Public security

Ex-Cop Arrested with Guns Outside White House Alleges CIA Mind Control Plot

A former US police officer with nine guns stashed in his car, including a Colt AR-15 and a loaded Kalashnikov assault rifle, was arrested outside the White House Sunday after telling the Secret Service he was en route to see the NSA director and secretary of defense for advice about removing a chip that he alleged was planted in his head.

According to court records, Timothy J. Bates, 37, of Tennessee was detained on weapons charges after telling Secret Service officials he had weapons in his 2009 Nissan sports car near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 17th Street. The suspect was handcuffed at approximately 7:15 a.m. after he attempted to urinate in public.

Bates consented to the police officers searching his illegally parked car.

Nuclear security

What will happen to the Iran nuclear deal?

The fate of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the major world powers is in the balance.

The deal, which came into effect in October 2015, (known by the cumbersome title of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), imposed constraints on Tehran's nuclear activities, in return for the lifting of some economic sanctions.

It is easy to forget that the deal came about in an atmosphere where there was growing talk about the possibility of a military strike against Iran.

Israel and many of Washington's Gulf allies were alarmed by Iran's growing assertiveness in the region and - despite Tehran's denials - believed that it had an active nuclear weapons research programme. It also had a sophisticated ballistic missile effort that might one day be used to carry such a weapon.

Electronic surveillance

Surveillance program had 106,000 foreign targets in 2016, officials say

With an end-of-year deadline looming to re-authorize a vital foreign intelligence collection tool, senior U.S. government officials said Monday that the program had 106,000 foreign targets in calendar-year 2016 – as they urged renewal, arguing there is “no substitute” for this kind of intelligence.

The “702” program – Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- is "the single most important operational statute," one senior government official said, pointing to its effectiveness aiding counter-proliferation efforts, disrupting terrorism plots and aiding warriors on the battlefield.

Officials authorized to speak on behalf of their department or agency briefed reporters Monday. As part of the briefing, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said its reauthorization is "absolutely a top priority," adding the intelligence community wanted to be "upfront with the American people" about the program, which is only used against foreign targets.

Military


Ukraine's Chief Military Psychiatrist Fired After Uncovering Horrifying Secret

Last week, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak dismissed Colonel Oleh Druz, the head of the psychiatry clinic of the Main Military Clinical Hospital "in connection with the unsatisfactory fulfillment of his official duties." The dismissal followed remarks by the top military psychiatrist at a round table of parliamentary committees, where Druz revealed that over 90% of the veterans of Kiev's military operation in Donbass require mental help and pose a potential danger to society.

Commenting on the scandal, Radio Sputnik contributor Vladimir Filippov said that Druz's real problem was that he decided to tell the truth.

Crime

US violent crimes and murders rose in 2016, the FBI says

The US violent crime rate rose for the second consecutive year in 2016, the FBI said in its annual crime report.

The increase was driven by an uptick in several major cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and Las Vegas.

The overall violent crime rate rose by 4.1%, and the homicide rate increased by 8.6%, FBI statistics show.

The 2016 rate of violent crimes - defined by the FBI as assault, rape, murder and robbery - represents the largest such rise in 25 years.

A total of 17,250 people were murdered in the US last year, according to the data.

People smuggling

Immigration Officials Taking New Steps to Discourage Smuggling of Children

The Trump administration is stepping up its pursuit of parents who paid to have their children illegally brought into the United States, according to people familiar with the matter. The effort, part of a widening crackdown on illegal immigration, is aimed at discouraging families from paying human smuggling organizations.

As part of a new round of immigration sweeps, officials are targeting parents or other relatives who were deported, re-entered the United States and then had their children smuggled across the border. Legal experts say cases of illegal re-entry are faster and easier to prove than a smuggling charge.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said it was common for parents or family members in the United States to make illegal payments to smugglers to arrange for children to be brought to the border, where they turn themselves in and are often eventually handed over to their relatives. Tens of thousands of women and children have arrived at the border in the last three years, beginning with a surge of arrivals in the summer of 2014, many seeking refuge from gang violence and extreme poverty in Central America.

Climate security

Global warming presents a clear and present danger to America's national security, world stability

A warming globe will have game-changing impacts - more extreme heat and rainfall, and more destructive droughts, storms and wildfires. This year has already given us a glimpse of what those changes look like on a national and global scale. Hurricane Harvey slammed Houston with 9 trillion gallons of rain, which led to never-before-seen flooding. The entire island of Barbuda evacuated in advance of Hurricane José - just after Hurricane Irma destroyed 95 percent of its buildings and left it "barely habitable." Hurricane Maria has left Puerto Rico with the prospect of no electricity for four to six months.

Recent flooding in Sierra Leone has killed over a thousand people and caused "unprecedented damage," according to the United Nations. World Health Organization scientists predict higher rates of mosquito-borne diseases thanks to hotter global temperatures and climate-related flooding in Latin America. Dozens of wildfires are blazing across the northwestern U.S., putting 2017 on track to become one of the worst wildfire seasons in memory.

Communication security

Controversial Russian software firm unveils 'surveillance-proof' smartphone - and it's FIVE times cheaper than an iPhone

For Russians who fear that someone may be eavesdropping on their phone conversations, leading IT entrepreneur Natalya Kaspersky says she has a solution.

At a business forum in Moscow on Friday she presented 'TaigaPhone', a brand new smartphone created by InfoWatch Group, her software development company, costing around 15,000 rubles ($260).

The 'surveillance-proof' phone is designed for corporate use, and will have built-in privacy features that the firm claims will guarantee user confidentiality.

German elections

German election results: AfD enters parliament with record-high 12.6% as Merkel’s alliance gets 33% Live updates

The newly elected German parliament will see a significant expansion, from 631 seats in 2013 to 709 in the next legislature, according to the estimates published by the official electoral authority. Merkel’s CDU (Christian Democratic Union) will keep 200 seats, 55 fewer than it had previously. Its Bavarian ally, the CSU (Christian Social Union), lost 10 seats, taking 46.   

The centrist SPD (Social Democratic Party) has also lost ground and will take 153 seats, as opposed to 193 in the outgoing legislature. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is entering parliament for the first time with 94 deputies, while the FDP is making its return with 80.

A total of 69 seats went to The Left party, and 67 to Alliance 90/The Greens party.

Immigration security

Trump approves updated travel restrictions on 8 countries, adding North Korea and Venezuela to list

The new travel restrictions, set to take effect Oct. 18, would slow or limit entry from citizens of North Korea, Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. North Korea and Venezuela were not listed in the earlier ban.

Iraqi citizens do not face the same travel restrictions, but will "be subject to additional scrutiny to determine if they pose risks" to U.S. security, the White House said.

The new policy could complicate the Supreme Court's review of the order. The high court is scheduled to hear arguments over its legality on October 10.

Officials stressed that valid visas would not be revoked as a result of the proclamation. The order also permits, but doesn't guarantee, case-by-case waivers.

Cybersecurity

Nuclear war isn't North Korea's only threat

North Korea has invested heavily in cyberattack operations to disrupt its Western enemies. Western Intelligence services blamed the 2014 attack against Sony on North Korea's spy agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. North Korea is also believed to be responsible for the cyber heist at Bangladesh's central bank and the global WannaCry ransomware attackfrom earlier this year.

Pyongyang's cyberspies conduct low-cost, high-impact, deniable attacks around the world to harm enemies, disrupt the West and steal money. Financial institutions are particularly at risk of theft as North Korea bleeds funds to support its nuclear program.

The goal for North Korea's cyberattack operations, beyond flying under the radar, is to inflict death by a thousand cuts -- a deliberate and organized disrupt-and-attack approach in line with the country's national strategy. Arguably, the more money and resources North Korea can steal via cyberattacks, the stronger its kinetic military can become.

Robots

Chinese robot carries out world's first fully automated dental implant

A woman just played host to the world's first fully-automated dental implant procedure. A Chinese robot implanted artificial teeth into her mouth with no human assistance, according to a report in South China Morning Post.

The bot, developed by researchers from Beihang University in Beijing and the Fourth Military Medical University's Stomatological Hospital, was oriented with the head and mouth of the patient and fed with a series of commands – movement, angles, and depth required for accurate placement – before the surgery.

German elections

 The Burdens of Germany’s Next Chancellor

There’s been no shortage of hand-wringing over national elections in the past year. In the last ten months alone, we’ve seen high-stakes electoral contests between populist candidates in the United States, Austria, the Netherlands, and France, as well as a tight race in Ghana, a controversial one in Kenya, and an election that followed an impeachment scandal in South Korea. And with another round of elections coming up in Austria after the coalition government collapsed, the near-term election drama is far from over.

One of the most important elections of 2017, however, has attracted comparatively little attention. On September 24, Germans will head to the polls to elect a new parliament, whose members will, in turn, form a governing coalition and select Germany’s next chancellor. Although this vote will determine who will chart the course of Europe’s largest economy and serve as the key negotiator in the looming Brexit negotiations, the German campaign season hasn’t garnered much interest.

Wildlife smuggling

North Korea said to be revitalising African wildlife trafficking

When Mozambican police detained a suspected North Korean spy and taekwondo master along with Pyongyang’s political attaché to South Africa, they found $100,000 in cash and 4.5kg of rhino horn stashed in the diplomats’ Toyota. After Pyongyang’s ambassador to Pretoria intervened, the two were quietly released and later allowed to return to North Korea at the end of last year. The 2015 arrest, recounted in a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime and corroborated by the Financial Times, is part of what researchers say is a revitalised web of North Korean state-sanctioned criminal activity focused on rhino horn, ivory and minerals in Africa. The report by the non-governmental agency, released on Friday, said Pyongyang’s “smuggling networks, front companies and state-sponsored criminal actors are sophisticated, efficient and adept at circumventing sanctions, laws and regulations”.

People smuggling

'EU grants' for migrant smugglers: Traffickers 'receive up to £6,000 EACH to give up the life of crime and move into new employment'

The European Union has been accused of paying African migrant smugglers thousands – to encourage them to quit the illegal trade and set up their own businesses instead.

According to an investigation by the BBC’s Panorama programme, traffickers are getting up to £6,000 a time to move into new employment, such as training to become a mechanic, or help to set up a farm or shop.

An EU spokesman has denied that any cash was given to individuals, but an unnamed EU official told the programme off-camera that ex-smugglers were being given money via third parties and that the vetting system to decide who received help was ‘flawed’.

Arms trade

German gun company giant vows to stop selling weapons to 'crisis regions'

German gun manufacturer Heckler & Koch vowed to stop selling weapons to “crisis regions of this world," ending the sale of their weapons in several countries in Africa and the Middle East -- including Israel.

The gun manufacturer, which builds some of the most renowned firearms on the planet, quietly made the move as a way to rehab the brand and steer it in a more “ethical direction,” The Guardian reported. The company’s recognizable firearms have been featured in films including “Die Hard” and Navy SEAL members allegedly used one of the weapons to kill terrorist Usama bin Laden, The Washington Post reported. “We are the Porsche of weapons on that market,” Andreas Heeschen, Heckler & Koch's owner said.  

Nuclear security

Where are the world's nuclear weapons?

North Korea is believed to have developed nuclear weapons capability, but there is a high degree of uncertainty around whether the nation has actually built weapons. However, there is no disagreement it has produced fissile material that could be turned into a nuclear weapon.

The United States believes that North Korea will be able to launch a reliable nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile by early 2018, a US official familiar with the latest intelligence assessment confirmed to CNN in July.

Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told CNN via email that the "the intelligence assessment is that they have produced sufficient fissile material sufficient to potentially build 30-60 warheads, not that they necessarily have built that many operational weapons."

Other experts said they think that number is on the high side.

Poll results

Poll: Far more trust generals than Trump on N. Korea, while two-thirds oppose preemptive strike

Two-thirds of Americans oppose launching a preemptive military strike against North Korea, with a majority trusting the U.S. military to handle the escalating nuclear crisis responsibly but not President Trump, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds.

Roughly three-quarters of the public supports tougher economic sanctions on North Korea in an attempt to persuade it to give up its nuclear weapons, while just about one-third think the United States should offer the isolated country foreign aid or other incentives.

The Post-ABC poll finds 37 percent of adults trust Trump either “a great deal” or “a good amount” to responsibly handle the situation with North Korea, while 42 percent trust the commander in chief “not at all.” By comparison, 72 percent trust U.S. military leaders, including 43 percent saying they trust them “a great deal.”

Innovations  & technologies

Augmented Reality Will Supply Firefighters with More Power

Firefighters might one day be able to go further into hazardous situations and exit safely thanks to augmented reality glasses in development at BAE Systems.

The technology is aimed at closing a gap that exists between bulky and unadaptable systems used by the military and commercially available equivalents that tend to be large and fragile.

BAE Systems has unveiled wearable, AR concept that uses its patented waveguide technology to provide optical performance and efficiency in a miniaturised, ruggedised package.

According to theengineer.co.uk, the product will be worn like a pair of glasses and use free-space tracking technology to display guidance, targeting, and mission information to the user, along with sensor video.

Prior to that, BAE is engaging with customers to gain feedback that will inform the design and capabilities of the final product. It is scheduled for qualification and validation in 2019.

Maritime security

US Navy Too Good at Disguising Itself

The Navy is very good at disguising itself at sea, Richardson said. Navy ships are designed to appear as something much smaller when detected on the radar screens of other ships. Even in daylight, Navy ships are painted Haze Grey to make it very difficult for crews on enemy ships to make visual contact.

“We design our warships to have a lower radar cross-section. Some are designed to be very low,” Richardson said. “That degree of stealth makes us more effective from a warfighting standpoint.”

But this stealth also imposes a burden on Navy crews to understand non-threatening marine traffic will have difficulty recognizing the size, location, and speed of Navy ships, Richardson added.

To fix the problem, Richardson said, the surface fleet will use its automatic identification system – AIS – when in high traffic areas.

“AIS is primarily and foremost a navigation tool for collision avoidance,” according to Coast Guard instructions. “The AIS corroborates and provides identification and position of vessels not always possible through voice radio communication or radar alone.”