult to detect and prevent.

Indeed, the greatest dilemma for modern counterterrorism is intent. In a world where intent evolves in the dark spaces of the internet, where individuals draw inspiration from YouTube videos, social media posts and anonymous chatrooms, we desperately need a comprehensive approach to counterterrorism that incorporates prevention and early intervention strategies.

One of the most compelling reasons to assess threat and capability continuously is that terrorists and criminals always find new ways to do harm. Just as terrorism has pervaded our lives in ways that turn everyday items into weapons and everyday activities into platforms for recruitment and influence, we must also meet the new challenges of security by turning our expertise to the internet and information and communications technology.

Already, in response to law enforcement's increasing awareness of terrorists' use of social media, and measures to mitigate any continued threat, terrorists and criminal groups have migrated to the dark web and encryption services, where they can operate in obscurity.

Terrorists have been using the 'darknet' in the same way as they have been using the surface web-to recruit, radicalise and influence, as well as to finance and coordinate attacks. Since 2015, there has been a significant increase in the use of Telegram (an encrypted instant messaging platform) by terrorist actors. Telegram has become the preferred online platform for Islamic State supporters to distribute propaganda, coordinate and communicate, replacing social media applications such as Twitter and Facebook. Telegram was used to coordinate attacks inspired or directed by IS in Paris (2015), Brussels (2016), Berlin (2016) and Istanbul (2017).

In 2017, a crackdown on popular darknet markets AlphaBay and Hansa was a response to serious concerns about the use of those platforms to facilitate communication between terrorist actors. That followed the take-down of the Silk Road in 2013 and another operation in 2014 that seized around half a dozen darknet sites. Each time, the darknet has bounced back. The latest crackdown drove cybercriminals to migrate to messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram in order to trade stolen credit cards, account information, malware and drugs.

We're also seeing a more coordinated integration of cybercrime and terrorism. In January 2015, evidence emerged of a terror cell using bitcoin to fund operations. In another instance, an Indonesia-based group collected bitcoin donations on the darknet and hacked a trading website using a stolen identity. The group collected around US$600,000 via a series of cybercrimes. In Australia, recent high-profile breaches of anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing (AML/CTF) provisions by two major banks and casino operators have shone light on systemic gaps in our legislative framework. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was recently found to be in breach of AML/CTF laws in 52,700 instances and was fined $700 million for failing to report multiple deposits made for money-laundering purposes through its ATMs. In September, Westpac was fined $1.3 billion for breaching AML/CTF laws 23 million times.

In the past, cyber terrorism has been a contested concept, with no agreed-upon definition. It's now generally accepted that cyber terrorism involves the use of computers to create a severe disruption to critical infrastructure, causing death or the spreading of fear. But the use of digital and online technologies to enable terrorism, whether by providing a platform to inspire, recruit, communicate and coordinate or to raise illegal funds, has not really been considered in that definition.

The interface of cybercrime and terrorism gives us a more practical way to conceptualise cyber terrorism in the modern context, and a more concrete target for focusing our efforts. To that end, I suggest a definition of cyber terrorism as 'the use of cyberspace to enable, inspire, influence or direct a terrorist attack or to raise funds to facilitate such attacks'.

This approach to cyber terrorism would allow law enforcement practitioners and legislators to target online activities used in support of terrorism. For this reason, Australia needs to ensure that our AML/CTF laws are up to the task of preventing criminal syndicates and terrorist actors from exploiting our financial systems.

Australia also needs more trained experts in early detection, with more resources devoted to monitoring online behaviours that precede violent action. University courses that equip graduates with the understanding and skills to tackle cyber-enabled criminal activity of all types (including terrorism) need to be more widely available.

It's imperative that our future law enforcement practitioners have a strong understanding of how the internet, in all its pervasiveness, has become a tool for opportunists who seek to exploit it for criminal purposes. Our future counterterrorism preparedness depends on it.

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The intersection of cybercrime and terrorist activity | The Strategist

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This post is an edited extract from ASPI's Counterterrorism yearbook 2021. A full PDF of the yearbook, which includes notes and sources for each chapter, is available on ASPI's website . The risk of terrorism, like the risk of most criminal activities, can be evaluated as a combination of opportunity, capability and intent.

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New Rules Adopted for Quick and Smooth Removal of Terrorist Content Online

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New Rules Adopted for Quick and Smooth Removal of Terrorist Content Online

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The new regulation will target content such as texts, images, sound recordings or videos, including live transmissions, that incite, solicit or contribute to terrorist offences, provide instructions for such offences or solicit people to participate in a terrorist group. In line with the definitions of offences included in the Directive on combating terrorism, it will also cover material that provides guidance on how to make and use explosives, firearms and other weapons for terrorist purposes.
Terrorist content must be removed within one hour
Hosting service providers will have to remove or disable access to flagged terrorist content in all member states within one hour of receiving a removal order from the competent authority. Member states will adopt rules on penalties, the degree of which will take into account the nature of the breach and the size of company responsible.
Protection of educational, artistic, research and journalistic material
Content uploaded for educational, journalistic, artistic or research purposes, or used for awareness-raising purposes, will not be considered terrorist content under these new rules.
No general obligation to monitor or filter content
Internet platforms will not have a general obligation to monitor or filter content. However, when competent national authorities have established a hosting service provider is exposed to terrorist content, the company will have to take specific measures to prevent its propagation. It will then be up to the service provider to decide what specific measures to take to prevent this from happening, and there will be no obligation to use automated tools. Companies should publish annual transparency reports on what action they have taken to stop the dissemination of terrorist content.
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The rapporteur Patryk JAKI (ECR, PL) said: "Terrorists recruit, share propaganda and coordinate attacks on the internet. Today we have established effective mechanisms allowing member states to remove terrorist content within a maximum of one hour all around the European Union. I strongly believe that what we achieved is a good outcome, which balances security and freedom of speech and expression on the internet, protects legal content and access to information for every citizen in the EU, while fighting terrorism through cooperation and trust between states."
Next steps
The Regulation will enter into force on the twentieth day following publication in the Official Journal. It will start applying 12 months after its entry into force.

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New rules adopted for quick and smooth removal of terrorist content online | News | European Parliament

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The new regulation will target content such as texts, images, sound recordings or videos, including live transmissions, that incite, solicit or contribute to terrorist offences, provide instructions for such offences or solicit people to participate in a terrorist group.

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Joint Letter to EU Parliament: Vote Against Proposed Terrorist Online Content Regulation

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Joint Letter to EU Parliament: Vote Against Proposed Terrorist Online Content Regulation

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Joint Letter to EU Parliament: Vote Against Proposed Terrorist Content Online Regulation

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We are writing to you to share our concerns about the European Union's proposal for a Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online. We urge the Members of the European Parliament to vote against the adoption of the proposal.

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The Future of Violent Extremism in the Middle East

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The Future of Violent Extremism in the Middle East

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The Future of Violent Extremism in the Middle East