US security agency warns of potential violence leading up to 9/11 anniversary

The US Department of Homeland Security issued a new national terrorism advisory bulletin on Friday, urging caution in the weeks leading up to the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City and Washington.

“The homeland continues to face a diverse and challenging threat environment leading up to and following the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks as well as religious holidays we assess could serve as a catalyst for acts of targeted violence,” the bulletin read.

“These threats include those posed by domestic terrorists, individuals and groups engaged in grievance-based violence, and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences,” it continued.

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The agency also pointed to how Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula recently published its Inspire magazine in English online for the first time in four years, raising concerns of foreign attempts to inspire acts of terrorism.

The bulletin comes about a month before the anniversary of the attacks, which resulted in about 3,000 deaths at the World Trade Centre in lower Manhattan, New York City, the Pentagon building in Washington, and in Pennsylvania.

It urges law enforcement to be on high alert through November 11.

The Homeland Security agency has reported a recent rise in threats from people who are angry about the US handling of the pandemic and the return of coronavirus mitigation measures, groups calling for a race war, and political contingents that believe the 2020 election was stolen from former president Donald Trump.

The rampant spread of misinformation surrounding these issues is only worsening current tension.

This week, parents threatened violence against school board members in Franklin, Tennessee after they recommended a mask mandate for elementary school-aged children returning to class. The YouTube video shared on Twitter shows an angry mob screaming at parents as they exited the meeting.

The perpetuation of “The Big Lie”, Mr Trump’s insistence that he won the 2020 presidential election, has led 17 US states to pass voter restriction laws. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has also reported an increase in violence by white hate groups since the election.

CNN also reported on Friday that the agency is seeing an increase in calls for violence similar to the days leading up to the insurrection at the US Capitol.

“It's very similar to the stuff we saw prior to January 6,” US Homeland Security Intelligence chief Jeff Cohen told CNN.

Red Joan

Director: Trevor Nunn

Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova

Rating: 3/5 stars

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

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If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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The specs

Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric

Transmission: n/a

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 659Nm

Price estimate: Dh200,000

On sale: Q3 2022

The chef's advice

Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.

“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”

Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.

The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.