Bomb scare over speeding ticket

Raymond Colla sent the parcel to officers in Aberdeen in February last year, as revenge for a parking ticket.

He later insisted he had not intended to scare staff but had deliberately bulked up the package so the police would need to pay excess postage.

The 51-year-old, from Montrose, was found guilty after trial at the city's sheriff court of breaching the peace.

The court was told Colla had been caught speeding in his silver Citroen Xantia on North Anderson Drive in Aberdeen.

So he sent the package to the Nelson Street station, where the North East Safety Camera Partnership is based.

Staff became suspicious because of the size of the package and called in the bomb squad. The offices were also evacuated.

They later found the bulky envelope contained a piece of paper with Colla's name and address on it.

The then-Transport Minister Tavish Scott had been making a visit to the station at the time.

The package was sent just days after a woman was injured by a letter bomb which exploded at the DVLA centre in Swansea.

During his trial, Colla claimed he had deliberately bulked up the package so police were forced to pay for the excess postage for it but had not intended to scare anyone.

But Sheriff Annella Cowan said he had been "stupid" and that she had no hesitation in finding him guilty of breaching the peace by causing fear and alarm.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Cowan said: "This is the sort of stupid behaviour that happens at airports when people make remarks about bombs."

1 April 2008, BBC

More pupils carrying drugs or weapons into school

Growing numbers of pupils are found carrying drugs and weapons every week at school, a study by Midland academics found.

A core of schools saw a significant increase in pupils with guns, knives and illegal drugs over the past seven years, according to the Warwick University research.

Teachers warned the trend was not restricted to gangs in large cities as provincial towns and rural areas also saw more youngsters arming themselves with weapons for "protection".

The study of 1,500 teachers by Dr Sean Neill, from Warwick's Institute of Education, suggested some schools faced severe problems.

"More teachers encountered offensive weapons more frequently in 2008 compared with 2001," the report says.

The National Union of Teachers, which commissioned the study, said schools should be "weapon-free zones".

Speaking at the union's annual conference in Manchester, NUT general secretary Steve Sinnott said: "The idea of bringing knives or guns into schools is totally, utterly unacceptable. Senior leaders in all schools need to get that message across very clearly to every single youngster.

"Teachers and parents want all schools to be weapon-free zones. We have got to make sure we are doing that. Some youngsters are telling their teachers that the biggest priority in their lives is to feel safe.

"Many youngsters say that the place where they feel most safe is their school.

"What other youngsters are saying is that one of the reasons youngsters carry a weapon is that they feel safer when they have got something to protect themselves with.

"We have got to get this message out: you do not make yourself safe by carrying a weapon, you make yourself more vulnerable."

Earlier this month, Cockshut Hill Technology College, in Sheldon, became the first in Birmingham with its own airport-style metal detector to scan pupils for weapons.

Headteacher Mary Kirkland said there had been no stabbings at the school, which has 1,500 pupils and 170 staff, and the decision to use detectors was "preventative".

At the NUT conference, Mr Sinnott said the survey revealed fewer teachers reporting "serious issues of discipline, of abuse, of damage to property" and classroom disruption.

But he added: "The picture, which seems to be in some respects very good, leads on a closer analysis to revealing that there is a polarisation taking place within schools. There was within a core group of schools greater incidence of violence, poor behaviour, disruption.

"In these schools the situation has got significantly worse."

The union warned the culture of drugs and weapons had spread beyond the well-known areas such as south London and Liverpool.

John Bangs, head of education at the NUT, said: "Do not assume it is just the urban areas exclusively - some of the toughest areas are in the country, on the outskirts of small and medium-sized towns."

The research investigated selected local authorities chosen to be geographically and socially representative. They were Barking, Bradford, Brighton, Cardiff, Cornwall, Derby, Hull, North Yorkshire, Salford, Sandwell, Suffolk, Swindon and Wrexham.

A spokesman for the Department for Children said: "It is important to remember that, as this survey shows, the overwhelming majority of schools are safe places to learn and work and the use of weapons within them is extremely rare. Schools are able to screen pupils for weapons using 'arch' and 'wand' metal detectors to ensure that such weapons are not taken onto a school site.

"We have also be given heads and school staff tough powers to conduct hands on searches of pupils.

"We back heads in taking the tough decision to exclude where behaviour warrants it."

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "We have been calling for scanners in school for years. But the problem has just got worse over the last 10 years due to Government inaction.

"Labour's complacent approach to the rising tide of violence - and the drugs, knives and guns that fuel it - is betraying a whole generation of children who have to live with it in our schools on a daily basis."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "These figures are a shocking revelation about the state of some of our schools. Even if some of this increase is due to better screening techniques, it is alarming that the means of street crime appear to be creeping into our classrooms."

24 March 2008, Birmingham Post

Grenades sent by mail

Police in Livingston County are trying to determine how several old explosives arrived in Hamburg Township Saturday.

A delivery man was dropping off some boxes to a home when he noticed two grenades in one of the boxes.

A state police bomb squad was called and found a third grenade and some non-explosive rockets.

The bomb squad later destroyed the World War II era grenades.

No arrests or charges have been made.

14 March 2008, WILX 10

Man Sends Bomb Threat To Local Airports

AMassachusetts man was arrested for allegedly sending a hand-written letter containing a bomb threat to the Van Nuys Airport and other local airports.

Michael Smeagal allegedly has stalked Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster as well.

"We can confirm that we received a letter allegedly from Mr. Smeagal at Van Nuys Airport," L.A. World Airports Police Chief George Centeno said. "We are cooperating with federal authorities in their investigation."

The letter sent to the Van Nuys Airport also mentioned Foster, to whom Smeagal has sent dozens of letters and packages before finally promising to stop.

The FBI said Smeagal targeted airports because he believed they were connected to the Screen Actors Guild, which he feels had been making disparaging remarks about Foster.

14 March 2008, CBS

'Suspicious' package sparks evacuation

The DVLA office in Wimbledon was evacuated today after the delivery of what was thought to be a suspicious package.

Staff at the Alexandra Road site returned to work shortly after police found the package to be harmless.

A spokesman for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency said: "A package delivered to the office this morning was thought to be suspicious and, as the safety of staff is our priority, the building was evacuated. "The police quickly established that the package was in fact harmless and staff returned to work."

12 March 2008, yourlocalguardian

Hoax bomb found at Dublin hotel

The Army declared a suspicious device delivered to staff at north Dublin hotel this afternoon a hoax.

The device, which was made to look like a real bomb, was delivered to the Ardmore Hotel in Finglas.

An Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team arrived at 11.20am and declared the device to be safe an hour later.

"The device was made up of a small gas cylinder, wires and a mobile phone. The hoax device contained no explosive content," an Army spokesman said.

It is the second time this year that a hoax device made to look viable was found at a hotel in the capital.

Nearly 2,000 people were evacuated when a device consisting of a timer connected by wires to two boxes of white powder was found at the Clifton Court Hotel on Eden Quay on January 20th.

10 March 2008, Ireland.com

Bomb Squad Blows Up Suspicious Package

The Miami Police Bomb Squad had to suit up and destroy a suspicious package found on a street on Miami Beach on Monday.

The suspicious device was discovered on 23rd Street and Pine Tree Drive.

Police quickly cordoned off the street for several blocks while the bomb squad moved in.

Donned in his protective suit, a bomb squad member placed a piece of special equipment pointed directly at the suspicious device which literally blew it away.

Miami Beach police say the device was simply a battery to an alarm

10 March 2008, CBS4

Austrian official says suspect arrested in acid packages probe

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the mailing of packages containing acid to several local officials in northwestern Austria, a security chief said Sunday.

Alois Lissl, director of public safety in the province of Upper Austria, also said authorities had been alerted to a fifth suspicious package.

A man was in custody in the town of Wels, Lissl told The Associated Press in a phone interview. He identified him as a 48-year-old real estate broker from the local district of Schaerding, adding he was arrested late Saturday and that he had maintained his innocence.

The investigation was continuing, Lissl added.

There have been a mysterious series of incidents involving packages which, according to a preliminary investigation, all contained butyric acid — a corrosive substance that is harmful if swallowed or inhaled and is considered a severe skin, eye and respiratory irritant.

On Friday, an official in the town of Weisskirchen was treated at a hospital for burns to both hands and a thigh after he opened a package at his home office. Police said they intercepted two similar packages sent to other officials in the town about 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of the capital, Vienna.

On Saturday, authorities disclosed that a building authority official in the town of Raab received a package containing acid.

A fifth package was addressed to the head of a department dealing with land and building matters in a district office responsible for the area surrounding Wels, Lissl said.

Lissl said the package was still being analyzed, but it appeared to be "completely identical" to the previous four.

A possible motive could be past development planning matters involving the suspect and the victims, Lissl said.

Nikolaus Rast, the suspect's lawyer, described the evidence against his client as flimsy.

"The only 'evidence' is that the five recipients say they could imagine that the packages come from my client," Rast told AP.

Rast said it remained to be seen if the man would be taken into pretrial confinement.

He added he would not describe his client as a real estate agent, but rather as a type of property speculator who buys land on which building is prohibited in the hopes that it will be re-designated.

All five packages were mailed from Passau, Germany, just over the border from the western Austrian city of Linz, Lissl said.

Lissl cautioned that more packages could be in circulation.

9 March 2008, AP

Times Square Bombing Letters May Not Have Been Delivered Via U.S. Mail

Congressional sources tell FOX News that the letters that showed up at House offices Thursday containing a photo of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim "We Did It." may not have gone through the U.S. Mail. And a key Congressman says more letters could be discovered Friday.

The U.S. Capitol Police say that the letters "properly passed through Congressional mail screening procedures before arriving at various Congressional Offices and been determined to be safe."

However, FOX News has learned that the letters may have been dropped off in person at internal mail pick-up sites inside the Capitol complex and office buildings, been screened, and then delivered to Congressional offices.

U.S. Capitol police say the envelopes are "affixed with two (one dollar) stamps."

However, sources tell FOX News that it's believed that at least a couple of the letters did not bear postmarks.

Capitol Police say they have not made a concrete link between the letters and the bombing of the military recruitment station at Times Square. But Capitol Hill sources indicate that someone familar with internal House mail procedures could have dropped off the letters in a manner for them to appear at Congressional offices in conjunction with the Times Square incident.

However, it's unclear if the letters could have been dropped off and delivered on the same day.

Since the 2001 Anthrax attacks on the Capitol complex, mail goes through rigorous screening procedures before being delivered to offices. Mail could take as long as four or five days to several weeks to arrive after its been mailed.

In a phone interview with WNYW-TV in New York, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Pete King (R-NY) said more letters could be discovered Friday morning.

"They are expecting quite a few more to be received because I understand there are numbers inside of the letters that indicates there could have been up to 100 of them that have been sent," said King.

Those letters that were discovered appear to have been delivered between 3 and 6 p.m. ET to Congressional offices.

In addition, King described the "document" included in the envelope.

"I've heard first-hand that it's a diatribe type ... like a rant. 20 pages of ranting. And each of the 8 letters had the manifesto enclosed with it."

LA Connection to NY Times Square bombing

This morning's explosion in New York City's Times Square has a possible Los Angeles connection in the form of a return address on letters claiming responsibility that were sent to members of congress.

Around 3:45 a.m., EST, this morning, a device exploded outside the military recruiting center in Times Square. No one was injured, but a glass entryway was shattered.

WNBC reported that police were searching for a "suspect seen on a bicycle fleeing the scene after the blast" -- a witness saw a man wearing a grey jacket with a hood "pulled tight with a drawstring."

According to WABC, police say the device was an improvised explosive, a "green ammunition can" with a low level of explosive. A hotel guest at the Marriott Marquis nearby said, "I was up on the 44th floor and I could feel it. It was a big bang," while another said, "It shook the building. I thought it could have been thunder, but I looked down and there was a massive plume of smoke so I knew it was an explosion."

Later today , California Senator Dianne Feinstein's office sent an email (below) to other lawmakers regarding a letter their office received today claiming responsibility for this morning's bombing. The letter contained a photo of the Army recruiting center "before it was bombed and...the words 'We did it,' according to WNBC.

The email also advised people not to open the letters and contact the police. The letter had a Los Angeles return address, but a staffer "said it was not possible to determine if it was genuine."

As for the letters, eight House Democrats representing NYC received letters ; it's possible more were sent. An email sent to Congress members warned them about receiving the letters:

Within the past twenty-four hours, a number of letters have begun arriving at various Congressional Offices on Capitol Hill. The letters contain a reference to the military recruiting office in New York City. At this time, none of the letters received, have contained any threat to the Congressional Community or Members of Congress.

All of the letters have properly passed through Congressional mail security screening procedures before arriving at various Congressional Offices and have been determined to be safe.

These letters can be identified in the following manner:

* All envelopes received have all been manila in color and are approximately five inches by eight inches in size.
* All envelopes have two (one dollar) stamps affixed to them and a white label with a return address.

The United States Capitol Police want to preserve any possible evidence. Therefore, in the event that any envelopes arrive at your Congressional Office, please respond in the following manner:

1. Do not attempt to open the envelope.
2. Immediately contact the USCP Command Center at 22X-XXXX

The Command Center will have an officer dispatched to your office to take possession of the letter. Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, please do not forward this email or release information outside your immediate office."

So much for not forwarding the email. The Capitol Police's statement said, "The U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI are working together to investigate letters received by various members of Congress. There is no established connection between these letters and the NYC Times Square incident this morning. The investigation is ongoing...more details as they become available."

6 March 2008, LAIST

Suspicious package shuts town centre street

A suspicious package has caused disruption to a corner of Guildford town centre for several hours.

Police officers cordoned off the scene in Pannells Court, near the High Street, at 12pm on Wednesday.

A concerned member of the public had reported seeing a white tub, with an orange label and covered in sellotape, which was sitting on top of a litter bin.

Customers at the nearby Post Office were kept away from the scene as a precaution, while an estate agents, recruitment agency and other premises in Pannells Court were also affected.

Tests were carried out on the tub, but its contents were found to be harmless and the location was declared safe and reopened at about 3pm

6 March 2008, Surrey Advertiser

Suspicious Substance Found in Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas

A suspicious substance has reportedly been found in a room at the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas , leading to the room being quarantined and the arrival of a HAZMAT team to determine the nature of the substance.

According to reports a man notified hotel workers that he awoke to find a white powder above his bed. Both the man and the employee that responded have been secluded.

It has been less than a week since a vial of ricin was discovered in another Las Vegas hotel

4 March 2008, transworldnews

Israeli Parliament evacuated after anthrax scare

Israeli police are investigating a case of possible anthrax after a suspicious envelope containing a white powder was delivered to the Israeli Knesset (parliament) yesterday afternoon.

The envelope was delivered to the office of a Member of the Knesset (MK) Scholomo Benizri's office. Benizri is from the religious Shas party that is part of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's ruling coalition.

His assistant Yitzhak Avidani opened the envelope and was later taken to hospital after complaining he was ill.

"We received an envelope from abroad containing white powder. I opened it and there was a lot of powder inside. I saw stars and almost fainted."

The Shas Party has threatened to pull out of Olmert's shaky coalition if he discusses diving Jerusalem. In his personal capacity, Benizri sparked controversy when he said the recent earthquake to hit the holy land was a result of increased "homosexuality activity" prevalent in Israel.

Benizri has justified his comments and claimed it was rooted in religion. He told the Israeli wire service Ynet: "The Gemara (Jewish religious book) mentions a number of causes of earthquakes, one of which is homosexuality, which the Knesset legitimises."

"I am a responsible man, so I do not want to accuse anyone at this time. The Knesset's security chief told me the powder and the letter was being examined."

Anthrax spores can and have been used as a biological warfare weapon. It can enter the body through ingestion or inhalation.

28 Feb 2008, SABC news

White powder found in package at post office

Cooking flour sent from Sri Lanka caused a security alert at Sutton sorting office this morning.

Police were called to the depot in Grove Road after post office sorting staff intercepted a package containing suspicious white powder.

The substance found in the mail from Sri Lanka to an address in Sutton was found to be non-toxic and the all-clear was given shortly after 10am.

A spokesman for Sutton Police said officers and Post Office staff would visit the address marked on the package.

London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade also attended but no one was injured in the incident.

An LAS spokeswoman said an ambulance, duty officer and three units from its Hazard Area Response Team were sent to the site after a call from police at 8.45am.

"It was isolated and dealt with according to our normal procedures.

"It turned out to be a harmless substance. There were no significant delays to mail deliveries," said a Royal Mail spokesman.

Two held after Nuneaton station rail alert

Two men were arrested after a train was forced to stop just outside Nuneaton station.

British Transport Police were called to an incident at 8.20pm on Tuesday after reports of a suspicious package on board.

Thirty passengers travelling on the 19.54 train from Birmingham to Leicester were taken off at Nuneaton.

A BTP spokesperson said: "Passengers on board the train physically restrained two people, who were later arrested by police officers from British Transport Police.

"Officers searched the individuals and the train and no suspicious package was found."

28 Feb 2008, iccoventry

Man loses hand after bomb explodes in Brazil

A football fan lost his hand after a homemade bomb thrown by rival supporters exploded at a stadium in southern Brazil. Ivo Costa, 62, had his right hand amputated by doctors because of the injuries he sustained while watching the match between Criciuma and Avai in the Santa Catarina state championship.

Costa, a Criciuma fan, was sitting in the grandstand when the bomb was thrown by Avai supporters from a nearby section. He picked up the bomb in an attempt to toss it away but it exploded in his hand. “It was madness,” Costa told RBS TV after undergoing a three-hour-long surgery. “I was there just trying to have some fun.”

Doctors attended to Costa in the grandstand before transporting him to a hospital, where he was expected to stay for three days. After the explosion, Criciuma fans confronted Avai supporters and police had to intervene. Other confrontations also took place outside the stadium, local media reported.

27 Feb 2007, Anvil

White powder found in prison mail

A suspicious white powder led to a temporary lockdown and decontamination Wednesday of two mail room employees at the La Tuna federal prison in Anthony, Texas.

Hilario Terrazas, La Tuna public information officer, said the powder was found in incoming mail addressed to an inmate. Inmate and employee mail is processed at a separate building, about a quarter-mile outside the secure perimeter of the facility where federal prisoners are housed.

The powder was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and determined not to be a biological agent. Further testing was under way to see if the powder could be an illegal or narcotic substance, Terrazas said. The investigation was pending that determination, he said.

The two employees were decontaminated and checked at a local hospital as a precaution, but have since been given a clean bill of health, Terrazas said. Inmates were briefly placed on lockdown while a head count was conducted — standard procedure in any such instance, he said.

21 Feb 2008, Sun News

Bomb found at mail sorting office

It was made safe by Army technical officers and has been taken away for forensic examination.

Police have said they are not investigating a sectarian or terrorist motive in connection with the attack.

The MP for the area, William McCrea of the DUP, said he was very concerned by the discovery of the bomb.

"We must realise that had the bomb detonated there could have been untold injury to Royal Mail employees and numerous lives could have been endangered," he said.

Alliance Party leader David Ford said the incident had "sent a shudder through the whole community".

"What sort of person would create a device like this and put postal workers' lives at risk?" he said.

Thomas Burns, the SDLP assembly member for South Antrim, described those behind the bomb as reckless and "foolish beyond belief".

"Their grossly irresponsible behaviour has endangered the lives of the men and women who work at this location and that is absolutely unforgivable," he said

20 Feb 2008, BBC

Death threats sent to Chelsea boss

Chelsea coach Avram Grant has been sent death threats

Anti-Semitic death threats have been sent to Chelsea boss Avram Grant in a package containing a mysterious powder. The football club's training ground at Cobham, Surrey, was sealed off after a member of staff opened the package on Tuesday. A note addressed to Grant claimed the powder was lethal.

A police source confirmed that the note to Grant, 52, included the words: "You are a back-stabbing Jewish b******. When you open this letter you will die a very slow and painful death."

Death threats of a sexual nature were also made to Grant's wife, Tzofit, a well-known TV personality in the couple's native Israel.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said: "We were called to Chelsea's training ground at Cobham after they received a suspicious package.

"A white powder contained within the package was analysed by specialists from Surrey Fire Service and was determined to be a harmless substance.

"Detectives are continuing investigations to identify the source of the package."

At the time Grant and Chelsea were in Athens ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League 0-0 draw with Olympiakos.

Chelsea FC were not immediately available for comment.

20 Feb 2008, PA

Routine metal scans in knife crime crackdown

3 Embassies in terror scare

Two of three embassies in Canberra have been cleared of danger after suspicious package incidents yesterday.

A third package, which had been sent to the British High Commission, was being investigated.

An ACT police spokesman said white powder found in packages at the Israeli and US embassies had been classed as non-suspicious after checks.

He said such incidents happened from time to time in Canberra and it was standard procedure to have the packages checked.

3 January 2008, news.com

Powder packages spark embassy scare in Australia

Australian police launched a criminal investigation on Wednesday after the Israeli, U.S. and British embassies were sent packages containing white powder, forcing evacuation of the Israeli and American missions.

"We are treating all three as linked until we can prove otherwise, given they were received on the same day, and a crime scene has been declared," a police spokesman said.

Tests on all three powder packages found they were harmless, police later said.

The heavily protected Israeli mission, in the city's leafy diplomatic quarter, was the first to receive a powder package, followed by the U.S. embassy nearby. The British mission was not evacuated after powder was received there, a spokesman said.

Several foreign embassies, including the American, Japanese and South Korean missions, have been targeted in powder scares in recent years, along with Australia's Parliament House. All turned out to be harmless.

In 2005, a full-scale emergency was triggered after powder was sent to the Indonesian embassy in Canberra during a controversy over the drug trial and jailing of an Australian woman in Bali.

An envelope containing white powder was also sent to then Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer at Parliament House

German man accused of drug trafficking

A man of German nationality was arraigned in court Saturday morning accused of importing 800 grammes of cocaine in his suitcase when arriving at Malta International Airport on Thursday evening.

The man had just arrived on a direct flight from Tunisia when his luggage was scanned and something suspicious aroused customs' curiosity. 

Searches on his only suitcase immediately proved that the man was carrying two pairs of shoes full of white powder.

Further tests confirmed that the powder, weighing around 800 grammes, was the narcotic cocaine. A body search on the man, however, showed that he was not carrying any other illegal drugs on his person. The German was consequently handed over to Police officers at the airport and arrested.

Throughout 2007 customs and police officers have made record hauls of cocaine and heroin from the airport and other locations. This is therfore yet another successful story for them in the fight against substance abuse.

29 December 2007, Maltmedia.com

Animal Liberation Front renews its threat to Oxford

Animal rights campaigners are threatening a new wave of attacks on Oxford University as its biomedical laboratory nears completion.

Groups such as the Animal Liberation Front have been waging a campaign of arson and vandalism since work on the controversial facility - which will house all of the university's animal testing labs - began in 2004 .

The final touches are now being put to the £20million building and the university expects it to open next year. However, extremists have promised to ensure that it will not remain open for long.

The ALF's spokesman Robin Webb warned university staff to expect "home visits". He said: "The ALF does not wave banners or leaflet neighbours. Our type of home visit involves red paint, breaking windows and criminal damage."

In a message posted on the militant website Bite Back, ALF members wrote: "Oxford Uni - you can't possibly win.

"How long do you think you can afford to keep the lab open? We will never stop, so get used to being the new Hillingdon Life Sciences. Let it begin."

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said it was aware of the threats but would wait to see if significant action follows.

She said: "We have a dedicated team which gathers intelligence on various groups, including the ALF, to prevent and detect crime. There have been many threats made against this project and we expect that to continue."

The university has spent about £4.5 million protecting its investment. The site has been turned into a fortress with high, barbed wire-topped walls. Contractors wear balaclavas while they work to protect their identities.

But despite the precautions, and court injunctions banning protesters from the site, attacks continue not only on those who use animals in research, but on other university staff, students and independent contractors working in other fields.

In July 2005, the ALF admitted responsibility for an arson attack on Hertford College boathouse and for an explosive device planted in the Corpus Christi sports pavilion two months later.

In November 2006, the same group admitted responsibility for an arson attack on The Queen's College sports pavilion.

A number of high-profile professors who use animals in research have received death threats and letter bombs.

One, Colin Blakemore, the chief executive officer of the Medical Research Council and an Oxford University professor, was sent a parcel containing explosives covered in needles which was opened by one of his children.

The Government responded by amending the Serious Organised Crime Act, which came into force in July 2005, so that animal rights activists could face up to seven years in jail for such attacks.

27 December 2007, Daily Telegraph

Eta bombs government office

A bomb has damaged a Spanish government office in the northern Basque region, police said.

No one was hurt in the blast shortly after 9pm (2008GMT) on Monday in the town of Balmaseda, near the port city of Bilbao.

The blast caused damage to the office and smashed windows in nearby houses and cars.

The device was made of about 5kg of explosives, police said.

Eta set off a similar sized bomb on December 16 outside a courthouse in the Basque town of Sestao.

Last week, a Spanish court convicted 47 members of various Basque separatist groups over their links to Eta.

The organisation said it shot two Spanish police officers in France earlier this month.

The Socialist party and the Popular party, the opposition, have been divided in recent years over measures to combat Eta, whose members have killed more than 800 people since the late 1960s in its campaign for an independent Basque homeland in a region in northern Spain and southwest France.

25 December 2007, Al Jazeera