Iran

A former CIA agent has claimed he was excluded from the original Lockerbie bombing trial and that investigators should turn their attention to the "true culprit" – Iran. John Holt, 68, says he was the author of secret cables showing that the Libyan double agent put forward by Scottish prosecutors as the star witness in the Lockerbie bombing trial had a history of "making up stories". Mr Holt was never sent to the trial by his bosses, even though he had been the CIA handler for Libyan double agent and principal witness Abdul-Majid Giaka. "I have reason to believe there was a concerted effort, for unexplained reasons, to switch the original investigations away from Iran and its bomb-making Palestinian extremist ally the PFLP General Command. Now we should focus a new investigation on the Iranians and their links with the bomber," he told The Telegraph in an exclusive interview. "I would start by asking the current Attorney General, William Barr, why he suddenly switched focus in …

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By Frank Gardner Published 11 June 2020 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics George Floyd death Al-Qaeda is actively trying to exploit the current unrest in the US by reaching out to both Muslims and non-Muslims to present themselves as "champions of the oppressed". The latest issue of the jihadist group's online magazine One Ummah uses the iconic image of George Floyd's last moments and a painting by the graffiti artist Banksy to help deliver its message of unsolicited support to protesters on US streets. The English-language issue, clearly aimed at a domestic US audience, predicts the imminent demise of the US and its political system as well its economy and society. "Armed protests rage across America and a civil war appears to be in the offing," reads its commentary. One of its messages is that, "not even the Democrats can help you but we can". …

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WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said it will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective Nov. 8, ending historic restrictions that barred much of the world from the United States. Restrictions on non-U.S. citizens were first imposed on air travelers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and then extended to dozens of other countries, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them. Curbs on non-essential travelers at land borders with Mexico and Canada have been in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Reuters first reported Friday's announcement of the Nov. 8 starting date earlier in the day. U.S. airline, hotel and cruise industry stocks rose on the news, including American Airlines (AAL.O) , up 1.9%; Marriott International Inc (MAR.O) , up 2.2%; and Carnival Corp (CCL.N) , up 1.3%. The United States had lagged many other countries in lifting such …

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L ONDON —Sharing the internet with America is like sharing your living room with a rhinoceros. It’s huge, it’s right there, and whatever it’s doing now, you sure as hell know about it. This month, Twitter announced that it would restrict retweets for a few weeks, and prompt its users to reconsider sharing content that has been flagged as misinformation. The reason for this change, of course, is the U.S. presidential election. The restricted features will be restored when its result is clear. Anything that makes Twitter fractionally less hellish is welcome, as is the recent crackdown by Facebook and YouTube on QAnon conspiracy groups and Holocaust denial. But from anywhere outside the borders of the U.S., it is hard not to feel faintly aggrieved when reading this news. Hey guys! We have elections too! After all, according to an anguished 6,000-word memo by Sophie Zhang, a departing Facebook data scientist, the political situations in Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, …

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For decades, Abu Agila Mas’ud was such a shadowy and elusive figure that investigators wondered if he should be called “The Ghost”. Yet the FBI eventually tracked down the man they plan to charge with making the Lockerbie bomb, partially through the unwitting help of East German intelligence, and dogged detective work by a Lockerbie victims' brother, The Telegraph can reveal. During years of painstaking detective work, the FBI agents felt he lived up to this other-worldly sobriquet because they had no image or reports of what The Ghost looked like, or even of his real identity. “For our two other main suspects – later put on trial before Scottish judges in Holland in 2000 – we were assembling significant information, like passports or an airport pass or we found a diary with some apparently incriminating pages. But we just had no idea who actually made the bomb,” FBI agent Richard Marquise, who led the agency's investigation, told The Telegraph. “All we had was the name Mas’ud. …

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Senior judges have ruled that incriminating evidence over luggage tags deemed inadmissible 20 years ago at the Lockerbie bomber’s original trial would have made the case against him and his co-accused “substantially stronger”. The ruling came as a court in Scotland dismissed an appeal of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s conviction for the worst terrorist atrocity in British history. The judgment is a devastating blow to a long-running campaign to clear al-Megrahi’s name. It will also galvanise American efforts to bring Abu Agila Masud , the alleged bombmaker, to justice. The family of one British victim said the 64-page Court of Criminal Appeal judgment had strengthened their opinion that Megrahi had been instrumental in carrying out the worst terrorist atrocity on British soil. Pam Dix, 64, whose brother Peter was killed, said: “I am now more and more confident of Megrahi’s guilt. I was open to persuasion but nothing presented by the defence has moved me in the direction of thinking …

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Countdown to Cop26: World leaders to attend Glasgow event Sign up for FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Philip T. Reeker, who serves as the Chargé d'affaires of the US mission to the UK, tweeted: "It's official - President Biden will travel to Scotland for #COP26. The gathering in Glasgow will be a pivotal moment on the road towards a more secure, prosperous, and sustainable future for our planet." In a statement, the White House said President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will first travel to Rome for the G20 Leaders' summit on October 30-31. Related articles 'Why do we accept being robbed?' French turn guns on Germany Guy Verhofstadt in bitter …

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GOOGLE has released a new report which reviewed 80 million ransomware samples from 140 countries. It listed the UK as one of the countries most affected by cyber criminal attacks that involve hackers threatening to release private information if money is not paid. Google commissioned cybersecurity experts VirusTotal to conduct the report. It states that : "Israel, South Korea, Vietnam, China, Singapore, India, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Iran and the UK are the 10 most affected territories based on the number of submissions to VirusTotal." Israel submitted the largest amount of ransomware samples. Ransomware activity was said to peak during the first two quarter of 2020. Another peak happened in July 2021 and this has been attributed to the 'Babuk ransomware gang'. Most read in Phones & Gadgets HOLEY HELL? Strange 'hollow island' spotted by Google Maps watchers who say it's CENSORED Exclusive SWITCHED …

[Read more...] about Google releases huge hack warning and says MILLIONS of people are being targeted right now

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting Nov. 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States for as long as 21 months. The unprecedented travel restrictions kept millions of visitors out of the United States from China, Canada, Mexico, India, Brazil, much of Europe and elsewhere; shrunk U.S. tourism; and hurt border community economies. They prevented many loved ones and foreign workers from reuniting with families. "Oh how I've missed Christmas in NY," Alexandros Koronakis, an executive with AT&T Inc in Brussels, wrote on Twitter. U.S. allies had heavily lobbied the Biden administration to lift the rules. Many praised Friday's announcement, including Sweden's ambassador to the United States Karin Olofsdotter, who called it "very welcoming news." White House spokesman Kevin Munoz confirmed the Nov. 8 date on …

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