At present there is a visible diplomatic apathy in the EU, regarding the protracted Yemen conflict, blaming on too many foreign actors, stirring the ongoing feud, which have already degraded into proxy war through involvement of multiple external players, supplying belligerent parties with weapons. However the revenues of arms exporters, namely the Europeans. are not…
Tag: counter-terrorism
Sri Lanka counter terrorist operation ongoing
The blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday April 21 killed at least 290 people and left hundreds more injured. Search and rescue, victim identification have been carried out along with a counter-terrorist operation. The US Embassy in Colombo launched an ALERT, asking everyone to “remain vigilant, and report any suspicious activity to authorities immediately”….
Counter-terrorism unit investigates Crimea explosion
A powerful blast in a college in the Crimean city of Kerch (pictured), claimed lives of at least 10 young people and injured more than 50. Initially accidental gas leakage has been presumed as a cause of explosion, but shorty afterwards the investigators revealed an explosive device was used. https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1052511122027360256 Crimean emergency services and ambulances…
ALERT: Hostage operation in #Cologne
German police asked to avoid the area of the central railroad station in the city of #Cologne, Germany. At present there is a perimeter in the surrounding streets, and the passengers are evacuated. Witnesses report hearing some shots. Police also call for following their advice transmitted via different media, including Twitter. #Cologne : Une prise…
EU-UN to enhance counterterrorist cooperation
Federica Mogherini the EU top diplomat, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov met in Brussels to discuss the cooperation between the European Union and United Nations in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, as well as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ efforts to reform and strengthen the UN’s counter-terrorism work. Under-Secretary-General of the UN…
MEPs promote improved Schengen
An improved Schengen Information System should help to step up the EU fight against terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal immigration. The European Parliament Civil Liberties Committee adopted three regulations to update the Schengen Information System (SIS), including: an obligation for a member state to swiftly share details of a terrorist act with all other member…
EU actions to prevent terrorism
The European Commission is today reporting on actions taken since President Juncker’s 2016 State of the Union address to enhance security at the EU external border, improve information exchange between Member States, close down the space in which terrorists operate and prevent radicalisation. A year later, the Commission has delivered on all security related priorities…
Russian diplomat to lead UN Counter-terrorism office
United Nations head Antonio Guterres has chosen to appoint a Moscow envoy in Vienna Vladimir Voronkov to head a newly created U.N. Office of Counterterrorism, giving a Russian a top job at U.N. headquarters in New York. Russia’s Ambassador to International Organisations in Vienna, Vladimir Voronkov, will have the rank of undersecretary-general. He’s spent more…
Europol strikes terrorism online
A 48-hour international operation against online terrorism and extremism has seen over 2 000 items assessed as harmful and illegal material with the purpose of referring it to the online service providers for removal from the internet. On 25 and 26 April 2017, Europol’s Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) teamed up with colleagues from Belgium,…
Europarl against foreign fighters
To counter the growing threats from “foreign fighters” travelling to conflict zones for terrorist purposes and “lone wolves” planning solo attacks, new EU-wide rules were approved by Parliament on Thursday. The new directive on combatting terrorism will update the current EU “framework” rules on terrorist offences and widen their scope to include emerging threats. “We…
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