The digital clock in the foyer of Thames House, the headquarters of MI5, is a constant reminder to visitors and staff of the security service's main priority over the coming weeks.
At first it was set to count down to zero, to coincide with the arrival in the UK of the Olympic torch in May. It has now been reset to a date nearer the start of the Games in London next month.
Leave has been deferred so the agency has a full complement of staff. Some non-essential duties, such as training, are likely to be suspended so there are extra bodies on hand during the busiest periods of the summer.
The Olympics has already proved a huge test for MI5, just as it has for Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch.
The threat to the UK is more diffuse now than four or five years ago, which reflects the disintegration of al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the scattering of extremists to places such as Yemen and, to a degree, Somalia.
With less infrastucture to rely upon, there has been a growth in the phenomenon of the "lone wolf" terrorist – homegrown self-starters, some of whom have researched how to become a terrorist by reading Inspire, the online magazine published by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Inspire has essentially told its followers to get on with it, rather than waiting to be asked or trained.
The loners are far harder to identify, but the police and MI5 are also aware of hundreds of networks in the UK and abroad, a small number of which pose a credible, if not immediate, terrorist threat. Some of them have been trying hard to launch an attack here over the last five years without success, and the question facing investigators is whether they can realistically try any harder for the Olympics, when security will be far tighter than usual.
Security, that is, around the Olympic village and at the venues. If there is a group out there plotting an attack, or a loner with a gun considering a rampage, they would not have to pick a sporting arena to disrupt the Games – an attack anywhere in the UK would have a huge impact.
Liaising with a myriad of other agencies across the world has been a big task: keeping them up to date with security plans in the UK, reassuring those with extra concerns – with the US and Israel thought to be chief among them – and cajoling others who should have them. Giving advice to the Home Office about who can be given security accreditation for London 2012 has involved sifting through 500,000 domestic and foreign applications – another monumental effort.
MI5 has been in a period of expansion and transition, which has coincided with, and to some extent been accelerated by, the need to protect the Games.
The security service has not recruited extra people specifically for the event because it was growing anyway after the 9/11 and 7 July attacks. Its staff of more than 3,500 means it has doubled in size in a decade, and numbers will be supplemented further with help from MI6, the secret intelligence service, and GCHQ.
The Guardian understands that MI5 has not set up a specific Olympics unit because it believes the systems it has in place are robust enough, and that it would be wrong to draw a distinction between terrorism and Olympic terrorism. Improvements in investigating methods and updates to IT systems are said to have made a real difference.
Scotland Yard and MI5 remain hopeful that the likelihood of an atrocity remains low, but as the weeks pass, they acknowledge that attitudes to risk will inevitably change. Managing these "collapsing timescales", as investigators call them, are likely to test officers to the limit, even if no specific plots are found.
In the days before the Olympics start, their teams are likely to be deluged with extra intelligence from foreign agencies, who will feel less inclined to vet potential information before it is passed on. The network of MI5 agents in the UK may also start to provide more intelligence too, for the same understandable reasons. The front end of this intelligence funnel has been expanded to cope with the extra material, with all the usual criteria applied; is the intelligence specific, is it credible, who is the source, and just as importantly – is there anything that can be done with it?
This "triage" process will help to distil the reports, and if there is any lingering concern, the police, MI5 – and potentially the Crown Prosecution Service – will have difficult judgments to make.Scotland Yard and the security agencies can convene executive liaison groups to discuss the most serious potential threats.
The questions they will have to ask include, can we let this situation run any longer? What risks are we taking if we do? Should we disrupt and do we have enough evidence to arrest and charge?
Nobody is talking openly about them, but it is believed the number of the most serious potential threats does not appear to have increased in the last few months. But some still exist.
Over the last 10 months, the police have made a series of counter-terrorism arrests in places such as Luton and Birmingham, and more are likely to follow. The threat from international terrorism is currently rated as substantial – the third highest of five levels. This is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, based within Thames House, though it is independent from MI5. When planning for the Olympics, it was presumed the level would be at the second highest available – severe.
If the threat level rises in the coming weeks, it will not be to keep people on their toes, sources say. It will go up because credible intelligence has emerged that is causing investigators immediate concern. That does not mean there is a specific plot afoot; but it might mean, with time running out, and risks to be managed, the police will make an early move. The police expect bomb hoaxes and stunts this summer, which will cause irritation. But if that is the sum of the disruption to the Games, then no one at Thames House or at New Scotland Yard will be too discomfited.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Muslim girl can marry at 15: HC - SamayLive
Ruling that a Muslim girl can marry as per her choice at the age of 15 years if she has attained puberty, the Delhi High Court has held the marriage of a minor girl valid and allowed her to stay in her matrimonial house.
"This Court notes that according to Mohammedan Law a girl can marry without the consent of her parents once she attains the age of puberty and she has the right to reside with her husband even if she is below the age of 18....," a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and S P Garg said.
Citing various Supreme Court judgements on the issue of minor Muslim girls' marriage, the bench said "In view of the above judgments, it is clear that a Muslim girl who has attained puberty i.e. 15 years can marry and such a marriage would not be a void marriage. However, she has the option of treating the marriage as voidable, at the time of her attaining the age of majority, i.e 18 years."
Accepting the 16-year-old girl's plea to allow her to stay in her matrimonial home, the bench has disposed of a habeas corpus petition filed by the girl's mother alleging that her daughter was kidnapped by a youth and forced into marriage in April last year.
The bench accepted the girl's statement she had left her parental home of her own will to marry the man of her choice and her husband should not be booked on the charge of kidnapping.
Meanwhile, to ascertain the girl's well being, the court has directed the couple and in-laws to appear before the Child Welfare Committee once in every six months till the girl attains majority.
"The Committee shall take necessary steps, including obtaining the necessary undertaking from the man(husband) in this regard. Subject to completion of these steps, the girl be allowed to live in her matrimonial home," the bench said.
The girl has been currently residing in Nirmal Chhaya, a government sponsored home for rehabilitation of poor and elderly women.
Source: english.samaylive.com
London Bridge Tests Olympic Queueing System During Jubilee - Londonist
Amid the frustrations of people struggling to get the train home after Sunday’s Jubilee pageant, what might not have been clear was that crowds at London Bridge were actually taking part in an Olympics test.
The SE1 website has photos of people queuing down Tooley Street and at the Duke Street Hill entrance, some rather unhelpful signage and a glimpse at the planned queueing system. Passengers wanting to use the tube were directed to Duke Street Hill, those wanting trains were asked to enter via the bus station main concourse and anyone wanting to leave was ushered towards Tooley Street or Joiner Street. If you use London Bridge take note: this system will be in action again this Thursday, when the station has a workday Olympics test run.
SE1 has also discovered that Olympics travel changes are still being made: a Network Rail briefing given to MPs indicated that London Bridge will likely be exit only 6-10pm on 30 July, and Southeastern services may not stop at the station to ease overcrowding. Neither measure is mentioned on the Get Ahead of the Games website which, annoyingly, has separate maps for tube and rail.
London Bridge isn’t the only station changing how it works during the games; Waterloo will have a queueing system in place for trains towards Weymouth, St Pancras will have queues for the Javelin service and you won’t be able to get to the station from the northern ticket hall, plus numerous changes to stations around Olympic venues in south east London. We can’t find information on any other stations running tests though – anyone with better information, please let us know in the comments.
Photo by The Green Odyssey from the Londonist Flickr pool
Source: londonist.com
South African Airways to scrap London-Cape Town service - Daily Telegraph
The airline will close the route, which it has operated for more than 20 years, in August, leaving it with just one remaining service to the UK, between Johannesburg and Heathrow.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Muslim girl can marry at 15 if she attains puberty: HC - Hindustan Times
"This court notes that according to Mohammedan Law a girl can marry without the consent of her parents once she attains the age of puberty and she has the right to reside with her husband even if she is below the age of 18....," a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and SP Garg said.
Citing various Supreme Court judgements on the issue of minor Muslim girls' marriage, the bench said "In view of the above judgments, it is clear that a Muslim girl who has attained puberty i.e. 15 years can marry and such a marriage would not be a void marriage. However, she has the option of treating the marriage as voidable, at the time of her attaining the age of majority, i.e 18 years."
Accepting the 16-year-old girl's plea to allow her to stay in her matrimonial home, the bench has disposed of a habeas corpus petition filed by the girl's mother alleging that her daughter was kidnapped by a youth and forced into marriage in April last year.
The bench accepted the girl's statement she had left her parental home of her own will to marry the man of her choice and her husband should not be booked on the charge of kidnapping.
Meanwhile, to ascertain the girl's well being, the court has directed the couple and in-laws to appear before the child welfare committee once in every six months till the girl attains majority.
"The committee shall take necessary steps, including obtaining the necessary undertaking from the man(husband) in this regard. Subject to completion of these steps, the girl be allowed to live in her matrimonial home," the bench said.
The girl has been currently residing in Nirmal Chhaya, a government sponsored home for rehabilitation of poor and elderly women.
According to the habeas corpus petition filed by the girl's mother, after abducting the girl who had Rs. 1.5 lakh on March 13, 2011, the man had telephoned her threatening to kidnap her other daughter if any legal action was taken against him.
The petitioner claimed that on March 19 last year she had also approached the Deputy Commissioner of Police and requested him to rescue her minor daughter from illegal detention.
As per the petition, on April 14, 2011 an FIR was registered with Gokalpuri police station in north-east Delhi alleging that the man had kidnapped her daughter.
The mother said police had not taken any action, forcing her to approach the high court.
During the hearing of her plea, the court had issued notice to police and subsequently police had produced the girl saying she had voluntarily gone with the man and married him.
Since then they have been staying as husband and wife, the police told the court.
On April 18, 2012 the girl had also told the court that she did not wish to go back to her parents and wanted to stay with her husband.
Meanwhile, she was kept in Nirmal Chhaya after her production before the Child Welfare Committee, which has stated that the girl was 15 years, 10 months and 23 days.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
Crowds jam London for solo queen's jubilee finale - msnbc.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Cheering crowds thronged the streets of London on Tuesday for the grand finale to four days of festivities marking Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee attended by millions across Britain.
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The 86-year-old herself cut a subdued figure as she attended a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral and a celebratory lunch without Prince Philip, her husband of 64 years who was taken ill with a bladder infection on Monday.
It was one of the few grand state occasions in her life when he has not been present, taking some of the gloss of what is widely seen as a triumphant jubilee that has cemented the queen's popularity.
"Our prayers and thoughts are very much with him this morning," Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the Anglican church, said in his sermon.
Millions have attended street parties, watched a spectacular 1,000-vessel pageant on the River Thames in London on Sunday and a concert in front of Buckingham Palace on Monday, all held in honor of Elizabeth II, the only British monarch other than Queen Victoria to have reigned for 60 years.
In a rare move, the queen, who usually only appears on TV screens for a short message on Christmas Day, will deliver a special broadcast be aired at 1700 GMT to thank the nation.
Crowds began massing in huge numbers on the wide Mall avenue towards Buckingham Palace, turning the famous road into a sea of red, white and blue, for the jubilee finale when the royal family will appear on the balcony, with a fly-past by modern and former Royal Air Force aircraft.
POMP AND PAGEANTRY
After the celebrity glitz of the pop concert, Tuesday's events were more typical of the formal displays of ceremony for which British royalty is known across the globe.
Courtiers in an array of ceremonial red and golden tunics and mounted soldiers wearing shining helmets and breastplates dating from centuries past when Britain was an imperial power accompanied a parade through central London.
With Philip absent, the queen led the horse-drawn carriage procession to Buckingham Palace in an open-top 1902 State Landau with heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, while military bands played and a 60-gun salute was fired.
Charles's sons Prince Harry and Prince William with his wife Kate, in an Alexander McQueen dress, followed behind in other carriages.
Earlier Elizabeth - dressed in a fine silk tulle outfit, embroidered with tiny mint green star-shaped flowers embellished with silver thread - had arrived at Paul's Cathedral to shouts of "God save the Queen" from crowds lining the route.
A trumpet fanfare played as the monarch headed into the grand Christopher Wren-designed church, making her way up the aisle past bowing and curtsying members of the congregation.
Commentators said the church service for Elizabeth, who came to the throne aged 25 in 1952, would hold particular poignancy for the queen who as titular head of the Church of England holds her religious role close to her heart.
"We are marking today the anniversary of one historic and very public act of dedication - a dedication that has endured faithfully, calmly and generously through most of the adult lives of most of us here," said Rowan Williams.
"We are marking six decades of living proof that public service is possible and that it is a place where happiness can be found," he told the congregation, which also heard a reading from Prime Minister David Cameron.
Afterwards the royals enjoyed a lavish lunch at Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament and the site for the lying-in-state of her mother, the Queen Mother, after her death in 2002.
The guests, including current and former senior politicians, enjoyed a menu featuring salmon from Uist Island north of Scotland and saddle of Welsh Cambrian Mountain lamb, along with an aptly named Jubilee sauce.
SUCCESS AND POPULARITY
The long weekend dedicated to the diamond jubilee has been seen as a success story for the monarchy, their media team and Elizabeth personally, and even typically inclement weather has failed to dampen enthusiasm of many of her subjects.
Polls suggest the crown and the queen herself are more popular than they have been for decades, with one suggesting the hereditary monarch was more in touch with her people than Cameron and his ministers.
Meanwhile the younger generation of royals, especially William, Harry and Kate, have become the darlings of the British press, once notoriously hostile to the monarchy as it threatened to implode in the 1990s following marital infidelities and the death of Charles's hugely popular first wife, Princess Diana.
Republicans have been vocal in their opposition during the jubilee but have drawn few obvious signs of public backing, although they hope that apathy to the royals felt by some could turn to hostility when the queen is gone and the less popular Charles becomes king.
If nothing else, commentators said the royals had once again provided Britons, suffering through financial hardships, deep public spending cuts and rising unemployment, an excuse to forget their woes and enjoy a party.
"With the economy and one thing or another, this has just been the most fantastic celebration," said designer Sheree Charalampous, 53, who had made her own crown, strung with pearls, pictures of corgis and a portrait of the queen.
"I really think the monarchy is now back in favor again, which is wonderful. Nobody does this sort of thing like us. It has been an amazing four days, just fantastic."
(Additional reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Paul Casciato)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
Cancelling London 2012 Olympics would cost $5bn, warns insurer Munich Re - Daily Telegraph
The bill would cover the costs incurred and revenues lost by companies such as advertisers and media companies, according to reinsurer Munich Re. Other forms of cover, including employers and public liability insurance, would add to the industry's losses. However, policies will not cover cancellation or disruption caused by transport chaos in London.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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