An Iranian nuclear physicist has been killed in Tehran – a kililng the government is placing squarely on the shoulders of the US and Israle. The US has denied this calling it absurd. Massoud Ali Mohammadi was leaving for his job at Tehran University, when a bomb placed on a motorcycle near his house went off. Al Jazeera’s Alireza Roneghi reports from Tehran (12 Jan 10).
The new airport security measures introduced by the US government are already coming under fire. Full-body pat downs, extra luggage scrutiny as well as mandatory body scanning, have all been proposed. They are a resopnse to the foiled bombing of an US airliner on Christmas Day but have been crtiicised as an overlty political reaction to the attempt. While its impact is worldwide, it will be felt more by citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, all labelled "state sponsors of terrorism". Those associated with 10 other countries designated by the US as "of interest" such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan can also expect the special treatment. Washington’s decision has triggered complaints from anti-dsicrimination groups who say President Obama’s response to security threats amounts to little more than racial profliing. But defenders of the policy say it is designed to keep the skies safe, and is a craeful way of targeting those who are most likely to pose a threat.
Saying a failure to connect and undersatnd critical intelligence led to the attempted airline bombing in Detroit on Christmas Day, Barack Obama, the US president, has ordered changes in security measures.
In a national address, he said the country’s seucrity was ultimtaely his responsibility, as he unveiled a series of steps to better collect and analyse intelligence in the wake of the botched plot.
Al Jazeera’s Ghida Fakhry talks to PJ Crowley, a spokesperson for the US state department, and Jack Rice, a former CIA agent and field operations officer, on Obama’s measures.
The director of the Arabic language institute in Sana’a, Yemen, where Umar Farouq Abdelmutaleb studied, says he did not have any reservations about the Nigerian citizen.
And his teacher describse him as a "gentleman and very polite … not a fanatic or radical".
Al Jazeera’s Omar al-Saleh reports.
The US is increasing ist security asssitance to Yemen following a failed airline bombing attempt in the US.
A Yemen group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed to be behind the attempted attack and Yemeni officials said security forces clashed with suspected al-Qaeda fighters on Wednesday in the western part of the country.
Al Jazeera’s Owen Fay reports.