chemical weapons

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Nerve Agent That Poisoned Ex-Spy More Toxic Than VX

Novichok agents developed in secret in Russia in the 1970s and '80s

(Newser) - British Prime Minister Theresa May says the chemical used to poison Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his adult daughter in England was a Novichok nerve agent, tied to Russia not only through its name. Novichok—meaning "newcomer" in Russian—is a class of chemical agents developed in the Soviet...

US: North Korea Used Chemical Agent to Kill Kim's Half Brother

Additional sanctions have been imposed against Pyongyang

(Newser) - The US has imposed additional sanctions on North Korea after determining the country used chemical weapons to assassinate Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother in Malaysia last year, Reuters reports. Kim Jong Nam died after two women smeared his face with the banned nerve agent VX in the Kuala...

UN Sees Secret Partnership Between North Korea, Syria

Kim Jong Un may be selling Bashar al-Assad parts for chemical weapons

(Newser) - Two leaders considered to be pariahs by much of the world may be providing each other much-needed help—with dire consequences. A comprehensive new UN report alleges that North Korea is selling equipment to Syria that can be used in chemical weapons production, reports the New York Times . Specifically, the...

US Speaks Out After Suspected Syria Chemical Attack

Officials suspect regime is 'evolving' new weapons

(Newser) - The Syrian regime not only kept some of its chemical weapons after a 2013 disarmament deal, it has apparently "evolved" new types of weapons and continues to use them on rebel-held civilian areas, Trump administration officials warn. The officials, speaking under condition of anonymity, tell Reuters that the administration...

Afraid of North Korea's Nukes? It May Have Something Worse

Harvard report suggests biological weapons are the real threat

(Newser) - President Trump calls him "rocket man" —but what if the nuclear bomb we're fearing isn't what we should be afraid of when it comes to North Korea? At FiveThirtyEight , Michael Wilner makes the case that what we really should be worried about are biological and chemical...

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...

Syria, Iran, Russia Push Back Against US Warning
Syria, Iran, Russia Push
Back Against US Warning
The Rundown
Jun 27, 2017 1:23 PM CDT

Syria, Iran, Russia Push Back Against US Warning

Syria says it isn't planning to use chemical weapons, which it says it doesn't have

(Newser) - Late Monday, the White House took the unusual step of issuing a preemptive warning against Syria, which it claims is preparing to launch a chemical weapons attack. The Wall Street Journal reports the Trump administration is basing that assertion on evidence from the same air base that the US hit...

US Issues Unprecedented 'Pre-Warning' to Syria

White House warns Assad's regime about carrying out another chemical attack

(Newser) - President Bashar al-Assad's regime will pay a "heavy price" if it carries out another chemical weapons attack in Syria, the White House said in an unusual warning Monday night. The White House statement said the US has "identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack" that would...

US Official Warns of ISIS 'Chemical Weapons Cell'

'This is not something we want to see them get good at'

(Newser) - A US official warns ISIS could be getting all its chemical weapons experts together in a "chemical weapons cell" in a last-ditch effort to defend its remaining territory in Syria. CNN reports the unnamed official says the experts are from Iraq and Syria and haven't previously worked together....

New Sanctions on Syria Among Biggest Ever by US

White House announces 271 penalties, cites chemical weapons attack

(Newser) - The White House accuses Syrian leaders of gassing their own civilians , and it's looking to punish anyone in the nation connected to the weapons. On Monday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against 271 employees of a Syrian agency believed to have developed and produced chemical weapons, reports USA Today ...

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...

Spicer Sorry for &#39;Insensitive&#39; Hitler Comparison
Spicer Apologizes
for Hitler Gaffe
Apr 12, 2017 12:21 AM CDT

Spicer Apologizes for Hitler Gaffe

Democratic, Jewish groups want him to quit

(Newser) - Sean Spicer has had another try at walking back his comments about Hitler not using chemical weapons —and this time, he didn't use the phrase "Holocaust centers." The White House press secretary told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Tuesday evening that he was "trying to make...

White House: Russia Lying About Syrian Chemical Attack

Officials say Russia is spreading 'false narratives' to protect Syrian government

(Newser) - Russia is running a "disinformation campaign" to confuse responsibility for last week's chemical attack in Syria and protect the Syrian government, according to White House officials. In a declassified report released Tuesday, the US government concludes Syrian forces used sarin gas during the attack, the New York Times...

Spicer's Hitler Analogy Goes Horribly Awry

'Hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons'

(Newser) - Sean Spicer is being hit with a wave of criticism—the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect is even calling for his firing—after he said Hitler wasn't that bad compared to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, at least in one specific area. "Hitler didn't even sink to...

Susan Rice's Claims on Syria Fail Fact-Checker's Test

In January, she suggested Assad had turned over all his chemical weapons

(Newser) - The Fact Checker blog at the Washington Post has taken the unusual step of looking at a months-old statement made by former National Security Adviser Susan Rice about Syria's chemical weapons. She won't be happy to learn that she earned the worst ranking of Four Pinocchios (only "...

Trump: We Struck Because of Assad's 'Barbaric' Attack

'Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered'

(Newser) - President Trump Thursday night said the US launched a military strike against a Syrian airfield because Bashar al-Assad "choked out the lives of helpless men, women, and children" with a chemical weapons attack earlier this week. Trump also said it was in the "vital national security interest" of...

White House Considering Military Action Against Syria

A report says the chemical used in Tuesday's attack was sarin

(Newser) - The chemical used in an attack this week that left at least 86 people—27 of them children—dead in Syria was sarin, a banned nerve agent, the New York Times report. The Turkish Health Ministry says it confirmed the chemical as sarin following an autopsy on three victims. Many...

Trump Takes 'Responsibility' for Situation in Syria

But again blames Obama for this week's deadly chemical attack

(Newser) - President Trump once again addressed the chemical weapons attack in Syria that left scores dead this week, calling it "heinous," "horrific," and an "affront to humanity" during a joint press conference with Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday. "It crossed a lot of lines...

Haley on Syria: How Many More Kids Have to Die, Russia?

UN ambassador, other US pols say Putin may be protecting Assad on chemical attack

(Newser) - Scores were killed in Syria's Idlib province on Tuesday in what the New York Times calls "the worst chemical attack in years" in the war-torn country. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime is saying it had nothing to do with it, and Syrian ally Russia is also...

Trump Blames Obama for Syria Chemical Attack

Trump Blames Obama
for Syria Chemical Attack
THE RUNDOWN
Apr 5, 2017 6:46 AM CDT

Trump Blames Obama for Syria Chemical Attack

He cites failure to enforce 'red line' after chemical attack

(Newser) - An apparent chemical attack that killed scores of people Tuesday is being called one of the worst atrocities of the Syrian civil war—and President Trump blames his predecessor. The "heinous" actions of the Assad regime "are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution,"...

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