CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- August 29, 2008

Village in Russia's Urals imposes quarantine due to anthrax
“Quarantine has been declared in a village in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan in the southwest Urals after several humans were infected with anthrax, a spokesman for the consumer rights regulator said on Friday. Rospotrebnadzor said the measures were announced after 10 residents of the village, Ural, located in the Yanaulsky district, were hospitalized on Wednesday.” (Ria Novosti; 29Aug08) http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080829/116378505.html
Maxygen gets $3.4 million military grant for vaccine technology
“Maxygen Inc. got a two-year grant worth $3.4 million from the Department of Defense to work on technology used in vaccine research. […] The award ultimately comes from the military’s joint program for chemical and biological defense, via the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Frederick, Md.” (San Francisco Business Times; 27Aug08) http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/othercities/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/08/25/daily22.html
Aiea company on track to slow down anthrax
“An Aiea drug company says it's on track to create the first pill-form treatment for a deadly disease widely-known as a national security threat. […] It's still in powder form, but Panthera Bio officials hope to make it into a pill which is still a few years off. […] The anti-anthrax drug is still in pre-clinical stages, but it has completed successful testing on rats.” (KHNL; 27Aug08; Duane Shimogawa)
http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=8913392

Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] signs treaty against chemical weapons
“Saudi Arabia, along with 186 countries, signed the Chemical Weapon Convention (CWC) treaty prohibiting the use of chemical weapons in Colombo, Monday. ‘We discussed many issues before signing the treaty. The Kingdom’s role is to support peace and stand against violence,’ said Dr. Khalil Al-Khalil, member of the Shoura Council and head of the Security Affairs Commission and the Saudi delegation in Colombo. […] Five prominent countries – Russia, US, Israel, Egypt and Syria – did not take part in the event. Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman from the GCC also did not participate.”
(Saudi Gazette; 28Aug08; Diana Al-Jassem)
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008082915763

Bush administration agrees to turn over documents in torture case
“In a significant reversal, the Bush administration has agreed to turn over documents that allegedly support allegations by a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that he was tortured while in American custody in Pakistan in early 2002 […] The convening authority for the Guantánamo cases is Susan Crawford, a retired military judge. Mohamed is facing a trial on several charges of planning to commit acts of terrorism against the United States, including the detonation of a ‘dirty bomb.’”
(International Herald Tribune; 29Aug08; Raymond Bonner) http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/29/europe/gitmo.php

2% defense spending rise sought
“The [Defense] Ministry will request ¥24.3 billion to implement measures related to the bilateral accord on realigning U.S. military facilities in Japan, including transferring the GSDF Central Readiness Force headquarters, a special unit for antiterrorism and overseas operations, to the U.S. Army's Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture. […] The NPA [National Police Agency] also requested ¥4.32 billion for measures associated with the recently enacted law to pay benefits to victims of the deadly 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other crimes committed by Aum Shinrikyo, and ¥155 million to deal with the possibility of a flu pandemic.” (Japan Times; 28Aug08; Source: Kyodo News) http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080828a3.html

Umbrella Murder' Probe to End as the Cold War Haunts Bulgaria
“Lyuben Markov has waited decades to find out who killed his cousin with a poison-tipped umbrella. And now he may never know. In one of the most infamous unsolved crimes of the Cold War, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was attacked in London on Sept. 7, 1978, and died four days later. With the 30-year statute of limitations coming up, Bulgaria plans to close its investigation of the case, a move that may stymie the U.K.'s probe and leave unanswered speculation that Bulgaria's spy service ordered the hit.”
(Bloomberg; 29Aug08; Elizabeth Konstantinova) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aQ.Vpq_bieUM&refer=europe

Uganda: Britain to Return UShs 120 Million Bribe Paid to Museveni Aide
“The British government yesterday said it would return 40,000 pound sterling (about Shs120 million) to Uganda, part of a bribe paid by a Danish national to Presidential Adviser Ananias Tumukunde, currently awaiting trial in a London jail. The Danish national, Niels Jürgen Tobiasen, was convicted a week ago after pleading guilty to paying the bribe. […] The crown prosecutors allege that Mr Tobiasen on the 15th day of January 2008 transferred criminal property, namely chemical and biological weapons to the Ugandan defendants.” (All Africa; 29Aug08; Angelo Izama & Norman Miwambo) http://allafrica.com/stories/200808290050.html

ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] expands network from J&K [Jammu & Kashmir] to South
“Terror groups backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) could use chemical, biological, nuclear or radiological weapons against India initiating a form of ‘super terrorism’, warns a Union Home Ministry [India] report. With ISI spreading its tentacles in the country from Jammu and Kashmir to down south, the report spoke of active terror modules mushrooming in Bihar, Assam and West Bengal where the sleeper cells have been assigned with specific targets.” (Times Now; 29Aug08)
http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=14797

Specter touts $750K camera system in Pittsburgh
“Allegheny County will receive $750,000 to enhance a surveillance camera system that will be used to track criminals and in emergencies like fires, floods, or potential cases of bioterrorism. […] The county will be able to purchase an additional 40 mobile cameras to compliment the existing 64 stationary cameras, which include gas and chemical detectors, already in the greater Pittsburgh area […] The federal funding, which was the county's highest priority request from the Justice Department, will enable the county to expand its camera surveillance network, known as the ThreatViewer Emergency Management Visualization System.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; 29Aug08; Karamagi Rujumba) http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08242/908013-100.stm

Italy, Libya set to finalise ‘friendship pact’
“Italian and Libyan officials were finalising a pact on Friday that will see Italy pay compensation for misdeeds committed under colonial rule and improve ties between Rome and Tripoli, a major energy producer. […] The compensation accord involves several projects including the construction of a motorway across Libya, education and clearing mines dating back to the colonial era. […] Libya has also said it would stop pursuing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.” (Reuters; 29Aug08)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKLT43694720080829

CNS ChemBio-WMD terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.