Texas Based carnival cruise ship stuck at sea near Belize, Possible Ebola nurse on board.

Texas Based carnival cruise ship stuck at sea near Belize, Possible Ebola nurse on board. (Belizean)

Reports tonight are that two individuals possibly infected with the Ebola virus are in Belizean waters. 

Local TV station Channel 7 monitored in the capital City Of Belmopan tonight, reported having credible reports that a couple from a Texas-based cruise ship presently anchored off Belize City, is on a ship tender, unable to return to the cruise ship, while being refused entry to Belize City to catch an air ambulance awaiting at the International Airport to take them to the their country of origin, the U.S.A.

The television station in its broadcast tonight said Belize health authorities contacted tonight have so far refused to deny or confirm the report. The patient exhibiting Ebola symptoms has been confirmed to be a nurse at a Dallas hospital traveling with her husband.

Later tonight in breaking news, Channel 5 Belize reported that it has:

“Confirmed with representatives of the Ministry of Health that they have indeed received a report that there is at least one passenger on board the cruise ship, Carnival Magic, showing symptoms similar to that of the Ebola virus. According to the report made to MOH, the person exhibiting the symptoms did not come ashore today. The ship is reportedly carrying 3652 passengers and a total population of 4633 persons.

“The Carnival Magic departed from Galveston Texas on Sunday, October 12 arrived in Mahogany Bay, Honduras on Wednesday October 15 and arrived in Belize this morning, Thursday October 16.

“The ship was scheduled to leave Belize en route to Cozumel this evening at 5pm. However, it is still anchored in Belizean waters near State Bank Caye.”

“We have also have confirmed that the Belize Coast Guard has been deployed to prevent anyone from leaving the ship; including the Belizean pilot on board.”

Channel 7 news anchor Indira Craig has posted on her Facebook page that Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow in a callous move in view of very close Belize-U.S. relations, has denied entry into Belize for the stricken U.S. nationals to be air lifted to the U.S.A. for treatment:

“Talks have concluded with the PM and The US State Department officials. Belize WILL NOT BE GRANTING ACCESS to the suspected passengers to have entry onto our shores. An official release will be sent out shortly by government followed by a press conference to be held tomorrow.Passports have been returned so this scare has ended.”

In a late night official press release issued by the Belize Press Office, the Belize government offered its version of the Belize Ebola Incident.It stresses that while the patient did not disembark in Belize, it does not address the question that thousands of cruise ship passengers that may have had contact with the patient(s) did in fact disembark and tour Belize City today. More here from WAPO.

Phones, shoes to face scrutiny as airport security tightened, says U.S. Officials.

The Weakest Link.

Phones, shoes to face scrutiny as airport security tightened, says U.S. Officials. (Taz).

Airlines with direct flights to the United States have been told to tighten screening of mobile phones and shoes in response to intelligence reports of increased threats from al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The officials singled out smartphones including iPhones made by Apple Inc and Galaxy phones made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for extra security checks on U.S.-bound direct flights from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Reuters reported.

U.S. security officials said they fear bombmakers from the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have figured out how to turn the phones into explosive devices that can avoid detection.

They also are concerned that hard-to-detect bombs could be built into shoes, said the officials, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A U.S. official said that other electronic devices carried by passengers also are likely to receive more intense scrutiny.

Airlines or airport operators that fail to strengthen security could face bans on flights entering the United States, the officials said.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department announced on Wednesday plans to step up security checks, but they offered few details on how airlines and airports will implement them.

An official familiar with the matter said the United States believes that while it is possible there may be some additional delays at security checkpoints, at most major airports passengers will not be seriously inconvenienced.

The official said most passengers taking long-distance flights arrive well in advance of scheduled departures, leaving time for extra screening. But he said the United States could not rule out disruptions in countries where airport infrastructure and security procedures are less sophisticated.

U.S.-based airlines had little to say about the enhanced security. American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the Department of Homeland Security had been in contact with American on the issue, but declined to comment further.

Luke Punzenberger, a spokesman for United Airlines Inc[UALCO.UL], said: "We work closely with federal officials on security matters, but we are not able to discuss the details of those efforts."

U.S. security agencies fear bombmakers from AQAP and the Islamist Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, are collaborating on plots to attack U.S.- or Europe-bound planes with bombs concealed on foreign fighters carrying Western passports, the officials said.

AQAP has a track record of plotting such attacks. Its innovative bombmaker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, built an underwear bomb used in a failed 2009 effort to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner, and his devices were implicated in other plots.

There was no immediate indication U.S. intelligence had detected a specific plot or timeframe for any attack.
U.S. officials say the United States has acquired evidence that Nusra and AQAP operatives have tested new bomb designs in Syria, where Nusra is one of the main Islamist groups fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. More here.

Hmmm..........I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, in my point of view the WEAKEST link is the staff working all over airports. If you see the number of would be jihadis that left for Syria then what’s stopping one or more Islamic staff members at European airports to Aid or organise an explosive device on a plane? If you take in account the drugs that are smuggled by airport staff the possibility becomes very real. Time to rethink the safety procedures……I would hate to be the one saying…”Told you So”

Airport security stepped up in Britain over bomb plot fears...How 'Safe' is the staff working at Airports?

Airport security stepped up in Britain over bomb plot fears...How 'Safe' is the staff working at Airports? (Guardian).

Security at UK airports is to be tightened after US officials raised fears about terrorists in Syria and Yemen developing explosives that could be smuggled on to planes.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said on Wednesday night that it would "step up some of our aviation security measures" following the warning from US security chiefs.

US officials told Reuters that security at European airports would be increased following intelligence that al-Qaida operatives in Syria and Yemen had joined forces to develop bombs that would avoid detection and bring down aircraft.

The US did not specify which airports or countries would be affected, nor did it say what triggered the extra precautions.

The US department of homeland security said "enhanced security measures" would be implemented in the next few days at "certain overseas airports with direct flights into the United States".

The department secretary, Jeh Johnson, said: "We are sharing recent and relevant information with our foreign allies and are consulting the aviation industry."

US intelligence believes extremists in Syria and Yemen have been in contact to develop bombs that escape heightened security measures, although they do not have specific intelligence about an imminent attack or specific plot emanating from the suspected collaboration.

Some in the US intelligence community also believe that "training complexes" have been set up in Syria for western jihadists so they can return to their home countries better trained to carry out attacks.

While that conclusion is the subject of debate, it shows the level of fear counter-terrorism officials have about the threat posed by violent jihadists from Syria – now considered to be the main one facing the west.

Intelligence is reported to suggest bomb makers from Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula (AQAP) have travelled to Syria to meet al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra to work on ways to get an explosive device past existing security.Read the full story here.

Hmmmm.....I've said it before and i'll say it again, in my point of view the WEAKEST link is the staff working all over airports.

If you see the number of would be jihadis that left for Syria then what's stopping one or more Islamic staff members at European airports to Aid or organise an explosive device on a plane?

If you take in account the drugs that are smuggled by airport staff the possibility becomes very real. Time to rethink the safety procedures.