The global chemical weapons watchdog opened an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria over concerns about the country's stockpile of toxic chemicals in the wake of the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons told Syria on Monday the country is under obligations to comply with rules to safeguard and destroy dangerous substances, such as chlorine gas, after rebels entered the capital, Damascus, at the weekend. Assad's regime denied using chemical weapons but the OPCW found evidence indicating their repeated use by Syria in the grinding civil war. Earlier this year, the organisation found the Islamic State group had used mustard gas against the town of Marea. In a rare move, the OPCW's executive council called the meeting, hoping that under a new government, some of its 80 inspectors may be allowed to pursue investigations into Syria's chemical weapons program. Members of the ousted Syrian government plan t
Security agencies have seized yet another Pakistan-bound consignment, consisting of internationally banned chemicals used for tear gas and riot control agents, from China at a port in Tamil Nadu, officials said here on Thursday. According to officials, Pakistan is allegedly working on an offensive chemical and biological warfare program with the help of its 'all-weather friend' China. The officials said that the Chinese firm, Chengdu Shichen Trading Co. Ltd, had shipped a consignment of "Ortho-Chloro Benzylidene Malononitrile" to Rohail Enterprises, a Rawalpindi-based Defence supplier. The consignment, weighing about 2560 kgs, was stored in 103 drums of 25 kgs each and loaded into a carrier vessel Hyundai Shanghai (sailing under Cyprus flag), on April 18, 2024, at Shanghai Port, China, they said. The Karachi-bound vessel reached Kattupalli Port (Tamil Nadu) on May 08, 2024. The Customs authorities on routine checking detained the consignment as the chemical's name figured under ..
The annual meeting of member states of the global chemical weapons watchdog on Thursday called on countries to prevent the sale or transfer to Syria of raw materials and equipment that could be used to create poison gas and nerve agents. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement that its annual conference decided that the continued possession and use of chemical weapons by Syria, and its failure to give the organization an accurate inventory of its stocks and to destroy undeclared chemical weapons and production facilities, have harmed the international Chemical Weapons Convention. The decision was backed by 69 nations, while 10 voted against it and 45 nations abstained. It calls on member states to take measures to prevent the direct or indirect transfer to Syria of certain chemical precursors, dual-use chemical manufacturing facilities and equipment and related technology. Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 to ward off the threat of airstrikes in ...
She emphasised that India has an active and comprehensive domestic legislative framework that effectively demonstrates its firm commitment to preventing the proliferation of WMDs
State-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has designed and manufactured a vehicle for the National Disaster Response Force to respond to incidents involving hazardous chemicals, biological or radiological substances, a release said. The first CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear) HAZMAT (Hazardous Material) vehicle for NDRF was flagged off at BEL's Pune unit on Wednesday, it said. This vehicle is yet another achievement in BEL's Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, said the release. The vehicle is used to detect, monitor and respond to hazardous chemical, biological or radiological incidents, where it is vital to plug or seal the source of contamination to contain any further release of hazardous substances, the release said. The vehicle has a spacious operator compartment integrated with a wide range of user-friendly Chemical-Biological-Radiation-Nuclear detection and identification sensors, it said. It has a hand-held thermal imager, providing night vis
The last of the United States' declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has announced, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I. Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decades-long campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totalled more than 30,000 tonnes. "Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss," McConnell said in a statement on Friday. "Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil." The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts .
At a sprawling military installation in the middle of the rolling green hills of eastern Kentucky, a milestone is about to be reached in the history of warfare dating back to World War I. Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot are close to destroying rockets filled with GB nerve agent that are the last of the United States' declared chemical weapons and completing a decadeslong campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totaled more than 30,000 tons. The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts worldwide. The U.S. faces a Sept. 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries. The munitions being destroyed in Kentucky are the last of 51,000 M55 rockets with GB nerve agent a .
US Army says the work to destroy the arsenal is just about finished
Authorities in western Germany say they have arrested an Iranian man on suspicion of planning an attack with deadly chemicals. Police and prosecutors said early on Sunday that the 32-year-old man and another person were detained in the town of Castrop-Rauxel, northwest of Dortmund. In a joint statement they said the man is suspected to have planned a serious attack motivated by Islamic extremism, for which he had allegedly obtained cyanide and ricin.
Japan expressed grave concern about Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine as the top government spokesman on Monday announced an additional ban on exports of chemical weapons-related goods to Russia. As the world's only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, we strongly demand that the threat or use of nuclear weapons by Russia should never happen, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference. Matsuno was responding to a question about US national security adviser Jake Sullivan's comments Sunday on CBS news that the United States will act decisively in case of a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine. Asked if Japan approves of the possible use of nuclear weapons by the United States against Russia, Matsuno refused to comment on the grounds that it was a hypothetical question. Japan's government on Monday banned the export of materials that may be used for chemical weapons to 21 Russian organisations, including science laboratories. The .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also accused Russia of deploying phosphorus weapons
India at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) advocated the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) saying that it is important to ensure its implementation in letter and spirit.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is concerned that Russia may use chemical weapons in a 'false flag' attack in Ukraine, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.He was speaking at the press conference at NATO headquarter.Stoltenberg said, "We are concerned that Moscow could stage a false flag operation possibly including chemical weapons, in Ukraine.""Any support to Russia military or any other type of support will actually how pressure conducts a brutal war against in... Ukraine and help them to continue to rage war which is causing death, suffering and anonymous amount of destruction," he added."All of this sends an unmistakable message. An attack on one Ally will be met with a decisive response from the whole Alliance. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and its military integration with Belarus, create a new security reality on the European continent. So we need to reset our military posture for this new reality. Tomorrow, ministers will start an important ...
The Biden administration has publicly warned that Russia might seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine
India called for an objective investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons and also urged the UNSC to remain cognizant of the dangers of weapons of mass destruction
The issue of chemical weapons in Syria has pitted Russia, with some backing from China, against the Western nations which are vehemently opposed to the government of Bashar al-Assad
India has told the UN that concerns and allegations over the use of chemical weapons in Syria should be addressed through consultation among all concerned parties
It's important to clear up a common misconception about the chemical weapons convention and how it handles lethal chemical agents