On this page we take a look at some of the most salient events related to field of chemical weapons for the year 2018, identified through a text mining analysis of newspapers stories. Specifically, the stories were found by querying the Nexis Uni database, which lists a wide range of local, regional, national and international newspapers – you can see the query that we use for the collection here.
Similarly, on this companion page, we examined the Twitter discourse on chemical weapons.
Together, these two analyses highlight the most salient events related to chemical weapons occurred in 2018.
Peak days of news stories. The bar graph below shows the daily distribution of published newspaper stories related to chemical weapons that we retrieved from Nexis Uni. After elimination of duplicate articles, our pool had an average of 19 newspaper articles per day. Peak days of publishing activity, defined as those days in which the number of retrieved news articles was higher than the average, are marked in the graph.
News Headlines: text mining and text analysis graphics.After the bar graph, we provide a text mining analysis of the news headlines published during peak days. For each peak, we provide a set of text analysis graphics, comprising a word cloud, a network of frequent words, and a list of frequent topics – you can find more information on the methodology and the meaning of these analyses here.
Salient events. For each peak, we also provide a selection of salient events discussed in the collected news headlines. These were identified by searching on Google selected clusters of keywords that stood out from the text mining analysis – see an example here. The searches were confined to the peak dates. The keywords as well as links to the Google searches are also provided.
Caveat. As the selection of salient events is somewhat subjective, we encourage our readers to examine carefully the text analysis graphics, gather keywords, and conduct independent Google searches to identify additional relevant events and topics.
Peak 1: January 24, 2018
News headlines: text analysis graphics
- January 23, Syria: an alleged attack with chlorine gas in Eastern Ghouta is reported. Keywords: chemical, Syria, weapons, use. Google
- A security guard in England is attacked with ammonia in the course of a bank robbery. Keywords: chemical, security, guard, attack. Google
Peak 2: February 27 – 28, 2018
News headlines: text analysis graphics
- February 25, Syria: an alleged attack with chlorine gas in Eastern Ghouta is reported. Boris Johnson says that the UK may join air strikes against Syria, if the use of chemical weapons is confirmed. Keywords: chemical, Syria, Johnson, attack. Google
- A leaked U.N. report indicates ties between North Korea and Syria’s chemical weapons program. Keywords: chemical, weapons, Syria, North Korea. Google
Peak 3: March 7-10, 2018
News headlines: text analysis graphics
- March 4, United Kingdom: a chemical warfare agent was used for the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, UK, on March 4. Military personnel is deployed to the scene. Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia, and Wiltshire Police Det. Sgt. Nick Bailey are hospitalized at the Salisbury hospital. They will all recover from the poisoning. Keywords: chemical, spy, probe, military. Google
Peak 4: March 12 – March 22, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- The chemical warfare agent used in the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal is a Novichok agent, a type of nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Keywords: nerve, agent, chemical, attack. Google
- The international community watches closely the situation in Syria. Macron reiterates that France will strike Syria if chemical weapons are used. The U.N. condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Keywords: chemical, weapons, Syria, use. Google
Peak 5: March 26-30, 2018
News headlines: text analysis graphics
- On March 26 the United States announces that it will expel 60 Russian diplomats in response to the Salisbury incident, aligning with the United Kingdom’s decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats. Many other countries take analogous decisions. Keywords: Russia, diplomats, United States, expulsion. Google
Peak 6: April 2, 2018
News headlines: text analysis graphics
- The Permanent Representation of the Russian Federation asks a series of question to the Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) regarding the assistance that the United Kingdom requested from the OPCW’s Technical Secretariat in relation to the Salisbury Incident. Keywords: Russia, answers, chemical, agency. Google
Peak 7: April 4-6, 2018
News headlines: text analysis graphics
- The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) holds an extraordinary meeting called by Russia. At the meeting, Russia loses a vote on a proposal for a new joint investigation into the Skripal case with Russian participation. Keywords: Skripal, case, loses, probe. Google
Peak 8: April 8-29, 2018
News headlines: text analysis graphics
- April 7, Syria: an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma is reported. The Fact Finding Mission (FFM) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will later confirm the detection of chlorinated organic chemicals at the sites of the incident. Keywords: chemical, weapons, attack, Syria. Google
- On April 14, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France strike targets reportedly related to Syria’s chemical weapons program. Keywords: chemical, United Kingdom, United States. Google
Peak 9: May 3-5, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- The Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) accuses India of using chemical weapons in Indian-held Kashmir. The AJK cabinet approves measures to protect the population, including budget for ambulances and medical professionals/ Keywords: AJK, Kashmiris, India, using chemicals. Google
- The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) correct a statement from its Director General, according to whom about 50 to 100 grams of Novichok agent were used in Salisbury attack. Keywords: watchdog, Salisbury, chemical, Novichok. Google
Peak 10: May 16, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- The Fact Finding Mission (FFM) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirms that “chlorine, released from cylinders through mechanical impact, was likely used as a chemical weapon on 4 February 2018.” Keywords: attack, Chlorine, Syria, used. Google
Peak 11: June 27-28, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- A Special Session of the Conference of State Parties votes in favor of a British proposal to extend the powers of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Inter alias, the adopted decision requires the Secretariat to “put in place arrangements to identify the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic by identifying and reporting on all information potentially relevant to the origin of those chemical weapons in those instances in which the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria determines or has determined that use or likely use occurred, and cases for which the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism has not issued a report; and decides also that the Secretariat shall provide regular reports on its investigations to the Council and to the United Nations Secretary-General for their consideration Keywords: chemical, attack, assign, blame. Google
Peak 12: August 8-9, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- The United States imposes new sanctions on Russia for the use of a Novichok agent in the United Kingdom. Keywords: sanctions, Russia, nerve, attack. Google
Peak 13: September 5-6, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- In his latest book, Bob Woodward claims that, in reaction the use of chemical weapons in April 2017, Donald Trump wanted to kill Assad. Trump denies the claim. Keywords: Syria, chemical, trump, book. Google
- A military offensive of the Syrian government appears to be impending in Idlib, the last major area of the country under rebel control. The United States warns the Syrian government that there will be a response if chemical weapons are used. Russia asks that United States and allies reveal which target they would strike. Keywords: chemical, weapons, Russia, United States. Google
Peak 14: September 14, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- News surface that, in the spring, Dutch authorities arrested Russian individuals suspected of planning to infiltrate the Spiez laboratory, in Switzerland, which conducted chemical analyses on the nerve agent samples used in the Salisbury incident. The two individuals are eventually expelled to Russia. Keywords: attack, lab, Swiss, break. Google
- On September 13, Russian television RT airs an interview with the two Russians suspected of having perpetrated the Salisbury attack. Keywords: chemical, mod, attack, Russian. Google
Peak 15: September 17, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- The British Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) conducts trials of drones and robots intended to detect hazardous chemical and biological substances. These concept drones and robots were developed by small-or-medium-sized enterprises and academic institutions within the scope of a project, codenamed Minerva, co-funded by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Home Office. Keywords: drones, MoD, can, chemical. Google
Peak 16: October 4-5, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- Dutch authorities say that they disrupted a Russian attempt to launch a cyber attack against the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The Russian government refutes the allegations. Keywords: chemical, watchdog, weapons, Dutch, Russian. Google
Peak 17: November 27, 2018
News Headlines: text analysis graphics
- November 25, Syria: an alleged attack with chlorine gas is reported in Aleppo. The Syrian government accuses rebels for the attack and asks the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to send the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) for an investigation. Keywords: chemical, Aleppo, attack, weapons. Google
- The UK government issues a draft guidance for schools according to which, inter alias, schools would conduct drills for training drills for a variety of hazards, including chemical and biological emergencies. Keywords: school, drills, says, terror. Google
- On November 25, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents deploy non-lethal tear gas to disperse migrants at the southern border. Riot control agents, although banned in warfare, are allowed for law enforcement purposes under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Keywords: gas, attack, banned, chemical. Google