British authorities confirmed yesterday that the suspect arrested in the US for allegedly trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight had British nationality.
"We have confirmed that the man is a British citizen," said a spokesman for Scotland Yard, without giving any further information.
"Anything else we have never discussed, not the name [of the suspect] either," he said.
The man got on a flight from Paris to Miami on Saturday, and was overpowered by fellow passengers as he reportedly tried to detonate explosives in his shoes.
The spokesman strongly denied media information that Scotland Yard had confirmed the suspect's name was Richard Colvin Reid, born in England in 1973. He has a police record of minor violations.
He said Scotland Yard was working closely with the FBI in the US, "making enquiries at their request and carrying out whatever task they wish us to carry out."
A US federal court in Boston on Monday charged the suspect with intimidation and interfering with a flight crew, which carries a possible jail term of 20 years and a US$250,000 fine.
In court papers, he is identified as Richard C. Reid, the name listed on a British passport issued Dec. 7 by the British embassy in Brussels.
French authorities initially identified him as a Sri Lankan named Tariq Raja, but a French official said on Monday that investigators there consider him a British national. Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that the man is not a Sri Lankan national.
In Washington, officials said that information received by US investigators suggested the suspect's father was British and his mother Jamaican, and that he was born in Sri Lanka but was a naturalized British citizen.
Officials have also said he went by the name Abdel Rahim.
US authorities said yesterday that the materials found hidden in the suspect's shoes could have caused a "major disaster" had he succeeded.
Investigators would not identify the type of explosive material they said was found in devices in the sneakers, but said preliminary FBI tests determined the devices were functional.
``It would have resulted in significant damage and we did avert a major disaster,'' said Charles Prouty, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office.
Prouty said the FBI was investigating whether Reid had links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and hasn't ruled anything out.
But a US government official speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators had nothing to link the suspect to the terror network.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS