July 30, 2017

Authorities in Australia arrested multiple individuals allegedly plotting to bomb a commercial airplane. Security has been tightened at all airports across Australia.

According to Reuters:

Police foiled “Islamic-inspired” plans for a bomb attack on an aircraft during counter-terrorism raids in which four men were arrested, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Sunday.

The increased security presence caused minor delays for some air transport operators on Sunday and authorities warned travelers to prepare for potentially more significant disruptions as traffic picked up during the week.

An AFP spokesman told Reuters the four men, who were arrested on Saturday, had not been charged as of Sunday afternoon.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said advice from Australian security and intelligence agencies had led to increased security measures at Sydney airport on Thursday with tighter security implemented at the country’s other domestic and international airports on Saturday.

AFP commissioner Andrew Colvin said travelers could expect an increased police and security agency presence at airports.

“You can expect longer delays to make sure that more screening is being done on baggage, both hold luggage as well as hand luggage,” adding that travelers should allow more time to get through security.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

In a significant departure from the low-tech lone actor attacks that Islamic State has inspired in Australia, the group of mostly middle-aged men were allegedly working on an “elaborate” plot to build an improvised explosive device that could take down a plane.

The operation has forced authorities to implement emergency security arrangements at all major Australian airports.

The measures, including extra screening and additional checks of cabin and checked baggage, are expected to lead to longer queues and check-in times at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Cairns, Gold Coast and Hobart airports.

“We have taken this threat very seriously,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said on Sunday. “You should infer we think this was credible and there was an intention and quite possibly a capability as well.”

“The primary threat to Australia still remains lone actors but events overnight remind us there is still the ability to have sophisticated plots,” Justice Minister Michael Keenan said.

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July 27, 2017

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced new rules for electronics in carryon bags.

According to the TSA’s news release about this issue:

Due to an increased threat to aviation security, DHS Secretary John Kelly announced in late June new security requirements for nearly 280 airports in more than 100 countries. In an effort to raise the baseline for aviation security worldwide, TSA continues to work closely with airports and airlines to enhance security measures and stay ahead of the evolving threat.

As new procedures are phased in, TSA officers will begin to ask travelers to remove electronics larger than a cell phone from their carry-on bags and place them in a bin with nothing on top or below, similar to how laptops have been screened for years. This simple step helps TSA officers obtain a clearer X-ray image.

Travel + Leisure reports:

The new regulations were tested in several airports earlier this year and will now apply to passengers traveling to, from, and within the U.S., according to a press release. TSA pre-check members will not need to comply with this new rule.

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July 25, 2017

Early this morning, Miami Beach’s Deauville Beach Resort evacuated guests due to a fire. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

According to the Miami Herald:

Miami Beach Fire and police officers were called to the oceanfront hotel at 6701 Collins Ave around 2:20 a.m., after malfunctioning wiring in a temporary unit brought in to supplement the building’s AC caught fire, said Miami Beach Fire spokesman Capt. Jorge Linares.

The fire activated a sprinkler in the electrical room, and only the wiring and the electrical room were damaged, Linares said. No smoke or fire got into the guest areas or rooms.

But about 150 people in the building were told to leave after the fire, and Linares said a firefighter was stationed on each floor “to make sure nobody stays.”

Florida Power and Light crews were also at the hotel, which remained without power Tuesday morning. FPL account supervisor Irene Delgado said that crews had found a problem with the customer’s equipment at the address and that it was not an FPL malfunction. Red Cross volunteers also headed to the hotel Tuesday morning to provide canteen services for affected guests, the organization’s South Florida chapter said.

It was unclear Tuesday morning how extensive repairs to the electrical system would be, or when the hotel, best known for hosting the Beatles in 1964, would reopen.

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July 21, 2017

The Guest House at Graceland, a hotel at the popular tourist attraction in Memphis, has had an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease among its guests.

CNN reports:

The Guest House at Graceland, a hotel adjacent to Elvis Presley’s Memphis home, is the source of a Legionnaires disease outbreak, according to a statement Wednesday from the Shelby County Health Department. There have been nine confirmed cases of the illness.

The hotel’s hot tub and swimming pool both tested positive for the bacteria, said Alisa Haushalter, director of the health department. The aquatic facility was reopened Wednesday after it was determined that Legionella bacteria were no longer present.

Visitors contracted the illness while staying at the hotel between May 12 and June 26, according to the statement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

Legionella [the bacteria that causes Legionnaires Disease] is a type of bacterium found naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. It can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made water systems.

After Legionella grows and multiplies in a building water system, that contaminated water then has to spread in droplets small enough for people to breathe in. People can get Legionnaires’ disease when they breathe in small droplets of water in the air that contain the bacteria.

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July 21, 2017

A 6.7 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks have rocked the Greek island of Kos, as well as the Turkish resort area of Bodrum. There are reports of building damage, as well as injuries and two confirmed deaths.

According to Reuters:

A powerful earthquake killed two people on the Greek holiday island of Kos in the early hours of Friday, also causing disruption in the Turkish tourist hub of Bodrum.

Around 200 people were injured, including tourists of various nationalities. Many of Kos’s tourists spent the night in the open as a precaution, hotel owners said.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake at magnitude 6.7 and located the epicenter 10 km (6 miles) SSE of the Turkish summer tourist hub of Bodrum, and about 16 km ENE of Kos’s main port.

Data from Turkey’s disaster and emergency management authority, AFAD, which put the quake at magnitude 6.3, showed that more than 40 aftershocks were felt in Turkey and Greece, in the immediate aftermath of the quake, with some up to magnitude 4.6.

“There are about 200,000 tourists on the island, we are at the peak season. Our first reaction was to calm the tourists, following basic rules and evacuating hotel buildings,” Svynou said, adding that there had been no injuries at the hotel.

Kos’s airport remained operational and Greek Deputy Shipping Minister Nektarios Santorinios flew there. But he said the port was out of action.

“Passengers on ferries have been rerouted to the islands of Nisyros and Kalymnos,” he told Greek SKAI

The UK’s Guardian is reporting:

Two people were killed and five seriously injured on the Greek island of Kos after an earthquake hit tourist destinations around the Aegean sea in the early hours of Friday.

The epicentre was just 6 miles south of the Turkish resort of Bodrum and 10 miles from Kos.

The two dead on Kos were identified as Turkish and Swedish nationals and were killed when the ceiling of a bar in the centre of Kos town collapsed. Five other people in the bar – two Swedes, two Greeks and one Norwegian – were seriously injured and flown to Crete for medical treatment. One is reported to have suffered extensive leg injuries.

Kos, in the Dodecanese archipelago, and the Turkish towns of Bodrum and Datça are all tourist destinations.

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July 20, 2017

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removed the “electronics ban” for all flights to the United States.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

New security measures added at international airports now allow laptop computers, tablets and other large electronic devices in the cabins of flights to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.

The federal agency that oversees airline security declined to detail the new security measures but confirmed that the precautions came in response to threats that terrorists were working on ways to hide explosives in laptops or other electronic devices.

“This quick and decisive action taken by airlines, nations and stakeholders are a testament to our shared commitment to raising the bar on global aviation security,” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement.

… as of Thursday morning, the Homeland Security Department announced, all 180 airlines and 280-plus airports with direct flights to the U.S. have adopted enhanced security measures instead of having to implement a laptop ban.

NPR is reporting:

The United States has ended the ban on large electronics in the cabins of airlines that it announced in March.

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the last airport to be taken off the Department of Homeland Security’s ban list, which originally affected ten airports and nine airlines, mostly Middle Eastern carriers.

DHS Spokesman David Lapan tweeted Wednesday evening that the restrictions on large electronics had been lifted. “With enhanced security measures in place, all restrictions on large PEDs announced in March for 10 airports/9 airlines have been lifted,” he wrote.

… the U.S. has issued a new directive to airlines on additional security measures they must take, including increased security and screening protocols, affecting direct flights to the U.S. from about 280 airports around the world.

Lapan, the DHS spokesman, tweeted Thursday that “all 180 airlines” have implemented the first phase of the security measures.

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July 20, 2017

In the aftermath of last week’s attack that killed two police officers outside of the compound known as the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, there have been “nightly confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli police.”

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv issued a Special Message due to the “potential for violence and unrest in and around Old City Jerusalem”:

Based on continued tensions and the potential for clashes in the Old City, the restriction on U.S. government employees and their family members from entering the Old City is extended until Monday, July 24 at 9:00 am, without prior approval from the U.S. Consulate General.

This restriction includes the immediate vicinity of the Old City gates. We recommend that private U.S. citizens take into consideration these restrictions and the additional guidance contained in the Department of State’s travel warning for Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank when making decisions regarding their travel in the Old City and in Jerusalem.

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also issued a security message:

The FCO advise against all travel to the Old City of Jerusalem from 21 July to sunrise on 22 July 2017; two Israeli police officers were fatally shot in a terrorist attack at Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount on 14 July; following this the site was closed for two days and reopened with additional security measures; there have been a number of protests and demonstrations in Jerusalem and the West Bank this week, with calls for further protests over the coming days; you should avoid any demonstrations and follow instructions of local authorities.

According to Reuters:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing whether to remove metal detectors at a Jerusalem holy site whose installation after a deadly attack last week has stoked Palestinian protests, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Thursday.

There have been nightly confrontations between Palestinians hurling rocks and Israeli police using stun grenades in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem since the devices were placed on Sunday at entrances to the Temple Mount-Noble Sanctuary compound.

Tensions remain high ahead of Friday prayers when thousands of Muslims usually flock to al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, in the compound above Judaism’s sacred Western Wall.

The Israeli army said it had put five battalions on standby to reinforce troops in the occupied West Bank if required.

Muslim religious authorities, who say the metal detectors violate a delicate agreement on worship and security arrangements at the Jerusalem site, have been urging Palestinians not to pass through, and prayers have been held near an entrance to the complex.

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July 14, 2017

Two tourists have been killed in an attack at Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

BBC News is reporting:

Two Ukrainian tourists, reported to be women, have been killed in mass stabbings at a hotel in the popular Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egyptian medical officials say. At least four other people were injured and a man has been arrested.

The suspect is being questioned by police to determine his motives, the interior ministry said.

The attacker appears to have swum from a nearby public beach to gain access to the resort, officials say.

It is renowned for its scuba diving.

Three foreign tourists were stabbed at the same resort in January 2016 by two suspected militants from the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

According to the UK’s Telegraph:

An Egyptian security official quoted by Associated Press said the victims of the attack included the two Ukrainian tourists, three from Serbia and one from Poland. It is believed the Ukrainian victims were both women.

The Interior Ministry said a preliminary investigation showed the man appeared to have swam from a nearby public beach to access the holiday resort.

Hurghada stretches for 40km of Egypt’s Red Sea coast and is renowned for scuba diving. It is a hub for tourism, with many resorts, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

The attack came hours after five policemen were shot to death in Cairo’s twin city of Giza when suspected Islamic militants opened fire on their vehicle early in the morning.

Egypt’s security forces are fighting an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula and militants have carried out attacks in the past on the tourism industry.

It should be noted that the U.S. State Department maintains an active Travel Warning for Egypt.

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July 14, 2017

Yesterday, a U.S. federal judge ruled that grandparents, as well as in-laws and other extended family members are exempt from the temporary ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority.

Fox News reports:

A federal judge in Hawaii on Thursday expanded the list of “bona fide” family relationships needed by people seeking new visas from six majority Muslim countries to avoid President Trump’s travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson ordered the U.S. not to enforce the travel ban on grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins of people in the U.S.

“Common sense, for instance, dictates that close family members be defined to include grandparents,” Watson said in his ruling. “Indeed grandparents are the epitome of close family members.”

The travel ban affects those trying to enter the U.S. from Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen.

According to The Washington Post:

Grandparents and other extended relatives are exempt from President Trump’s travel ban, a federal judge in Hawaii declared late Thursday, again stopping the administration from implementing the president’s controversial executive order in the way that it wants.

U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson wrote that the government’s “narrowly defined list” of who might be exempt was not supported by either the Supreme Court decision partially unfreezing the ban or by the law.

The government had argued that it drew its definition of who counted as a close family member from immigration law. The ruling is a blow to the administration, though it almost certainly won’t be the last word on the case. Both those suing over the ban and the government lawyers defending it indicated earlier they thought the question of who could properly be kept out after the Supreme Court unfroze the ban was a matter destined for appellate courts.

And while the Supreme Court partially unfroze Trump’s travel ban, it did so only temporarily, indicating it would truly take up the case in the fall. By that time, the bans might have expired. The barring of new visas to those from six countries is supposed to last 90 days, and the barring of refugees is supposed to last 120 days.

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