Passengers Stranded For A Second Time Due To Calais Strike

June 30, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Thousands of ferry passengers are stranded on both sides of the Channel as port workers in Calais stage strike action for the second time in a week.

The MyFerryLink workers walked out on Monday over the sale of the company's ferries to rival DFDS Seaways.

Sailings between Dover and the French port are at a standstill, but services to Dunkirk are operating as normal.

The boss of P&O Ferries said security at Calais had been "abandoned" leaving passengers "caught in the middle". Also, passengers using the Channel Tunnel are subject to delays following an earlier incident, Eurotunnel said.

Emergency Services Take Part In Counter-Terrorism Exercise

June 30, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Police officers, soldiers, emergency services and intelligence officials are taking part in London's largest counter-terrorism exercise to date. The simulation of a terror attack has been six months in the planning.

The exercise - codenamed Strong Tower - involves 1,000 police officers at locations across the capital until Wednesday afternoon.

Charges For Data Roaming Due To Change By June 2017

June 30, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Data roaming charges are set to be abolished within the European Union by June 2017, it has been announced.

Firms will be allowed to add surcharges to their domestic rates for a 14-month interim period from April 2016.

The deal, which was reached on Tuesday, also sets out rules requiring telecom operators to treat most internet traffic equally.

Chief Karenzi Granted £1m Bail By London Court

June 26, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Rwanda's intelligence chief Karenzi Karake has been granted bail of £1m ($1.6m) by a court in London.

Karenzi Karake was detained at London's Heathrow Airport on Saturday, in response to a European Arrest Warrant. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame had earlier launched a scathing verbal attack on the UK government over Gen Karake's arrest.

French Taxi Drivers Protest Over Uber

June 26, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

France's interior minister has ordered a ban on the low-cost car-sharing service UberPOP after a day of nationwide protests by taxi drivers.

Bernard Cazeneuve said the service was "illegal" and ordered police and prosecutors to enforce its closure.

His announcement followed a day of sometimes violent protests by French taxi drivers, who say the US-based firm Uber is stealing their livelihoods.

US rock singer Courtney Love Cobain was caught up in the unrest.

She tweeted her frustration, saying her taxi had been ambushed as she left the airport.

Protests In Rwanda As Karenzi Karake Arrested In London

June 25, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Some 200 people gathered outside the British High Commission in Rwanda to protest at the arrest of intelligence chief Karenzi Karake in London.

Gen Karake, 54, was detained at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, accused of ordering massacres in the wake of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Protestors have threatened not to end the demonstration in the capital, Kigali, until the general is released. The Rwandan government has branded the arrest an "outrage".

Sudan's Omar al-Bashir Leaves South Africa Escaping Arrest

June 25, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A South African court has criticised the government for letting Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir leave the country despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. The court asked the public prosecutor to investigate if the government had broken the law.

Mr Bashir denies the ICC charge he committed war crimes in Darfur.

A court had ordered him to stay in South Africa while it ruled whether he could be arrested. He had gone to South Africa for an African Union summit and the government argued he enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

Cannes Lion Event; Google Exec Dies

June 25, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A Google executive has been killed in an accident in Cannes, France, the search company has confirmed.

According to reports, he was a member of the firm's UK team.

He was understood to have been attending the Cannes Lions event, an annual gathering of people in the advertising and marketing industry.

In a statement, Google said: "We lost a loved and respected member of our team. We are deeply saddened and our thoughts are with his family and friends."

More Than Three Million Refugees In Iraq Due To IS Conflict

June 25, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

More than three million people have been displaced by the conflict in Iraq since the start of 2014, the UN says.

A statement by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said two-thirds were from the provinces of Anbar, Nineveh and Salahuddin.

The regions have been hardest hit by fighting between Islamic State (IS) militants and pro-government forces. More than 276,000 people were displaced over the past two months amid fighting over Anbar's capital, Ramadi. The city fell to IS in mid-May after the Iraqi army withdrew.

Buckingham Palace Overdue To Be Decorated

June 25, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Buckingham Palace is in need of maintenance work costing £150m. Some rooms haven't been decorated since before the Queen ascended the throne but how have they fared, asks Justin Parkinson.

Labour's Clement Attlee was prime minister. Wolverhampton Wanderers won the FA Cup. Nato was created. And 1949 was also the last time the principal rooms of Buckingham Palace were re-decorated. The central London building, which had suffered nine direct hits during World War Two, was in need of a spruce-up. According to the monarchy's website, "very few changes" had happened to it during George VI's reign, fr…