GSN: IAEA Team to Return to Iran in February

By Newsroom America Feeds at 2 Feb 2012

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Daily News on Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Weapons, Terrorism and Related Issues Thursday, February 2, 2012

TOP STORIES 2/2/2012 IAEA TEAM TO RETURN TO IRAN IN FEBRUARY The International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday said it would send representatives to Iran later this month for another round of discussions intended to address questions over the country's nuclear program. ISRAEL SHOULD ATTEND NUKE-FREE MIDDLE EAST MEETING: U.N. CHIEF Israel should be present at a planned meeting later this year on promoting the elimination of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday. NORTH KOREA LAYS OUT CONDITIONS FOR STRENGTHENING TIES WITH SOUTH North Korea on Thursday offered a number of conditions for improved relations with South Korea, including the termination of Seoul's bilateral military maneuvers with the United States, the New York Times reported. The South rejected the demands as "absurd." NUCLEAR WEAPONS 2/2/2012 U.K. GOV'T REFUSES TO SHARE PLANS FOR MOVING NUKES FROM SCOTLAND A British government minister has declined repeated requests from lawmakers to disclose details about potential contingency arrangements for the housing of the nation's nuclear-armed submarines should Scotland choose to expel them after a planned secession vote, the Western Morning News reported on Wednesday. DELIVERY SYSTEMS 2/2/2012 RUSSIA EYES ANTIMISSILE EXERCISES WITH NATO Russia in March could conduct computer-based antimissile drills with NATO, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday. RUSSIA TO CONSTRUCT UPGRADED BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINES Russia plans in 2012 to begin assembling a line of upgraded Borei-class ballistic missile submarines, Defense and Security reported on Wednesday. BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS 2/2/2012 PAKISTANI OFFICIALS SEND MIXED SIGNALS ON IDENTITY OF ANTHRAX MAILER Pakistani officials have issued conflicting statements on the identity of the individual who mailed anthrax spores to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in October, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. NEW USES FOUND FOR U.S. CHEM, BIO DEFENSES The absence over the last 10 years of chemical or biological strikes in the United States has resulted in alternative uses being devised for U.S. capabilities established for spotting and countering such events, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday. CHEMICAL WEAPONS 2/2/2012 UMATILLA CONTRACTOR FINED OVER PERMIT BREACHES The contractor for the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility faces $46,800 in penalties from the state of Oregon for multiple breaches of an operating permit last June and September, the Oregon Environmental Quality Department announced on Tuesday. OTHER TOPICS 2/2/2012 JAPAN TO DEVELOP PREDICTIVE CAPACITY FOR DISPERSAL OF WMD AGENTS Japan intends to establish the capacity to forecast the dispersal patterns of dangerous materials released following a potential WMD attack or mishap, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Pork, pork, pork, pork, pork. These state departments of health have become addicted to extra federal bioterrorism dollars." Edward Hammond, Counterterrorism funding researcher, on the value of federal financial support to state preparedness programs in the absence of chemical or biological strikes.

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