Security news

• Revealed: legal fears over Michael Gove’s new definition of ‘extremism’

  09-03-2024 19:36
  
  The communities secretary wants ‘trailblazer’ government departments to pilot a scheme to ban individuals and groups deemed extremist from public lifeMichael Gove is set to announce a controversial plan this week to ban individuals and groups who “undermine the UK’s system of liberal democracy” from public life, despite fears inside government that the scheme is at risk of legal challenge, leaked documents reveal.Officials working for Gove, the secretary of state fo
  
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• PM must prioritise Birmingham pub bombings inquiry, say victims’ families

  21-11-2024 07:00
  
  Relatives of those killed in 1974 attack urge government on its 50th anniversary to set up statutory inquiryRelatives of the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings have said “England’s biggest unsolved mass murder of the 20th century” should be at the top of the government’s list as they renewed their calls for a public inquiry on the 50th anniversary of the atrocity.On 21 November 1974, 21 people were killed and 220 injured when bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs, in
  
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• Russia’s updated nuclear ‘red line’ adds uncertainty: experts

  20-11-2024 16:23 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkRussia’s new nuclear doctrine reflects its hopes to deter Ukraine’s allies from a greater role in the war by establishing red lines hedged with added ambiguity, experts say. Moscow warned on Tuesday that it would respond after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles at its territory for the first time, as President Vladimir Putin issued a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russias-updated-nuclear-red-line-adds-uncertainty-experts-80514/
  
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• Iraq accuses Israel of seeking pretext for future attack

  20-11-2024 16:10 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkIraq has accused Israel of attempting to legitimize an attack on its territory, after the Israeli foreign ministry protested to the United Nations about attacks by Iraqi militants. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of armed groups backed by Iran, has claimed almost daily drone attacks targeting Israel in recent months, which they […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iraq-accuses-israel-of-seeking-pretext-for-future-attack-80510/
  
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• Russia vows response after Ukraine fires long-range US missiles

  20-11-2024 16:00 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkRussia warned on Tuesday that it would respond after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles at its territory for the first time, as President Vladimir Putin issued a nuclear threat on the 1,000th day of the war. A senior official told AFP that a strike on Russia’s Bryansk region earlier on Tuesday “was carried out by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-vows-response-after-ukraine-fires-long-range-us-missiles-80506/
  
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• Salisbury inquiry: novichok bottle may have been ‘re-sealed’ after poisoning

  19-11-2024 19:20
  
  Russian agents suspected of nerve agent attack may have used portable heat sealer during ‘missing 33 minutes’Two Russian agents suspected of carrying out the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning may have used a portable heat sealer to repackage a fake perfume bottle containing novichok during a “missing 33 minutes” when they vanished from CCTV cameras shortly after the attack, an inquiry heard.The police counter-terrorism chief who leads the investigation said it was possible
  
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• Salisbury novichok inquiry: container hunt like looking for ‘needle in haystack’

  14-11-2024 16:07
  
  Counter-terrorism police chief tells of difficulty ofsearch for vessel with poison after attack on Sergei SkripalHunting for the container of nerve agent used in the attack on the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was like “searching for a needle in a haystack”, a counter-terrorism forensics chief has said.Keith Asman, the head of forensics and digital investigations for the police’s south-east region counter-terrorism unit, told the inquiry into the Wiltshire poisonings that o
  
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• ‘Minuscule’ amount of novichok could have been fatal, scientist tells inquiry

  13-11-2024 18:10
  
  Witness from Porton Down laboratory says ‘many lethal doses’ of nerve agent were applied to Sergei Skripal’s doorA “minuscule” amount of the nerve agent used in the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal – as small as a sixth of a grain of salt – could have been enough to prove fatal, a government scientist has told an inquiry.The scientist, an expert in chemical and biological weapons, said “many lethal doses” of novichok were daubed on t
  
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• Tony Blair’s former chief of staff appointed PM’s national security adviser

  08-11-2024 18:59
  
  Jonathan Powell led talks on Chagos Islands in September and played key role in Good Friday agreementJonathan Powell, the former chief of staff to Tony Blair, has been appointed as Keir Starmer’s national security adviser in a further sign that leading figures from the New Labour era are returning to the government.The veteran former diplomat, who played a significant role in the Northern Ireland peace deal struck in 1998 and served Blair for a decade, will be responsible for advising on t
  
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• Incendiary device plot targeting UK may have been dry run for US and Canada

  04-11-2024 22:03
  Suspect DHL package bound for Britain that started fire in Leipzig possibly part of Russian plan to cause ‘mayhem’An incendiary device hidden in a DHL package that caught fire in Germany in July was due to be sent by air to the UK as part of a suspected Russian sabotage plot that may also have been a dry run for a similar attack on the US and Canada.The device, reported to have been secreted in shipments of massage pillows and erotic gadgets, started a fire on the ground in Leipzig t
  
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• Taiwan detects 37 Chinese aircraft near island

  04-11-2024 03:51 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkTaiwan said it detected 37 Chinese fighter jets, drones and other aircraft near the self-ruled island on Sunday as Beijing carried out “long-distance” training flights. China has ramped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years as Beijing pressures Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty over the island. The Chinese aircraft were spotted from […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-detects-37-chinese-aircraft-near-island-80498/
  
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• US bomber joins air drill with South Korea, Japan

  04-11-2024 03:47 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkSouth Korea, Japan, and the United States on Sunday conducted a joint air drill involving a heavy bomber, Seoul’s military said, in response to North Korea’s latest long-range missile test. The exercise took place three days after Pyongyang launched one of its most powerful and advanced solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), which experts say could […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-bomber-joins-air-drill-with-south-korea-japan-80494/
  
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• Revealed: English neo-Nazi who stabbed asylum seeker was serial stalker

  02-11-2024 15:13
  
  Terrorist Callum Parslow was previously jailed for sending 10 women sexually explicit and misogynistic messages, and targeted a former GB News presenterA neo-Nazi terrorist who was found guilty last month of the attempted murder of an asylum seeker is a prolific online stalker who had previously been jailed and referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism scheme, the Observer can reveal.Callum Parslow was convicted on 25 October of attempted murder after stabbing an asylum seeker at a hotel in Apri
  
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• China says holds first dual aircraft carrier drills in South China Sea

  31-10-2024 14:21 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkChina has conducted its first military drills with its two operational aircraft carriers in the contested South China Sea, state media said Thursday. State media did not specify when the exercises with the Liaoning and Shandong vessels took place, though it said the broader naval mission had overlapped with public holidays that spanned late September […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-says-holds-first-dual-aircraft-carrier-drills-in-south-china-sea-80489/
  
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• North Korea fires ICBM as US, Seoul slam Russia deployment

  31-10-2024 14:16 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkNorth Korea said Thursday it had test-fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles to boost its nuclear deterrent, Kim Jong Un’s first weapons test since being accused of sending soldiers to Russia. Seoul had warned a day earlier that the nuclear-armed North was preparing to test-fire another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or even […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fires-icbm-as-us-seoul-slam-russia-deployment-80484/
  
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• Russian defence ministry says held fresh nuclear drills

  30-10-2024 05:27 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkRussia said Tuesday its army held fresh nuclear drills under the supervision of President Vladimir Putin, who recently called for changes to rules on the use of Moscow’s nuclear deterrent. Putin has raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons during Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine several times and last month suggested Russia broaden its rules on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-defence-ministry-says-held-fresh-nuclear-drills-80479/
  
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• DoD Tests AI Software, Advances to Improve Physical Security Posture

  28-10-2024 13:09 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkHours before dawn, under the veil of a new moon, two figures in military fatigues grapple like Greco-Roman wrestlers within the razor wire perimeter of the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky. Their movements are rigid but discreet, each maneuvering for leverage beneath the orange glow of the floodlights lining the depot’s security fence. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-tests-ai-software-advances-to-improve-physical-security-posture-80474/
  
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• Japan shifting back to nuclear to ditch coal, power AI

  28-10-2024 12:31 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkGlinting in the sun by the world’s biggest nuclear plant, the Sea of Japan is calm now. But as the huge facility gears up to restart, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa has a new tsunami wall, just in case. Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, but with the G7’s dirtiest energy mix, it […]https://www.defencetalk.com/japan-shifting-back-to-nuclear-to-ditch-coal-power-ai-80465/
  
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• Iran warns will defend itself after Israeli strikes

  28-10-2024 12:26 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkIran warned on Saturday it would defend itself after Israeli air strikes killed at least four soldiers and further stoked fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East. Israel warned Iran would “pay a heavy price” if it responded to the strikes, and the United States, Germany and Britain demanded Tehran not escalate the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-warns-will-defend-itself-after-israeli-strikes-80461/
  
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• Taiwan says China holds ‘combat’ patrol after latest US arms sales

  28-10-2024 12:20 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkChina deployed fighter jets and drones as part of a “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan on Sunday, Taipei said, as Beijing slammed the latest round of US arms sales to the island. The US State Department on Friday approved a $2 billion arms sale package for Taiwan, including advanced surface-to-air missile systems and radar. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-says-china-holds-combat-patrol-after-latest-us-arms-sales-80456/
  
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• US approves $2 bn arms sales to Taiwan including missiles

  28-10-2024 07:36 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkThe US State Department on Friday approved a $2 billion arms sale package for Taiwan including advanced surface-to-air missile systems and radar, a move that could provoke Beijing. The sale, which awaits approval by Congress, includes several anti-aircraft systems, including NASAMS and 123 missiles totaling $1.16 billion, according to the agency responsible for the sale. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-approves-2-bn-arms-sales-to-taiwan-including-missiles-80469/
  
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• David Amess’s daughter says Prevent anti-terror scheme ‘isn’t fit for purpose’

  27-10-2024 16:28
  Katie Amess criticises Home Office failures that meant the murdered MP’s killer went unmonitored for yearsThe daughter of the murdered MP David Amess has criticised Home Office failures that meant her father’s killer was unmonitored for years before the attack, saying the Prevent programme “isn’t fit for purpose”.Speaking to the Sunday Times, Katie Amess condemned the fact her father’s killer was known to authorities but his case was closed due to “an ad
  
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• Chinese hackers targeted Trump, Vance phones: report

  26-10-2024 02:09 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkChinese hackers have targeted phones used by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance, US media reported Friday. The New York Times, quoting people familiar with the matter, said the hacking attempt appeared to be part of a wide-ranging intelligence collection effort by Chinese hackers. The newspaper said it involved the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinese-hackers-targeted-trump-vance-phones-report-80447/
  
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• Lebanon says Israeli strike kills 3 journalists

  25-10-2024 13:55 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkLebanon said an Israeli air strike killed three journalists on Friday, in an attack on the country’s south that the minister of information branded as a “war crime”. Pro-Iran Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen said a cameraman and broadcast engineer were killed in the strike targeting a journalists’ residence in Hasbaya, south Lebanon. Another TV […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lebanon-says-israeli-strike-kills-3-journalists-80437/
  
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• Gaza rescuers say children among 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Khan Yunis

  25-10-2024 13:51 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkGaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes hit two homes at dawn on Friday in Khan Yunis, the territory’s main southern city, killing at least 20 people including children. Fourteen people were killed in a strike that hit the home of the Al-Fara family, and a separate air raid killed another six, according to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/gaza-rescuers-say-children-among-20-killed-in-israeli-strikes-on-khan-yunis-80432/
  
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• Taiwan president says ‘won’t yield an inch’ in defence of island’s territory

  25-10-2024 13:46 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkTaiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Friday the island will not cede an inch of its territory, as China maintains military pressure on Taipei to accept its claim of sovereignty. Lai made the remarks during a visit to the Kinmen islands off China for the 75th anniversary of a victory over communist forces in the Battle […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-president-says-wont-yield-an-inch-in-defence-of-islands-territory-80428/
  
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• Russia approves near 30 percent rise in defence spending

  25-10-2024 13:41 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkRussian lawmakers voted for a budget on Thursday that will see defence spending surge by almost 30 percent next year, as the Kremlin diverts huge resources to its Ukraine offensive. Moscow had already ramped up military spending to levels not seen since the Soviet Union era, pumping out missiles and drones to fire on Ukraine […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-approves-near-30-percent-rise-in-defence-spending-80419/
  
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• US approves $7.3 bn sale of F-16 upgrades for Poland

  24-10-2024 13:58 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkThe United States on Wednesday announced the approval of a $7.3 billion sale of upgrades for Poland’s F-16 warplanes, boosting the defenses of a NATO member that shares a lengthy border with war-torn Ukraine. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security of the United States by improving the security of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-approves-7-3-bn-sale-of-f-16-upgrades-for-poland-80442/
  
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• UK and Germany sign ‘milestone’ defence deal

  24-10-2024 13:41 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkLondon and Berlin on Wednesday hailed a “milestone” in military cooperation, as they signed a new defence pact that would see German submarine-hunting planes operate from British bases and counter threats from Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Europe’s two biggest defence spenders said the Trinity House Agreement, signed by defence ministers John Healey […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uk-and-germany-sign-milestone-defence-deal-80423/
  
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• China says reached ‘resolution’ with India on contested border issues

  22-10-2024 13:57 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkChina said Tuesday it had reached a “resolution” with India over issues related to their disputed border, after New Delhi said it had struck a deal with Beijing for military patrols along the frontier. China and India, the world’s two most populous nations, are intense rivals and have regularly accused each other of trying to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-says-reached-resolution-with-india-on-contested-border-issues-80415/
  
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