Report: Japan may send four warships to support U.S. forces (10/27/2001) Japan's Defense Ministry is considering sending four warships to the Indian Ocean as parliament prepares to vote on legislation giving the military a broader mandate to participate in the U.S.-led war on terror, a major newspaper reported Sunday.

New Scientist - "Conflict index" warns when a nation faces civil war The dictator General Pervez Musharraf leads a country on the brink. As the war in Afghanistan intensifies, he is torn between appeasing the US and pacifying Pakistani rioters baying for his resignation. The danger his country faces is obvious, but researchers in the US have devised a system they claim could predict much earlier any countries approaching civil war.

Suspected terrorists could be tried before special military tribunal (10/27/2001) Suspected terrorists could face swift justice before a special military tribunal with the power to act in secret, without the constitutional protections of a federal court, under plans the Bush administration is researching and reviewing.

‘I’m Sick and Tired of Bloodshed’ Legendary Afghan commander Abdul Haq, who was killed by a Taliban executioner last week, had seen his share of danger.

ABCNEWS.com : Anti-Terror Bill Becomes Law Calling it an "essential step in defeating terrorism," President Bush today signed into law a broad expansion of FBI and other law enforcement agencies' powers for surveillance of phone calls, e-mail and financial transactions. Download the bill in PDF format.

The Times of India - Pakistan has its first confirmed anthrax case The bio-terror campaign spooking the US has spread to Pakistan with a local man contracting anthrax, the doctor treating him here said on Saturday.

Israel Calls Off West Bank Pullout Citing Violence Israel said on Saturday it was postponing indefinitely a scheduled withdrawal of its troops from Bethlehem and a neighboring Palestinian town because of continuing violence.

U.S. Steps Up Bombing, Agonizes Over Anthrax American warplanes launched their most sustained attack on Taliban front lines north of Kabul on Saturday as the United States strove to nail down the mystery extremists responsible for a wave of anthrax biological warfare attacks which have spooked the nation.

Ha'aretz - U.S. delivers a clear message to a host of Israeli visitors Foreign Minister Shimon Peres returned yesterday from a trip to the United States with many impressions. "The Americans have moved from one era to another," concluded Peres. "We haven't even begun to understand what happened there. They aren't thinking about how to defend Israel, but how to defend themselves in a crazy war."

Forget the bombs, watch the cars “In Pakistan, they drive on the left…they also drive on the right.”

FOXNews.com - Lawmakers Propose Tighter Rules on Immigrants As the government struggles to learn the lessons of Sept. 11, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding tougher immigration laws, increased border patrols and higher scrutiny of visa holders.

ABCNEWS.com : Troubling Anthrax Additive Found; Atta Met Iraqi ABCNEWS has been told by three well-placed and separate sources that initial tests on an anthrax-laced letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle have detected a troubling chemical additive that authorities consider their first significant clue yet.

The US & Israel | csmonitor.com Since the founding of a Jewish homeland in 1948, America's unique friendship with Israel has weathered war and crises. It is now drawing more public scrutiny than it has in a generation.

The Philippine branch of terror | csmonitor.com There are so many links between the Abu Sayyaf Group of the Philippines, which beheaded an American hostage a few months ago, and Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network, that on paper they look like the route map for a Peshawar-based airline.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | US broadcasts 'not being heard' Few have a clear idea why on earth their country is at the centre of a new war.

New Scientist - Anthrax bacteria likely to be US military strain The bacteria used for the anthrax attacks in the US is either the strain the US itself used to make anthrax weapons in the 1960s, or close to it. It is not a strain that Iraq, or the former Soviet Union, mass-produced for weapons.

Israeli, Palestinian Security Chiefs to Meet Top cabinet ministers, under intense U.S. pressure, decided on Thursday to end Israel's largest offensive to date against the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) and withdraw troops from in and around six Palestinian cities, provided its security demands are met.

Pentagon Seeks a Few Good Ideas to Fight Terrorism The Pentagon appealed to Americans on Thursday to send in bright ideas on thwarting terrorism, announcing an unusual, open competition to speed the winners into use. (Note: The users of Plastic.com have already come up with their own bright ideas for fighting terrorism.)

Pakistani Nuke Scientists Questioned Pakistani authorities interrogated two leading nuclear scientists Thursday about possible contacts with the leader of Afghanistan's Taliban militia, government officials said.

news.telegraph.co.uk - US special forces beat retreat as enemy 'fought back like maniacs'

Taliban Take Back Town, Execute Rival The Taliban executed a commander of the exiled opposition captured on Friday after he crossed into Afghanistan to raise rebellion against the government, which scored battlefield gains during a U.S. bombing lull.

Afghan Capital Bombed Overnight, Seven Killed U.S. warplanes dropped up to 10 bombs on Afghanistan's capital overnight, killing seven civilians and terrifying residents cowering in their homes, witnesses and a ruling Taliban official said on Friday.

U.S. planes blast Taliban positions north of Kabul; opposition urges swift victory (10/25/2001) One after another, U.S. jets dive-bombed Taliban positions Thursday on the front line north of Kabul, eluding at least one missile fired by the Islamic militia and sending thick columns of black smoke climbing into a cloudless sky.

Test of winter games security called success (10/25/2001) Counterterrorism plans for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City next February have successfully passed two days of field tests, security officials for the games said Thursday.

U.S. Welcomes Israeli Withdrawal From Village President Bush welcomed Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank village of Beit Rima on Thursday and urged Israel to pull out of the rest of the Palestinian-run areas it has reoccupied.

BBC News | AFRICA | Eyewitness: Nigerian army reprisals Zaki Biam is a town of about 20,000 people, a town where on Monday and again on Tuesday, the army came in shooting.

MSN.com shuts out non-Microsoft browsers - Tech News - CNET.com Some people trying to access Microsoft's MSN.com with a non-Microsoft browser are finding themselves locked out.

Missiles deployed to protect French nuclear power stockpiles - [23/10/2001] - Hindustantimes.com Batteries of surface-to-air missiles are being deployed near France's main nuclear reprocessing plant at La Hague, and at a naval base at L'Ile Longue, according to a statement from the country's armed forces Tuesday.

Additive Made Spores Deadlier (washingtonpost.com) The anthrax spores that contaminated the air in Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle's office had been treated with a chemical additive so sophisticated that only three nations are thought to have been capable of making it, sources said yesterday.

Nuclear Power & Terrorism As The Nation has reported, the terrorists who in 1993 bombed the World Trade Center trained beforehand at a remote site not thirty miles from Three Mile Island -- and afterward threatened to send 150 suicide bombers into America's nuclear plants.

Clinton Receives Salmonella-Tainted Vials in Mail Former President Bill Clinton received vials in the mail tainted by salmonella, but authorities said on Thursday they saw no connection to a string of anthrax attacks in New York, Washington and Florida.

Rumsfeld Says US May Never Get bin Laden; New Air Strikes Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conceded on Thursday that the United States might never catch or kill Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in last month's suicide attacks, as U.S. planes kept up their assault on his Taliban protectors.

Newsday.com - Mission to Mars: So Far, So Good Jubilant NASA scientists and engineers yesterday recounted the successful entry of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft into orbit around the planet, two years after failures of other Mars missions humiliated the space agency and cast doubt on its future projects.

The Manila Times Internet Edition | TOP STORIES > RP Muslims being tapped to join jihad FILIPINOS supposedly hired to work in construction sites and factories in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan may have signed up to fight in Afghanistan on the side of suspected international terrorist Osama bin Laden, foreign affairs officials said yesterday.

FOXNews.com - 22 Pakistani Militants Reported Killed in Heavy U.S. Bombing The U.S. attacks on Afghanistan claimed their deadliest tally yet when a strike on Kabul killed 22 Pakistani militants Wednesday.

TNR Online | TRB: Build Up by Peter Beinart If the war on terrorism requires nation-building in Afghanistan, it requires nation-building all over the world.

Security Badges Missing from Oakland Airport More than 1,000 badges that grant access to secure areas at Oakland International Airport appear to be missing.

Afghan casualty: anti-drug effort | csmonitor.com A drop in Europe's narcotics prices fuels concern of Afghans selling drug stocks to buy arms.

Powell says he hopes war objectives in Afghanistan can be met within a few days (10/24/2001) Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday he hopes the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan can be concluded quickly but the administration is prepared to keep up the fight during the Muslim holy period if necessary.

House passes anti-terrorism compromise (10/24/2001) The House approved legislation Wednesday to give police new search powers in response to last month's terrorist attacks, including the ability to secretly search homes, tap all of a person's telephone conversation and track people's use of the Internet.

CJOnline.com | The Topeka Capital-Journal | School nixes traditional costumes 10/24/01 McCarter Elementary School's site council announced last month its students will be permitted to wear only patriotic fashions to school on Halloween next week instead of traditional costumes, a decision that parent Reginald Griffin says isn't in line with the spirit of America.

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Israel says raid nets key suspects Israeli radio says the army has arrested two suspects in the assassination of Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi, in an overnight raid on a West Bank village in which at least six Palestinians were killed.

Powell Says Arab Unrest Is 'Manageable' Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said on Wednesday that unrest in the Arab and Muslim world was ''manageable'' and he saw no danger that governments would fall because of anger at the U.S. military campaign against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Postmaster: Anthrax Threatens Mail The nation's postmaster general warned Americans Wednesday there are no guarantees the mail delivered to their homes is safe, but he stressed that the risks to them are slim.

The Usual Hate Mail Rebecca Wortman, who manages a gynecology practice in Rochester, New York, where her husband, Dr. Morris Wortman, performs abortions, is more familiar with terrorist threats than most Americans.

Taliban's Human Shields (washingtonpost.com) Taliban forces are taking cover among the civilian population of Kabul and stashing their military equipment in mosques and schools to avoid U.S. airstrikes, according to refugees who have fled the capital in recent days.

Threats to U.S. Still High, FBI Director Says There is still a ``distinct possibility'' of more attempts to attack the United States, more than six weeks after the Sept. 11 hijackings, Director Robert Mueller said on Wednesday.

U.S. Says Taliban May Poison Humanitarian Food The United States has information the Taliban may intend to poison food supplies dropped by U.S. aircraft or provided by humanitarian groups to Afghan civilians and blame it on America, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Newsday.com - Coast Guard Office Sprayed by Plane A mysterious material dropped by a crop-dusting plane over a tiny Coast Guard post on the Mississippi River was fertilizer -- not anthrax, authorities said Tuesday.

Silicon Alley Daily AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL) announced today it has signed a breakthrough deal with China to begin broadcasting Chinese-language cable channel CETV-9 in the southern part of the country. In exchange, AOL TW has agreed to show an English-language version of state-sponsored Chinese TV station CCTV-9 in three markets in the U.S.

Thousands march as Christian bishops lead a plea for peace in Bethlehem (10/23/2001) Israeli tanks moved aside and Palestinian gunmen laid down their weapons for a few hours Tuesday to allow a rare plea for peace to be heard in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

It's a coverup My balance and mobility keep threatening to leave, too. With all these things on shaky ground, my confidence is disappearing. All of me is. I'm not drunk. These elements are evaporating because I'm wearing a burqa...

Bush Winning Gore Backers' High Praises As he leads the country in a war on terrorism, President Bush has won over some unlikely supporters, prominent Democrats who campaigned for Al Gore in last year's presidential campaign.

Top 10 Reasons Why Al Gore Would Be a Better Wartime President Than George W. Bush So what would it be like if Al Gore, not George W. Bush, was President? Here are the top 10 differences between a Gore Presidency and a Bush Presidency.

Enlightenment on Energy Turmoil in the Persian Gulf and Middle East has again raised fears about disruptions in the oil supply while providing yet another reminder of the country's increasingly precarious dependence on imported oil.

Sharon Disregards U.S. Request to Withdraw Troops Israel defied its closest ally the United States Tuesday by rebuffing Washington's demands to pull back from its broadest military offensive against the Palestinian Authority.

CNN.com - Pakistan president: Aiding U.S. was 'right decision' - October 23, 2001Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said his decision to lend support to the U.S-led campaign against terrorism was "difficult," but his country is committed to staying the course.

Coast Guard post sprayed by crop duster A crop duster sprayed a white substance on the U.S. Coast Guard post just north of the Natchez-Adams County Port in the lower Mississippi River, a coast guard spokesman said.

On Many Fronts, Experts Plan for the Unthinkable: Biowarfare Protection against biological and chemical attack was never very high on lists of national priorities — until the days after Sept. 11, when it collectively occurred to Americans how vulnerable they were.

Two Washington Postal Workers Who Died Had Anthrax Two Washington postal workers were confirmed on Tuesday as having died from anthrax and health authorities said they were investigating at least 16 other suspicious cases in a wave of germ warfare attacks that has shaken an already jittery nation.

Taliban Say Bin Laden, Mullah Omar Both Alive An unbowed Taliban ambassador said Tuesday his supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden were both alive and the hard-line organization expected a long war with the United States.

FBI: Candy purchases seem legitimate A man who used cash to buy large amounts of candy from Costco stores in Hackensack and Wayne last week is not suspected of any terrorist activity, the FBI said Monday.

Arab Leader Sees Mideast as Root Cause of Anger (10/22/2001) Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said on Monday that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a root cause of the Arab anger that gives ``terrorists'' a chance to hide behind a legitimate cause.

U.S. Says Israel Should Leave Palestinian-Run Areas (10/22/2001) The United States called on Israel on Monday to withdraw its troops at once from all Palestinian-controlled areas and rebuked the Israeli military for killing innocent Palestinians.

BBC News | UK POLITICS | 'Net closing' on Bin Laden The net is closing on Osama Bin Laden's hiding place, according to UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.

FOXNews.com - Post-Taliban Plan Needs to Be Made Soon, Warns Pakistani Elder Statesman The United States has a "golden opportunity" in the next few weeks to help craft a political solution for Afghanistan and avoid extending the conflict by months or even years, according to a former Pakistani president.

FOXNews.com - U.S. Pounds Taliban Positions U.S. jets struck heavily near front-line Taliban positions Monday, suggesting the start of a more aggressive American campaign on behalf of the northern alliance.

Montreal Gazette - Cyber-doomsayers offer chilling vision "The new Pandora's boxes of genetics, nanotechnology and robotics are almost open, yet we seem hardly to have noticed. The last chance to assert control - the fail-safe point - is rapidly approaching."

ABCNEWS.com : Military Developing Tiny Spies Using MEMS, or micro-electro-mechanical system technology, the battery-powered sensor nodes can independently assess movement or environment, then relay that information between nodes to a sensor board. The sensor nodes, or motes, can be dropped from an airplane and used to track troop movements.

Independent News - Anthrax attacks now being linked to US right-wing cranks Investigators are increasingly convinced that a lone individual or group of people living in the US are behind the mailings of the white powder, which have claimed the life of a British-born picture editor and brought parts of the US media, political and economic infrastructure to a standstill.

Eavesdropping, U.S. Allies See New Terror Attack More than a month after the September terror attacks, the United States and its close allies are still intercepting communications among Osama bin Laden's associates and are convinced more attacks are coming, intelligence officials in several countries say.

BBC News | SCI/TECH | Geologist's clue to Bin Laden location An American geologist who spent years in Afghanistan believes he has narrowed down the location of terror suspect Osama Bin Laden to sandstone caves south of Kabul.

LOCAL COMMENT: Don't leave disabled behind In multistory buildings, disabled individuals truly put their lives in danger if there isn't a well-developed escape plan. Help from a compassionate stranger or a firefighter can't be the only answer.

Silence of 4 Terror Probe Suspects Poses Dilemma (washingtonpost.com) FBI and Justice Department investigators are increasingly frustrated by the silence of jailed suspected associates of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Checkered pasts, current extremism trap Arafat, Sharon Can both men escape the violent, erratic legacy of their own pasts to negotiate and implement a peace agreement?

Guardian Unlimited Observer | Observer site | UN's smallpox terror alert Governments around the world have been warned to prepare against a terrorist smallpox attack which could kill millions.

Chicago Tribune | Special Forces poised for more covert raids U.S. military officials warned Saturday that more ground attacks lie ahead for Afghanistan's ruling Taliban regime after American commandos parachuted into southern Afghanistan, entering a heavily fortified residence belonging to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and attacking a military airfield near Kandahar.

F.B.I. Asks if Hijacking Plot Included Plane at Kennedy The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether a United Airlines flight scheduled to leave Kennedy International Airport for San Francisco was a target of hijackers on Sept. 11, aviation and law enforcement officials said.

Large candy purchases investigated by FBI "We have no evidence or information for us to suspect there is any reason to cancel scheduled events," Carroll said when asked if the FBI had concerns about the safety of Halloween. "However, the public is encouraged to remain alert but calm."