- Belgium raised its terror alert in Brussels to the highest level Saturday after a "serious and imminent threat," closing the city's metro until Sunday and encouraging people to avoid concerts, shopping centers and other crowded areas.
Prime Minister Charles Michel said the threat of attacks against the Belgian capital are similar to those that happened in Paris last week. Football games have been canceled and armed soldiers and police were deployed outside many hotels.
Brussels raises terror alert, 'serious and imminent' threat
Post-Paris calls for expanded surveillance fall flat for many
It is perhaps not surprising that an event like last Friday’s Paris attack would raise questions about why government surveillance didn’t spot such a sweeping and apparently coordinated assault in advance. But the speed with which intelligence and law enforcement professionals worked to play down their own possible shortcomings — and in some cases invoke the attacks in a play for broader powers — has caught the attention of security experts, privacy rights advocates and editorial boards.
Editors at The New York Times called this turn of events “a wretched yet predictable ritual,” singling out statements made Monday by CIA Director John Brennan as “a new and disgraceful low.” Brennan went to the press with complaints that recent “policy and legal” moves have made it harder to spot and disrupt potential terror plots.
Saudi court sentences poet to death for renouncing Islam
A Palestinian poet and leading member of Saudi Arabia’s nascent contemporary art scene has been sentenced to death for renouncing Islam.
A Saudi court on Tuesday ordered the execution of Ashraf Fayadh, who has curated art shows in Jeddah and at the Venice Biennale. The poet, who said he did not have legal representation, was given 30 days to appeal against the ruling.
Fayadh, 35, a key member of the British-Saudi art organisation Edge of Arabia, was originally sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes by the general court in Abha, a city in the south-west of the ultraconservative kingdom, in May 2014.
Woman Stands in Way of Crews Working on Gas Pipeline Near Nuclear Power Plant
A Westchester woman says she’s standing up for her community by standing in the way of construction crews extending a natural gas pipeline near Indian Point nuclear power plant.
Nancy Vann refused to leave her property Friday, stymieing efforts by crews to clear-cut an area of land near the Indian Point, where an energy company wants to place a gas pipeline. About six protesters with signs joined her Friday, as crews cut down large trees.
Doctors from 44 countries call on Ireland to relax abortion laws
Hundreds of doctors from 44 countries including some of Ireland’s most prominent physicians have called on the Republic’s government to decriminalise abortion.
The 838 doctors and medical practitioners have joined an Amnesty International campaign to lift the threat of a 14-year jail sentence for providing or assisting in the provision of an abortion in Ireland.
Over 20 reported dead in Mali hotel siege, hostage crisis ‘over’
More than 20 people have reportedly been killed as armed gunman stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali on Friday morning. The attackers held 170 people hostage in Radisson Blu hotel, while it is reported that there are no more civilians in the hotel.
The CEO of Rezidor, the company that owns the Radisson, has released a statement.
"I want to express my deep personal concern for all of the guests and employees affected by the terrible events which are happening today at the Radisson Blu Bamako Hotel in Mali," Wolfgang M. Neumann said.
Inside the Money Laundering Scheme That Citi Overlooked for Years
When Antonio Peña Arguelles opened an account in 2005 at Citigroup’s Banamex USA, the know-your-customer documents said he had a small business breeding cattle and white-tailed deer, ranch-raised for their stately antlers. About $50 a month would come into the account, according to the documents.
A week later, Peña Arguelles wired in $7.09 million from an account in Mexico, allegedly drug money from Los Zetas, a violent cartel founded by former Mexican soldiers, documents in his money-laundering case in Texas say. In all, Peña Arguelles shuttled $59.4 million through the account, according to a confidential report by banking regulators that berated Banamex USA in 2013 for its failure to comply with anti-money-laundering rules.
Raytheon moves forward with Multi-Object Kill Vehicle program
Raytheon completed the first Program Planning Review with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for its Multi-Object Kill Vehicle concept, advancing the program.
The completion marks a milestone for the program's Concept Development Phase, designed to ensure the company is meeting the Missile Defense Agency's expectations. The Concept Review takes place in December.
American Medical Assoc: Ban TV Drug Ads
If one of doctors’ largest lobbying groups has its way, the sun will soon set on the digitally-enhanced world of bright blue skies and fluffy clouds occupied by smiling patients in TV drug ads. The American Medical Association voted this week in favor of a ban on such direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs and medical devices.
The resolution, approved by the AMA’s House of Delegates, has no immediate impact as only the Food and Drug Administration or Congress has the power to ban pharmaceutical advertising.
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