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Quote of the Day
The entire territory of the former Soviet Union is awash in radioactive material.
--Russian military analyst Alexander Golts, commenting on the perceived widespread availability and vulnerability to theft of "dirty bomb" ingredients in former Soviet republics.
READERS' NOTICE: Global Security Newswire will not be published from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6. Please look for our next edition on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Top Stories
Pentagon Pulls $1B from WMD-Defense Efforts to Fund Vaccine Initiative
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010
Two U.S. Army soldiers in WMD response gear during a 2002 demonstration at the Pentagon. The Defense Department has shifted more than $1 billion from WMD defense projects to help fund a new federal vaccine development and production program (Paul Richards/Getty Images).
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Defense Department has shifted more than $1 billion out of its nuclear, biological and chemical defense programs to underwrite a new White House priority on vaccine development and production to combat disease pandemics, according to government and industry officials (see GSN, Aug. 20).
The planned funding reduction "terminates essential CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] defense programs ... required to meet high priority service needs, prevent casualties and protect against CBRN incidents," according to a Pentagon budget document drafted in early August.
Internal deliberations over the budget have been ongoing for months as the government prepares to submit its fiscal 2012 spending request to Congress next February.
Nation’s Nuclear Power Plants Prepare for Cyber Attacks
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010
The Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York state. The U.S. nuclear industry has spent more than $2 billion in the last decade to defend itself against cyber attacks and other security threats (Stephen Chernin/Getty Images).
Fourth in a five-part Global Security Newswire series on emerging technologies and scientific advances that might pose new proliferation risks.
WASHINGTON -- The threat to digital systems at the country's nuclear power plants is considerable, but the sector is better prepared to defend against potentially devastating cyber attacks than most other utilities, according to government and industry officials and experts (see GSN, July 9).
Cyber attacks have been an increasing source of concern in recent years but the threat was highlighted last month by the first discovery of malicious code, called a worm, specifically formulated to target the systems that direct the inner operations of industrial plants. To date the malware is thought to have infected more than 15,000 computers worldwide, mostly in Iran, Indonesia and India.
Carter Leaves North Korea With Message on Nuclear Talks
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is seen today on television after leaving North Korea with just-released prisoner Aijalon Mahli Gomes. A top North Korean official reportedly told Carter of the regime's readiness to re-engage in nuclear disarmament negotiations (Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images).
The second in charge of North Korea told visiting ex-U.S. President Jimmy Carter that the regime was resolved to seeing the Korean Peninsula stripped of nuclear weapons and to rejoining the moribund six-nation talks, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Aug. 26).
"Kim Yong Nam expressed the will of the D.P.R.K. government for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of the six-party talks," the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency said.
Carter departed from the North today along with freed U.S. citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was sentenced in April to eight years imprisonment for illegally entering the country, the Carter Center said in a statement (Reuters, Aug. 27).
Recent Stories
Former Soviet States Flush With "Dirty Bomb" Materials
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010The bust last month of an alleged would-be uranium smuggling ring demonstrates how widespread and vulnerable to theft radioactive materials are in the former Soviet Union, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Aug. 25).
Nuclear Test Halt Urged Ahead of Day of Observance
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and others this week renewed calls for the end to nuclear testing, informally and ultimately through the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (see GSN, May 26).
India Seeks Aid in Blocking China-Pakistan Atomic Deal
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010India is seeking the backing of six smaller nuclear export control group nations in its quest to prevent China from building two new nuclear reactors in Pakistan, the Times of India reported today (see GSN, July 23).
Japan Advised to Keep Non-Nuclear Principles
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010A government advisory commission recommended today that Japan maintain its three "non-nuclear principles" that bar the manufacturing, stockpiling or presence of nuclear weapons within its territory, Reuters reported (see GSN, July 27).
Terrorism Suspect Employed at Isotope-Stocked Hospital
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010One of several Canadian men suspected of plotting a terrorist bombing campaign worked at a hospital that houses medical isotopes that could be used in a radiological "dirty bomb," the Ottawa Citizen reported today (see GSN, Aug. 6).
South Carolina MOX Fuel Plant Judged Safe
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined the Mixed Oxide Fuel Facility being built in South Carolina is not likely to pose a public health or safety threat, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, April 1).
Man Admits Mailing Fake Anthrax Hoax Letters to Obama, Lawmakers
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010A Colorado man yesterday admitted he had mailed letters filled with white powder to U.S. President Barack Obama, lawmakers from Alabama and Colorado and Argentine consulates in Los Angeles and New York, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 6).