Statewatch News online, 12 January 2004
 http://www.statewatch.org/news

1. UK: Extradition legislation slipped through
parliament over Christmas holiday

- controversial UK-US treaty ratified;
- use of Statutory Instrument "an abuse of
democracy" - shadow Home Secretary;
- UK Extradition Act 2003 given full effect, see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jan/06extradition.htm

2. UK Civil Contingencies Bill published -
Britain's "Patriot Act" (Text of bill and
commentary)

- controversial clause on human rights dropped but
overall powers remain as great a danger to
democracy as ever;
- powers to ban protests and travel unchanged;
- powers to control or withdraw e-mails and
websites services added, see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jan/05uk-civil-contingencies-Bill.htm

3. USA to use EU PNR data for CAPPS II testing
despite assurances that agreement would not cover
it, see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jan/04eu-us-pnr-cappsII.htm

4. Italy to retain communications data for five
years, see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jan/03italy-dataretention.htm

5. Flights from France cancelled due to "mistaken
identity" by US security agencies using PNR, see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jan/02france-banned-flights.htm

6. European Arrest Warrant limps into force:
Report and documentation, see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/jan/01euro-arrest-warrant.htm

7. EU issues updated list of "terrorist
organisations and persons": Lists and
documentation, see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2003/dec/19terrlists.htm

8. UK: Committee of senior parliamentarians calls
for “Britain's Guantanamo Bay” to be scrapped as
"a matter of urgency", see:
 http://www.statewatch.org/news/2003/dec/16ukguantanamo.htm

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"News in brief":
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9. British Computer Society, the professional body
for the UK IT industry has joined the critics of
the Government's proposed identity cards [link]

10. USA: Data Debase - The powerful technology
known as data mining ­ and how, in the
government's hands, it could become a civil
libertarian's nightmare, from American Prospect
[link]

11. France: France to fingerprint for tourist
visas, Agence France Press, December 17, 2003
[link]

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