SYDNEY — Australia on Sunday warned of a "high risk" of terror attacks on domestic and international flights in and to the United States, urging citizens to be vigilant while in the country. "We advise you to exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect your safety in the United States because of the risk of terrorism," the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a travel advisory.
The department urged travellers to monitor the media for information about possible new security threats. "The United States Department of Homeland Security's Advisory System Threat Level is at Orange for all domestic and international flights, indicating a 'high' risk of terrorist attack," it said. "It is at Yellow or 'elevated' for all other sectors, indicating a significant risk of terrorist attack."
Excerpted
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hFBtsHOSSBSqDqyg9aY_2mUHYdvw
Taliban in Pakistan rejects offer for Ramadan truce
Monday, September 01, 2008
Pakistani Taliban will continue attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, rejecting a government announcement it would halt military actions in the northwest, a Taliban spokesman said Sunday. Violence has surged in Pakistan in recent weeks with the military battling Al-Qaeda- and Taliban-linked fighters in three different parts of the northwest.
The militants have responded with suicide and remotely detonated bomb attacks on the security forces and civilian targets. Deteriorating security has coincided with a faltering economy and political upheaval as the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf on August 18 was followed a week later by a split in the ruling coalition. "It's a joke. It isn't a matter of holy or unholy. All months are holy. If they want to end fighting, it should be permanent," Muslim Khan, Taliban spokesman in the Swat Valley, told Reuters.
"We want Sharia laws enforced and will continue our struggle. We haven't got instructions from our top leadership to stop fighting. If they do [order a halt] then we certainly will."
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http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=95582
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security forces missed a chance to catch al Qaeda second in command Ayman al Zawahri, the government's senior Interior Ministry official said on Monday. Zawahri and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have been in hiding since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and are both believed to be in ethnic Pashtun tribal lands that straddle northwest Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
Rehman Malik did not say when security forces had missed the chance to catch Zawahri or give any more detail about the incident. He also did not say where bin Laden might be. Malik told a news conference Zawahri was moving between Pakistan's tribal areas and the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Paktia. "We certainly had traced him at one place, but we missed the chance. So he's moving in Mohmand and, of course, sometimes in Kunar, mostly in Kunar and Paktia," he said.
Mohmand is one of seven Pakistani tribal regions where Malik said both Zawahri and his wife had been. Malik said Pakistani Taliban were working hand in glove with al Qaeda, providing them with shelter and acting as their mouthpiece. "They have not only connections, I would say Tehrik-e-Taliban is an extension of al Qaeda," he said, referring to a Pakistani Taliban umbrella group which authorities blame for a string of bomb attacks over the past year that have killed hundreds of people.
Excerpted
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINISL1912720080901?rpc=401&
Pakistan: Banks directed to freeze Taliban accounts
1 Sept. 2008
Karachi - Pakistan's central bank has directed the country's commercial banks to freeze the bank accounts of one of the country's most violent militant groups, the Tehrik-e-Taliban. The State Bank of Pakistan spokesman, Syed Wasimuddin said that directives had been issued for the closure of all the accounts of the Tehrik-e-Taliban from Monday.
Under the move, no amount can be deposited or withdrawn from their accounts. The government moved against the Tehrik-e-Taliban movement after it claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks, including the devastating bomb attack that killed at least 70 people and injured many others at a Pakistani arms factory in August.
According to the Pakistani network, GeoTV, the bank has also directed commercial banks to provide all the details of these bank accounts - deposits, names of account holders, postal addresses and telephone numbers. The bank's action follows a directive from the federal government to clamp down on the organisation.
Excerpted
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2452295412
Thank you Oorang for the “high risk” alert.