9 days ago
LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Intelligence services must not dwell too much on past threats but accept that a new strategic shock along the lines of the 9/11 attacks could already be in preparation where they are not looking, the head of Britain's MI5 spy agency said.
In an opinion piece published on Friday to mark 25 years since al Qaeda militants crashed hijacked passenger jets into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, MI5's Director General Ken McCallum said security agencies had to be ready to adapt to current and future challenges.
"We know that the next strategic shock will, by definition, not resemble the last one. That is perhaps the most important lesson of all," McCallum wrote in the commentary for the Independent newspaper.
"We must of course always learn from the last attack – but must beware of preparing brilliantly to fight yesterday's enemy, using yesterday's methods, against yesterday's target ... The uncomfortable truth is that the next strategic shock may already be taking shape somewhere we are not yet looking."
Al Qaeda, though diminished, remains a threat, as does the aspiration of that group and other militants for mass casualty attacks, McCallum said.
#next
In an opinion piece published on Friday to mark 25 years since al Qaeda militants crashed hijacked passenger jets into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, MI5's Director General Ken McCallum said security agencies had to be ready to adapt to current and future challenges.
"We know that the next strategic shock will, by definition, not resemble the last one. That is perhaps the most important lesson of all," McCallum wrote in the commentary for the Independent newspaper.
"We must of course always learn from the last attack – but must beware of preparing brilliantly to fight yesterday's enemy, using yesterday's methods, against yesterday's target ... The uncomfortable truth is that the next strategic shock may already be taking shape somewhere we are not yet looking."
Al Qaeda, though diminished, remains a threat, as does the aspiration of that group and other militants for mass casualty attacks, McCallum said.
#next
16 days ago
The leader of Reform UK in Scotland has said a second independence referendum is "a long way off".
The Scottish government last week published its draft independence referendum bill, setting out the details of the proposed question and who would be allowed to vote.
But Malcolm Offord told BBC Radio Scotland's Mornings programme that there would need to be a "groundswell" of support for a fresh poll.
In 2014 Scotland voted against becoming an independent country by 55% to 45%.
Successive UK governments have opposed any further referendums and Downing Street recently said a new vote was "off limits".
#mornings
The Scottish government last week published its draft independence referendum bill, setting out the details of the proposed question and who would be allowed to vote.
But Malcolm Offord told BBC Radio Scotland's Mornings programme that there would need to be a "groundswell" of support for a fresh poll.
In 2014 Scotland voted against becoming an independent country by 55% to 45%.
Successive UK governments have opposed any further referendums and Downing Street recently said a new vote was "off limits".
#mornings
1 month ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In the hills above Kabul, Sima searches for things that others have left behind. She walks through cemeteries looking for plastic, scrap and anything else that might have value. What can be sold is gathered and carried away; some of what cannot is brought home and saved as fuel for cooking or winter.
Five years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, work is scarce. Sima, who believes she is about 60 but does not know her exact age, helps support her extended family. They survive largely through begging and collecting bread, scrap and recyclable waste.
Little is allowed to go to waste. Bread received from bakeries or other people can be resold cheaply to neighbors. Dry bread collected from the ground is saved and sold to livestock owners. Damaged tomatoes are dried for later, watermelon rinds become torshi, a homemade pickle, and meat received during Eid al-Adha is dried and stored for winter.
These small economies carry risks. Begging and collecting waste have been prohibited by the Taliban, and those caught can be detained. For women such as Sima, finding ways to support their families means navigating an increasingly restricted public life as well as severe poverty. Sima sometimes waits until night to beg, when she feels less exposed on Kabul's streets.
A few months ago, Diba, Sima's daughter, was detained while begging and held for three months. She had a breastfeeding baby at the time, and during her absence the family struggled to provide enough milk and suitable food for the infant. Two days after Diba was released, her baby died.
#bread
Five years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, work is scarce. Sima, who believes she is about 60 but does not know her exact age, helps support her extended family. They survive largely through begging and collecting bread, scrap and recyclable waste.
Little is allowed to go to waste. Bread received from bakeries or other people can be resold cheaply to neighbors. Dry bread collected from the ground is saved and sold to livestock owners. Damaged tomatoes are dried for later, watermelon rinds become torshi, a homemade pickle, and meat received during Eid al-Adha is dried and stored for winter.
These small economies carry risks. Begging and collecting waste have been prohibited by the Taliban, and those caught can be detained. For women such as Sima, finding ways to support their families means navigating an increasingly restricted public life as well as severe poverty. Sima sometimes waits until night to beg, when she feels less exposed on Kabul's streets.
A few months ago, Diba, Sima's daughter, was detained while begging and held for three months. She had a breastfeeding baby at the time, and during her absence the family struggled to provide enough milk and suitable food for the infant. Two days after Diba was released, her baby died.
#bread
2 months ago
Some details are emerging about the man suspected of opening fire outside an In-N-Out Burger location in Idaho over the weekend, killing three people, as a motive in the mass shooting remains under investigation.
The suspect in Saturday's shooting -- 24-year-old Chad Williams -- died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after police say he opened fire near a busy shopping area in Twin Falls.
Obtained by ABC News - PHOTO: A bystander video verified by ABC News shows an alleged gunman preparing to open fire on a vehicle, Aug. 1, 2026, near an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Williams attended the College of Southern Idaho in 2022 and 2023 but did not graduate with a degree, a college spokesperson told ABC News.
He was a senator in the college's student government, the spokesperson confirmed, until he was impeached from that role in February 2023.
#burger #spokesperson
The suspect in Saturday's shooting -- 24-year-old Chad Williams -- died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after police say he opened fire near a busy shopping area in Twin Falls.
Obtained by ABC News - PHOTO: A bystander video verified by ABC News shows an alleged gunman preparing to open fire on a vehicle, Aug. 1, 2026, near an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Williams attended the College of Southern Idaho in 2022 and 2023 but did not graduate with a degree, a college spokesperson told ABC News.
He was a senator in the college's student government, the spokesperson confirmed, until he was impeached from that role in February 2023.
#burger #spokesperson
