ABC News (USA) 15/01/2010

ABC News has new details as to why U.S. intelligence officials have heightened concerns about possible attacks in the U.S. from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Government intercepts and intelligence suggest that Al Qaeda operatives trained in Yemen are at large, and could be planning more attacks on the U.S., using even more novel techniques to smuggle explosives on airplanes.

"Our concerns are elevated," one intelligence official said today. "Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, there is reason to believe they are plotting still."

Those concerns stem from intelligence gathered during the investigation of the Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Northwest Airlines jet in Detroit. The alleged "underwear bomber," Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has told authorities that there were others from Yemen terrorist training camps who were to come to the U.S. and launch attacks.

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Wall Street Journal (USA) 15/01/2010

SAN'A, Yemen—The Yemeni government is negotiating terms for the surrender of Anwar al Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric linked to the alleged Christmas Day bomber, according to Yemen's head of intelligence.

Ali Mohamed Al Anisi, the director of Yemen's National Security Agency and a senior presidential adviser, said talks were under way with members of Mr. Awlaki's tribe in an effort to convince the cleric to turn himself in.

Mr. Anisi said Mr. Awlaki was in hiding in Yemen's remote Shabwa province, under the protection of relatives, whose tribe controls the region.
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He said Yemeni forces were prepared to bring him in forcibly if negotiations fail. "We are ready to launch more operations to hunt him down," he said.

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Associated Press 14/01/2010

A nuclear physics professor who publicly backed Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the disputed June presidential election was killed Tuesday when a remote-controlled bomb rigged to a motorcycle blew up outside his home.

State media identified the victim as Masoud Ali Mohammadi, 50, a professor at Tehran University, which has been at the center of recent protests by student opposition supporters. Before the election, pro-reform Web sites published Ali Mohammadi's name among a list of 240 Tehran University teachers who supported Mousavi.

Hard-line government supporters called at recent street rallies for the execution of opposition leaders. But Ali Mohammadi was not a well-known figure in Iran.

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McClatchy Newspapers (USA) 14/01/2010

WASHINGTON -- After a recent attempted terrorist attack set off a debate about full-body scans at airports, a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll finds that Americans lean more toward giving up some of their liberty in exchange for more safety.

The survey found 51 percent of Americans agreeing that "it is necessary to give up some civil liberties in order to make the country safe from terrorism."

At the same time, 36 percent agreed that "some of the government's proposals will go too far in restricting the public's civil liberties."

The rest were undecided or said their opinions would depend on circumstances.

As has happened often since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the renewed debate over security is hinging on the balance between personal liberty and safety. The suspect's success in boarding a Detroit-bound plane allegedly carrying explosives is setting off calls for full-body scans, which some find an invasion of privacy, and for new restrictions on passengers once they're in flight.

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