North Korea
FOUR MONTHS after North Korea tested its first nuclear bomb, it yesterday agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually to dismantle its atomic weapons programme. But fears have already surfaced that the new deal struck in Beijing might not be broad enough to eliminate the nuclear threat.
Scotsman 14th Feb 2007
North Korea yesterday promised to shut down its nuclear reactor and re-admit international inspectors, as first steps towards eventual disarmament, in return for millions of dollars worth of oil.
Guardian 14th Feb 2007
FT 14th Feb 2007
Independent 14th Feb 2007
Negotiators today warned that the battle to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme was not yet over despite an aid-for-disarmament deal signed in Beijing. As attention turned to whether the “six-party talks” agreement struck on Tuesday would influence negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, Christopher Hill, the United States envoy, said putting it into practice was another matter. “We have so much work to do concerning how to begin the process of getting this agreement implemented,” he said. “We have some very ambitious time schedules.”
Telegraph website 14th Feb 2007
Reuters 14th Feb 2007
UN nuclear inspectors will return to North Korea following the international deal today committing the communist regime to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
ICWales 14th Feb 2007
The Bush administration called a deal to begin dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme a breakthrough, but the North’s history of broken promises kept the celebrations to a minimum.
Belfast Telegraph 14th Feb 2007
FT 14th Feb 2007
In a sign of potential problems to come, North Korea’s state news agency said the country was receiving 1 million tons of oil for a “temporary suspension” of its nuclear facilities – and failed to mention the full disarmament for which the agreement calls. It wasn’t clear if the report represented an attempt by the government to backtrack on the deal, or was simply a statement of bluster for a deeply impoverished domestic audience that Pyongyang has rallied around the nuclear program as a cause for national pride.
Guardian website 14th Feb 2007
Key quotes from officials of the six nations that struck agreement Tuesday on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Guardian website 13th Feb 2007
A look at the commitments made by North Korea, the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia as part of the agreement on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear programs.
Guardian website 13th Feb 2007
Q&A on North Korean Deal
Telegraph 14th Feb 2007
British Energy
In an announcement calculated to turn hardened greens bright red with rage, British Energy called yesterday for partners to join forces with the company to bid for a new generation of nuclear power stations. Its chief executive Bill Coley is not being fussy. The offer, he says, is open to fellow energy groups, construction companies, even businesses with a rapacious demand for electricity and an interest in investing in capacity.
Independent 14th Feb 2007
British Energy yesterday said its Sizewell site was a potential location for another nuclear power station. The news emerged as the company announced that it was looking for partners to work on new nuclear generation projects.
East Anglian Daily Press 14th Feb 2007
British Energy called yesterday for partners to help build a new generation of nuclear plants by 2016, fuelling expectations that the government will give the final go-ahead within weeks for more atomic power. Sizewell in Suffolk and Hinkley Point in Somerset are being promoted by British Energy as the best potential sites for building new plants.
Guardian 14th Feb 2007
British Energy yesterday signalled the controversial resumption of nuclear power plant construction in the UK, while admitting that continuing maintenance problems with two of its oldest plants including Hunterston in Ayrshire might threaten their future. The company extended to April the expected closure of the two Hunterston B reactors, which along with two at Hinkley Point B in Somerset have been closed for repairs to cracked boiler pipes since last autumn. Both plants had been expected back on line next month.
Herald 14th Feb 2007
FT 14th Feb 2007
BRITAIN could have new nuclear power plants built and running as soon as 2016 if the government confirms its backing for nuclear as a possible cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, British Energy said yesterday.
Scotsman 14th Feb 2007
Bill Coley, the chief executive of British Energy, holds most of the cards when it comes to Britain’s next generation of nuclear facilities, but he cannot go it alone. British Energy owns the UK’s eight existing sites and, with the Government set to back a nuclear future that requires new plants to be built on the same land, it can hardly lose. But the company lacks the financial muscle to carry out development itself.
Times 14th Feb 2007
British Energy yesterday opened the door to a private equity tie-up as it called for external investors to help to fund its anticipated investment in the UK’s £30 billion nuclear programme. Bill Coley, chief executive, is understood to have spent several months approaching energy groups to raise funds for the construction of nuclear power stations. Yesterday he launched an open search to include private equity groups and infrastructure investment funds.
Times 14th Feb 2007
Reuters 13th Feb 2007
LIVINGSTON-based nuclear power generator British Energy further underlined its recovery today when it unveiled core earnings for the first nine months of its current year of £775 million, a rise from £462m in the same period last year.
Edinburgh Evening News 13th Feb 2007
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia confirmed Wednesday that it was in talks with Russia over the possible purchase of Russian weapons for the first time and welcomed Moscow’s offer to help it develop nuclear energy.
Middle East Online 14th Feb 2007
Companies
Total has no current plan to diversify into nuclear energy even if “it will certainly come one day”, new CEO Christophe de Margerie told a press conference.
Interactive Investor 14th Feb 2007
Areva
French state-run company Areva has unexpectedly agreed a $5 billion deal to build two nuclear power plants in China weeks after a U.S. rival appeared to have won a competition that dragged on for more than two years. Beijing’s surprise expansion of the tender to six plants from an original four underlined both the country’s voracious appetite for power and its diplomatic skill in satisfying rival suitors for its tempting markets.
FT 14th Feb 2007
Times 14th Feb 2007
Iran
For months, Iran’s nuclear programme has presented European diplomats with a dilemma. Their hopes of a negotiated deal over the issue have dived, but they have been able to think of no better course than to continue pressing Tehran to come to the table. Those doubts have now crystallised in a confidential European Union paper on Iran obtained by the Financial Times that paints a picture of a country almost within reach of the nuclear bomb, which has increasing regional clout but also suffers from potentially crippling economic weaknesses.
FT 14th Feb 2007
Telegraph 14th Feb 2007
BBC 13th Feb 2007
Iran was last night urged by America to learn the lessons of constructive diplomacy following the successful conclusion of an international deal to end North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Herald 14th Feb 2007
Greenpeace will press for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East during a visit to the port where Iran’s first atomic power plant is being built. The environmental group’s Rainbow Warrior ship will dock in Iran’s south-western port of Bushehr on Friday, Paul Horsman, Greenpeace coordinator for the peaceful energy campaign in the Middle East, said on Tuesday. The ship will stay a few days.
Reuters 13th Feb 2007
Trident
AUTHOR and broadcaster Jimmy Reid will today take part in the Pensioners for Peace demonstration at Faslane naval base against plans to upgrade the Trident nuclear missile system. Mr Reid is best known as an organiser of a 1971 work-in at Upper Clyde Shipbuilders.
Scotsman 14th Feb 2007
Greenpeace
Over two decades, the environmentalist and peace activist Richard Watson, who has died aged 41 from the inflammatory disease scarcoidosis, scaled smokestacks, occupied bulk carriers and chained himself to weapons of war, all in defence of a world he sought passionately and peacefully to protect.
Guardian 14th Feb 2007
Micro-Generation
The tide is turning towards renewable energy, but is the government willing to put its money where its mouth is – and are we? Local authorities have taken the lead on micro-generation. The Merton Rule is named after the London borough of Merton, which was the first to formalise the government’s renewable energy targets, setting a 10% target for the use of onsite renewable energy for all new major non-residential developments in the borough by 10%. It was followed by Croydon council, which completed its first project designed to reach a 10% target in July 2005. More than 100 councils have now adopted the Merton Rule, with some going further than 10%.
Guardian 14th Feb 2007
Renewables
Britain is trying to block new European rules that would set binding targets on renewable energy generation to tackle climate change, according to leaked papers. The European commission wants to force member states to generate 20% of their energy by 2020 from green sources such as wind power and wood chip boilers. But Britain has argued against such a binding goal, saying countries need the “flexibility” to set their own targets.
Guardian 13th Feb 2007
