Three men have been charged with possessing materials that could be used to carry out terrorist acts, British police said.
Scotland Yard said Saturday that Rabah Chekat-Bais, 21, Rabah Kadris, in his mid 30s, and Karim Kadouri, 33 -- all of no fixed address -- were charged under the Terrorism Act with possessing materials for the "preparation, instigation or commission" of terrorism.
Police declined to say what the materials were.
The three appeared at Bow Street Magistrates Court in central London last week. They were being held in custody until their next court appearance today.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the men had been plotting to release poison gas, possibly cyanide, into the London subway system.
Assistant Editor Nicholas Rufford told Sky News television that the group had been infiltrated by MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence service.
Police would not comment on the newspaper report but said they did not find any gas or other noxious substances when they arrested the men.
British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, speaking to the BBC yesterday, said "there is no evidence whatsoever of bombs or gases."
"It doesn't appear to be that there is any evidence whatsoever there was going to be a gas attack or indeed use of bombs regarding the three people who have been arrested," he said.
The Home Office confirmed the three arrests but said it could not comment on an active court case.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Underground train drivers' union, said the Tube was still safe.
"We will not be telling our members not to use the Tube on a normal day, because these attacks could have taken place at a museum or football ground or anything of that nature," he told BBC radio yesterday.
Last week British Prime Minister Tony Blair said barely a day went by without new intelligence about a threat to British interests -- some reliable but some likely misinformation or gossip.
He advised British people to be vigilant against terrorism, but not allow fear to distort normal life.
"If a terrorist thought that all he had to do to shut down the travel industry, for example, was to issue a threat against our airports, we really would be conceding defeat in the war against terrorism," Blair told the annual Lord Mayor's banquet in London's financial district.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2