Terrorism has impacted societies like no other phenomenon in the 21st century. From wars across the world to heightened security at home, there is no escaping the threat of attacks. I have closely followed the subject for years and recommend these titles for those interested in it.
The Black Banners by Ali Soufan (2011)
I love this book because it provides an insight few others could offer. Ali Soufan, former FBI special agent, takes readers inside the American battle against Al Qaeda, high-stakes interrogations after 9/11 and the struggle between the FBI and CIA’s top counterterror officers. Having served as one of the agency’s interrogators, he outlines the art of cross-examination and how he extracted information.
The New Threat from Islamic Militancy by Jason Burke (2015)
After ISIS became a global story, authors rushed to pen works on a new wave of terrorism, but this one stood out from the crowd. It is a crucial primer on the rise of Islamic militancy, those who seek to kill in the name of religion and the random nature of modern terrorism that intelligence services are confronting to this day.
ISIS: Inside The Army of Terror by Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan (2015)
This book outlines the origins of ISIS in Iraq and its eventual rise in Syria in 2014, delivering the complexities of the subject in an accessible format. It also uses accounts from insiders to shed light on the group’s governance and how Iraqi Baathists who once served under Saddam Hussein shaped one of the most brutal terror groups in history.
Radicalized: New Jihadists And The Threat To The West by Peter R Neumann (2016)
Neumann’s book stood out to me as it was one of the first to deal with the wave of homegrown foreign fighters travelling to join ISIS, and the threat they posed to security in the West. Neumann makes the point that not all supporters of terror groups are the same and classing everyone as such, could radicalise others further.
I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad by Souad Mekhennet - (2017)
The Arab-German journalist takes you behind the scenes of reporting on terrorism. Read this book for her account of how she unearthed a world exclusive for The Washington Post. She revealed the identity of the ISIS executioner identified as ‘“Jihadi John” to be a Briton from a well-to-do family in West London.
Jack Moore is the assistant foreign editor for The National
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Read more:
My favourite reads: Sophie Prideaux
My favourite reads: Chitrabhanu Kadalayil
My favourite reads: Simon Wilgress-Pipe
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SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
