dirty bomb

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US, UK Blast Russian Official's Dirty Bomb Claims as 'False'

Nation's defense minister alleges Ukraine has plans to use dirty bomb, which Ukraine refutes

(Newser) - A phone call over the weekend between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his counterpart in Russia, Sergei Shoigu, resulted in an alarming assertion from the latter. A US administration official says that Shoigu told Austin, who'd also talked to Shoigu on Friday for the first time in months,...

Every Belgium Resident to Get Iodine Ration

Amid fears of an ISIS dirty bomb or nuclear plant meltdown

(Newser) - Last month's terrorist attacks in Brussels heightened already existing fears of ISIS building and setting off a dirty bomb in Belgium, and now the government is taking no chances. Health Minister Maggie De Block announced Thursday that iodine pills—which counteract radiation buildup in the thyroid gland, the part...

Obama: ISIS Getting a Nuke 'Would Change Our World'

Obama asked world leaders to tighten security on nuclear materials

(Newser) - At a nuclear summit attended by more than 50 world leaders Friday in Washington DC, President Obama called the possibility of ISIS getting its hands on a nuclear weapon "one of the greatest threats to global security," the BBC reports. “There is no doubt that if these...

Belgium Is Worried Over 10 Hours of Video of a House

Footage was seized from Mohamed Bakkali after the Paris attacks

(Newser) - Footage found in the possession of a man arrested after the Paris terror attacks may point to a plot involving radioactive material. Authorities say a 10-hour surveillance video seized from Mohamed Bakkali on Nov. 30 shows the home of a senior Belgian nuclear official who has access to secure areas...

'Highly Dangerous' Radioactive Materials Go Missing in Iraq

Officials worry ISIS could use them to make a dirty bomb

(Newser) - A laptop-sized case containing "highly dangerous" radioactive materials has gone missing from a storage facility in Iraq, Reuters reports. And Iraqi officials are worried it may have been swiped by ISIS, which could use the iridium-192 inside to make a dirty bomb. "Shaping headlines is essential to ISIS'...

Truck Carrying Radioactive Material Stolen in Mexico

Theft of cobalt-60 prompts fears of a dirty bomb

(Newser) - A truck laden with "dangerous" radioactive material used to fight cancer was stolen on Monday near Mexico City, says the International Atomic Energy Agency, per the BBC . "At the time the truck was stolen, the source was properly shielded. However, the source could be extremely dangerous to a...

Fears of Dirty Bomb in Libya Grow

Research site near Tripoli contains nuclear materials

(Newser) - There's enough nuclear material in Libya to make a dirty bomb, former UN nuclear inspection chief Olli Heinonen warned today, urging rebel authorities to move to secure it. Libya's uranium enrichment program was dismantled in 2003, but a research center 20 miles east of Tripoli still has enough...

Al-Qaeda Working on 'Nuclear 9/11'
 Al-Qaeda Working 
 on 'Nuclear 9/11' 
WIKILEAKS REVEAL
Feb 2, 2011 12:22 PM CST

Al-Qaeda Working on 'Nuclear 9/11'

Terrorists working on dirty bombs, biological weapons

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda is actively pursuing the nuclear materials and rogue scientists necessary to make dirty bombs or worse, according to a series of documents released by WikiLeaks and published in the Daily Telegraph . In 2009, NATO security chiefs warned that al-Qaeda was working on “dirty radioactive IEDs,” and a...

Wanted: Small Amounts of Plutonium
Wanted: Small Amounts of Plutonium
Mar 3, 2009 3:47 PM CST

Wanted: Small Amounts of Plutonium

US agency ferrets out unused radioactive sources

(Newser) - The country is crawling with unused radioactive material, and it’s up to the little-known National Nuclear Security Administration to dispose of it, the Los Angeles Times reports. They're not after warheads, but small amounts of plutonium used in medical and technological pursuits in more than 130 countries, as even...

New Drug Protects Body From Radiation

Promising treatment has potential medical, military applications

(Newser) - A promising new drug that protects animals from damaging radiation is ready for clinical trials in humans, the BBC reports. The drug interferes with the protein that ordinarily causes cell suicide in the presence of radiation, meaning it could be useful in treating cancer patients undergoing radiation as well as...

Padilla Guilty of Aiding Terrorism
Padilla Guilty of Aiding Terrorism
Aug 16, 2007 1:36 PM CDT

Padilla Guilty of Aiding Terrorism

Dirty-bomb suspect faces life after 3-year detention

(Newser) - A US District Court convicted Jose Padilla, a US citizen once suspected in a dirty-bomb plot, of conspiring to commit terrorism abroad by providing aid to Islamic extremists. Padilla, a former Guantanamo detainee who became symbolic of the Bush administration's aggressive legal arguments for detaining suspected terrorists, was not charged...

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