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German journalists face prosecution over rendition documents
Seventeen German journalists from leading national publications are being investigated for having quoted from classified documents in covering the 'rendition' of terror suspects. The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent organisation which is based in New York, has expressed its concern that the reporters were being targeted. The investigation, launched after the head of a parliamentary investigating committee complained about leaks to the press, also concerns several members of parliament.

Security firms working on devices to spot would-be terrorists in crowd
Counter-terrorism experts have drawn up plans to develop an array of advanced technologies capable of spotting would-be terrorists in a crowd before they have time to strike. Scientists and engineers have been asked to devise ways of analysing people's behaviour and physiology from afar, in the hope they may reveal clues about their mental state and even their future intentions. Under Project Hostile Intent, scientists will aim to build devices that can pick up tell-tale signs of hostile intent or deception from people's heart rates, perspiration and tiny shifts in facial expressions.

Georgia Identifies Russian Missile
The scandal surrounding the missile dropped in Gori District in Georgia continues to develop. Experts from the Georgian Defense Ministry identified it as an antiradar guided missile of Russian manufacture. Georgia does not have missiles of that type in its arsenal. Georgia demanded that an extraordinary session of the UN Security Council be called to discuss the incident. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry denied all accusations made against the Russian Air Force and called the incident a 'new provocation' that threatens to complicate the situation in the region.

Terrorists Win: Americans Living In Perpetual Fear
The majority of people in America feel less safe now than they did before the 9/11 attacks in spite of the introduction of terror related legislation and laws such as the PATRIOT act, the domestic spying program and the Military Commissions act, according to a recent scientific poll. The poll commissioned by Hart/Newhouse and released by The Wall Street Journal and NBC News finds that 37 per cent of respondents feel the U.S. is more vulnerable to an attack today than it was six years ago, that is a significant rise of 14 points since last September.

U.S. to unveil new anti-drug strategy for Afghanistan
The United States plans on Thursday to unveil a strategy to fight Afghanistan's drug trade by giving provincial governors more money to eradicate poppy crops and pursue economic development, U.S. officials said. The effort also aims to better coordinate counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency work in Afghanistan, which in the past 18 months has seen its bloodiest fighting since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban movement in 2001.

Maybe surveillance is bad, after all
People who want to increase the amount of surveillance in society, whether it's wire-tapping, closed-circuit cameras, or data mining, have an easy argument. There are terrorists and criminals out there, and these tools can help stop violence and crime, they say. Philosopher Sandro Gaycken, a PhD student at Germany's Institut für Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung in Bielefeld, wants to give pro-privacy forces stronger arguments to counter these concerns. Speaking today at the Chaos Communication Camp, he conceded that activists' justifications for their concerns often fail to resonate with the broad public.

Pakistan may declare state of emergency
The government of embattled Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Thursday it may impose a state of emergency because of 'external and internal threats' and deteriorating law and order in the volatile northwest near the Afghan border.Tariq Azim, minister of state for information, said some sentiment coming from the United States, including from Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama, over the possibility of U.S. military action against al-Qaida in Pakistan 'has started alarm bells ringing and has upset the Pakistani public.'

Iraq: Beyond Disaster
The war in Iraq is about to get worse - much worse. The Democrats' decision to let the war run its course, while they frantically wash their hands of responsibility, means that it will sputter and stagger forward until the mission collapses. This will be sudden. The security of the Green Zone, our imperial city, will be increasingly breached. Command and control will disintegrate. And we will back out of Iraq humiliated and defeated. But this will not be the end of the conflict. It will, in fact, signal a phase of the war far deadlier and more dangerous to American interests.

Dispatches reported to Ofcom
Police have reported Channel 4 to the industry regulator over the way the programme edited an undercover investigation. The programme Undercover Mosque investigated mosques run by organisations claiming to be dedicated to moderation and dialogue with other faiths. West Midlands Police carried out an investigation of three speakers who appeared on the programme. The Crown Prosecution Service says the programme 'completely distorted' what the speakers said. CPS lawyer Bethan David examined 56 hours of footage from the Dispatches investigation - of which a fraction went to air.

Rudy Giuliani's Five Big Lies About 9/11
Nearly six years after 9/11, Rudy Giuliani is still walking through the canyons of lower Manhattan, covered in soot, pointing north, and leading the nation out of danger's way. The Republican frontrunner is campaigning for president by evoking that visual at every campaign stop, and he apparently believes it's a picture worth thousands of nights in the White House.

Robert Fisk: Lebanese strike a blow at US-backed government
Just as the Palestinians voted for Hamas when they were supposed to vote for the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, so the Christian Maronites of Lebanon appear to have voted for a man opposed to the majority government of Fouad Siniora in Beirut. Camille Khoury - with a strong vote from the Armenian Tashnak party - won by 418 votes the seat that belonged to Pierre Gemayel, murdered last November by gunmen supposedly working for the Syrian security services.

Strong earthquake hits Indonesia
An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale has rocked Indonesia's capital, the US geological survey said. Residents of Jakarta said buildings were shaken violently as the quake hit early on Thursday. It was also felt in Yogyakarta in central Java, where in July 2006 an earthquake killed nearly 6,000 people. The epicentre of the quake was 112km from the city on the north coast of the island of Java.

Worried ministers move to tackle rise in gang violence
Black teenagers urgently need a new generation of professional role models to divert them from a world of gangs and criminality, a year long government study will say today. The author of the research will call for a shift of focus 'from rap stars, sports personalities and celebrities, to successful businessmen, lawyers and doctors', arguing that there is clear evidence that a deep-seated culture of low aspirations among black urban teenagers has contributed to them dropping out of school and being drawn into trouble.

Police to flex stop and search muscles
Londoners should not be surprised if they are searched on the streets in the next few months, the Metropolitan police have warned. Officers plan on using their stop and search powers significantly more in the capital this summer and autumn in order to 'disrupt, deter and prevent terrorist activity'. Although acknowledging that the public will be inconvenienced by the increased searches, Commander Rod Jarman of the Met said counter-terrorism officers had to act in order to keep London safe.

Iraqi government on the brink of disintegration
The Iraqi government coalition was on the brink of disintegration Tuesday after the decision of four ministers to boycott the government of Nuri Al Maliki, already weakened by the recent resignation of six Sunni ministers, AFP reports. Of the 40 Cabinet ministers who took possession in June last year, 17 have resigned or are boycotting meetings. On Monday night, the ministers of the Iraqi National List, a secular grouping close to the former prime minister, Iyad Alaui, announced their boycott to the government.

Cancer cases spiralling - modern living to blame
The research suggests half of all cancers could be prevented by lifestyle changes
Binge drinking, reckless sunbathing and overeating are fuelling a massive rise in cancer, experts warn. In a shocking report, they have laid bare the deadly consequences of increasingly hedonistic modern lifestyles. Cases of mouth cancer, which is associated with smoking and drinking, have increased by almost a quarter.

Warning over 'big brother' data risk
The growing dangers of Britain's 'surveillance society' were raised yesterday amid fears that more and more private information is being shared out without people's knowledge. Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, published new guidance on the Information Commission's website (www.ico.gov.uk) to warn consumers that 'in some cases, information may be shared without you even knowing about it'.

Breast implants linked with suicide in study
Women who get cosmetic breast implants are nearly three times as likely to commit suicide as other women, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. The study, published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, reinforces several others that have shown women who have breast enlargements have higher suicide risks. Loren Lipworth of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee and colleagues followed up on 3,527 Swedish women who had cosmetic breast implant surgery between 1965 and 1993. They looked at death certificates to analyze causes of death among women with breast implants.