#bio attack

Rehman and Shaffi will be freed after having served only half of their 15 year sentences as part of a government early-release program. The conditions of their release include a 9 p.m. curfew and the full disclosure of any personal relationships they develop. The pair will also be under 24 hour surveillance, which could cost taxpayers 10 times the amount of keeping them in prison.

Reuters reports that thorough planning by Chinese officials led to a bioterrorism-free 2008 Beijing Olympic experience. During the 2008 Games, security dealt with several threats of possible biological, chemical and explosive attacks, according to the report. Reuters reports that five unidentified embassies in Beijing received packages containing unidentified white powder. The powder was later tested and found to be harmless, according to a Beijing Health Bureau official, Reuters reports. Other threats that were uncovered and never materialized during the games included plans to target Olympic venues, load a plane at the Beijing airport with explosives and set off an explosion on the metro train, Reuters reports. Reuters further states that Chinese officials released a wanted list of eight people after the games who they said had threatened terror attacks on the Olympics. The report states that all eight wanted people were of China’s mostly Muslim minority group, Uighur, and were connected to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which the United Nations has said is tied to al Qaeda. While Beijing went unharmed during the 2008 Summer Olympics, Xinjiang was hit by three attacks before and during the games, according to Reuters. The attacks – involving bombings and stabbings – resulted in 30 total deaths.