In late September, Israeli police arrested a Pakistani man linked to Osama bin Laden who tried to enter Israel from the occupied territories at the Ramallah checkpoint. He was, reportedly, carrying a bomb. Leaks since that time have hinted that this was a "radiological bomb", that is, a conventional bomb wrapped in radioactive material that would be spread by the blast. There would be no chance of a nuclear detonation, but contamination of a considerable area would have resulted. The reports cannot be confirmed and some dismiss the radiological bomb as a hoax, although the arrest of the man has been confirmed.--Stephen V Cole