OPCW

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Allegedly Hidden Beneath a Russian's Coat: an Antenna

Netherlands alleges Russian military intelligence was trying to hack the OPCW

(Newser) - A stunning allegation out of the Netherlands: The defense minister said Thursday the country had previously kicked out four Russians, believed to be GRU military intelligence officers, who were planning a cyber attack on the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Hague. The global chemical weapons...

Nerve Agent in Poisoning of Skripals Was Liquid

Investigators say full cleanup will take months

(Newser) - The nerve agent used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was delivered in liquid form, British officials said Tuesday, per the AP , revealing it will take months to clean up the toxic trail the poison left around the city of Salisbury. The UK Environment Department said...

New Findings Lend Weight to Russian Role in Poisonings

Watchdog says 'high purity' nerve agent used against Skripals

(Newser) - The international chemical weapons watchdog on Thursday confirmed Britain's finding that a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent, as Russia continued to deny suggestions that it was behind the attack. Investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a Nobel Peace...

Investigators: Deadly Attack in Syria Used Sarin

Findings will be part of UN investigation

(Newser) - An investigation by the international chemical weapons watchdog has concluded that sarin nerve gas was used in a deadly April 4 attack on a Syrian town, the latest confirmation of chemical weapons use in Syria's civil war. The attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Syria's Idlib province left more...

Assad: Chemical Weapons Attack 100% Fabricated by US

In order to justify a US airstrike in response, he says

(Newser) - In a new interview with AFP , Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the US, "hand-in-glove with the terrorists," "fabricated" the suspected chemical weapons attack that killed at least 87, including many children, in a rebel-held town. The reason for the "fabrication"? The US wanted "a...

Syria Likely Gassed Civilians 8 Times in April: UN

Independent commission also says country is plagued by 'crimes against humanity'

(Newser) - The Assad regime likely used chlorine gas eight times on its own people in northern Syria villages in April, according to a report released today by an independent UN commission, the AP reports. The report also indicates that the Syrian people have been besieged by crimes against humanity at the...

Chemical Weapons Still Used Regularly in Syria: Watchdog

International monitors find evidence of 'systematic' attacks

(Newser) - Even after Syria's agreement last year to rid itself of chemical weapons, it appears that they're still in steady use in the country, says an international watchdog in a report supporting earlier claims . The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was unable to fully investigate the situation...

UN Fact-Finders Attacked in Syria

Amid reports they were kidnapped, watchdog group says staffers safe

(Newser) - A group of UN and chemical weapons watchdog members came under attack in Syria, according to reports—but stories conflict regarding what happened next, France 24 notes. Syria's foreign ministry said 11 people were kidnapped, six of them UN fact-finders. Officials said opposition fighters were behind the attack, the...

Syria Blows Past Chemical Weapons Deadline

Meanwhile, UN decries treatment of children in war

(Newser) - Today was supposed to be the deadline for Syria to turn over all of its chemical weapons—and it's not even close. So far Syria has handed the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons just 4% of the promised 1,433 tons of chemicals, Reuters reports, and an...

Hurdle in Destroying Syria's Chemical Weapons: Money

OPCW needs more of it

(Newser) - Here's something you may not know about the effort to rid Syria of its chemical weapons: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons isn't just tasked with making that happen —it also has to raise the money needed to do the job. And the roughly $13....

Deadline Met: Syria's 'Critical' Equipment Destroyed

All production, mixing facilities destroyed or inoperable: OPCW

(Newser) - All the chemical weapons production and mixing facilities declared by Syria have been either destroyed or made inoperable, in advance of tomorrow's UN deadline, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said today. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization's teams still have not been able to visit two...

Syria Inspectors: We Need Hours-Long Ceasefires

OPCW is having trouble getting to some suspected production sites

(Newser) - One week ago, Ban Ki-moon told the UN Security Council that the toughest part in the process of wiping out Syria's chemical weapons would come next month, when the actual destruction begins, reports the New York Times . Tougher than this, apparently: The Nobel Prize-winning Organization for the Prohibition of...

Nobel Committee Turned to Twitter to Find Winner

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons currently working in Syria

(Newser) - A 16-year-old won this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but, no, it wasn't Malala . Instead, the honor goes to the group currently at work trying to get rid of Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons in Syria—the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, reports the LA ...

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