Originally published in Japan Today

Executives of a Japanese company indicted last year over illegal export of items capable of producing biological weapons will be compensated after the case against them was dropped, their lawyer said Thursday.

The Tokyo District Court awarded Tuesday a total of 11.3 million yen to Masaaki Okawara, 72, president of Yokohama-based machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co, Junji Shimada, 68, one of its former directors, as well as the family of former adviser Shizuo Aishima, who died after being released on bail in November last year.

In March last year, police arrested the three on suspicion of illegally exporting spray dryers capable of producing biological agents. The detention of Okawara and Shimada continued until they were released on bail in February this year.

On July 30, four days before the first hearing of the two men, the prosecutors withdrew their indictment, saying that "doubts have arisen as to whether they are guilty of a crime." The indictment for Aishima had been rescinded due to his death.

"The relevant records suggest there would have been enough reason to acquit the accused if the case continued," Presiding Judge Kiichi Hiraide said, according to the lawyer Tsuyoshi Takada.

The three parties will receive 12,500 yen each for every day spent in custody in accordance with Japan's criminal compensation law. Okawara and Shimada spent 332 days in custody, while Aishima was detained for 240 days.

Separately, Okawara, Shimada and the family of Aishima filed a damages suit against the Tokyo metropolitan government and the state in September, seeking compensation for the alleged unlawful investigation by the police in the capital and prosecutors.

"The court decision to grant compensation is significant as it means they were declared innocent publicly. We will claim and prove violations of duty of care by investigative agencies in a separate damages suit," Takada said.

Published in abc News 

The longtime president of Belarus said Tuesday that his country would be ready to host Russian nuclear weapons if NATO moves U.S. atomic bombs from Germany to Eastern Europe.

In an interview, President Alexander Lukashenko also said for the first time that he recognizes the Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia and plans to visit it soon. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that the West regards as illegal.

Lukashenko made the remarks as he moves to cement ties with Russia, his main ally and sponsor, amid tensions with the West over his disputed reelection last year and his government's brutal crackdown on dissent in Belarus.

Asked about the possible redeployment of U.S. atomic bombs to Eastern Europe if Germany's new government were no longer willing to house the weapons, Lukashenko responded that he would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to send nuclear weapons that were withdrawn after the 1991 Soviet collapse back to Belarus.

“I would offer Putin to return nuclear weapons to Belarus,” Lukashenko said in the interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of Russian state media group Rossiya Segodnya.

The Belarusian leader wouldn't elaborate on what kind of weapons Belarus would be willing to accommodate. He added that Belarus has carefully preserved the necessary military infrastructure dating back to the Soviet era.

Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who left Belarus under pressure after unsuccessfully trying to unseat Lukashenko in last year's election, denounced the president's comments.

“Such a person shouldn’t be trusted to handle matches, let alone nuclear weapons,” she told The Associated Press.

Tsikhanouskaya said the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus would violate international arms agreements and the will of Belarus' people. “The majority of Belarusians have spoken for Belarus’ neutrality,” she said.

Speaking earlier this month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Western military alliance would need to ponder redeploying nuclear weapons east if the new German government changes the country's policy on nuclear sharing.

“Germany can, of course, decide whether there will be nuclear weapons in your country, but the alternative is that we easily end up with nuclear weapons in other countries in Europe, also to the east of Germany,” Stoltenberg said.

Alexei Arbatov, a Moscow-based foreign policy expert, described the possible redeployment of U.S. atomic bombs to Eastern Europe as a “mad, adventurist move.” If Moscow responds by sending its nuclear weapons to Belarus, “the situation would be more dangerous than it was during the Cold War times,” the Interfax news agency quoted Arbatov as saying.

Lukashenko has edged closer to Russia since he faced Western pressure after being awarded a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the opposition and the West say was rigged. Belarusian authorities responded to protests triggered by the election with a sweeping crackdown, prompting the European Union and the United States to slap Belarus with several rounds of sanctions.

Tensions have escalated further since the summer over the arrival of thousands of migrants and refugees on Belarus' border with EU member Poland. The EU has accused Lukashenko of retaliating for its sanctions by using desperate asylum-seekers as pawns and tricking them into trying to enter Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to destabilize the entire EU.

Russia and Belarus have a union agreement that envisages close political, economic and military ties, but Lukashenko in the past has sought to maneuver between Moscow and the West, trying to win concessions from each party.

And even though he relied on cheap energy and loans provided by Russia, he refrained from recognizing Moscow's annexation of Crimea until Tuesday. In Tuesday's interview, he said he considers Crimea part of Russia both de facto and de jure. Lukashenko added that he planned to visit Crimea on Putin's invitation.

“If the president comes there with the president of Russia, what other form of recognition could there be?" he said.

Ukrainian and Western authorities have raised concern in recent days about alleged Kremlin plans to invade Ukraine. Lukashenko warned that his country would stand squarely behind Russia if the Ukrainian government launched an offensive against Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich said Lukashenko's statement came as a payoff for Moscow's backing.

“Lukashenko effectively pays Putin for the support that the Kremlin has offered to him at the time when he was on the verge of political death after the election,” Karbalevich told the AP. “Lukashenko has become a tool for the Kremlin and he expects more Russian subsidies and financial aid in return.”

He noted that in the face of Western sanctions against the Belarusian economy, Lukashenko is now “ready to deploy nuclear weapons, stage a crisis with migrants and get involved in a confrontation with Ukraine.

Micro-X and its US subsidiary is working with the US government to develop a passenger self-screening airport checkpoint portal, which will combine the traditional, sequential airport checkpoint processes into a consolidated module.

“We are delighted to be working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop this new security system that will both make air travel a more enjoyable and safer experience,” said Peter Rowland, Managing Director of Micro-X.

The Airport Security Portal will combine existing self-service technologies such as automated document scanning and validation, photometric identity checking, and millimetre-wave body scanning with a miniature, self-service x-ray scanner for carry-on bags and personal property.

The project is made possible by carbon nanotube emitter technology invented and developed by Micro-X that dramatically reduces the size of x-ray tubes and imaging devices.

Conventional three-dimensional x-ray baggage scanners are far too large to make a self-service security portal practical.

Micro-X signed two contracts with the DHS last week that establish it as lead contractor in a team of innovative companies from around the world to develop the security portal.

They include Melbourne-based Elenium Automation, a leader in many elements of airport passenger workflow automation, a European leader in millimetre-wave on-person screening technology which enables high-resolution scanning of passengers in real-time as they move, and Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, a US Government Laboratory which has developed an Open Architecture integrated airport checkpoint management system based on conventional screening technology.

Micro-X will also be supported by Monash University Design team and The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) of the US, which will guide the security and safety requirements of the system.

The project will be managed in Seattle within a newly created, independent, Micro-X Business Unit led by General Manager Dr Brian Gonzales.

“These DHS contracts are transformational for Micro-X and represents the culmination of many years of amazing work by Dr Gonzales and the team, in developing new concepts for improving x-ray imaging for aviation security,” said Rowland.

“It is also a tribute to Micro-X’s customer-centric design philosophy to be selected for this major new systems design and integration project.

“Every traveller has got airport security horror stories to tell and it is exciting that this innovative international team, led by Micro-X, is now positioned to improve future air travel for all stakeholders.”

SPH Engineering introduces the Remote Water Sampling System, a new UAV-based solution within UgCS Integrated Systems product line. The trial flight was conducted at a Latvian lake to proceed with water sampling for subsequent analysisin a laboratory.

The main benefit of this brand new system is the possibility to take up to 1L water samples at considerable distance from the bank or water access points (piers, bridges, etc.) or in hazardous test locations impossible for a boat or ship to navigate.

The system combines the following components: a drone (either DJI M300 RTK or DJI M600Pro drone), Ruttner water sampler and SPH Engineering’s UgCS SkyHub onboard computer,a radar altimeter and UgCS ground control software. Additionally, SPH Engineering has developed the messenger release device.‘

‘Traditional water sampling methods require direct access to the water body and samples are gathered from the shore, pier, bridge, or boat. Sampling at some distance from the solid ground in absence of a boat or ship is impossible. A remote sampling system based on UAV solves that problem, allowing water sampling far from shore’, Alexey Dobrovolskiy, CTO at SPH Engineering, comments.

The system has been developed upon the request of the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Сenter. According to the Сenter representative, ‘it is a great tool for improving safety in the water sampling process and ensuring efficiency. Such a system would be useful for institutions like the State Environmental Service to obtain a water sample from polluted waters quickly and safely. The system allows water to be taken repeatedly from the same location at a constant depth. The limitation to our workflow has been the volume that could have been larger to maintain even more practical work. A big advantage is the optional equipment (an altimeter and UgCS software) for both safety of the drone during the flight and the improved altitude accuracy above the water’.

To learn more about the system, visit https://integrated.ugcs.com/drone-based-remote-watersampling and wach the vide here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEnR7O-MrLM

South Korea has developed a homegrown technology for early, real-time detection of chemical weapons, its state-run arms development agency said Wednesday.

Teledyne FLIR announced it has won a development contract worth up to $15.7 million with the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Joint Science and Technology Office (DTRA JSTO) to develop novel battlefield threat mapping and visualization tools. The technology will allow the capability to digitally map hazardous material threats from sensor data and to ‘see’ their exact location via mixed reality on mobile phones, tablets, and Heads-Up Displays (HUDs).

Teledyne FLIR will work with partners to develop software that allows Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) hazards to be precisely located, measured and mapped for viewing within the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) suite of tools. The threat map will be visualized in a ‘see-through’ augmented reality (AR) display by those running TAK on their electronics, as well as by futuristic HUD devices like the Integrated Visualization Augmentation System (IVAS).

Funded out of DTRA’s Digital Battlespace Management office, the program’s goal is to provide improved real-time CBRN situational awareness and enable TAK users to see and avoid chemical and biological hazards. The project also will allow future individuals equipped with IVAS to visualize chem-bio threats and receive real-time decision support when performing reconnaissance and decontamination missions. In addition, the program further lays the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AR groundwork for the Army’s autonomous decontamination efforts.

“To protect our troops wherever they deploy, we need to leverage the most advanced detection and battlefield management technologies to counter the lethal risk posed by chemical and biological weapons,” said Dr. David Cullin, general manager of Teledyne FLIR’s Unmanned and Integrated Solutions business. “We’re proud to lead this effort that will help our warfighters intuitively visualize dangerous chem-bio threats, while also advancing future capabilities tied to IVAS and autonomous robotic decontamination.”

The contract will fund development of a mission-flexible prototype consisting of networked chem-bio sensors and AR visualization tools that DTRA will evaluate over the course of several events. The award comprises a 12-month base period, three 12-month options, plus other optional tasks. Work will be performed at Teledyne FLIR’s Pittsburgh site.

For more on Teledyne FLIR’s chemical detection and identification products, visit www.flir.com/threat-detection/

Avon Protection were delighted to pick up an award at The Plastics Industry Awards event on 2^nd December for the Best International Industrial Product Design 2021 for the CH15 Compact CBRN Escape Hood.

Heat Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class therapies to modulate the immune system, today unveiled its new RapidVax^® cellular vaccine platform at the 2021 World Antiviral Congress. RapidVax is designed as a rapid programmable vaccine to target a comprehensive range of emerging biological threats.

United States Government Accountability Office has released a technology assessment to congressional committees on vaccine development capabilities and challenges for addressing infectious diseases. The full report can be found here https://www.gao.gov/assets/720/717636.pdf

David Finlay, whose new book Coronadiary identifies that the COVID response was hindered by a lack of training for Ministers in core decision making skills and a failure to react to previous warnings to improve skills within government, calls for Ministers to receive professional training relevant to the responsibilities they bear.

Former National Audit Office Director Finlay’s comments follow this week’s speech by Kate Bingham, who led the successful vaccine task force, in which she accused government of a “devastating lack of skills and experience in science” which hampered the COVID response described by Parliament’s recent report as “one of the most important public health failures the UK has ever experienced.” Finlay focuses on three core decisions making skills: planning, making the best use of data and managing risk. After also taking account of the recent lobbying U-turn Finlay’s stark assessment is “There is a total mismatch between the responsibilities Ministers bear and their lack of training which can be seen in repeated errors of judgement and a lack of professionalism in dealing with standards in public life.”

In his book Coronadiary: 100 days that changed our lives and three skills government had been told to improve Finlay’s analysis reveals findings not previously mentioned in media coverage of the government’s response to the pandemic. Finlay shows how all the mistakes in the government’s handling of the pandemic such as the lack of a rigorous plan for responding to a respiratory virus pandemic, insufficient initial testing capacity to track the spread of the virus and a failure to protect care home residents can be put down to shortcomings in three key skills: planning, making the best use of data and managing risk.

Finlay’s big reveal is that these three key skills which were lacking during the COVID response were skills government had been repeatedly told to improve in reports before the pandemic from organisations such as the National Audit Office, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee and the Institute for Government. “These three skills, planning, making the best use of data and managing risk are integral to the effective management of all complex projects” Finlay notes. “Yet Ministers were very slow to react to the warnings they had been given that they needed to improve these skills throughout government. At the end of 2020 the Cabinet Office introduced a new government data strategy and curriculum for government skills, useful initiatives but too late to have helped the pandemic response.”

In his book Finlay contrasts the high quality training which doctors receive to protect us from danger and the total lack of a formal training programme for Ministers despite the momentous decisions they were required to take on the public’s behalf during the pandemic. “Doctors are trained in planning, using data and managing risk to help them make critical decisions in patient care. Ministers do not have that training yet they were the ones who had to make sense of complex information from scientists and civil servants before making the final decisions on the COVID response strategy which affected all our lives. The whole approach to being a government Minister needs to be professionalised.”

David Finlay is the author of Coronadiary: 100 days that changed our lives and three skills government had been told to improve (ISBN 9781802270792)

Publishedd in Homeland Security Today

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program released 11 topics for the new Small Business innovation Research (SBIR) 22.1 Pre-solicitation. During this period, small businesses can review topics and ask clarifying technical questions regarding the topic requirements.

“The topics span a broad range of homeland security needs that give small businesses the opportunity to partner with DHS and turn their ideas into effective solutions,” said Dusty Lang, DHS SBIR Director. “I encourage all innovative small businesses to review the topics in the Pre-Solicitation to better understand our research and development needs.”

Full topic descriptions for the titles listed below can be viewed at SAM.gov. Technical questions should be directed to the technical point of contact for each topic, listed in the 22.1 SBIR Topic Areas document. Small businesses have until 5:00 p.m. ET on December 14, 2021 to submit their questions.

The DHS topics in the 22.1 SBIR Pre-Solicitation are:

• DHS221-001 – Automated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Distress Alerts and Monitoring
• DHS221-002 – Rapidly deployable countermeasures at protected perimeters and structures
• DHS221-003 – Non-Invasive and Real-time Detection of Counterfeit Microelectronics
• DHS221-004 – Broadband Push-to-Talk Interoperability Platform
• DHS221-005 – A Step Towards Agent Agnostic Detection of Biological Hazards
• DHS221-006 – Streamlined Airport Checkpoint Screening for Limited Mobility Passengers
• DHS221-007 – Mass Fatality Tracking System (MFTS)
• DHS221-008 – Next Generation Semiconductor-Based Spectroscopic Personal Radiation Detectors (SPRDs)
• DHS221-009 – Field Forward Diagnostics for Select Agent List Toxins
• DHS221-010 – Wearable Detector for Aerosolized Chemical Threats
• DHS221-011 – From Port-Side to Pen-Side: Low Cost Detection/Diagnostics for High-Consequence Transboundary or Nationally Reportable Animal Diseases, Particularly Those with Zoonotic Propensity

The DHS SBIR Program is a competitive contract awards program to increase the participation of innovative and creative U.S. small businesses in federal research and development initiatives and to increase private sector commercialization of SBIR-funded solutions. To learn more about the program, visit: https://oip.dhs.gov/sbir/public or contact .

Interested small businesses can register for the Deconstructing SBIR: What’s New in 2022! webinar on Wednesday December 1, 2021 at 2 p.m. ET. During this live webinar, attendees will hear from the DHS SBIR Director about how small businesses can participate in the program and how technologies developed through SBIR can support DHS component technology needs.

For more information on S&T’s innovation programs and tools, visit: https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/work-with-st.

Vials labeled as "Smallpox" that were found in a Pennsylvania vaccine research facility's freezer did not contain the virus that causes smallpox infection, the Tthe CDC has said.