• Better hospital responses to terrorist attacks

    Terrorist attacks are less likely to occur than other disasters, but they can have greater impact on hospital operations; until the 9/11 and anthrax attacks, hospital emergency preparedness programs had not included provisions for terrorism events; those attacks changed that, but there is still much that should be done

  • Detergent suicides on the rise

    The incidence of chemical suicides has been steadily increasing in the United States since its first appearance in 2008; it is believed the statistics are incorrect because of underreporting; most such suicides provide warning of the toxicity of the environment they will be found in, but not all do, making responding to these calls a hazard for all concerned

  • DHS completes Multi-Band Radio testing

    Last week DHS completed testing on a sophisticated new multi-band radio that will allow first responders to communicate with multiple agencies and jurisdictions operating on different radio bands; beginning in May 2012, first responders will have the opportunity to purchase the Harris XG-100 Unity radio system; the Unity radios can replace up to five different radios, roughly the equivalent cost of just one high-end portable radio

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  • "The Dragon" makes life difficult for first responders

    For emergency personnel in Tennessee, responding to calls on “The Dragon,” an unforgiving 11.1 mile stretch of highway, is no easy task; the Dragon consists of 318 sharp curves through hilly terrain making it treacherous for drivers and a nightmare for first responders; each year there are several fatal crashes and since 2005 the desolate road has been the scene of at least forty injury crashes a year

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  • Kenyan police arrest bombing suspect

    Late Tuesday night, Kenyan police arrested a suspected terrorist involved in Monday’s grenade attacks; on Monday unknown attackers threw hand grenades at a bus stop and a downtown bar in Nairobi killing one and injuring twenty; the arrested man was captured along with a stockpile of weapons that included thirteen hand grenades, two submachine guns and four pistols; so far no group has claimed responsibility, but the terrorist organization al Shabaab in Somalia had sworn that it would retaliate for Kenya’s cross-border military actions; Kenyan forces have crossed into southern Somalia and are carrying out airstrikes and are advancing on al Shabaab held towns

  • Secret WMD stash found in Libya

    Libya’s new leaders announced that they had discovered a secret store of weapons of mass destruction that Colonel Gaddafi had hidden away; the National Transitional Council said the chemical weapons that had been discovered would be secured until they could be safely handed over; in an agreement with western nations in 2003, Colonel Gaddafi pledged to disband his WMD program and hand them over, but the recent discovery suggests he surreptitiously kept large stores of dangerous weapons

  • Secretary Clinton demands Libya return Lockerbie bomber to prison

    Now that the fighting in Libya has drawn to a close with the death of Muammar Qaddafi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pressing the new Libyan government to return the only individual convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103; Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al Megrahi, was convicted and jailed in Scotland for the Lockerbie bombing which killed 259 people, mostly Americans; in 2009 Scotland released him on the grounds that he had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and only had three months to live; al Megrahi returned to Libya where he has been living since; over the weekend Clinton said, “We want to see him returned to prison, preferably in Scotland, where he was serving the sentence”

  • Angry Pakistanis burn effigy of Hillary Clinton

    An angry mob in Pakistan burned an effigy of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she urged Pakistan to crack down on insurgents bent on destabilizing Afghanistan; in particular Clinton pressured Pakistan to step up efforts against the deadly Haqqani military network, based in the country’s tribal region; Clinton led a large delegation of U.S. officials including CIA director David Petraeus and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Martin Dempsey with Pakistani officials; “We look to Pakistan to take strong steps to deny Afghan insurgents safe havens and to encourage the Taliban to enter negotiations in good faith,” Clinton said

  • Pakistani judge who sentenced Taseer's assassin sent to Saudi Arabia for protection

    The Pakistani government has sent the judge who issued the death sentence to the assassin who killed Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer to Saudi Arabia to protect his life; Judge Pervez Ali Shah, sentenced Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, Taseer’s self-confessed assassin, on 1 October; Shah went on leave after his courtroom was ransacked and several hardline religious groups offered a reward for anyone who killed him; Shah and his family have been provided with security and safe lodging in Saudi Arabia; religious and hardline groups are actively appealing the government to remove Shah from his post for his decision to sentence Qadri to death

  • Guerillas injure four in four attacks in Kashmir

    On Tuesday four security personnel were injured in four attacks carried out by separatists in the Indian provinces of Jammu and Kashmir; the attackers targeted state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) hurling grenades and shooting from vehicles in four separate attacks; in the city of Lal Chowk, Surinder Singh, the head constable, was injured along with two others; the attacks appeared to be coordinated, but so far no group has claimed responsibility; the attacks come ahead of the Indian government’s plan to lift the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain parts of Jammu and Kashmir; the act gives security forces broad powers to deal with terrorists in restive areas

  • Local Indian CT force severely short-staffed

    In the state of Maharashtra, India, counterterrorism forces are struggling with severe staffing shortages particularly in its lower and middle ranked officers, the core of its investigative staff; 89 percent of the agency’s sub-inspector posts were vacant as of September 1, and overall, 238 out of the squad’s 732 posts were unfilled; the state government said that it is working to quickly fill vacant positions and address the problem; “We are aware of the staff shortage. The problem should be resolved by March next year,” said additional chief secretary Umesh Chandra Sarangi

  • Head of Indian Navy warns of pirates teaming up with terrorists

    Admiral Nirmal Verma, the head of India’s Navy, warned that pirates could begin forging ties with terrorist organizations which had “cancerous potential”; Verma’s remarks come as part of a U.S. Naval War College Symposium held in Newport, Rhode Island; Verma also said that it was critical to begin effectively sentencing captured pirates rather than just releasing them; “It is estimated that nine out of 10 apprehended pirates benefit from the ‘catch and release’ policy followed by most navies till now,” he said; India has yet to prosecute the more than 100 pirates that its Navy has captured

  • U.K. introduces harsher sentences for serious crimes

    Kenneth Clarke, the U.K.’s justice secretary, is introducing harsh new prison sentences for individuals convicted of serious crimes as part of a broader shift to stricter penalties; changes include a new mandatory life sentence for individuals convicted on their second serious sexual or violent crime; a mandatory minimum four-month prison sentence for juveniles convicted of aggravated knife offenses; the move signals a shift to a harsher U.S.-style of law with minimum mandatory sentences; the decision was reportedly highly controversial and resulted in fierce internal disputes with home secretary Theresa May