► A New York State Senate committee hearing on terrorism held in New York City Friday resulted in a heated debate over the radical Islamist threat [1]. “In a local reprise of a polarizing Congressional hearing last month on the question of Islam and terror, state lawmakers warned in grave terms on Friday of the threats facing the New York area, while other lawmakers and interfaith groups criticized the proceedings as anti-Muslim and incendiary,” reported the New York Times. Also revealed at the site by State Senator Greg Ball (R-Putnam  was a list of most vulnerable sites [2], which the Port Authority had prepared but had not intended to be made public, according to the New York Post.

► A lack of centralization among the many drug-fighting agencies and task forces, plus a voracious appetite for drugs among Americans are among the reasons that the war on drugs [3] has proven difficult to win, according to those involved, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. While some say the money spent has shown little return, "William Sherman, acting special agent in charge of the DEA in San Diego, said the collaborative enforcement push has succeeded by eliminating cartel leaders, fragmenting drug organizations and causing traffickers to change their distribution patterns," according to the report.

►  "The war in Afghanistan [4] is destabilising Pakistan and seriously undermining efforts to restore its democratic institutions and economic prosperity after a decade of military dictatorship, Pakistan's president" told the Guardian in an exclusive interview, reports the Guardian.