INDUSTRY NEWS

At A Glance

We cast our eye over the main stories impacting the security industry. Here's what's appeared on the radar since the last issue.

Kevin Durant's personal bodyguard reportedly charged the court and shoved P.J. Tucker

Kevin Durant's personal bodyguard appears to take his job very seriously.

An argument between the Brooklyn Nets star and Milwaukee Bucks forward P.J. Tucker got heated during the third quarter of Game 3 on Thursday, with the two players arguing face-to-face before a shoving match erupted around Tucker.

The group of shovers included teammates trying to placate teammates, officials and coaches trying to preserve the peace and ... one fellow clad in all black who charged in and pushed Tucker away from Durant.

That fellow turned out to be Durant's personal bodyguard, according to The Athletic's Joe Vardon, and you've really got to appreciate how both Tucker and an official both turn their attention to him with expressions of "Who is this guy?"

What may be of interest to the NBA is that the bodyguard is reportedly on the Nets payroll. The league probably doesn't want team employees rushing the court to push opposing players, so we'll see if it takes any action against the Nets.

Mossad chief appears to admit Israeli assassinations

'If a man endangers Israel, he must stop existing': Mossad chief appears to admit Israeli assassinations and blowing up Iranian nuclear plant in extraordinary TV interview

The outgoing chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence service has offered the closest acknowledgment, yet his country was behind recent attacks targeting Iran's nuclear program and a military scientist.

The comments by Yossi Cohen, speaking to Israel's Channel 12 investigative program 'Uvda' in a segment aired Thursday night, offered an extraordinary debriefing by the head of the typically secretive agency in what appears to be the final days of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rule. It also gave a clear warning to other scientists in Iran's nuclear program that they too could become targets for assassination even as diplomats in Vienna try to negotiate terms to try to salvage its atomic accord with world powers. 'If the scientist is willing to change career and will not hurt us anymore, than yes, sometimes we offer them' a way out, Cohen said. But he said of Israel's assassination campaigns: 'If the man constitutes a capability that endangers the citizens of Israel, he must stop existing.'

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Cape Town paramedics allegedly forced to pay protection money to extortion rings

Cape Town - Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff working in Cape Town’s townships have called for more policing as they are now allegedly forced to pay extortion syndicates for protection. Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz said they had noted with concern the way in which the issue of extortion now extended to the EMS workers and health services.

Fritz said it was an attack on the dignity of the citizens and their right to access to health-care services. He called on the police and law enforcement to do everything in their power to bring a halt to the emerging trend. ANC provincial spokesperson for community safety, Mesuli Kama, said crime in the Cape Flats and townships has been slowly escalating to an uncontrollable level.

Kama said the extortion rackets were getting out of hand, the gangs were organised and well resourced. He said at that point, the police and other crimefighting stakeholders needed more resources to be deployed to hot-spot areas for stabilisation purposes.

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Autonomous drone attacked soldiers in Libya all on its own

A new UN report explains that a drone attacked (and possibly killed) soldiers all on its own. It's thought to be the first recorded case of an autonomous drone attack.

The incident occurred in March 2020 in Libya, a country that was in the midst of a civil war. Turkey, a key combatant in the war, deployed the STM Kargu-2 drone, according to the UN Security Council's Panel of Experts on Libya report. The drone, which the report refers to as a "lethal autonomous weapon," then found and attacked Libya's Haftar Armed Forces. Logistics convoys and retreating forces were "hunted down and remotely engaged by lethal autonomous weapons systems such as the STM Kargu-2," the report reads. "The lethal autonomous weapons systems were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true 'fire, forget and find' capability."

Emmanuel Macron slapped as he greets bystanders on latest outing

Police in France have arrested two people after President Macron was struck across the face by a protestor while he mingled with the public during a visit to a town in South-eastern France. Footage captured the moment the blow landed catching the French President utterly by surprise. Mr Macron was protected by metal barriers separating him from the crowd but the assailant managed to strike the world leader with his palm.

Mr Macron's close protection team can be seen rushing in as the French President reeled from the blow. He is quickly escorted away by a bodyguard while the gendarmerie moved in to evict his attacker. The protestor was heard yelling "down with Macronism!" as he struck.

Macron's political rival, Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party has condemned the assault. Ms Le Pen released a statement saying: "It's inadmissible to physically attack the President of the Republic.

"it's a profoundly condemnable gesture."

It comes as Frexit Campaigner CharlesHenris Gallois warned the French President his popularity is collapsing.

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Severed heads and inactive grenades thrown in polling stations during violent Mexico elections

On Saturday, five election volunteers were ambushed and killed on a country road while transporting voting materials.

A man has thrown a severed human head at a polling station in the Mexican border city of Tijuana.

Plastic bags filled with body parts, including human hands, were also found nearby as Mexicans voted in midterm elections on Sunday.

The man ran away, police said, and his objective is not clear.

Mexico's election has been one of the most violent in its history, with 97 politicians killed and 935 attacked, according to security consultancy Etellekt. A government electoral agency worker was shot dead in Tlaxcala state, near Mexico City.

An inactive grenade was thrown into a voting station in Mexico State and armed men stole electoral material from a polling place in Sinaloa.

Most of the violence is due to gangs trying to influence the election results and clear the way for their drug trafficking and other organised crime.

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ISWAP militant group says Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead

The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militant group said in an audio recording heard by Reuters on Sunday that Abubakar Shekau, leader of rival Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, was dead.

Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, a person purporting to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab alBarnawi said on the audio recording.

"Abubakar Shekau, God has judged him by sending him to heaven," he can be heard saying. Two people familiar with al-Barnawi told Reuters the voice on the recording was that of the ISWAP leader.

A Nigerian intelligence report shared by a government official and Boko Haram researchers have also said Shekau is dead.

Attack in Afghanistan Kills 10 From Charity That Clears Land Mines

KABUL, Afghanistan — At least 10 people were killed and 16 others wounded in an armed attack on staff members of a British-American charity in Afghanistan that has been clearing land mines in the country for decades, officials said on Wednesday.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors announcements by the terrorist organization. The assault occurred late Tuesday at a demining camp in the northeastern province of Baghlan and targeted employees of the charity, the HALO Trust. Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that the victims were all Afghan citizens and that the wounded had been transferred to hospitals.

Jawid Mazlomyar, 30, who has worked with HALO for more than a decade, described the bloody and chaotic scene that unfolded around him in Baghlan. He said that the armed attackers had rounded up those in the demining camp and cut off the power before ransacking the occupants’ belongings and taking their cellphones and money.

“They were screaming and insulting us and saying, ‘Who is your manager? Tell us, otherwise we are killing you,’” Mr. Mazlomyar said.