US cities are not medically prepared for a nuclear attack: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

US cities are not medically prepared for a nuclear attack: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. (BAS). HT: Crof.

The abstract:

The United States is not prepared to deal with an attack by a terrorist group using an improvised nuclear device, the author says. It should get prepared, because the risk is real even if the probability is low, and doing so could save a great many lives. 

The author explores the potential impact of a 10–15-kt improvised nuclear device set off in New York City. The initial blast would kill between 75,000 and 100,000 people in seconds. Another 100,000–200,000 people would be injured, many of them dying within weeks or months, some with burns, others with impact injuries, and some with acute radiation syndrome. 

The demands on the medical system would be vast and overwhelming, all the more so because the bomb would have destroyed much of the capacity to respond. Current planning efforts are not sufficient to manage the carnage.

What we’re up against.

There are four types of potential nuclear incidents that require some level of preparation: an accident or attack at a nuclear power plant, a dirty bomb, terrorist use of an improvised nuclear device, and an attack using a nuclear weapon executed by a foreign nation. The first two types of events – an incident at a nuclear power plant and a dirty bomb – have received a greater level of planning attention than the others. An attack on a nuclear power plant or a catastrophic accident like the ones that occurred at Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 would have devastating short- and long-term effects. With that in mind, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Department of Energy require that states with nuclear power plants practice notification, response, and evacuation plans. Zones requiring specific actions have been designated depending on communities’ proximity to nuclear power plants. Fortunately, the track record of the US nuclear power industry has been reassuring in terms of planning for accidents. The possibility of a dirty bomb attack has also received planning attention from US authorities, in part because it is seen as relatively likely on the spectrum of nuclear disasters. A dirty bomb is a rather simple device composed of a conventional explosive – much like the one used to blow up Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah building in 1995 – laced with radiological materials called isotopes. Gaining access to radioactive isotopes is not as challenging as one might expect. Medical facilities use various types for diagnostic testing, and several industries require them. Certain isotopes, while difficult to come by, have a long half-life, and if used in a dirty bomb would contaminate the blast area and that around it with residual radioactive material for months or years. This would create a “hot zone” too dangerous to enter for any type of firefighting, rescue, or reconstruction activity. Additionally, radioactive particles dispersed in the air can be carried downwind in a “plume” and deposited far from the explosion. Planning for the aftermath of a dirty bomb will vary from city to city. Most cities have some level of preparedness for  managing a mass-casualty event, but the problem of radiation contamination adds complexity. The majority of contamination can be handled by removing clothing and washing victims’ skin. Once victims are removed from the area, the residual ground and building contamination is a less urgent problem, and decisions about clearing the area will likely be made by city authorities in conjunction with federal agencies.

The most devastating kind of incident would involve a nuclear weapon: Terrorists could acquire or build and detonate an improvised nuclear device in a major city, or – worse because the bomb would be bigger – a foreign nation could launch a nuclear attack. In the first scenario, the device would likely be between 5 and 10 kt. A 10-kt bomb would release the same amount of energy as 10,000 tons of TNT. The kind of improvised nuclear device we are most likely to see is a “gun” type of bomb that would use an explosive to fire a mass of HEU through a tube at another mass of HEU, causing fission and the release of energy in an eruption of pressure, light, and heat. A 10-kt improvised nuclear device would destroy or significantly damage everything within a half-mile radius. An attack by a government with a long-standing nuclear weapons program could be orders of magnitude worse.

The strength of the explosion could range from something around 10 kt – the size of a nuclear bomb North Korea tested in 2013 – to measurements in the megatons, or hundreds of times greater. In a nuclear attack, the bomb will be dropped from an aircraft or delivered via missle. Unlike a bomb carried into a city on a truck, a bomb delivered by air can be detonated above a city rather than at ground level, causing a larger area of destruction and loss of life. In the discussion that follows, I make the assumption – based on information from open-source material – that terrorists are unlikely to construct a device greater than 10 kt, and that a missile launched by North Korea would carry a warhead in the 10–15 kt range. These scenarios are both more likely than a multimegaton nuclear warhead being launched at the United States. What to expect For those who must think about planning for the aftermath, one of the starkest facts about a nuclear bomb attack is that on top of killing people on a vast scale, it will thoroughly destroy the capacity to respond.

When a nuclear bomb made with HEU detonates, it releases an enormous amount of energy of four different types. The blast releases 50 percent of its energy in the form of a pressure wave so powerful that it levels buildings. There is little chance for human survival within a quarter mile, and as the wave travels farther out and weakens, it can shatter glass within half to three quarters of a mile. Thirty-five percent of energy from the blast creates the blinding flash, emitting heat that incinerates all but concrete buildings (and melting glass and burning the contents even in those). Fires will be so numerous and radiation levels so high that firefighting will be impossible. Initial (or “prompt”) radiation accounts for 5 percent of the energy. The remaining 10 percent is released in long-term fallout or residual radiation, which can, when carried by wind, travel over long distances. Should an improvised nuclear device detonate in New York City’s Times Square, the initial blast will kill between 75,000 and 100,000 people in seconds. They will be incinerated so thoroughly that their ashes will be indistinguishable from the ashes of the buildings around them. Others will be crushed by falling buildings, struck by flying debris, or thrown by the pressure wave against buildings, the ground, or each other. Another 100,000–200,000 people will be injured, some with burns from the heat of the blast, others by objects hurtling through the air. Many will be exposed to various levels of radiation that will cause suffering or death over weeks and months. The loss of city government, fire and police departments, and other emergency responders, coupled with demolished hospitals and destroyed water, sewage, power, and gas lines, means that repairs will take months or years even outside the contaminated “hot zone” and be impossible within it. The city will become a ghost town. As a result of the plume carrying radioactive particles downwind, hundreds of square miles may be unusable and need decontaminaion.

 People will leave their homes in search of safe havens. With no radios to give them instructions, some will move into the path of the plume and be exposed to a higher dose of radiation than they would have received had they stayed home. Many of these evacuees will die from radiation exposure. Chaos will prevail as millions of people try to evacuate the city without aid of communications systems, which will have been destroyed. They won’t know where to go or where to receive medical care. Following a hurricane, people can reach shelters, medical teams, and sources of food and water that were deployed in advance. Following a nuclear attack, none of these assets will have been prepositioned prior to the explosion. In the early 1980s, while living outside of Boston, I received a pamphlet in the mail instructing me to evacuate to a specific town should the worst happen. A reporter following this effort to prepare citizens traveled to several of the “host” towns to determine their readiness to receive all the evacuees. The reporter was startled to find townspeople who said the new arrivals wouldn’t be welcome. Where would city evacuees go if an attack occurred today?

From 2009 to 2010, as part of research I was doing for the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, I conducted an end-to-end assessment of the medical capabilities of several countries and cities to respond to terrorist use of an improvised nuclear device. (It was similar to one I completed while serving as director of the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management in New York City, looking at the aftermath of biological and chemical attacks.) No city or country visited during this assessment was prepared to manage the aftermath of a nuclear detonation. Even taking into account just the medical needs of a large city following a nuclear attack, the results clearly showed that current planning efforts were not sufficient to manage the carnage.

 Using New York City as a model, it’s anticipated that several hundred thousand people will require some sort of medical evaluation or care. With the loss of hospitals and 35–50 percent of first responders, and health care personnel unable or unwilling to go to work, surviving hospitals will need to use every inch of space to treat only the most critically injured. Makeshift treatment centers or casualty collection points near the blast will be required to triage the injured. Ethical and moral issues will arise as the overwhelmed staff, short on supplies, is forced to decide who should receive treatment and who should be moved to end-of-life care, receiving morphine to ease their pain. The profound psychological impact on these healthcare workers and first responders cannot be overstated. Their task is essential, though: The ability to make some order out of the chaotic wave of people with different levels of injuries, from those with various kinds of physical trauma to those with psychological trauma to the “worried well,” is a key to reducing morbidity and mortality. Certain characteristics of nuclear attacks make them especially hard to prepare for. A nuclear blast causes an electromagnetic pulse that knocks out communication systems, some irreversably. Without the ability to communicate, coordination among medical personnel and other first responders will become nearly impossible.

Assuming medical staff can get to where they need to be, demand for them will be extraordinary, but managers will have to rotate them to prevent exhaustion and reduce the psychological impact. There will be an overwhelming number of patients. After triage, some will have to be transported. Hospitals will have to not only care for the injured but also control security and coordinate the flow of information to victims’ families. Local, state, and federal governments will have to rapidly set up alternate-care facilities close to the “hot zone.” They will have to have plans for alternate standards of care, so that, for example, emergency medical technicians are allowed to perform tasks ordinarily reserved for paramedics or nurses, freeing paramedics and nurses to perform more advanced medical treatment than normally permitted. This last issue, the focus of numerous studies and reports, presents both legal and ethical challenges, many of which need to be resolved in state capitals, where the scope of practice for health care professionals is typically controlled. And planners should remember that just because an ethical issue is resolved in advance, doesn’t mean that the decision will be followed in practice in the aftermath of a disaster. Sending an adult to end-of-life care may pull on the heartstrings, but sending a child to the same fate could prove to be too difficult for many medical personnel.

Beyond the difficult front lines of triage, survivors of a nuclear explosion will have a variety of injuries, some well known to modern hospitals but others more difficult to diagnose and develop a plan for. Acute radiation syndrome, in particular, results from exposure to radiation and does not have to coincide with any other injury. It may be the only effect a survivor suffers, and it may not manifest soon after exposure. Acute radiation syndrome occurs when a significant portion of the body is exposed to a large dose of penetrating radiation in a short period of time. The nature of acute radiation syndrome depends on the dose. At lower doses, the only effect may be on the gastrointestinal system and bone marrow. At higher doses, bone marrow will stop producing infection-fighting white blood cells, platelets that assist in blood clotting, and red blood cells that carry oxygen. Larger doses also destroy the lining of the gastrointestinal system, causing diarrhea, vomiting, and an inability to swallow or digest food, requiring patients to receive nutrition and fluids intravenously. At the highest levels of exposure, the heart and nervous system are impacted and rapid progress toward death is certain. Some of the most difficult patients to manage are those with combined injuries – say, a penetrating wound from a shard of glass, requiring rapid surgical intervention, and also acute radiation syndrome. Finally, a great moral and societal challenge will be managing the dead. Many victims will be in the “hot zone,” where responders can’t enter and radiation levels may not be safe for years. Victims’ families, though, will demand recovery of loved ones. Even where identifiable remains exist, the number of dead will be so large that months may pass before a family receives them. At some point in recovering bodies, a decision may have to be made to bury victims in mass graves. The United States has excellent systems in place to manage mass fatality incidents – but they have never been tested with several hundred thousand dead at one time.

Where do we stand?

These issues have not received enough attention from FEMA, the US government entity responsible for helping states plan for and respond to disasters. FEMA takes what emergency planners call an “all hazards” approach, meaning it addresses effects common to many different types of disasters. This lack of planning to deal specifically with a nuclear incident is a serious weakness.

That makes it all the more important for states and cities to have their own plans in place for worst-case scenarios. It’s far easier to scale back a response if resources are not needed than to need them but not have them. While serving as Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services for New York State, I asked each of the 57 counties to plan for what they thought to be a worst-case scenario. (Scenarios varied from county to county.) Where FEMA has lagged, the US Department of Health and Human Services has aggressively built up its capability to respond to a nuclear incident. It has medical response teams that are staffed and equipped to mobilize in response to an incident, support state and local governments, and, depending on what is needed where, either provide comprehensive health care infrastructure or augment existing hospitals and clinics. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, these teams provided the only medical care available to some communities on Long Island, just east of New York City. They provided invaluable aid in evacuating Manhattan hospitals. The Department of Health and Human Services has also committed significant resources to acquiring medical treatments for the survivors of a nuclear detonation. The Strategic National Stockpile, composed of 12 separate units at classified locations around the country, is also under the department’s control, and capable of being dispatched to any city within 12 hours. In it are supplies to treat burn injuries, as well as cutting-edge therapeutics to aid in reversing the effects of radiation by stimulating bone marrow to produce platelets (which help stop bleeding) and white blood cells (which help prevent infection). Should respirators be needed, the Strategic National Stockpile can provide them, along with antibiotics, vaccines, and massive quantities of intravenous solutions. Many units from the stockpile will be needed to support a city in the aftermath of a nuclear detonation.

Cities far from the nuclear blast are also a potential resource. The federal government is sure to ask for help from far afield as soon as demand for medical resources exceeds local supply in a given area. Governors and mayors may be reluctant to release personnel, though, either for political reasons or out of concern that their cities and states may be targeted next. I believe most elected officials will rise to the occasion, and dispatch as much help as they can spare. But no number of simulated incidents can predict how political dynamics will shift following the real thing. Over the course of the study I conducted in 2009 and 2010, several government officials said they were unable to take steps forward because the elected officials they reported to were unwilling to discuss the issue. Privately, many politicians used to worry that if they discussed nuclear terrorism, they would likely be ridiculed for fearmongering. In the last seven years, that concern has changed dramatically at the national level, with President Obama and other world leaders convening to address nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. Silence at the local level continues, though. Among city and state governments, the only ones that I’m aware have some level of ongoing planning for nuclear disaster are New York (city and state), Washington state, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago. To a much lesser extent, several more cities are engaged as well. The state of Hawaii has asked the federal government for assistance in planning for a nuclear attack. Read the full story here.

Experts: Uranium-238 confiscated in Georgia was intended for buyers abroad.

Experts: Uranium-238 confiscated in Georgia was intended for buyers abroad. HT: Caucasianknot.

Georgia has no structures, which could buy smuggled radioactive materials, said the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". Terrorist groupings from Middle East can try to get uranium, said Shota Utiashvili, the former head of the information-analytical department of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). 

As noted by Irakli Aladashvili, a military expert, the confiscated uranium is not fit even for making a "dirty" atomic bomb, because of low level of radiation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 18 the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) reported about a detention of six persons, three Georgian citizens and three – Armenian ones. According to special services, they tried to sell radioactive uranium-238 for 200 million US dollars. A container with the radioactive material was found in the house of one of the detainees.

Shota Utiashvili has noted that citizens attempting to transport radioactive materials abroad are periodically detained in Georgia.

He did not rule out that "someone is trying to set up a supply chain to third countries."

According to Irakli Aladashvili, the editor of the military magazine "Arsenali", a part of the above radioactive material originated from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and another part – from Armenia. He suggested that the container could be obtained from the Armenian NPP in Metsamor.

Uranium-238 cannot be used for making an explosive, due to its physical and chemical properties, said Alexander Koldobskiy, the Deputy Director for Quality of the Institute of International Relations of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (known as MIFI).

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet  agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Iraq recovers 'Missing' Radioactive Material.

Iraq recovers 'Missing' Radioactive Material. (Naharnet).

Iraqi authorities on Sunday recovered radioactive material that had gone missing in the country's south more than three months earlier, the environment ministry's spokesman said.

"We found the radioactive material that was lost by a Turkish... company," Amir Ali Hassoun told AFP.

The material "still had the same properties and did not lead to the injury of anyone," Hassoun said.

He said the environment ministry will keep the material -- Iridium-192 -- until it can be returned to its owner, which another official earlier said was Turkish firm SGS.

The material was found near a wall at a petrol station in Zubair, a town near the southern port city of Basra, Hassoun said.

Mahdi Raykan, the head of the Zubair security committee, confirmed that the material was found in the town, and said it was recovered following a tip that a strange item was at the site. Read the full story here.

Iraq: Nov 2015 Radioactive material stolen from oil facility, fears it could be used as 'dirty bomb' if obtained by ISIS.

Iraq: Nov 2015 Radioactive material stolen from oil facility, fears it could be used as 'dirty bomb' if obtained by ISIS. (DailyStar).

Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material stolen last year, according to an environment ministry document and seven security, environmental and provincial officials who fear it could be used as a weapon if acquired by ISIS.

The material, stored in a protective case the size of a laptop computer, went missing in November from a storage facility near the southern city of Basra belonging to U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford, the document obtained by Reuters showed and officials confirmed.

A spokesman for Iraq's environment ministry said he could not discuss the issue, citing national security concerns. A Weatherford spokesman in Iraq declined to comment, and the company's Houston headquarters did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The material, which uses gamma rays to test flaws in materials used for oil and gas pipelines in a process called industrial gamma radiography, is owned by Istanbul-based SGS Turkey, according to the document and officials.

The document, dated Nov. 30 and addressed to the ministry's Center for Prevention of Radiation, describes "the theft of a highly dangerous radioactive source of Ir-192 with highly radioactive activity belonging to SGS from a depot belonging to Weatherford in the Rafidhia area of Basra province.".

"We are afraid the radioactive element will fall into the hands of Daesh," said a senior security official with knowledge of the theft, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

"They could simply attach it to explosives to make a dirty bomb," said the official, who works at the interior ministry and spoke on condition of anonymity as he is also not authorized to speak publicly. Read the full story here.

Video - Smugglers tried to sell radioactive material to IS and other terrorists.

Smugglers allegedly shopped radioactive material to IS and other terrorists. Read the full story here.


Related: IS Claims to Have Constructed ‘Dirty Bomb’ After robbing 40 Kg of Uranium.

Syria seeks UN help to convert nuclear facility.....'before ISIS creates dirty bomb?'

Syria seeks UN help to convert nuclear facility.....'before ISIS creates dirty bomb?' (MEM).

Syrian authorities asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to help it convert a nuclear facility and to move potentially dangerous nuclear material abroad, according to agency chief Yukiya Amano.

Amano told reporters: "We have received a request from Syria early this year (...) We are studying the request."

He noted that such assistance would include converting a small reactor near Damascus in order for it to be fuelled with low-enriched uranium (LEU) instead of the more dangerous highly enriched uranium (HEU).

Following this, Syria's stock of around one kilogramme of HEU would be sent back to China, which built the Miniature Neutron Source (MNSR) reactor that is used for training and research.

HEU can be used in a nuclear weapon, but it involves an extremely complicated process.

A more likely risk in the case of Syria, where the Islamic State (ISIS) controls large areas of the country, is the risk of using HEU to make what is called a "dirty bomb".

This bomb can distribute the nuclear material across a wide area by using conventional explosives. This is likely to cause mass panic. Hmmm........Anyone not getting the message? Reminds me of the 'rumors' that Iran was using a 'facility' in Syria for Uranium enrichment. 

'Non Existing' ISIS Terrorists may be planning Dirty Nuclear bomb inside the U.S.

'Non Existing' ISIS Terrorists may be planning Dirty Nuclear bomb inside the U.S. (DC Clothesline).HT: IsraelMatzav.

“There is a 47 mile long “Open Border” with Mexico. This makes It is very convenient for terrorists because what they do is fly to Mexico City, then fly to Ciudad Juarez. The beginning of the “open border zone” is literally 11 miles from the Juarez airport.

So think for a second an open border within 11 miles of a major international airport. How convenient is that for the terrorists, called ”Other than Mexican’s” to cross into the USA/ Your government tax dollars at work. If you don’t want to get your feet too wet you continue east and come across the border between Esperanza and Fort Hancock where the river is less than 6 inches deep. We put almost 100 miles on our car criss-crossing this 47 mile long open zone and we did not find one…..Not one Border Patrol agent guarding the border. 

So we drove and drove and we drove some more; we looked and we searched… We put almost 100 miles on our car criss crossing this 47 mile long open zone and we did not find one…..Not one Border Patrol agent guarding the border.

So a Border Patrol agent in El Paso told me a 75% reduction in field staffing in East County (the open border zone). The correct answer from our research is that there is 100% stand down of border patrol agents allowing any and everyone to cross over the open unsecured borders into the USA.

Regardless of your political affiliation you really have to wonder what is going on here. The people coming into Estados Undios/United States here are not Mexicans. They are categorized as OTM (Other than Mexican).

They routinely caught people from (the following countries)….

• Iran             
• Iraq
• Pakistan    
• Egypt
• Syria          
• Yemen      
• Turkey

(Editor’s Note: This is a who’s who list of countries containing terrorists who want to do harm to all Americans. It is also interesting to note that many of the countries listed in the Barber Report include the same countries that we see in Refugee/Resettlement programs which are bringing tens of thousands of unscreened immigrants into the U.S. Further, this reports casts the OTM invasion of the United States, last summer, in a different light. Last summer’s border invasion was a cover for ISIS to set up camps and prepare to strike at targets inside of the United States....)

“When we take a big ISIS hit and we will!  You now know where our government let them into this country. You will know how they circumvented the internal Border Patrol checkpoints which are too busy arresting legal Americans and seizing their cash… El Paso, which is the only major city in the United States where you can not leave the area without being checked at an internal Border Patrol checkpoint. It is curious that the government says these checkpoints are to enforce immigration laws yet over 84% of those arrested at these internal checkpoints are legal United States Citizens . The fines from these arrests are a source of revenue for the Obama administration. If you have over $1000 in cash on you that is legally yours, “they” (your USA government) seizes/ your money…

Yesterday, I received credible reports that both the Tucson and El Paso sectors are employing the use of radiation detectors along I-10 and I-40, respectively and that they are being concealed inside of traffic control vehicles so as to not cause concern among the public.

If you did not read yesterday’s the CSS report on the evidence trail that suggests that Chicago could be a target for an ISIS nuclear detonation. 

 The dots are beginning to connect with regard to how many ways America is about to be attacked. It is not a coincidence that there are mass casualty drills taking place and this and other related topics will be the subject of the next article in this series. Hmmm.....Why did i say 'Non existing':  Homeland Security: There are no ISIS training camps in Mexico. Read the full story here.


Related: ISIS Camp a Few Miles from Texas, Mexican Authorities Confirm

Half ton of radioactive maxi pads from Dubai seized at Beirut airport.

Half ton of radioactive maxi pads from Dubai seized at Beirut airport.(DS).

BEIRUT: Authorities seized 30 boxes of radioactive maxi pads that had arrived at Beirut’s airport Friday, a source at the airport told The Daily Star.

Electronic scanners at the customs department detected 554 kilograms of not-so-sanitary pads that had arrived in Beirut from Dubai, the source added.

A specialized judiciary launched an investigation into the case. More tests will be carried out measure the levels of radioactivity, the source explained.

The discovery was the latest in a series of radioactive material discovered at Beirut's airport and sea port amid an ongoing crackdown on radioactive imports. Hmmm.....Radioactive maxi pads.....Dubai? 'Dirty' bomb Test runs?

Islamic State Claims ‘Dirty Bomb’ Now in Europe

Islamic State Claims ‘Dirty Bomb’ Now in Europe. (Freebeacon).

An alleged weapons maker for the Islamic State (IS) claimed that a “radioactive device” has been smuggled into an undisclosed location in Europe, according to an intelligence brief released Monday by the SITE Intelligence Group.

“A Radioactive Device has entered somewhere in Europe,” according Twitter user Muslim-Al-Britani, who claims to be a freelance jihadist weapons maker now working alongside IS (also known as ISIL or ISIS), according to tweets captured and disseminated by SITE.

BREAKING NEWS# WARNING A Radioactive Device has entered somewhere in Europe. pic.twitter.com/9GKHjz7ugs

— Muslim-Al-Britani (@TNTmuslim) December 6, 2014

The claim by Al-Britani comes just days after reports emerged that IS could have in its possession a dirty bomb, the elements of which were obtained via earlier IS raids on a university research facility in Mosul that contained uranium. Al-Britani is also responsible for the flurry of reports on the dirty bomb.  Hmmm....Considering the 'Airtight' border with 'Islamist Turkey' that's hardly a surprise, anyone stocking up on Iodine in the neighborhood? Read the full story here.

IS Claims to Have Constructed ‘Dirty Bomb’ After robbing 40 Kg of Uranium.

IS Claims to Have Constructed ‘Dirty Bomb’ After robbing 40 Kg of Uranium. (SP).

Islamic State (IS) militants claim they have constructed a ‘dirty bomb’ after stealing 40kg of uranium from a university in Iraq, the International Business Times said.

Militants sent threatening messages on social media, describing the level of destruction the bomb would cause if it was to be activated in London.

“O by the way Islamic State does have a Dirty bomb. We found some Radio active material from Mosul university,” an IS fanatic identified as Hamayun Tariq, known by his nickname Muslim-al-Britani twitted. “We’ll find out what dirty bombs are and what they do. We’ll also discuss what might happen if one actually went off in a public area”.

Islamic State Internet Ban Cannot Halt Radicalization of Muslims Back in July, Reuters reported that the IS had stolen nuclear materials kept at Mosul University. “Terrorist groups have seized control of nuclear material at the sites that came out of the control of the state,” said Iraq’s UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim, as quoted by Reuters. He also added that the stolen materials could potentially be used to manufacture weapons of mass destruction. More here.

Related: How to Build a Dirty Bomb

Video - Dick Cheney predicts: "There will be an attack on America within the next decade; worse than 9/11 "

Radioactive material container from hijacked truck found empty in Mexico.

Radioactive material container from hijacked truck found empty in Mexico.(RT).
The vehicle was found close to where it was stolen outside of Mexico City as it was transporting cobalt-60 from a hospital in Tijuana to a radioactive waste storage center. Mexico’s nuclear safety director Juan Eibenschutz said radioactivity had been detected about a half mile (1 kilometer) from where the truck and container were located.

Mexico’s national nuclear safety commission CNSNS has said that the thieves, thought to be unaware of the contents which have now been located, removed it from its protective container and were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. 

"This is a radioactive source that is very strong," Eibenschutz told the AP, saying that exposure could cause death almost immediately if in close proximity. 

"Fortunately there are no people where the source of radioactivity is," Eibenschutz added. 
So far there were no indications that the theft of the cobalt was an intentional act of terrorism, said Eibenshutz. The stolen radioactive material was used in radiation therapy equipment that is now obsolete and is being phased out of Mexico’s public health system.

Federal police and the military have been mobilized in the municipalities of Hueypoxtla and Zumpango. CNSNS says the recovered radioactive material will be returned to a sealed case as soon as possible
An official familiar with similar cases told the AP that unintentional theft of radioactive materials are not altogether uncommon. 

In the 1970s one thief died and another was injured when a container also holding radioactive material was opened. That container was then sold to a foundry where it contaminated steel reinforcement bars. All foundries in Mexico now have equipment that can detect radioactivity.

Related: Hezbollah and Al Shabaab in Mexico and the Terrorist Threat to 
the United States 

MEXICAN Truck near Mexico City with radioactive load stolen.

MEXICAN Truck near Mexico City with radioactive load stolen.(BS).

VIENNA — The U.N. nuclear agency says a truck carrying an extremely dangerous radioactive substance has been stolen in Mexico.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says the truck was carrying cobalt-60, used for radiotherapy treatment to combat cancer. An IAEA statement Wednesday said the truck was stolen Monday while taking the material to a radioactive waste storage center from the northern city of Tijuana.

It says the heist occurred in Tepojaco, a town near Mexico City, and describes the load as "extremely dangerous" if damaged or removed from its protective shielding.

The statement says that Mexican authorities are searching for the material.

The statement gave no further details.Hmmmm.....Hezbollah....Dirty bomb..... anyone?Hezbollah Sheikh Qassem: "slogan 'Death to America' will remain as Iran - US negotiations are proceeding."

Related: Hezbollah and Al Shabaab in Mexico and the Terrorist Threat to 
the United States 

Growing fear in Israel that Iran Could be Building Dirty Bombs.

Growing fear in Israel that Iran Could be Building Dirty Bombs.(Debka).
Israeli leaders were harshly criticized on the eve of Israel’s 64th Independence Day for too much speechifying and no real action against a nuclear Iran, whereas the US in contrast finally made a move by establishing a new Pentagon spy agency for gathering intelligence inside Iran. April 24 and 25, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak addressed memorial ceremonies for the fallen, they reiterated the same old “Israel will not permit Iran to acquire nuclear arms” – a remark which the Israeli street has stopped taking seriously. Many members of military and intelligence circles are quoted by debkafile as believing that Israel may have waited too long and, along with the US, lost the initiative. Jerusalem and Washington are still at odds on Iran, but the theme of their dispute has shifted. It is no longer about Iran’s timeline for building a bomb, but what kind. They agree that Tehran will not possess advanced nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles capable of penetrating the US and Israeli missile defenses any time soon. Israel is now worried about more primitive devices like the ones in the North Korean and Pakistani arsenals which Israeli believes are in the final stages of constructions. 
The question in Israeli intelligence circles is this: Why is the impending North Korean nuclear test considered by the US, Japan and South Korea a major menace while no one seems to care about devices identical to the one Pyongyang plans to explode on the way to operational capability. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya’alon said publicly earlier this month that by the end of 2012, Iran would have a dirty bomb. His disclosure drew no reactions, although it was a warning. A dirty bomb combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. Its chief danger is the spread of radioactive contamination. Cruder and cheaper to producer than a nuclear bomb, counter-terror agencies have long appreciated that it is easily transferred to terrorists. Ya’alon’s warning therefore means that Iran may soon be able to transfer dirty bombs to the Lebanese Hizballah units sitting on Israel’s northern border and the Palesinian Hamas and Jihad Islami in Gaza. The Weekly Standard edition for publication on April 30 wrote the following sentence: “The supreme leader and his guards can have a nuclear weapon in their hands in as little as 43 days, provided Iran’s nuclear scientists have mastered the manufacture of a nuclear trigger – technically much less difficult than enrichment.” The UN nuclear watchdog in Vienna and US intelligence officials have reported tests on nuclear materials conducted in recent weeks at the Parchin site near Tehran, to which access has been denied UN inspectors.Hmmmm........What else did Erdogan and Obama promise to Iran?Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                    Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation New Zealand 6.1 - 5.8 - 5.5 - 5.2 ; Solomon Islands 5.6 !More info here.

• Boehner: Obama approved Solyndra, but not Keystone.(BC).By Joel Gehrke.House Speaker John Boehner said that President Obama has put politics ahead of job creation, and faulted the president for approving the high-risk Solyndra loan guarantee, but then denying a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline to be built."President Obama expedited approval of the Solyndra loan project, but won't approve a project that's been under review for over three years," House Speaker John Boehner said in a press conference today on Obama's decision not to grant a permit for the Keystone pipeline. He declared that "President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese." He argued that "the President is selling out American jobs for politics," and declared that Obama's promise to work to create jobs "was broken" today.President Obama said he was "disappointed" in the Republicans for forcing a Keystone decision ahead of the environmental studies timetable. "The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment," Obama said in his statement on the Keystone rejection. "I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil." Hmmmm.......Yup that's why Under Obama, Oil and Gas Production on Federal Lands Is Down 40% !Read the full story here.

• "Job-Killers, 2; American Workers, 0".(PNW).LIUNA – the Laborers' International Union of North America – called the reported decision by the Obama Administration today to block permitting for Keystone XL pipeline "politics at its worst."Last fall the Administration delayed consideration of a permit for the pipeline until after the 2012 elections. Today, in response to Congressional legislation requiring a 60-day decision, the Administration reportedly denied a permit."The score is Job-Killers, two; American workers, zero. We are completely and totally disappointed. This is politics at its worst," LIUNA General President Terry O'Sullivan said. "Once again the President has sided with environmentalists instead of blue collar construction workers – even though environmental concerns were more than adequately addressed. Blue collar construction workers across the U.S. will not forget this."The project would create thousands of good jobs at a time when unemployment in the construction industry is 16 percent with 1.3 million men and women jobless.Environmental groups have used the Keystone XL as a disingenuous proxy for arguments about global warming. The pipeline would carry up to 900,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada's Tar Sands to the U.S., reducing reliance on oil from hostile nations. While environmental groups decry Tar Sands development, the Canadian government and Trans-Canada, the company developing the Tar Sands, have made clear the oil will be developed – and possibly sold to China – regardless of whether Keystone XL is built.In addition, experts believe the project would be the safest ever constructed. Design included 21,000 sensors, monitored by satellites to immediately detect leaks and automatically stop the flow of oil. In addition, a revised route alleviated concerns in Nebraska over the project crossing water resources. Overall, the pipeline has undergone more than 1,100 days of governmental review. "The Administration and environmentalists have blown the whistle on workers trying to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads," said O'Sullivan. "Instead of celebrating their victory by hugging a tree they should hug a jobless construction worker because they're the ones who are going to need it."Read the full story here.

• Obama’s “Forced” Keystone Decision Rejects Jobs, Energy, and Logic.(Heritage).By Nicolas Loris.President Obama’s politically intoned decision to reject TransCanada’s permit application to construct a 1,700-mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas refineries sent a clear message that special interest demands are of more importance than more energy and much-needed job creation.Building the pipeline would bring over 700,000 barrels of oil per day and directly create 20,000 truly shovel-ready jobs. The Canadian Energy Research Institute estimates that current pipeline operations and the addition of the Keystone XL pipeline would create 179,000 American jobs by 2035.Since TransCanada and Nebraska politicians have agreed to reroute the pipeline, the focus should now be on completing the reroute design and beginning construction. Congress should recognize the findings in the State Department’s “Final Environmental Impact Statement” and authorize the application submitted by TransCanada in September 2008.Given the need for jobs and more oil on the global market to offset high prices, the permit application had been moving along positively with bipartisan support without much attention until environmental activists made blocking the Keystone XL pipeline their issue to rally around for 2011. Although President Obama and the Department of State (DOS) said they’d make a decision at the end of 2011, they ultimately catered to a narrow set of special interests, punting the decision until after the 2012 elections.The payroll tax holiday legislation signed at the end of 2011 moved that decision date up to February 21. Today, however, the President rejected the permit, claiming, “This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people.” President Obama initially delayed the decision because he claimed that additional environmental review from the DOS was necessary.This is a stunning (though not unexpected) decision. At a time when unemployment remains unacceptably high, Iran is threatening the Strait of Hormuz, and Canada is looking to take this oil elsewhere, it is difficult to understand how the President could say no to thousands of jobs and an increase in energy supply from our ally.Hmmmm....Perhaps he wants the U.S. depending on Arab oil?Or in Fantasy Obamaland every one drives electric cars?Read the full story here.

• Taqiyya vs. Our President.(FM).Posted by David Meir-Levi.In a previous essay, the present writer exposed the concept of “taqiyya” as a traditional Muslim form of deceit employed by Yasir Arafat​, Mahmoud Abbas​, and other leaders of the Arab terror war against Israel. El-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood​ also are using taqiyya against the USA and other western countries, and with frightening success.While the Qur’an encourages honesty between believers (Sura 40:28), deception directed at non-Muslims, generally known in Arabic as taqiyya, has full Qur’anic support. Is Obama unaware of the intentions of the Brotherhood? Even if he had no Arabists on his staff, no one to translate the works of Sayd Qtub or Mustafa Mashhur or Yusuf el-Qaradhawi, much has been written about them in English. Have his advisors never read Front Page Magazine?Obama cannot not know that his backing of the Muslim Brotherhood is nothing less than support for the regimes that seek our demise. So one must ask the uncomfortable question: “whose side is he on?”Read the full story here.

• U.S. May Release Senior Taliban Terrorists.(IPT).The Obama administration is considering releasing five top Taliban jihadists from custody at Guantanamo Bay in hopes of negotiating a peace agreement with the Afghan terrorist movement. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week that administration is in "the preliminary stages" of testing whether talks with the Taliban can succeed.President Obama plans to withdraw virtually all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by 2014. Last month, Vice President Joe Biden told an interviewer that "the Taliban per se is not our enemy."Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney blasted Obama's approach to the Taliban, declaring that "The right course for America is not to negotiate with the Taliban while the Taliban are killing our soldiers." Yet one of Romney's top foreign policy aides has reportedly advocated a negotiating approach that is similar to Obama's.According to a recent report in The Hindu, radical Islamist cleric and Muslim Brotherhood spiritual guide Yusuf al-Qaradawi has served as a "key mediator" in U.S.-Taliban negotiations.The Taliban's recent announcement that it plans to open a political office in Qatar meets a longstanding U.S./NATO condition for discussing Afghanistan's future with the terror group. Earlier this month, reports indicated that Washington had agreed to transfer the five Taliban leaders from U.S. custody to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government.At some point, they could be set free.Another report indicated the jihadists would be transferred to Qatar, a nation with a poor record on combating terrorism and a suspected link to the 9/11 attacks.The strategy is fraught with peril as previous experience has shown. Still, the State Department has made finding a negotiating address for the Taliban a top priority.Read the full story here.

• Muslim Brotherhood to US Ambassador in Egypt: Sharia Law ensures personal freedoms.(BM).CAIRO: A statement issued by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said that US Ambassador to Cairo Anne Patterson met with the group’s Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie on Wednesday, and reportedly told her that Sharia law, or Islamic law, “ensures personal freedoms for all.”The MB’s statement explained that Patterson expressed her gratitude for the meeting and congratulated the group for their political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), victory in the recent parliamentary elections, and stressed that the United States is looking forward to cooperate with “whoever is chosen by the Egyptian people and a democratic government.”The statement pointed out that Badie also thanked the ambassador for her congratulations, and said the elections “made Egyptians proud,” adding that the results of elections are a “victory” for the democratic alliance led by FJP, which includes a number of other parties.The Supreme Guide criticized the successive US administrations and accused them of “controlling people through their support to the dictators,” which made the popularity of the United States decline across the region.“The current era is the era of the people and we want to see deeds not words by the United States to recover its credibility among Arabs and Muslims, and in particular with regard to the Palestinian issue, which is the most important cause for Arabs and Muslims.”Badie explained that the principles of Islamic Sharia law is the m”ain source of legislation and the biggest guarantee of public and private freedoms, as it ensures the freedom of belief, religion and personal rights to all citizens equally.”For her part, Ambassador Patterson admitted that US administrations have committed some mistakes, but called for overcoming them and to “learn from them to avoid their recurrence in the future.”She pointed out that democracy always brings stable partners.Read the full story here.

• Leftists Sink to Nazi Propaganda in 'Bibi Uber Alles' Video Clip.(INN).Israelis of all political stripes are aghast over a Youtube video showing Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels endorsing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The video, titled “Bibi Uber Alles,” clearly violates pending and existing laws against using Nazi imagery and inciting hatred, wrote commenters on the video site's page, and called for police prosecution of the individual who posted the video.In the video, called “one of the worst examples of leftist hate ever on the internet” by one commenter on the video's YouTube page, Goebbels is seen speaking to a mass audience of Germans in archival footage from a Nazi rally in the 1930s. However, interspersed in the video (obviously edited in) are shots of “settler” types, including what appears to be a woman wearing a head scarf – and oddly, one who bears a striking resemblance to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – along with the archival footage of Nazi-supporting masses.The video's author is listed as “Christian101,” and on Wednesday night it appeared on the Facebook page of an individual who calls himself Meir Mendelson, who wrote in a comment that “the cult of personality encouraged by Bibi the megalomaniac will lead to a catastrophe.”Commenters who identified themselves as both leftists and rightists condemned the video on its home page, with rightwing activists saying that the video shows not just the left's frustrated hatred of the right – but also its hypocrisy; weeks after the hareidi-religious use of Nazi imagery to protest arrests in Mea Shearim and Beit Shemesh was roundly condemned by everyone, not one public voice from leftists who “fear for Israeli democracy” has been raised in the several weeks since the video has been posted. Dozens of Israelis posting to the page called for viewers to demand that YouTube remove the video, and that police investigate and seek out the person behind the video and arrest him.Read the full story here.

• Islam's OIC: The World's Thought Police.(StonegateI).By Mudar Zahran.On December 19, 2011, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the negative stereotyping and stigmatization of people based on their religion, and urged member states to take effective measures towards addressing and combating "such incidents." This resolution, based on an initiative from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), was supported by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who hosted a closed-door three-day meeting – apparently one of many in a series called the "Istanbul Process"-- in Washington D.C. with OIC representatives to discuss ways to implement the resolution.What might sound like a step toward "tolerance," however, is in reality an assault on freedom of speech: a UN-endorsed violation of human rights, co-sponsored by the US, and prompted by the OIC, an organization of 57 Muslim nations, most of which hold the world's worst records on freedom of speech.The OIC initiative for a UN resolution against "defamation of religion" is not new; the OIC has been promoting it for the last 13 years despite earlier opposition from Western countries. What changed recently was dropping the word "defamation of religion" and stressing "freedom of speech"-- something about which Secretary of State Clinton seems to be enthusiastic.What resulted, however, from this new "Resolution 16/18," as it is called, is a US-endorsed UN proposal that urges the restriction of freedom of speech by using a vague terms, such as combating "religious profiling" – a term that can be interpreted by anyone any way he likes.Placing such language into an international legal context forces people to have to think twice before practicing their constitutionally-secured right of free speech – in the US, at least -- when it comes to discussing religion.What is also alarming, even to me as a practicing Muslim, is the fact that the resolution seems to revolve around just one religion: Islam. But will the OIC countries implement any resolution for themselves, taking measures against their government-sponsored demonization of the Jewish faith and the systematic proliferation of anti-Semitism?Does Resolution 16/18 mean that Muslims will still be free in their textbooks to call Jews the sons of swine and monkeys -- perhaps on some trumped-up excuse that that a such a remark is not religious but "only" racial?Will the Palestinians' highest religious authority, the Mufti, Muhammad Hussein, still be able to say, as he did in early January at a Fatah (not Hamas) event to celebrate the 47th anniversary of its founding, that the destiny of Muslims is to kill Jews [sic], and, quoting a Hadith [a saying attributed to the prophet Mohammad] that "The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews… come and kill [them]" – and then have Palestinian TV repeat it?The values of Islam, for example, encourage the military conquest of non-Muslim nations. Although this value is within my religion, as a Muslim, I would like to see it being dropped—Now, is that a defamation of my own religion?Is Obama's, Clinton's and the US's current message that some religions are "more sacred" than others?Unfortunately without ever investigating the United Nations, perhaps the biggest international human rights violator of all, Human Rights Watch, in one of its reports, says that the OIC, at least, has been relentless protecting states that violate human rights from criticism.Human Rights Watch also states it has concerns over the OIC's definition of terrorism, which includes "imperilling people's honour;" "threatening political unity," which sounds like an enshrinement of "one man, one vote, one time;" and "threatening territorial integrity." Would the OIC label the people of Quebec who want separation from Canada terrorists for threatening Canada's "territorial integrity"? Would the OIC recognize the Tea Party as a terrorist organization for "threatening political unity" in the US?Funny? Not really. The OIC could easily try to market those definitions of "terrorism" that Human Rights Watch describes as "vague," and label genuinely "peaceful acts of expression" as terrorism.Revealingly, the OIC excludes all real acts of terrorism – carried out by terrorist organizations, such as Hamas – calling them "legitimate struggle".Read the full story here.

• Bengal hospital horror: Mamata blames the Left for 40,000 infant deaths each year.(NDTV).Malda: In just 48 hours, 15 babies have died in a government hospital in Malda, West Bengal. The government quibbles that it is 11 deaths in two days, not 15, a number no less shocking.Four of the babies died in a span of eight hours last night. Health authorities claim each of these infants were brought to the hospital, the Malda Medical College Hopsital, in very serious condition and insist there has been no negligence. Last November, 26 infants had died at the same hospital over a period of six days; an average 40,000 infants die every year in West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has vowed today to bring that rate down by 25 per cent. But when the health department sent a task force to the Malda hospital recently to investigate infant deaths, members of the team said no senior staff was present to answer queries. They were reportedly informed that the superintendent and vice principal of the college were in Kolkata and the principal was in Hyderabad for some official work. The task force reported that the hospital needs more doctors, nurses and infrastructure. "The hospital needs more doctors, nurses and group D staff. There is a lot of pressure at this hospital. The Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) needs to be expanded. Negligence, if found, will be punished," said Tridib Bhattacharya, a member of the task force.The Malda infant deaths bring into sharp focus the disarray that healthcare is in in West Bengal.Hmmmm......What is obviously missing in this story is the gender of the babies.....what leads one to stray to the thought of "gendercide".Read the full story here.

• 'Radioactive material stolen from Egypt plant'.(JPost).CAIRO - Radioactive material has been stolen from a nuclear power station on Egypt's Mediterranean coast that was the site of violent protests last week, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday.A safe containing radioactive material at the Dabaa nuclear power plant was seized while another safe containing radioactive material was broken open and part of its contents taken, the newspaper said.The government has alerted security authorities and asked that specialised teams help in the search for the stolen material, Al-Ahram reported.More than a dozen people were wounded last week when military police tried to disperse hundreds of Egyptian protesters demanding the relocation of the Dabaa plant, which is still under construction.Plant staff have refused to go to the site because of the deterioration in the security situation there, Al-Ahram said.About 500 Egyptians rallied in front of the plant last week to demand that the project be terminated, with some saying they had lost their land on the plant's site.Soldiers and the protesters hurled stones at each other and exchanged gunfire after the protesters demolished a wall surrounding the site, a security source and witnesses said.Hmmmm.....Repeat after me "Dirty bomb".Read the full story here.

• UN: Gaza blockade – collective punishment.(YNet). The United Nations' submitted its annual report on the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories on Wednesday, painting a grim picture that includes food insecurity, isolation, violence and failing health and education services – all courtesy of the Israeli "occupation."The report, which was presented during a Security Council session upon the Palestinians' request, asserted that the number of civilian casualties rose by more than 30% in Gaza and the West Bank compared to 2010."Serious protection and human rights issues, limited access to essential services and entrenched levels of food insecurity continue to characterize the day-to-day lives of many Palestinians," the report stated. "Israeli authorities continued to impose a blockade on Gaza, amounting to collective punishment of the population and affecting every aspect of life in the Gaza Strip," it adds.The report maintains that the policies that restrict the Gazans' access to areas with viable agriculture and fishing prospects constrain their livelihoods. Moreover, restrictions on the movement of goods and people into Gaza compromise the region's health, education and sanitation services. The UN also addressed the situation in east Jerusalem, arguing that the Palestinian population there is growing isolated from the rest of the West Bank. Furthermore, the residents of Area C – which makes up 60% of the West Bank and is under Israeli control – have been facing escalating rates of home demolitions, settler violence and restricted travel. "The threat to lives and livelihoods became too great for many, coping strategies were overwhelmed and an increasing number of Palestinians were displaced from their homes and their land," the report claims.The global body called on organizations and policy makers to work towards alleviating the suffering and demand respect for the Palestinians' human rights. "Progress in the peace process is desperately needed – the coping strategies of Palestinian communities are being eroded with each year that passes," the report said.Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor slammed the Security Council for "wasting time on an issue that does not pose a humanitarian crisis." He noted that while Gaza saw a 28% growth in its Gross Domestic Product, 4 million Somalis are starving and people in Haiti, Sudan and Afghanistan don't have access to water.Prosor later told reporters that a humanitarian crisis can be found in southern Israel, where kids have 15 seconds to take cover when a rocket is about to explode.Read the full story here.

• Two Catholic priests kidnapped in Sudan.(BikyaMasr).CAIRO: Fears in the minority Christian community in Sudan have intensified after the kidnapping of two Catholic priests last Sunday.Father Joseph Makwey and Father Sylvester Mogga were kidnapped on January 15 by a militia who broke into their compound in Rabak, south of Khartoum.The men scoured the compound, kidnapping the men and stealing computers and other valuables.The militia reportedly targeted the church because it was rumored that the priests had granted refuge to a former member of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army, who fought successfully for the independence of South Sudan.The identity of the armed men is now yet known, however police believe that they are militiamen from South Sudan.Bishop Daniel Adwok of the Khartoum archdiocese said that the government had failed to protect citizens from the violence, and explained that the kidnapping does not come as an isolated incident, but part of a larger problem within the Christian community in Sudan.“I do not believe this was a random crime. This kidnapping seems deliberate. They must have known that the two individuals kidnapped were priests,” said the Bishop.Christians in Sudan have reported an increase in violence and intimidation, as hostilities have heightened since the secession of South Sudan.Read the full story here.

• Tunisian students launch hunger strike to protest ban on veils.(BikyaMasr).CAIRO: Five Tunisian students went on a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest a ban on the niqab at a University of Manouba, just west of Tunis.The students are reportedly under medical monitoring, and will continue the hunger strike indefinitely.The dispute over the niqab ban began last November, with the university banning the garment due to security concerns.A group of Salafist Muslim students held a series of sit-ins to protest the ban, shutting down the university for a month and a half.The sit-ins will continue as the students launch their hunger strike, however university officials want to disperse the protests before exams start on January 24.“I don’t wear the niqab or the veil, but I believe that any woman should have the right to dress as she believes is appropriate. That is freedom,” university student Hend Mohamed told Bikyamasr.com via email on Thursday.Read the full story here.

• Iran’s nude actress Golshifteh Farahani sparks anger,Iranian government, calling her “anti-Islam” and demanding that she be put to death for “blasphemy.”(BikyaMasr).CAIRO: An Iranian actress who posted nude photos of herself on Facebook has been attacked by the Iranian government, calling her “anti-Islam” and demanding that she be put to death for “blasphemy.”Golshifteh Farahani came to stardom at the age of 14 when she appeared in the film Pearl Tree, but jumped to international fame in 2008 when she starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Body of Lies.Her dabbling in women’s issues began when she appeared in France’s Madame Le Figaro and protested against the ultra-conservative nature of her home country, which she said in the interview, was “restricting the ability for Iran’s film industry to push forward.”This month, however, she again sparked controversy by posting her bare chest image on her personal Facebook page.“I think it is disgusting and she should be put to jail or worse for this crazy idea. Women here are treated with utmost respect,” said an Iranian government official in Cairo, the birthplace of the nude photo revolutionary in the region.Back in Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency said “publishing of photographs of the deplorable Golshifteh Farahani on the Internet shows the ugly face of cinemas behind the scenes.”But women in Iran are not as disturbed by the image and told Bikyamasr.com that the idea that a woman can demand her rights through “the shock of nudity” is not new to the world.“We have long had nudity in our history, and this concept and act of protest by Farahani is the next evolution in the battle for women to become equal and have full rights in the country,” said one professor, Nadia, who said speaking on the topic could make her face disciplinary action.“It is really easy to condemn and call her ridiculous, but the reality is men are all logging on to see her naked body, just like they did in Egypt. At least now we can talk about women’s issues in this country and push empowerment forward,” the professor told Bikyamasr.com via telephone.In Egypt, upon hearing of Farahani’s actions, activist Manal said that “if she is going to be banned from Iran, maybe more women should follow her lead and take off their clothes. At least this way we can leave our countries and live in peace.”Read the full story here.

• 'Previously hidden mass graves found at Treblinka'.(DailyMail).A British forensic archaeologist has unearthed fresh evidence to prove the existence of mass graves at the Nazi death camp Treblinka - scuppering the claims of Holocaust deniers who say it was merely a transit camp.Some 800,000 Jews were killed at the site, in north east Poland, during the Second World War but a lack of physical evidence in the area has been exploited by Holocaust deniers.Forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls has now undertaken the first co-ordinated scientific attempt to locate the graves.As Jewish religious law forbids disturbing burial sites, she and her team from the University of Birmingham have used 'ground-penetrating radar'.Her work at the site, where the Nazis tried to destroy all traces of industrial-scale killing, is being followed in forthcoming Radio 4 documentary The Hidden Graves Of The Holocaust.Sturdy Colls said: 'All the history books state that Treblinka was destroyed by the Nazis but the survey has demonstrated that simply isn’t the case.'I’ve identified a number of buried pits using geophysical techniques. These are considerable in size, and very deep, one in particular is 26 by 17 metres.'The programme’s presenter says that the pits contain the burnt remains of thousands of bodies.Read the full story here.