By Thomas Hochwarter
A British nuclear energy expert who plunged 40 metres to his death at the United Nations’ (UN) building in Vienna may have been murdered, police said today (Thurs).
Timothy Hampton died on the spot on Tuesday after falling from a 17th floor window at the Vienna International Centre (VIC) - one of the UN’s three headquarters.
The UN confirmed the death of the 47-year-old – who was involved in disarmament negotiations with Iran as a member of the UN’s Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) – but refused to give any further information on the circumstances of the fatality.
A police spokesman told the Austrian Times today that investigators had not ruled out murder as no suicide note has been found.
"Whenever there is a case where others may have been involved we will investigate all the possible scenarios. Murder is one possibility, suicide another," the spokesman said.
He added investigators were waiting for the result of an autopsy.
UN staff told the Austrian Times yesterday that there had been a similar case just recently in which an employee died when he fell from a similar height at the landmark buildings in Vienna-Donaustadt.
source: austrian times
2. secret files reveal covert network run by nuclear police
The nuclear industry funds the special armed police force which guards its installations across the UK, and secret documents, seen by the Guardian, show the 750-strong force is authorised to carry out covert intelligence operations against anti-nuclear protesters, one of its main targets.
The nuclear industry will pay £57m this year to finance the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC). The funding comes from the companies which run 17 nuclear plants, including Dounreay in Caithness, Sellafield in Cumbria and Dungeness in Kent.
Around a third is paid by the private consortium managing Sellafield, which is largely owned by American and French firms. Nearly a fifth of the funding is provided by British Energy, the privatised company owned by French firm EDF.
...Most of the nuclear force's officers are armed with high-powered guns and Tasers. The CNC has spent £1.4m on weapons and ammunition in the past three years.
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The body that regulates the CNC is also funded by the nuclear industry. Four of the eight members of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority are nominated by the nuclear industry as its representatives. Those four are employed in the industry. The others – mainly former police officers – are deemed to be independent.
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The force is authorised to send informers to infiltrate organisations and to conduct undercover surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). It is also permitted to obtain communications data such as phone numbers and email addresses.
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The force keeps secret the extent of its clandestine surveillance operations on protesters and others. It has been collecting more intelligence in recent years.
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Since 2007, the CNC has also been headed by an ex-intelligence official, rather than a police officer. Richard Thompson is reported to have been a senior officer in MI6. Rose noted Thompson "has extensive experience in the intelligence world, but has no previous police background".
read the whole thing @ guardian
3. Blackwater arms warehouse in capital?
ISLAMABAD – Kestral Logistics, a warehouse located in the industrial area of Sector I-9/3, and involved in arms trading, is working as the subcontractor of US security company, Xe Worldwide (Blackwater), TheNation has learnt.
The sources claimed that the company had arms deals with Blackwater and was importing heavy arms as well as ammunition for the US company for its ongoing illicit operations in Pakistan.
The sources said that Kestral Logistics was also involved in importing sensitive monitoring instruments for Blackwater, which had been installed at Sihala by the said security company to monitor activities of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Kahuta, as well as to keep an eye on the nuclear assets of Pakistan.
It has been learnt that Col (Retd) Shahid Latif and Mujahid, who run Kestral Logistics, manage weapons and such type of sensitive instruments for Blackwater with the support of US Embassy.
This scribe visited the industrial area himself and the suspicious activities of the warehouse employees made it quite evident that the company was involved in some extra-legal business. The warehouse has high walls, barbed wires and no signboard outside the boundary wall, making the activities of the house more doubtful.
Heavy security of the building was also witnessed as scores of security guards were deployed inside and on the main gate of the building. It is pertinent to mention here that even the people working in plainclothes inside the building were equipped with sophisticated weapons.
When the warehouse in charge was asked what kind of business they were running inside the building, he refused to answer, saying “I am not authorised to answer such type of questions” The people of the area were ignorant of the activities of the company and were also curious to know that what type of business activities were being done inside the building?
It is surprising that when the local police was contacted to know that if they had any information about the business activities of the company, the police was also unaware about that.
Habit Khan, additional SHO of Industrial Area Police Station said that the police was already conducting a survey about the complete details of business activities of all the warehouses of that area but he had no information about such activities of any warehouse involved in weapons’ trading business so far.
source: dictatorship watch
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