An al-Qaida bomb-maker who plotted a knife attack on MPs and police outside the Houses of Parliament has been handed three life sentences with a minimum term of 40 years. Khalid Ali, 28, had three knives when he was arrested by armed police in Parliament Square in April 2017 following surveillance by counter-terrorism police.

Ali, a plumber, had been tracked by police since he returned from Afghanistan, where he spent five years making Taliban bombs used to maim and kill coalition troops.

In late 2016, the FBI matched his fingerprints to those on two caches of explosives recovered in 2012. Following an Old Bailey trial in June, Ali was found guilty of preparing terrorist acts in Britain and two charges of possessing explosive substances with intent abroad. Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC handed Ali three life sentences. He gave a minimum of 40 years for making IEDs for the Taliban in 2012 and 25 years for the plot to kill in Britain and attract “maximum publicity and instil terror”.

He said: “I am absolutely sure you were in Afghanistan. You were a valued member of a team making IEDs that were detonated in combat between January and July 2012.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that there is a very considerable risk of your committing offences of violence in the future and cause death or serious injury as a result. I’m sure your plan was to attack and kill someone in central London.(theguardian)…[+]

A total of 364 of the more than 2,500 children separated from their parents in a US-Mexico border crackdown on illegal immigration have been reunited, officials disclosed in court late on Thursday, days before a reunification deadline.

The government has six more days to comply with the reunification order by the US district judge Dana Sabraw, who summoned the government attorneys to appear in his San Diego courtroom on Friday to account for progress. Lawyers for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had reported in a court filing late on Thursday that less than a fifth of the families with children aged five and older had been reunited since Sabraw’s order was issued more than three weeks ago.It was unclear from the status report, filed as part of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit challenging parent-child separations at the border, exactly how many more reunifications were likely before the 26 July deadline.

Nearly 850 parents have been interviewed and cleared for reunification so far but another 229 parents have been deemed ineligible because of criminal records, or because they “waived” reunification or for other reasons, the report said. The rest are pending review.(theguardian)…[+]

Port of Spain-

The public and private sector and civil society groups in St. Kitts and Nevis participated in a second national consultation from July 10-12, 2018 to develop a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy to address the impacts of climate change and build resilience.

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) co-facilitated the national consultation with the Department of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources, Cooperatives, Environment and Human Settlements in St. Kitts and Nevis. The aim of the consultation was to enable stakeholders to review and refine the priorities and strategies for adaptation and the framework for implementation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, including the institutional arrangements for coordinated cross-sectoral action, the key implementing organisations and financing. The consultation included a series of focused meetings with key sectors and a national workshop that brought together stakeholders from government, private sector and civil society organisations representing various sectors and interests.

Ms. Cheryl Jeffers, Conservation Officer, Department of the Environment noted in her opening remarks at the national workshop: “Adaptation is everyone’s business. The input and support of key sectoral agencies, including agriculture, fisheries, health, water and tourism, and civil society groups in St. Kitts and in Nevis is critical and there needs to be a collaborative approach to effectively address climate change and related impacts.” She also highlighted the importance of investing in adaptation and the critical need for support from the Green Climate Fund and other climate finance mechanisms…[+]