Georgetown Security Law Brief

Weekly Tech Updates 05/25/13

05/25/13:  Here are this week's technology updates related to national security:

• A fond farewell to the X-51A, Boeing's hypersonic scramjet
• Army ground combat systems adopts tool for choosing future warfighting vehicles
• Robots learn to take a proper handoff by following digitized human examples
• First F-35B vertical takeoff test
• Navy’s high-flying spy drone completes first flight [and PopSci]
• DARPA's Warrior Web prototype takes its first steps
• Robot exoskeleton suits that could make us superhuman
• Russia building 'terrorist killing' robo-cop
• Robot Guns, Combat Facebook: Tech of the Army’s ‘Last’ Afghanistan Brigade
• Iran claims new air defense missile system
• With new mini-satellites, special ops takes manhunts into space
• NASA-built nanosatellite launch adapter system ready for flight
• Researchers develop method to inkjet print highly conductive, bendable layers of graphene
• Physicists help design, build cargo X-ray scanners
• Solar plane sets distance record on US tour
• Scientists develop the world's most complex biological computer
• Tailoring optical processors: Arranging nanoparticles in geometric patterns allows for control of light with light
• Sensor on a chip: New technology holds potential for monitoring ecosystem, human health
• Bacteria use hydrogen, carbon dioxide to produce electricity
• New technique may open up an era of atomic-scale semiconductor devices
• Researchers forward quest for quantum computing
• Faster, stronger, lighter: New technique advances carbon-fiber composites
• IBM's Watson bringing "cognitive computing" to customer service
• Company pioneering new types of material for 3-D printer 'ink'
• High school student develops supercapacitor to charge phones in seconds
• Synthetic biologists engineer custom flu vaccine in a week
• World record for wireless data transmission
• LG to unveil flexible OLED technology
• Researchers build curved insect-sized artificial compound eye
• Iron-platinum alloys could be new-generation hard drives
• NASA builds unusual testbed for analyzing X-ray navigation technologies
• Westinghouse will begin fuel tests for its Small Modular Reactor (SMR)
• Google acquires autonomous drone wind power company

New computer attacks traced to Iran, officials say

05/25/13:  The New York Times reports American officials and corporate security experts examining a new wave of potentially destructive computer attacks striking American corporations, especially energy firms, say they have tracked the attacks back to Iran. The targets have included several American oil, gas and electricity companies, which government officials have refused to identify. The goal is not espionage, they say, but sabotage. Government officials describe the attacks as probes looking for ways to seize control of critical processing systems. Government officials and outside experts on Friday confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal that the source of the attacks had been narrowed to Iran. They said the evidence was not specific enough to conclude with confidence that the attacks were state-sponsored, but control over the Internet is so centralized in Iran that they said it was hard to imagine the attacks being done without government knowledge. While the attackers have been unsuccessful to date, they have made enough progress to prompt the Homeland Security warning, which compared the latest threat to the computer virus that hit Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, last year. Taken together, officials say, the attacks suggest that Iran’s hacking skills have improved over the past 18 months. The Obama administration has been focused on Iran because the attacks have given the Iranian government a way to retaliate for tightened economic sanctions against it, and for the American and Israeli program that aimed similar attacks, using a virus known as Stuxnet, on the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant.

Israel foils Syrian cyberattack on water system, security expert claims

05/25/13:  The Washington Times reports an Israeli security expert says Syrian hackers tried to break into the computers of the water system of the city of Haifa. Speaking at a lecture on Saturday in the southern city of Beersheba, Yitzhak Ben Yisrael, Israel's former cyber security adviser, said that a group calling itself “The Syrian Electronic Army” had launched the failed attack two weeks ago. In April, an assault in the name of the hacking group Anonymous mostly failed. The attack took place just after Israel bombed a military complex near Damascus. Israel refuses to comment on the strike but officials at the time said Iranian missiles set for Hezbollah were hit. Syria has said that it would keep all options on the table for its response.

African Union leaders mark 50th anniversary in Ethiopia

05/25/13:  The BBC reports Africa's 54 leaders are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity. Opening the event, Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn spoke of "a great leap forward in the pan-African quest for freedom, independence and unity". AU head Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma warned that conflicts could be silenced only by "solidarity and unity". The OAU, which became the African Union (AU) in 2002, had its origins in the struggle for decolonisation. It was founded in Addis Ababa in 1963, the venue chosen to mark the anniversary 50 years on. But while its successor has adopted a policy of seeking African solutions to internal problems, it has been criticised for failing to respond quickly enough when rebels seized power in Mali in 2012. However, the AU has sent peacekeepers to Burundi and Darfur and has deployed an intervention force in Somalia.

At least four exposed to radiation after Japan laboratory leak: agency

05/25/13:  Reuters reports at least four people, and possibly up to 55, were exposed to radiation when radioactive material leaked during a laboratory experiment in Japan, the facility's operators said on Saturday, although authorities were not told of the leak for two days. The radioactive material also leaked outside the nuclear physics laboratory in Tokaimura, 110 km (65 miles) northeast of Tokyo, during the experiment on Thursday, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) said in a statement. The JAEA did not report the leak to the government's nuclear regulator until more than 34 hours later. The incident highlights how Japan is still struggling with nuclear safety issues after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and comes as Japan debates whether to re-start dozens of commercial nuclear reactors that have sat idle since the crisis. The JAEA statement on Saturday said researchers were using a proton beam on gold to generate particles during the experiment. All four of those confirmed to have been exposed were involved in the experiment but none of them needed to be taken to hospital, a JAEA spokesman said. The radioactive material most likely leaked outside the facility because a ventilation fan was being used, officials said. A JAEA spokesman was not immediately able to confirm what types of radioactive substances were leaked.

Syria conflict: Qusair in heavy bombardment by army

05/25/13:  The BBC reports there has been an upsurge in fighting in the strategic Syrian town of Qusair, both sides in the conflict say. The army, which began an offensive to recapture Qusair last Sunday, says it has now launched a three-pronged attack on the rebel-held town. The rebels say they are under heavy bombardment from Lebanese Hezbollah militants, who back Syria's government. Meanwhile the main opposition group has said it will attend a peace conference only if the Syrian leader steps down. The international conference, which Russia and the US are attempting to convene, would take place in Geneva next month. The opposition said it welcomed the conference but demanded that President Bashar al-Assad leave power first. A spokesman for the National Coalition, Louay Safi, told the BBC: "We would like to find a political solution. But we don't want to be deceived again by this regime, which has deceived us many times. Previous efforts to find a political solution to the conflict have foundered on preconditions from the two sides. Correspondents say Qusair is a strategic conduit for weapons and fighters channelled from Lebanon, about 10km (six miles) away.

Press sees chilling effect in Justice Department inquiries

05/25/13:  The New York Times reports President Obama's conciliatory gesture toward the press this week — a review of Justice Department investigations involving journalists — struck some national security reporters as closing the door after the sources have already bolted.  In announcing the review in his speech on Thursday, the president said he was troubled that recent investigations, which involved the extensive tracking of a Fox News reporter, James Rosen, and the seizing of phone records at The Associated Press, “may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable.” Journalists say that chill has already set in. Jeremy Scahill, who writes about national security for The Nation, said that some sources who used to agree to encrypted chats and off-the-record conversations have recently stopped feeling comfortable with these terms. Noah Shachtman, editor of Wired.com’s Danger Room blog, said that sources had told him to stay away in the recent climate of leak prosecutions. James Bamford, author of the 1983 best seller “The Puzzle Palace” about the National Security Agency, said these latest leak cases make it increasingly difficult to establish new source relationships and that affects his reporting over all. Many reporters found themselves spooked by the extent of the government’s investigation of Mr. Rosen, Fox News’s chief Washington correspondent. This week, The Washington Post reported on a 36-page affidavit which detailed just how much information the government had been gathering about conversations between an unnamed reporter, who turned out to be Mr. Rosen, and Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a government employee.

Guatemala extradites ex-leader Alfonso Portillo to US

05/25/13:  The BBC reports  Guatemala's former President Alfonso Portillo has been flown to the United States to face corruption charges. Mr Portillo is accused of having used US banks to launder more than $70m (£46m) in public funds during his presidency, between 2000 and 2004. He told local radio he was being unjustly "kidnapped" before boarding a plane to New York. Mr Portillo had been fighting extradition since 2011 and says there is not enough evidence against him. The former president also says he has health problems. "See you soon, Guatemala," he told Radio Sonora. He said his extradition violated Guatemalan law and he still had appeals pending. A Guatemalan court cleared Mr Portillo of embezzlement charges in 2011, but he is still wanted by New York prosecutors.

Venezuela to create new workers militia

05/25/13:  The Miami Herald reports Venezuela's president has ordered the creation of a new workers' militia to defend the country's "Bolivarian revolution" at a time when the government faces economic problems and political turmoil. President Nicolas Maduro gave few details about the militia, including how many members it would consist of, but said it would be part of the Bolivarian Militia created by late President Hugo Chavez, which consists of roughly 120,000 volunteers. Analysts have said only about one-fourth of that force is combat ready. Critics have warned such militias could be used to cement the socialist government's hold on power. Chavez, a former paratrooper who died in March, sought to incorporate the military into his political efforts to turn Venezuela into a socialist state. During his 14-year rule, he warned repeatedly of potential threats to the government, including what he alleged were conspiracies in the United States and Venezuela's opposition, which they denied. Maduro, whom Chavez anointed as his successor, echoed those allegations as he announced the creation of the new militia.

DC Circuit affirms habeas denial in Al Warafi case

05/24/13:  Lawfare reports Judge David Sentelle wrote today’s majority opinion in this long-running habeas case, in which Mukhtar Yahia Naji Al Warafi had claimed (among other things) that even if he was a Taliban member, he served the group as a permanent medic only.  This, argued the detainee, brought him within the coverage of Article 24 of the First Geneva Convention—a provision conferring special protection on medical personnel—and exempted him from law of war detention. The gist of the ruling is to affirm the district court’s conclusion that, as a matter of fact, Warafi wasn't a medic.  He hadn’t, for example, carried required, official identification reflecting his medical work. 

Insurgents attack near UN mission in Kabul

05/24/13:  The New York Times reports insurgents attacked in the midst of one of the capital’s diplomatic quarters on Friday, setting off a bomb and sending United Nations and international agency workers into bomb shelters.  The exact target was unclear, but there were conflicting reports that it was the International Organization of Migration; a hospital used by the national intelligence service; and a nearby hotel, the Park Palace. The buildings were all adjoining or close to the main compound of the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, in the Shar-e-Naw area of the capital, and many guesthouses used by foreign staff are in the area. The attackers set off a large explosion followed by numerous smaller explosions, and were still in a gun battle with police an hour later. The first explosion was so powerful that it was heard at least two miles away. There were no initial reports of fatalities, but two wounded police officers were seen being evacuated from the scene. Authorities ordered lockdowns of embassies and international facilities throughout the city, and at the United Nations headquarters, across the street from the apparent site of the attack, workers were ordered to take refuge in blast shelters.

Two men arrested after flight from Pakistan is diverted in UK airspace

05/24/13:  CNN reports police arrested two men Friday on suspicion of endangering an aircraft after a flight from Pakistan to the United Kingdom was diverted to Stansted Airport, outside of London. A UK fighter jet was scrambled to escort the Pakistan International Airlines flight as it was diverted from northwestern England's Manchester Airport to Stansted. Essex Police, which cover the area near Stansted airport, said officers had arrested the men and removed them from the plane, which had 297 passengers aboard. An unruly passenger prompted the plane's diversion, a top official with the airline said. "The passenger was simply causing a disturbance on the plane and threatening passengers and staff. This is a lesson to angry passengers," the official said. Another Pakistan International Airlines employee, spokesman Mashood Tajwar, told CNN that Flight PK709 from Lahore was 20 minutes away from Manchester Airport and preparing to land when air traffic controllers there received reports of a "terror threat." The plane was rerouted to Stansted, where it landed. Pakistan International Airlines contacts are now in touch with staff on the plane, he said. British police have not yet been in touch with the airline to confirm if this was actually a terror threat related to passengers on board the PIA flight, Tajwar said.

Syria crisis: Government 'to attend Geneva conference'

05/24/13: The BBC reports Russia says Damascus has agreed "in principle" to attend an international conference on the Syria crisis set to be held in Geneva in June. Its foreign ministry said the Syrian government would participate "in order for Syrians themselves to find a political path to a solution". It follows efforts to get all the sides involved in the peace talks. Syria's main opposition group entered a second day of talks Friday aimed at finding an approach to the conference. The international conference, backed by Russia and the US, aims to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria, based on the final communique of the UN-backed Action Group for Syria meeting in the Swiss city in June 2012. The communique called for an immediate end to violence and the establishment of a transitional government that could include officials serving under President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition. US Secretary of State John Kerry warned the Syrian president on Wednesday that if he was not prepared to make "a commitment to find peace in his country", the US and others would consider increasing backing for his opponents.

White House Fact Sheet on Use of Force Procedures

05/24/13:  Opinio Juris posted a note about the one-pager titled “Fact Sheet: US Policy Standards and Procedures for the Use of Force in Counterterrorism Operations Outside the United States and Areas of Active Hostilities.” Here’s the link. "[L]ethal force will be used outside areas of active hostilities only when the following preconditions are met: First, there must be a legal basis for using lethal force… Second, the United States will use lethal force only against a target that poses a continuing, imminent threat to US persons. It is simply not the case that all terrorists pose a continuing, imminent threat to US persons; if a terrorist does not pose such a threat, the United States will not use lethal force. Third, the following criteria must be met before lethal action may be taken:
1. Near certainty that the terrorist target is present;
2. Near certainty that non-combatants[1] will not be injured or killed;
3. An assessment that capture is not feasible at the time of the operation;
4. An assessment that the relevant governmental authorities in the country where action is contemplated cannot or will not effectively address the threat to U.S. persons; and
5. An assessment that no other reasonable alternatives exist to effectively address the threat to U.S. persons."

 

Obama lifts ban on Guantánamo transfers to Yemen

05/24/13:  The Miami Herald reports President Barack Obama is lifting his self-imposed ban on transferring Guantánamo Bay detainees to Yemen, where a leadership upheaval has improved the country's security but not eliminated a terrorist organization trying to recruit jihadists. Lifting the ban is a step toward Obama's goal of closing the Navy-run prison in Cuba since nearly 100 of the 166 terrorist suspects held there are from Yemen and have had nowhere to go even if they had been cleared for transfer. Obama wouldn't send them home and no other country was welcoming them, and their hopelessness after a decade or more of imprisonment had contributed to a hunger strike at the detention facility that helped reignite the long-stalled effort to close it. But Obama's decision is not without risk - detainees who have been released to Yemen in the past have joined terrorist fighters in the Arab nation. The security concerns prompted Obama to suspend transfers to Yemen in January 2010 after a Nigerian man attempted to blow up a US-bound flight on Christmas Day 2009 with explosives hidden in his underwear on instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.

CIA to focus more on spying, a difficult shift

05/24/13:  The New York Times reports for more than seven years, Mike — a lean, chain-smoking officer at the CIA's headquarters in Virginia — has managed the agency’s deadly campaign of armed drone strikes. As the head of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, Mike wielded tremendous power in hundreds of decisions over who lived and died in far-off lands. But under a new plan outlined by the Obama administration on Thursday, the Counterterrorism Center over time would cease to be the hub of America’s targeted killing operations in Pakistan, Yemen and other places where presidents might choose to wage war in the future. Already, the CIA’s director, John O. Brennan, has passed over Mike, an undercover officer whose full name is being withheld, for a promotion to run the agency’s clandestine service. It is a sign that Mr. Brennan is trying to shift the CIA’s focus back toward traditional spying and strategic analysis, but that is not an easy task. Arguably, no agency has changed more in the years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks than the CIA, and no agency could be affected more by the new direction of the secret wars laid out by American officials on Thursday. More than half of the CIA’s work force joined the agency after 2001, and many of those new officers have spent the years since almost exclusively on the work of man-hunting and killing. Some American officials and outside experts believe it could take years for a spy agency that has evolved into a paramilitary service to rebalance its activities.

Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir 'militant' ambush

05/24/13:  The BBC reports three soldiers have been killed in an ambush by suspected militants in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir, officials say. An army spokesman said the attacks came as troops launched an anti-insurgency operation in the Tral area, 40km (25 miles) from Srinagar. The soldiers came under fire from militants hiding in a nearby forest. Kashmir has seen an armed insurgency against Indian rule since 1989, but violence has waned in recent months. The Himalayan territory is claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety. India has a large security presence in Kashmir. Thursday's clash took place in Hurdmeer village, army spokesman Lt-Col Naresh Vig told the BBC. Extra security forces had been sent to the area to track down the militants, he said. On Thursday, police said they had killed a suspected militant in a gunfight. Thursday's attack is the second major attack on Indian security forces in recent months. In March, two armed militants disguised as cricket players attacked a paramilitary camp and killed five troops. The militants were killed in retaliatory fire. Two people were arrested in connection with the attack.

China 'offers troops' to UN Mali peacekeeping mission

05/24/13:  The BBC reports China has offered soldiers to the new UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, UN officials say. Talks are underway, and more than 500 Chinese peacekeepers and engineers could potentially take part in the mission, according to UN officials. Mali's government was deposed in a coup in 2012, and Islamist rebels controlled the north of the country until French troops ousted them in January. Around 6,000 African troops are currently in Mali providing security. The 12,600-strong force, which is expected to deploy before planned elections in July, is intended to incorporate the West African soldiers already in the country. UN diplomats, speaking on condition on anonymity, said China had offered "between 500 and 600 soldiers", and described it as "a significant move by China", AFP news agency reported. China has more than 1,800 peacekeepers deployed in UN operations, and contributes more troops than the four other permanent Security Council members. However, its troops primarily perform non-military operations.

North Korea Envoy grees to dialogue, China says

05/24/13:  The New York Times reports a North Korean envoy visiting China said his country would “accept the proposal” by Chinese officials to open up dialogue, the state-run China News Service reported Thursday, a possible signal that the North would agree to talks on its nuclear program.  The comments were reported after the envoy, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, met Liu Yunshan, who is a member of the Communist Party Standing Committee in China and the politician who heads ideological affairs for the party. Mr. Liu was quoted as repeating a frequent appeal by China for a resumption of talks that would result in the removal of nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula “as soon as possible.” Few diplomats believe that the North is prepared to be involved in so-called six-party talks that aim to strip it of its nuclear weapons. The international six-party talks on the North’s nuclear program — involving the United States, North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia — collapsed in 2008 after North Korea walked out. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed an interest in talks of some nature with North Korea. China is North Korea’s biggest benefactor, but relations have been strained in recent months. Experts say that the North bridles at China’s insistence on paying low prices for its iron ore, and that Chinese officials are annoyed by the North’s defiance of entreaties to refrain from missile and nuclear tests. The visit by Vice Marshal Choe, a close aide to the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, was seen by many analysts as a fence-mending mission.

Commentary: The 4 key points of Barack Obama's counterterrorism speech

05/23/13:  Foreign Policy provides the cliff notes version of today's speech on counterterrorism: On closing Guantanamo: The president will reiterate his call to close the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and take up a number of steps to accelerate this process that were recommended this week. Those include: Designating a location in the United States to conduct military commissions to try Guantanamo detainees, lifting his self-imposed moratorium on detainee transfers to Yemen, and appointing a State Department and Pentagon envoy to personally oversee the transfer of detainees to other countries. On court oversight of armed drone strikes: The president will not wholly endorse the establishment of new powers for federal courts to oversee drone strikes, but he will tell the public he supports a dialogue about how to constrain the executive branch's ability in this area. On codifying drone policies: The president is expected to discuss a new policy guidance he signed limiting the use of lethal drone strikes to targets who pose a "continuing, imminent threat to Americans" and cannot otherwise be captured. A drone strike will require "near-certainty" that civilians will not be killed, and the president will convey his preference that the US military carry out drone strikes as opposed to the CIA. The end of the war on terrorism: Finally, the president will say that the so-called War on Terror "will come to an end at one point," after the administration's "focused effort" against al Qaeda and its affiliates is won. A White House official added that the president rejects the notion of a "global war on terror," noting that terrorism is a tactic that can never be completely rid from the world.

 

Transcript of Obama’s speech on drone policy

05/23/13:  The New York Times provides the text as prepared for delivery of President Obama’s speech on US drone policy, as provided by the White House: "...So America is at a crossroads. We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us, mindful of James Madison’s warning that “No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” Neither I, nor any President, can promise the total defeat of terror. We will never erase the evil that lies in the hearts of some human beings, nor stamp out every danger to our open society. What we can do – what we must do – is dismantle networks that pose a direct danger, and make it less likely for new groups to gain a foothold, all while maintaining the freedoms and ideals that we defend. To define that strategy, we must make decisions based not on fear, but hard-earned wisdom. And that begins with understanding the threat we face. Today, the core of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a path to defeat. Their remaining operatives spend more time thinking about their own safety than plotting against us."

Cameron says Britain ‘resolute’ after attack

05/23/13:  The New York Times reports a day after an attack on an off-duty British soldier by two knife-wielding assailants, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday that Britain would be “absolutely resolute” in confronting terrorism and that extremist assaults would “only bring us together.”  Mr. Cameron was speaking after leading the emergency Cobra committee, a group of cabinet ministers and high-level security officials that oversees the operations of police and security agencies during high security alerts. The attack raised new fears of terrorism when the soldier, walking near a military barracks in south London, was rammed by a car and then hacked to death. One of the men shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” during the attack, government officials said. Police officers shot and wounded the suspects. The British police said on Thursday that the victim, whose body was left in a road as one of his attackers gave an impromtpu interview to a passer-by, was a soldier. He was not identified by name. The police in Lincolnshire, 150 miles north of London, also said that a house had been searched in the town of Saxilby. After the attack, the wounded suspects were taken to separate hospitals under police guard, one in serious condition.

Oklahoma tornado: Insurance bill 'could top $2bn'

05/23/13:  The BBC reports the damage from the Oklahoma tornado could reach $2bn (£1.3bn), the Oklahoma Insurance Department warns, although many renters may have no insurance cover. Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said the damage could be worse than that caused by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, in 2011. That event killed 161 people and led to at least $2bn in insured losses. In Oklahoma, 2,705 claims have been filed so far but are likely to rise. The tornado in Moore, Oklahoma was 17 miles (27km) long and 1.3 miles wide and has left at least 24 people dead. There are also concerns that many tenants, particularly those living in apartment complexes, may not have insurance policies. Although 98% of US homeowners have home insurance, only about 70% of those who rent have insurance.

FBI arrests suspect in Washington state ricin case

05/23/13:  The Miami Herald reports the FBI has arrested a suspect in a case involving the discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin and says investigators are working "around the clock" to address any remaining risks. The US attorney's office for Eastern Washington had no comment on whether additional charges might be sought. Matthew Ryan Buquet, 37, was arrested Wednesday. A grand jury indictment accused him of mailing a death threat to US District Judge Fred Van Sickle in Spokane on May 14. The indictment did not mention ricin, but the FBI made the link in a news release late Wednesday, saying analysis showed the letter sent to the judge contained "active ricin toxin." The US Postal Service said last week that two letters were intercepted - one addressed to the courthouse and the other to the downtown post office - and they contained ricin in a crude form that did not immediately pose a threat to workers. Buquet appeared in federal court in Spokane after the FBI said agents arrested him Wednesday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty to mailing a threatening communication.

Drone strikes have killed four Americans since 2009

05/23/13: CNN reports counterterrorism drone strikes have killed four Americans overseas since 2009, the US government acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday, one day before President Barack Obama delivers a major speech on related policy. In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States specifically targeted and killed one American citizen, al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, in 2011 in Yemen, alleging he was plotting attacks against the United States. The letter provided new details about al-Awlaki's alleged involvement in bomb plots targeting US aviation. Holder also said the Obama administration was aware of three other Americans who had been killed in counterterrorism operations overseas. Holder said Samir Kahn, Abdul Rahman Anwar al-Awlaki and Jude Kenan Mohammed were not targeted by the United States but he did not add more details about their deaths. The letter represents the first US admission that the four were killed in counterterror strikes even though their deaths had been reported in the media.

New database tracks 11,000 global rendition flights

05/23/13:  Phys.Org reports a new University-hosted database has tracked over 11,000 flights by more than 120 aircraft linked by past investigations to renditions. It also contains details of over 50 private companies contracted for or by the CIA in relation to rendition flights. The database is the latest addition to the Rendition Project, an online project designed to analyse the global system of rendition, secret detention and torture initiated by the US. The new database will enable users to search for, and visualise, underlying data contained within the Rendition Project via an interactive map showing rendition flights. Flight data underpinning the database is collated from over 40 separate sources. Launched in May 2012, the Rendition Project is part of wider research to collate and analyse huge amounts of data on the global rendition system. It is led by Dr Ruth Blakeley, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Kent's School of Politics and International Relations, and Dr Sam Raphael, Lecturer in Politics at Kingston University. They work closely with Reprieve, a UK-based legal action charity which has led the way in investigating secret prisons and representing victims of rendition and torture. The Rendition Flights Database, produced in collaboration with The Information Lab, a company specialising in this type of web tool, can be viewed here.

M23 rebels announce ceasefire for UN chief's Congo visit

05/23/13:  Reuters reports rebels in eastern Congo announced a ceasefire on Thursday in fighting with government troops hours before a visit to the conflict-plagued zone by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. "We've decided to announce this ceasefire to allow His Excellency Ban Ki-moon to visit Goma as he promised," Amani Kabasha, political spokesman for the M23 rebel group, told Reuters following several days of clashes in the east near Goma on the Democratic Republic of Congo's border with Rwanda. At least 20 people have been killed this week in three successive days of fighting between the Congolese army and M23, a Tutsi-dominated insurgency that has demanded political concessions from President Joseph Kabila's government. The renewed combat after six months of relative calm underlines the challenges facing one of Africa's most conflict-ridden regions, which will receive $1 billion in fresh development funds pledged by the World Bank. Ban and Kim, who will spend a few hours in Goma on Thursday meeting local and UN officials, say the World Bank funding will contribute to peace in the volatile Great Lakes region. Talks between M23 and Congo's government in Uganda have stalled. M23 is made up of members of a previous Tutsi-dominated rebellion who integrated into the army after a 2009 peace deal. But they deserted en masse last year and have stepped up training in preparation for the deployment of a UNbrigade with a mandate to neutralize armed groups across the region.

UK official: London attack could be terror-related

05/22/13:  The AP reports a British official says a violent attack near a London barracks is being investigated as a possible terrorist act. Police said two men attacked another man on Wednesday. One man is dead and two others were injured. A British government official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the investigation said details had emerged that were indicative of a "terrorist-motivated attack." While details were scant, Prime Minister David Cameron called the killing "truly shocking" and said he had asked Home Secretary Theresa May to call an urgent meeting of the government's emergency committee.

Iran pushes ahead with new nuclear plant: UN report

05/22/13:  Reuters reports Iran is pressing ahead with the construction of a research reactor that Western experts say could offer it a second way of producing material for a nuclear bomb if it decides to make one, a UN report showed on Wednesday.  Iran has transported the reactor vessel to the heavy water plant near the central town of Arak but has not yet installed it, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a confidential report issued to member states. Western concerns about Iran are focused largely on uranium enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow, as such material refined to a high level can provide the fissile core of an atomic bomb. But experts say Arak may also be a proliferation issue as it could yield plutonium for nuclear arms if the spent fuel were reprocessed. Iran has said it has no fuel reprocessing plans. As reported by Reuters on Tuesday, the IAEA report showed Iran increasing its capacity to refine uranium by installing hundreds more centrifuges at Natanz, underlining Tehran's defiance of Western demands to curb the activity. But, in a development that could help buy time for diplomacy between Iran and world powers, the report showed limited growth of Iran's most sensitive nuclear stockpile and it remained below an Israeli "red line" for possible action.

Man with ties to Tsarnaev killed by FBI officer in Florida

05/22/13:  The New York Times reports a man with ties to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect, was shot and killed by a law enforcement official in Orlando, Fla., as the FBI tried to interview him early Wednesday morning, according to a law enforcement official.  The man was identified as Ibragim Todashev, the official said. The FBI's Tampa field office released a short statement saying that it was “currently responding to a shooting incident involving an FBI special agent” that had occurred in Orlando. “The agent encountered the suspect while conducting official duties,” the statement said. “The suspect is deceased. We do not have any further details at this time.” Early on Wednesday morning, officials at the FBI's headquarters in Washington dispatched a shooting-response unit to Florida to help investigators determine what had occurred, according to a law enforcement official. In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, the FBI has sought to speak with people who knew Mr. Tsarnaev and his brother, Dzhokhar, in an effort to learn how they were radicalized and to rule out the possibility that they had accomplices.

Iran and Hezbollah support for Syria complicates peace-talk strategy

05/22/13:  The New York Times reports as evidence grows of increased Iranian support for the Syrian government, the Obama administration’s strategy to bring the bitter fighting there to a close faces more challenges than ever.  With White House support, Secretary of State John Kerry has pushed for an international conference in Geneva in June that would bring representatives of the Syria government together with the opposition. The aim would be to negotiate a transitional government that would take over if President Bashar al-Assad vacates his post and to put an end to the civil war that has killed more than 80,000. But the stepped-up support Mr. Assad has received from Iran and Hezbollah in recent months appears to have fortified his belief that he can hang on to power and prevail militarily — or at least control a strategically significant swath of the country. The limited assistance the United States and its partners have so far been willing to provide the rebels seems unlikely to prompt Mr. Assad to look for a political way out, critics maintain. And persistent divisions within the ranks of the Syrian opposition, which is again seeking to select a new political leadership, can only be a source of comfort to the Syrian president.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sends envoy to China

05/22/13:  The BBC reports North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a special envoy to Beijing, state media has announced, amid cooling relations between the two neighbours. Choe Ryong-hae, a top military official, flew to the Chinese capital on Wednesday, KCNA said. The brief dispatch gave no details of the visit, which comes amid an apparent toughening of Beijing's stance in the wake of Pyongyang's third nuclear test. Chinese media said Mr Choe met Wang Jiarui, a top foreign affairs official. The visit - the duration of which remains unknown - follows weeks of high tension on the Korean peninsula. China is North Korea's biggest trading partner and closest ally. It has traditionally sought to maintain stability in North Korea, avoiding any crisis that could trigger the fall of the regime and propel a flow of refugees across the border. But in recent weeks, following Pyongyang's 12 February nuclear test and amid strident rhetoric from its leaders, China has expressed frustration with North Korea, with state media openly debating the benefits of close ties. Beijing supported expanded UN sanctions against Pyongyang after its nuclear test and some of its banks have recently suspended trading with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank. It is also under domestic pressure after unidentified North Koreans seized, and subsequently released two weeks later, a 16-strong Chinese crew who had been fishing in the Yellow Sea.

China's bird flu outbreak under control, cost $6.5 billion

05/22/13:  Reuters reports the H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion in losses to the economy, UN experts said on Tuesday. Health authorities worldwide must be on the lookout to detect the virus, the experts said, which could still develop the ability to spread easily among humans and cause a deadly influenza pandemic. The new bird flu virus is known to have infected 130 people in mainland China since emerging in March, including 36 who died, but no cases have been detected since early May, Health Minister Li Bin told a meeting of the World Health Organization. One case was found in Taiwan in April, making a total of 131. Li said local Chinese authorities had shut down live poultry markets "temporarily or permanently as needed" to control the source of outbreaks in 10 provinces. It standardized methods of transporting poultry to reduce spread among birds. China's government had spent 600 million RMB or $97 million to support healthy development of the poultry industry, Li said. H7N9 is highly pathogenic in humans, causing severe respiratory disease, but is not virulent among birds, making it nearly impossible for farmers to detect, experts said.

Debate aside, number of drone strikes drops sharply

05/22/13:  The New York Times reports President Obama embraced drone strikes in his first term, and the targeted killing of suspected terrorists has come to define his presidency. But lost in the contentious debate over the legality, morality and effectiveness of a novel weapon is the fact that the number of strikes has actually been in decline. Strikes in Pakistan peaked in 2010 and have fallen sharply since then; their pace in Yemen has slowed to half of last year’s rate; and no strike has been reported in Somalia for more than a year. In a long-awaited address on Thursday at the National Defense University, Mr. Obama will make his most ambitious attempt to date to lay out his justification for the strikes and what they have achieved. He may follow up on public promises, including one he made in his State of the Union speech in February to define a “legal architecture” for choosing targets, possibly shifting more strikes from the CIA to the military; explain how he believes that presidents should be “reined in” in their exercise of lethal power; and take steps to make a program veiled in secrecy more transparent.

Amid immigration reform, calls to change asylums

05/22/13:  The Miami Herald reports as Congress debates legalizing about 11 million immigrants living in the US illegally, immigration advocates are pushing plans they say will open the asylum process for thousands of more people who flee persecution in their home countries. The Senate version of the immigration bill does away with a one-year application filing deadline that Congress enacted in the 1990s to reduce fraud and that advocates say has prevented many legitimate asylum seekers from applying to the program. But it's not clear what the House will do and the April revelation that the two brothers accused of carrying out the deadly Boston bombings arrived in the US through the asylum system has concerned some lawmakers in Congress. The Boston bombings did prompt some action that was approved by the Senate panel. On Monday, the panel voted to strip asylum or refugee status from individuals who return to the country they fled, unless they can show a good reason for doing so. The asylum system is designed for people who are persecuted or may be persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or are members of an oppressed social group. In 2001, more than 39,000 people were given asylum. In 2012, that number dropped to around 25,000. Security measures include checking an asylum seeker's identity with Homeland Security and other federal databases; running their fingerprints and names through FBI databases; vetting documents for their authenticity against a library of foreign travel and identity documents. Meissner said the system was the first to pioneer biometrics and other security methods in the 1990s - now the norm with federal agencies.

As Chinese leader’s visit nears, US urged to allow counterattacks on hackers

05/22/13:  The New York Times reports with President Obama preparing for a first meeting with China's new president, a commission led by two former senior officials in his administration will recommend a series of steps that could significantly raise the cost to China of the theft of American industrial secrets. If milder measures failed, the commission said, the United States should consider giving companies the right to retaliate against cyberattackers with counterstrikes of their own. The recommendations are from the private Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, which is led by two figures who parted company with the White House on strained terms: Dennis C. Blair, Mr. Obama’s first director of national intelligence, and Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former ambassador to China. The commission’s report will be published Wednesday, two days before Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon, travels to Beijing to prepare for the meeting. That two-day meeting, scheduled to start in California on June 7, has been highly choreographed on both sides. Mr. Donilon was preceded to Beijing by the Treasury Secretary, the Secretary of State and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. All have prepared to line up new initiatives, consultations and military-to-military exchanges intended to show a maturing relationship between the world’s two largest economies. But the recent disclosures about Chinese cyberattacks and the theft of industrial secrets, an operation managed partly from a Chinese People’s Liberation Army unit outside Shanghai, may affect the ability of Mr. Xi and Mr. Obama to forge anything the two men could claim to be a partnership.

State media shows NKorea has new military chief

05/22/13:  The Miami Herald reports a North Korean state media dispatch shows that leader Kim Jong Un has named a hardline general as his new military chief. The new title for Kim Kyok Sik came in a dispatch Wednesday from the North's Korean Central News Agency detailing a delegation at Pyongyang's airport that was seeing off a special envoy on a trip to China. There were no other details on the appointment. Kim Kyok Sik previously held the military chief post until 2009. He also was defense minister until being recently replaced by a little-known general. He is the former commander of battalions believed responsible for attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans. Kim replaces Hyon Yong Chol as military chief. Military chief is considered a higher-ranking position than defense minister.

Torture victim’s body found near US base, Afghans say

05/21/13:  The New York Times reports the footless corpse of an Afghan man missing since November was found on Tuesday near the former American Special Forces base to which he was last seen being taken, according to Afghan officials and victims’ representatives. Afghan investigators said that after his disappearance, the man, Sayid Mohammad, was seen in a video being tortured by an Afghan-American named Zakaria Kandahari, whom the officials identified as the chief interpreter for an American Army Special Forces A Team stationed at the base. The American military denies that Mr. Kandahari is an American citizen, and said he was no longer working for the A Team when the video was made. Mr. Mohammad’s body was found about 200 yards outside the perimeter of the base, in Nerkh District in Wardak Province.Mohammad Hanif Hanafi, the district governor, said it was found by laborers digging a water ditch when they unearthed what appeared to be a military-style black body bag. Relatives of Mr. Mohammad said his corpse was largely complete, except both feet had been cut off. Afghan officials say the partial remains and clothing of another missing person had been found earlier near the base, which is now occupied by Afghan Special Forces after the American unit left in March. Afghan officials are seeking Mr. Kandahari’s arrest on murder, torture and abuse of prisoner charges, and accuse the American military of shielding him from capture.

Bin Laden’s son-in-law seeks a new lawyer

05/21/13:  The New York Times reports when a high-profile defendant in a terrorism case appeared last week before a federal judge in Manhattan, it seemed as if the entire bar association was there to represent him. The defendant, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who is Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, was brought to the United States to face trial on a charge of conspiring to kill Americans. When he was arraigned in March, his case was assigned to the public defender’s office, which has long experience in representing terrorism defendants. But Mr. Abu Ghaith has since said he wants to retain Mr. Cohen, an outspoken former Legal Aid Society lawyer with a gray ponytail, who has also handled many terrorism cases over the years. It is the kind of switch between lawyers that often occurs with little discussion. But the handoff in Mr. Abu Ghaith’s case has been complicated by the fact that Mr. Cohen is under federal indictment in Syracuse and under federal investigation in Manhattan, a judge said in court last week. Mr. Cohen said the investigations were related. The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, took Mr. Abu Ghaith through a series of questions to make sure he understood the potential risks and ethical conflicts that might result from hiring Mr. Cohen, because of the lawyer’s own legal difficulties. Mr. Cohen was charged with obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and failing to file certain reports regarding cash transactions. He has pleaded not guilty.

Syria and Israel in exchange of fire

05/21/13:  The BBC reports Israeli and Syrian forces have exchanged fire across the ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights. Israel returned fire after one of its military vehicles was hit by shots from Syria, Israel's defence forces say. Media reports say no-one was hurt. Syria says it destroyed an Israeli vehicle which it says crossed the ceasefire line into territory its forces control. Syria and Israel have traded fire a number of times in recent weeks. The Israeli military said its troops "returned precise fire" after the vehicle was hit. A statement from the Syrian army said it had "destroyed an Israeli vehicle with everything that it had in it". The statement said the vehicle was shot after it crossed the ceasefire line and headed towards the rebel-held village of Bir Ajam. It warned that any attempts to violate its sovereignty would be "met with immediate and firm retaliation". Syrian gunfire has hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in two previous incidents this week, without causing injury. There have been sporadic exchanges of fire between the two sides in recent months.

Oklahoma tornado spread destruction like a 'two-mile-wide lawnmower blade'

05/21/13:  CNN reports amid downed power lines, hissing gas pipes and immense devastation, rescuers searched "board by board" Tuesday for survivors and victims of a massive tornado that pulverized a vast swath of the Oklahoma City suburbs. It was a daunting task. The Monday afternoon storm carved a trail through the area as much as two miles wide and 22 miles long, officials said. Hardest hit was Moore, Oklahoma -- a suburban town of 40,000 and the site of eerily similar twisters in 1999 and again four years later. The state medical examiner's office said 24 people were confirmed dead, including nine children. Earlier reports of at least 51 deaths were erroneous, said Amy Elliot, chief administrative officer for the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. At least 100 people have been pulled alive from the rubble by rescuers. Terri Watkins, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman, who described Tuesday's search as "board by board," said it was far too soon to account for the devastation of the storm. The scene -- block after block of flattened homes and businesses, the gutted remains of a hospital and hits on two elementary schools -- left even seasoned veterans of Oklahoma's infamous tornadoes reeling. Police, firefighters, National Guard troops and volunteers joined forces Tuesday in searching the rubble. Texas sent an elite 80-member urban search team as well, and the American Red Cross sent 25 emergency response vehicles. So many people were showing up to volunteer that authorities had to plead with would-be rescuers to stay away.

Saudi Arabia detains 10 more in Iran spying case

05/21/13:  Reuters reports Saudi Arabia has detained 10 more people in a spying case it announced in March that it said was linked to Iran, state television reported on Tuesday. "Initial investigation carried out by the authorities led to the detention of 10 others for involvement in spying activities," state television news channel al-Ekhbariya reported, citing the Interior Ministry. It said the new group includes eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk. In March Turki said Saudi security forces had arrested 18 people, including 16 Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese. In his statement, Turki said the Lebanese man held in March had now been released. All of the Saudis arrested in March were members of the kingdom's Shi'ite Muslim minority, leaders of that community said.

Guantanamo wi-fi shut down after Anonymous threat

05/21/13:  The BBC reports the American military has turned off its wi-fi service inside the prison at Guantanamo Bay following threats by the hacker collective Anonymous. Access to social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, from military computers has also been blocked because of the threat. Anonymous had threatened to "disrupt activities" at the base, in solidarity with the prisoners on hunger strike. It launched "Operation Guantanamo" on Saturday, 18 May. At the end of April, 100 of the 166 Guantanamo Bay inmates were staging a hunger strike over conditions in the jail and their ongoing imprisonment. The Anonymous three-day campaign began on the 100th day of the strike. The group used social media to encourage others to send "twitterstorms, email bombs and fax bombs" in order to raise awareness of the protest. Protests were also staged outside the White House and the prison itself. The phone numbers of the White House and various military command centres were also posted on the Anonymous website. No disruption had been reported so far, Lt Col Samuel House told the Associated Press news agency.

Three NYU scientists accepted bribes from China, US says

05/21/13:  The New York Times reports three researchers at the New York University School of Medicine who specialized in a magnetic resonance imaging technology had been working on research sponsored by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. But, prosecutors on Monday, the three had their eyes on other business as well. They conspired to take bribes from a Chinese medical imaging company and a Chinese-sponsored research institute to share nonpublic information about their NYU work, according to the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan. The defendants, all Chinese citizens, included Yudong Zhu, 44, of Scarsdale, NY, an associate professor in the school’s radiology department who was described by the authorities as “an accomplished researcher and innovator.” He was hired by the university around 2008 to teach and conduct research related to innovations in MRI technology, the authorities said. After the National Institutes of Health awarded the university millions of dollars over five years to pay for Professor Zhu’s research, he arranged for the two other defendants to move to New York from Chinato work with him, prosecutors said. He also arranged for them to receive financial support from an executive of the Chinese imaging company who was also affiliated with the government-sponsored institute, officials said. Preet Bharara, the United States attorney, who announced the charges with George Venizelos, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York office, said the defendants had “colluded with representatives from a Chinese government entity and a direct competitor of the university for which they worked to illegally acquire NIH-funded research for the benefit of those entities.”        

 

Guatemala annuls Rios Montt's genocide conviction

05/21/13:  The BBC reports Guatemala's top court has thrown out the conviction for genocide and crimes against humanity of former military leader Efrain Rios Montt. The constitutional court ruled that the trial should restart from the point where it stood on 19 April. On 10 May, Gen Rios Montt was convicted of ordering the deaths of 1,771 people of the Ixil Maya ethnic group during his time in office in 1982-83. The 86-year-old was sentenced to 80 years in prison. He denies the charges. Monday's ruling throws into disarray the historic trial of Gen Rios Montt, the first former head of state to face genocide charges in a court within his own country. The three-to-two ruling by a panel of constitutional judges annuls everything that has happened in the trial since 19 April, when Gen Rios Montt was briefly left without a defence lawyer. The defence team had walked out of the court on the previous day in protest at what they called "illegal proceedings".

New weapon in the terror tool kit? Encryption software blocks all eavesdropping

05/21/13:  The Washington Times reports a cheap new encryption technology for mobile phones completely blocks eavesdropping, even from warrant-wielding law enforcement agents – raising fears the technology could fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. The software poses a growing problem that US law enforcement agencies call “going dark” – the spread of communications technologies that cannot be intercepted even with a warrant because agencies lack the technical capabilities. But experts say the feds’ proposed solution to get around the blackout – by legally mandating the insertion of “back doors” into such software to allow eavesdropping – creates an opening which could be exploited by hackers, online criminals or cyberspies. The issue is not unique to the United States. Intelligence and counter-terrorism officials in the United Kingdom are concerned about the new mobile phone application, called Seecrypt, according the London Mail on Sunday. The app provides individual users with military grade encryption — sending voice and text over the Internet in an a scrambled data stream that can only be deciphered by another user. The new application, which is free to download and will cost $3 a month, is made by a South African-based company, Porton Group, that boasts “we don’t comply” with such mandates, said CEO Harvey Boulter. The program does not have a “Legal Intercept” capability. Last year, the US company Silent Circle caused consternation in law enforcement circles when they launched a similar package here.

Nigeria: Boko Haram Islamists 'arrested' in Maiduguri

05/21/13:  The BBC reports about 120 militant Islamists have been arrested in Nigeria's north-eastern city of Maiduguri, as they were organising the burial of a commander, an army spokesman has said. The military has also recaptured five areas from the militants, he added. There has been no independent confirmation of what the army has said. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states last week to quell the insurgency by the Boko Haram group. It has carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations since 2009, saying it wants to establish an Islamic state across Nigeria. A second Islamist group, Ansaru, joined the insurgency in 2012, taking foreigners hostage. Officials say some 2,000 people have fled to neighbouring Niger, while more have crossed into Cameroon, since the army launched its offensive in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe last week. Some 2,000 soldiers were deployed to the region last week, in the biggest campaign to date against the Islamist militants.

Commentary: Approach to a blue-sky overhaul of surveillance laws

05/20/13:  Lawfare posted the third of David Kris's commentaries on a blue-sky overhaul of surveillance laws which outlines a proposed approach to reform. The first task in any overhaul effort would probably be to define the conduct to be regulated.  The project would need to consider more than just electronic surveillance.  It could include physical searches, and other methods of collecting information.  Current law governing intelligence collection offers a starting point for defining the scope of the project, but perhaps we would want to regulate more, or less, than we currently do.  The Fourth Amendment provides another starting point, but it may be too narrow because many current statutes (e.g., those governing pen-trap surveillance) regulate conduct that is not a Fourth Amendment search or seizure.  Extant foreign intelligence collection activity (as opposed to regulation) might also serve as a guide, but that too is subject to change, and not all current foreign intelligence activity is equally regulated.  Kris identifies four broad areas on which expound: (1) distinctions concerning the target of surveillance and/or interlocutors, (2) distinctions based on how the government conducts the surveillance, (3) levels and types of approvals for surveillance, and (4) use of information obtained or derived from surveillance.

'Terrorist attack' in Moscow prevented

05/20/13:  The BBC reports Russian counter-terrorism agents have carried out a raid on a group planning a terrorist act in Moscow killing two suspects, officials say. Local media quoted the National Anti-Terrorism Committee as saying the group was located in a house in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo, east of the capital. A third suspect was held in the raid. One agent was slightly hurt. The suspects are said to be Russian citizens who had undergone training in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

Hezbollah suffers losses in fierce battle for Syrian city

05/20/13:  The New York Times reports fighting raged on Monday in the strategic Syrian city of Qusayr, as the government unleashed new airstrikes and rebels resisted fiercely in parts of the city even as their makeshift hospitals overflowed with the wounded, Syrian opposition activists said. The toll of dead and wounded also continued to rise for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is fighting its biggest battle yet on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. Both sides have depicted the fighting in Qusayr as a turning point in the war that is raising regional tensions as Hezbollah plunges more deeply into the conflict. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition watchdog group, reported that at least 23 Hezbollah guerrillas had died in the fighting. If confirmed, that would be by far the largest toll for Hezbollah in a single Syrian battle. Rebels said they destroyed seven armored vehicles and killed dozens more government and Hezbollah fighters, according to an activist in Qusayr.