Attack of the killer suppositories

Using body orifices to hide contraband from airport security is not the exclusive preserve of drug smugglers. Terrorists can now detonate “suppository bombs” in mid-flight using mobile phones. The French secret service is alarmed at “Al Qaeda’s latest modus operandi”, which was launched on 28 August in an attempt to assassinate a Saudi government minister, reports theSüddeutsche Zeitung. So Paris is looking into ways to beef up border controls in Europe. One suggestion is the widespread use of X-rays at airports: “But the health risks would be too high,” notes the Munich daily. A wholesale ban on mobiles: “Hard to enforce.” French interior minister Brice Hortefeux wants to require airlines to report personal information about non-European passengers to the police. Germany is disinclined, but “France is counting on Spain, which will be presiding over the EU come January,” says the SZ. “Hortefeux and his opposite number in Spain have already agreed an initiative to exchange passenger information.”