A British Airways flight to New York was turned back to London's Heathrow airport on Sunday because of a security scare over a mobile phone that did not belong to any of the passengers, officials said. The phone was later found to be safe, as the government said the threat to Britain of a terrorist attack had been downgraded to severe from the critical level last week when police said they had foiled a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.Despite the downgrading, the Transport Department warned in a statement: "This (still) means that a terrorist attack is still highly likely."British Airways said the captain of the airliner, which was carrying 217 passengers, had decided to return to London as a precautionary measure."A mobile phone was located on board the aircraft which none of the passengers appeared to own," it said in a statement....
http://A British Airways flight to New York was turned back to London's Heathrow airport on Sunday because of a security scare over a mobile phone that did not belong to any of the passengers, officials said. The phone was later found to be safe, as the government said the threat to Britain of a terrorist attack had been downgraded to severe from the critical level last week when police said they had foiled a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.Despite the downgrading, the Transport Department warned in a statement: "This (still) means that a terrorist attack is still highly likely."British Airways said the captain of the airliner, which was carrying 217 passengers, had decided to return to London as a precautionary measure."A mobile phone was located on board the aircraft which none of the passengers appeared to own," it said in a statement....
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Editor - 18:14:00 08-13-06
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 AIDS Drugs, Prices Cut 90%, Remain Out of Reach for Neediest |
Ibrahim Umoru, infected with the lethal virus that causes AIDS, spent four hours a day this year traveling between his home and a clinic in Lagos, Nigeria, to get the pills that keep him alive. Umoru, 42, no longer has to make the trip. Since July 28, he's been getting a new version of medicine that doesn't require the clinic's refrigeration. Umoru says he knows he's lucky. Just 5 percent of the 200,000 people in Lagos who need the lifesaving drugs can get them, largely because of high prices. Only one in five of the 6.5 million people in impoverished nations who need medicines to treat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, get the drugs that can keep the virus from killing them. Starting in 2000, in response to pressure from health activists worldwide, drugmakers such as GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Merck & Co. have repeatedly slashed prices, which started as high as $10,000 a year. Even with discounts amounting to 90 percent and more, few poor nations or their residents can afford ...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ad.dStVpfUto&refer=top_world_news
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Editor - 18:11:00 08-13-06
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| UK Boogieman threat level downgraded |
The terror threat to the UK has been downgraded from critical to severe. The Home Office said the decision had been made because an attack was "highly likely" but no longer "imminent". The change in the threat level means the ban on taking hand luggage on to flights from the UK has been lifted, although some restrictions remain. Meanwhile, a British Airways flight from Heathrow to New York has been turned back because a mobile phone - banned at the time - was on board. The change in the terror threat level was made by the Joint Terrorism and Analysis Centre based on latest intelligence. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4789169.stm
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Editor - 18:08:00 08-13-06
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| 'US, Israel planned ME war' |
The US government was closely involved in the planning of Israel's military operations against Islamic militant group Hezbollah even before the July 12 kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, The New Yorker magazine reported in its latest issue. The kidnapping triggered a month-long Israeli operation in South Lebanon that is expected to come to an end on Monday. But Pulitzer Prize-winning US journalist Seymour Hersh writes that President George W Bush and vice president Dick Cheney were convinced that a successful Israeli bombing campaign against Hezbollah could ease Israel's security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential US pre-emptive attack to destroy Iran's nuclear installations. Citing an unnamed Middle East expert with knowledge of the current thinking of the Israeli and US governments, Israel had devised a plan for attacking Hezbollah - and shared it with Bush administration officials - well before the July 12 kidnappings. ...
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Middle_East/0,,2-10-2075_1981865,00.html
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Editor - 11:55:00 08-13-06
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| Iraq province 'nearing' handover |
British forces in Iraq are moving closer to handing over control in the Maysan province to local security forces by closing a camp in the area. The Abu Naji camp in the province, where around 1,000 soldiers of the Queen's Royal Hussars are based, will close in September. The Ministry of Defence said troops would be "working closely" with Iraqi police, army and border enforcement. Some 22 soldiers have died in the province and 115 in Iraq overall. Memorials to the dead will be moved to Basra, in southern Iraq, as the camp is wound down. The Queen's Royal Hussars will also be moving to a base near Basra. They will operate from that region as they continue to train Iraqi border patrols in Maysan in methods to prevent smuggling - particularly of explosives. And, in the next stage of the move towards a handover to Iraqi forces, troops will support local personnel in providing security for the province's main town of Al Amara. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4788029.stm
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Editor - 11:54:00 08-13-06
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| Iraq Shi'ite leader calls for security committees |
A Shi'ite leader has called for neighborhood committees to provide security in their own districts, casting further doubt on the ability of Iraqi and U.S. forces to reduce violence levels in Baghdad. Underlining the violence problems, police said up to 25 people were killed and 75 wounded in multiple attacks in a majority Shi'ite area in southern Baghdad late on Sunday. They said the attacks, all at the same time, included a suicide motorcycle bomber, rockets and a roadside bomb which hit a market in the southern district of Zaafaraniya. Separately, at least two mortar bombs hit an apartment building in the same area while a separate car bomb was exploded, they said. One police source said at least 20 people were killed, while another police official said 25 were killed. Hadi al-Amiri, a member of parliament and head of a Shi'ite militia, said such committees were essential because Iraqi forces still lacked training and were not ready to tackle militants and insurgents...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2308105
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Editor - 11:23:00 08-13-06
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