British police said on Friday that packages containing caustic soda had been sent to politicians including Prime Minister Tony Blair and that Scottish separatists had claimed responsibility.
Security screening at Downing Street discovered the corrosive chemical -- most commonly used for cleaning drains -- after detectives received a telephone warning from a little-known group of Scottish militants, dubbed the "tartan terrorists."
"Officers from the Metropolitan Police were alerted at approximately 2pm [yesterday] following a telephone warning from an anonymous male purporting to be from the Scottish National Liberation Army [SNLA]," a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said.
The man said a total of 16 parcels had been posted, police said, confirming that one had been intended for an unnamed Scottish member of parliament.
Postmarks on one of the packages suggested it had been posted in the western Scottish city of Glasgow, and police urged all politicians to be on the lookout for the remaining 14 parcels believed to still be in the postal system.
The contents of the parcels had been disguised as samples of eucalyptus aromatherapy products.
"We are urging people who may receive a package through the post in suspicious circumstances containing a liquid substance to contact 999 [emergency services] immediately," a spokeswoman said.
"Downing Street declined to comment, saying it was a matter of security, but a source said the parcel had posed no threat.
"The package was dealt with by the security procedures and there was no risk to any members of staff," the source said.
It is not the first time the SNLA, which seeks the creation of an independent Scottish republic and the restoration of the ancient Celtic language Gaelic as Scotland's national tongue, has hit the headlines.
A package purporting to contain the deadly bacterium anthrax was sent to St Andrews university in Scotland last August, shortly before Prince William, eldest son of heir to the throne Prince Charles started a degree course.
Shortly before the parcel -- which turned out to be harmless -- arrived at the university, the SNLA had reportedly said it would target the student prince during his four-year stay in Scotland.
In 1995, the group sent six letter bombs, including one to Blair's constituency home in northern England.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique