International Policy
Threats posed by ISIS fighters returning home as the terrorist organization loses territory were a focus of recent discussions between the heads the United Nations (UN) and Interpol about global security issues and priorities.
UN Secretary General António Guterres and Interpol Secretary... Read More »
An Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission (FFM) is currently investigating recent allegations about the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic.
The FFM’s mandate is “to establish facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic... Read More »
A meeting between Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale on Monday focused on raising global security standards.
Nielsen and Goodale discussed standards pertaining to cyber security, counterterrorism,... Read More »
The Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) of Switzerland recently hosted, in collaboration with the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the second workshop on Schedule 1 facilities at Spiez Laboratory in Switzerland.
The workshop... Read More »
At Cybertech TLV, the largest convening of cybersecurity industries held in Tel Aviv, Israel, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO James Patchett announced three Israeli cybersecurity firms had committed to expanding to New York City.
Israel-based investment... Read More »
Raytheon announced Wednesday that will be upgrading its Patriot Air and Missile Defense System under a $235 million modernization task order from the U.S. Army.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced the task order Monday. The United States and the other 13 Patriot partner nations that rely on... Read More »
An international public-private partnership called the Global Centre for Cybersecurity was launched last week during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to assess and tackle global cybersecurity challenges.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen highlighted U.S. efforts to... Read More »
With 35 confirmed cases of yellow fever and 20 deaths reported in Brazil from July 1, 2017, through Jan. 14, public health officials have launched an intensive vaccination campaign in an effort to head-off a widespread outbreak.
Yellow fever cases have been confirmed in São Paulo, Rio de... Read More »
Nuclear security experts from Scandinavia and the United States took part in a workshop hosted in Oslo last week that focused on leveraging international cooperation to enhance nuclear security and nuclear forensics.
Page Stoutland, vice president of scientific and technical affairs at the... Read More »
A 51-year-old Polish national, who has been imprisoned on terrorism charges in France since 2003, faces four counts in U.S. federal courts, including conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, under a superseding indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday.
Christian Ganczarski is also charged with... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced Tuesday that it is accepting proposals for advanced first responder technologies in partnership with the Israel Ministry of Public Security (MOPS).
The request is part of the NextGen First... Read More »
A panel of international policy experts told lawmakers Wednesday the best way to help rein in the nuclear ambitions of North Korea is through the intervention of the Chinese government, though none of the panelists expressed much optimism in Chinese assistance any time soon.
“I think getting... Read More »
Seventy-five years after the first controlled nuclear chain reaction, Ernest Moniz, co-chair and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), recently warned that the United States faces “a different nuclear age” with miscalculation, diplomatic tensions, terrorism, technological advancements and... Read More »
The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, applauded the complete destruction of Libya’s stockpile of Category 2 chemical materials at a ceremony held recently in Munster, Germany.
The remainder of the country’s... Read More »
North Korea denies claims made in the Trump administration’s recently released National Security Strategy that it “has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons” nor that it has researched “chemical and biological weapons which could be delivered by... Read More »
Experiencing an escalating threat level of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) attacks across its region, the European Commission’s related preparedness plan is extremely important, a London-based expert recently told Homeland Preparedness News.
“I consider this to be... Read More »
Ten analytical chemists who work in laboratories that support or have plans to support customs services around the world recently completed an Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) training course in the Netherlands.
The inaugural training course, which was held from Dec.... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) welcomed Monday seven inspectors to its staff during a graduation ceremony held at OPCW headquarters in the Hague, Netherlands.
The recruits, who previously worked as chemical production technologists and analytical chemist... Read More »
Members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) gathered in Romania last week as part of a rapid response and assistance training exercise based around chemical attacks.
The Rapid Response and Assistance Mission, of which this was a part, was created in 2016 as an aid... Read More »
Countries taking part in the visa waiver program (VWP) will now be required to better screen travelers, to implement aviation safeguards and to administer public education campaigns to reduce visa overstays, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Friday.
DHS also called on... Read More »
First responders from the United States and Canada recently took part in a training exercise that demonstrated communications interoperability between the two countries if disaster strikes on or near the border.
The fifth Canada-U.S. Enhanced Resiliency Experiment (CAUSE V) was held in November... Read More »
A multinational effort from the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region drew first responders to Qatar this week to bolster their emergency response and protection skills in the field.
The large-scale event was hosted by Qatar’s National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW)... Read More »
Topics related to terrorism financing and cybersecurity issues highlighted at the recent Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum, a multinational gathering that drew government, diplomatic, intelligence and industry leaders from 53 countries.
Hosted by U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC), the... Read More »
The Fingerprints unit of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) recently held the first INTERPOL Fingerprint and Face Symposium, which brought together approximately 125 experts on fingerprint examination and facial recognition from 58 countries in Lyon, France.
Speakers at... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) recently launched a pilot program to collect and share biographic information on pedestrians leaving the United States for Mexico at the San Ysidro-El Chaparral Port of Entry.
The Joint Pedestrian Land... Read More »
The International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) defined a Phase II program of work to increase the scope of its activities at its fifth plenary meeting recently held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Phase II aims to emphasize the importance of verification ahead of the... Read More »
A forum hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace last week focused on the risk of nuclear conflict from Russia’s perspective, exploring Russia’s position on topics like tactical nuclear weapons, arms control agreements, and cyberattacks.
James Acton, co-director of Carnegie... Read More »
With billions of dollars flowing into a focus on artificial intelligence, China poses both a military and commercial threat to the United States where artificial intelligence is concerned, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
While the exact amounts invested remain hazy, experts dub... Read More »
Lockheed Martin and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) recently signed a five-year agreement for NATO to purchase Enhanced Laser Guided Training Rounds (ELGTRs) on behalf of member countries.
Under the agreement, which is in effect through 2021,... Read More »
Romania agreed to purchase Raytheon Co.’s Patriot integrated air and missile defense system from the U.S. Army on Wednesday, a move that sets the stage for contract negotiations between Raytheon and the U.S. government.
Under the letter of offer and acceptance that the Romanian government... Read More »
Civilians working for the Serbian government recently completed an advanced information systems security (INFOSEC) training session organized by NATO’s Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme in Belgrade and Tallinn.
Twelve representatives from Serbia’s Office of the National... Read More »
States Parties from Asia gathered earlier this month to discuss potential adoption of national legislation regarding chemical weapons during a Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) forum held in The Hague in the Netherlands.
The Stakeholders Forum for States Parties in Asia on the Adoption of... Read More »
At a recent World Health Organization (WHO) conference in Moscow, Russia, 75 ministers committed to increase multisectoral action, progress and build accountability in an effort to end Tuberculosis (TB) by 2030.
The Moscow Declaration to End TB came at the first WHO Global Ministerial... Read More »
Progress in eliminating chemical weapons stockpiles and the appointment of a new director general will highlight the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) upcoming 22nd Conference of the States Parties (CSP-22) scheduled from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1.
Hamid Ali Rao, the deputy... Read More »
The Deputy Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Hamid Ali Rao, recently visited Mexico where he discussed the importance of preparedness against chemical emergencies and peaceful uses of chemistry.
Rao opened the Table Top Exercise on Chemical... Read More »
