FIRST ON CNN: State Department pulls diplomats from Lahore, Pakistan, amid terror threat
The State Department has evacuated most of its diplomats from Lahore, Pakistan in response to a terrorist threat against the U.S. consulate, senior State Department and other senior U.S. officials told CNN.
"We have picked up what we regard as a threat worthy of taking this action," one senior U.S. official told CNN.
The State Department issued an "ordered departure" for all of its diplomats in Lahore Thursday, except for a handful of emergency personnel. The diplomats were moved to Islamabad, the nation's capital, officials said.
A travel warning issued by the State Department said the department "ordered this drawdown due to specific threats concerning the U.S. Consulate in Lahore" and warned U.S. citizens against travel to Pakistan.
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Imagery suggests North Korea doubling its uranium enrichment capabilities
By Jamie Crawford
North Korea may be increasing its ability to enrich uranium at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, according to an analysis of recent satellite imagery.
The Institute for Science and International Security report concluded that North Korea appears to have greatly expanded a building in the fuel fabrication complex that is used for gas centrifuges in the uranium enrichment process at the reactor facility.
The development amounts to a doubling in size of the complex from its original construction.
Construction on the building expansion appears to have preceded an announcement by the North Korean government earlier this year that it planned on restart all the nuclear facilities at the previously mothballed site.
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When will current terror threat end?
There has been no significant new intelligence about potential terror threats against U.S. interests since startling developments tied to al Qaeda that prompted the closure of American embassies throughout the Middle East and Africa this week, multiple sources tell CNN's Barbara Starr and Elise Labott.
But with the terror alert and embassy closings now stretching into a fifth day, a crucial question is how will the United States know when the threat has passed and facilities can re-open?
One senior U.S. official said there is no new threat stream that gives authorities pause. But on the other hand, "we haven't seen anything that turns us off even more."
Officials added that the United States is trying to determine whether its public disclosure of the threat in general and follow up action has disrupted plots or just delayed them.
"We expected something by now. We would not expect them to throw their hands up, but at what point do you reconsider," one official said.
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Al Qaeda calling?
By Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister
For al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, keeping a grip on a far-flung brand and staying relevant while avoiding a visit from a Hellfire missile or U.S. Navy Seals brings multiple challenges.
For a start, his authority derives from his long stint as Osama bin Laden's deputy; he certainly lacks the Saudi's aura among jihadists. He has lost many of his management team to a remorseless drone campaign.
Al Qaeda central doesn't have the money it did in the good old days before the U.S. Treasury started going after beneficiaries in the Gulf. And all the action nowadays is among the franchises in places like Yemen, Somalia and Libya.
To put it kindly, Zawahiri is like the CEO of a company where local franchises do what they want.
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