'Enough is enough': British PM calls for tougher anti-terror measures

June 5, 2017

London, Jun 5: British Prime Minister Theresa May has called for stronger counter-terrorism measures following Saturday's killing spree on the streets of London — the third deadly terror attack in the UK in less than three months.

anti terror

Three attackers drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby, killing seven people and wounding 48, before the assailants were shot dead by police.

“It is time to say enough is enough,” May said in a statement outside her Downing Street office on Sunday.

“We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are,” she added, calling for new measures that could include longer jail sentences for some offenses and new cyberspace regulations.

May said the series of attacks in the UK were not connected in terms of planning and execution, but were inspired by what she called a “single, evil ideology of Islamist extremism” that represented a perversion of Islam and of the truth.

“While we have made significant progress in recent years, there is — to be frank — far too much tolerance of extremism in our country,” she said, urging Britons to be more robust in stamping it out in society.

King Salman sent a cable of condolences to May.

“We have received the news of the terrorist attack that took place in London, which resulted in deaths and injuries,” King Salman said.

The Muslim World League (MWL) condemned the terrorist attack.

MWL Secretary-General Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa stressed upon the league's consistent position toward terrorism and its supporters.

Terrorists aim to target the UK's excellence as a model of tolerance and human coexistence, he said, adding that these groups' ideology includes exporting their misery and despair as well as attacking the values of this civilized state in order to create a civilizational and cultural conflict.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the London attack.

One analyst on terrorism told Arab News the incident comes at a time when Daesh is stepping up attacks on global targets.

Peter Lehr, lecturer in Terrorism Studies at the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St. Andrews University, Scotland, pointed to a previous call by Daesh spokesman Abu Mohammed Al-Adnani, who urged followers to attack Western targets by any means necessary.

“Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him from a high place,” Al-Adnani said in 2014.

Lehr said: “This attack perfectly fits the bill. What is important in this regard is that unlike the Manchester suicide bombing, carrying out such an attack doesn't require any advanced skills such as bomb making nor any lengthy preparations, that make it more likely to be discovered by intelligence (services) or police before the perpetrators are ready to strike.”

Eyewitnesses of Saturday's terror atrocity described harrowing scenes as the attackers' white van veered on and off the bridge sidewalk, hitting people along the way. The three men then ran into an area packed with bars and restaurants, stabbing people indiscriminately.

One eyewitness told Arab News that she saw a man with his throat cut stumbling away from the scene. “We saw a man coming off the bridge with blood all over him and it looked like he had his throat slashed,” she said. “He was holding his neck.”

Mark Rowley, head of counter-terrorism police, said eight officers had fired about 50 bullets to stop the attackers, who were wearing what turned out to be fake suicide vests.

Police on Sunday arrested 12 people in east London, where at least one of the attackers is believed to have resided, according to Sky News.

Saturday's attack came five days before the UK parliamentary election on Thursday, which May said would go ahead as planned. The string of terror attacks in the UK is likely to be central issue of debate in the last few days of campaigning.

Around two weeks ago, a suicide bomber killed 22 children and adults at a concert by US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in northern England. In March, in an attack similar to Saturday's, five people died after a man drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in central London and stabbed a policeman.

World leaders, including those from the Middle East, were quick to condemn the recent attacks in London.

An official source at Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom's “strong condemnation and denunciation of the attacks.”

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, the source offered the Kingdom's condolences to the families of the victims and to the UK government and people, wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded.

The official source reiterated the “Kingdom's solidarity with the United Kingdom against terrorism and extremism which target security and stability around the world without exception.”

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News Network
May 21,2020

London, May 21: Working mothers in Europe and the United States are taking on most of the extra housework and childcare created by lockdown - and many are struggling to cope, a survey showed on Thursday.

Women with children now spend an average 65 hours a week on the unpaid chores - nearly a third more than fathers - according to the Boston Consulting Group, which questioned parents in five countries.

"Women have been doing too much household work for too long, and this crisis is pushing them to a point that's simply unsustainable," Rachel Thomas, of U.S.-based women's rights group LeanIn.Org, said in response to the data.

"We need a major culture shift in our homes and in our companies ... We should use this moment to build a better way to work and live – one that's fair for everybody."

Researchers say fallout from the pandemic weighs on women in a host of ways, be it in rising domestic violence or in lower wages, as some women cut paid work to take on the new duties.

With lockdowns shutting schools and keeping citizens at home, creating a mountain of domestic work, public campaigns from Georgia to Mexico have urged men to do their fair share.

But women, who on average already do more at home than men, are now shouldering most of the new coronavirus burden, too, said the survey of more than 3,000 working parents in the United States, Britain, Italy, Germany and France.

Women's unpaid hours at home have nearly doubled to 65 hours a week, said the survey, against 50 logged by an average father.

British women are more likely to support others in the COVID-19 pandemic and are finding it harder to stay positive, according to separate analysis released this week by polling firm Ipsos MORI and feminist organisation The Fawcett Society.

It is "no surprise" to see women do more childcare and housekeeping on top of their day jobs, Jacqui Hunt of women's rights group Equality Now, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

However, there are "hopeful signs" that men in West Africa are sharing more childcare during the pandemic in a shift in social norms, found a small rapid analysis by humanitarian organisation CARE International released on Wednesday.

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News Network
April 26,2020

Seoul, Apr 26: A train presumed to belong to North Korean's Kim Jong-un has been spotted at a station in the state's eastern coastal town of Wonsan amid speculation about the leader's health, a US monitor said on Sunday, citing commercial satellite imagery on the region, Yonhap news agency reported.

According to 38 North-- a website devoted to analysis about North Korea, the imagery showed a train "probably belonging to Kim Jong Un parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21."

"The approximately 250-metre long train, although partially covered by the station's roof, can be seen at a railway station reserved for use by the Kim family. It was not present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23," it said.

"The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it added.

The report came as rumours about his health have spread as Kim apparently skipped an important annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the April 15 birthday of late state founder and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

CNN intensified the speculation by reporting earlier last week that the United States is looking into intelligence that Kim is "in grave danger" after surgery.

Seoul officials have disputed recent media reports about Kim, saying there have been no unusual signs from the North. Some said that Kim is presumed to be staying in Wonsan for unspecified reasons.

Washington has also dismissed the reports, with US President Donald Trump calling such reports "incorrect" in a press briefing late last week.

On Saturday, other media reports stated that China has dispatched a team of medical doctors and officials to North Korea "to advise on" Kim, citing multiple unnamed people familiar with the situation.

North Korea's state media, however, has not made any mention of Kim's public activity for two weeks since he was last seen in April 11 presiding over a major party meeting, though it has reported on his handling of routine state affairs, such as sending diplomatic letters.
But not all speculation has proven to be false.

When he was absent from public for about a month in 2014, speculation arose about his health and a political crisis in the secretive state. He later reemerged with a cane and a limp reportedly after having a cyst removed from his ankle.

The 36-year-old leader is known to have various health problems apparently caused by obesity and heavy smoking. He took office as leader of the communist state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died of a heart attack in late 2011.

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Agencies
July 18,2020

Days after Twitter accounts of several billionaires were hacked to engineer a crypto scam, Twitter on Saturday said it is embarrassed, disappointed and, more than anything, sorry for what happened with some of its high-profile users as attackers successfully manipulated its employees and used their credentials to access internal systems, including getting through the two-factor protections.

In the first detailed summary of the "social engineering attack" via a crypto scam that hit at least 130 users this week, Twitter said for 45 of those accounts, the attackers were able to initiate a password reset, login to the account and send Tweets.

"We are continuing our forensic review of all of the accounts to confirm all actions that may have been taken. In addition, we believe they may have attempted to sell some of the usernames," the micro-blogging platform said in a statement.

For up to eight of the Twitter accounts involved, the attackers took the additional step of downloading the account's information via "Your Twitter Data" tool.

This is a tool that is meant to provide an account owner with a summary of their Twitter account details and activity.

"We are reaching out directly to any account owner where we know this to be true. None of the eight were verified accounts," said Twitter.

The company said the attackers were not able to view previous account passwords, as those are not stored in plain text or available through the tools used in the attack.

"Attackers were able to view personal information including email addresses and phone numbers, which are displayed to some users of our internal support tools," informed Twitter.

In cases where an account was taken over by the attacker, they may have been able to view additional information, Twitter added, saying its forensic investigation of these activities was still ongoing.

"We are actively working on communicating directly with the account-holders that were impacted".

The company said it will soon restore access for all account owners who may still be locked out as a result of the remediation efforts.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the Twitter crypto scam can be traced back to a group of hackers who congregate online at OGusers.com, a username-swapping community where people buy and sell coveted online handles.

The report said that the Twitter hack is not from Russian, Chinese or North Korean hackers but was done by a group of young people, "one of whom says he lives at home with his mother".

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