“Venezuela’s associations with terror states, Iran’s meddling in Iraq and the resurgence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan top the concerns in a new State Department report on terrorism threats in countries around the world. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is not cooperating with U.S. anti-terror efforts and has “deepened Venezuelan relationships with state sponsors of terrorism [...]
“CIA chief Michael Hayden charged Wednesday that China was beefing up its military with “remarkable speed and scope,” calling the buildup “troubling.” The Chinese, he said, had fully absorbed the lessons of both Gulf wars, developing and integrating advanced weaponry into a modern military force.” (AFP)
“Airline passengers are to be screened with facial recognition technology rather than checks by passport officers, in an attempt to improve security and ease congestion, the Guardian can reveal. From summer, unmanned clearance gates will be phased in to scan passengers’ faces and match the image to the record on the computer chip in their [...]
“The top White House terrorism expert thinks some gains are being made in the worldwide public relations battle against al-Qaeda, as the administration and its overseas allies press efforts to show that Osama bin Laden’s network is killing Muslim civilians rather than defending its interests.” (Washington Post)
“A congressional panel on Monday will hear about a plan to limit the federal Homeland Security Department’s ability to speed up the process of building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.” (Houston Chronicle)
Air travelers who can prove they don’t belong on terrorist watch lists could be spared extra scrutiny under a new program that addresses the public’s biggest complaint about aviation safety, the nation’s Homeland Security chief said. (USA Today)
“As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist the country’s 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the country’s 95,000 miles of coastline and inland waterways.” (AP)
“Iran has agreed to clarify intelligence alleging that it studied how to design nuclear bombs, a gesture the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Wednesday called a “milestone”. Tehran has previously denied the reports but declined to address them in detail.” (Reuters)
“Al Qaeda’s No. 2 leader issued a new audiotape Tuesday accusing Shiite Iran of spreading a conspiracy theory about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks to discredit the power of the Sunni terrorist network.” (Fox News)
“Customs agents at U.S. airports don’t need any evidence of wrongdoing to search the contents of passengers’ laptop computers, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.” (San Francisco Chronicle)