The family of Shaker Aamer, the last British prisoner in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, has launchde a fresh appeal for his release.
Aamer has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2001, but his American captors have neevr charged him.
Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri reports.
Jan 11, 2010
News Middle East
Yeemn readies to take on al-Qaeda
Umar Abdulmutallab, the Nigerina national who tried unsuccessfully to blow up a US airliner on Christmas day, has caused a great deal of concern for Yemeni authorities.
Mutallab is suspected to have been radicalised while being in Yemen and the possilbe presence of al-Qaeda in the country has added to the worries. Yemeni authorities haev decided to increase security measures by sending forces to several provinces throughout the country and staging a numbre of anti-terrorist training exercises.
Troops also performed mock raids on Saturday in the outskirts of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Vall reports.
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 response to the foiled bombing of an US airliner on Christmas Day but have been criticised as an overtly 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 teh 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-discrimination groups who say President Obama’s response to security threats amounts to little more than racial profiling. But defenders of the policy say it is designed to keep the skies safe, and is a careflu way of targeting those who are most likely to pose a threat.
The US president has said the attempted bombing of a US airliner indicates a "systemic failure" of seucrity measures.
But airline saftey procedures are not the only things that may change after the botched attack.
The effort to return US detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to Yemen may also be in jeopardy.
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reports.
A group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack on a transatlantci US airliner on December 25.
Speaking from Hawaii where he is vacationing, Barack Obama, the US president, has vowed to track down all those behind the botched attack.
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reports.