Iran
Q&A: What next in Iran nuclear row? The Times, looks at what happens next after the IAEA’s report on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Times 22nd February 2007
Iran has ignored a U.N. Security Council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment – a possible pathway to nuclear arms – and has instead expanded its program by setting up hundreds of centrifuges, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Thursday. The finding paves the way for new U.N. sanctions.
Guardian website 23rd Feb 2007
FT 23rd Feb 2007
Times 23rd Feb 2007
Scotsman 23rd Feb 2007
Independent 23rd Feb 2007
IRAN was last night condemned worldwide after ignoring orders to halt its nuclear bomb programme.
The Sun 23rd Feb 2007
Telegraph 23rd Feb 2007
New nukes
The government yesterday postponed next month’s energy white paper after admitting it failed to consult properly over the future development of nuclear power. The move follows last week’s court victory by Greenpeace over lack of consultation. Alistair Darling, the trade and industry secretary, told parliament he would not appeal the ruling by Mr Justice Sullivan, who condemned the consultation process as “misleading” and “seriously flawed”. The white paper has been postponed until May and a decision on whether to build a new generation of nuclear power stations put back from July until the autumn.
Guardian 23rd February 2007
Independent 23rd Feb 2007
BBC 22nd Feb 2007
Ministers have confirmed that the government’s plans for new nuclear power stations are to be delayed after a High Court judge last week ordered Tony Blair to rethink his flagship energy reform. Alistair Darling, trade and industry secretary, told MPs on Thursday that the energy white paper, which had been planned for the end of March, was now likely to be published in early May, though it could come out earlier. It would at the same time ssue a new consultation document “endeavouring to meet the court’s requirements”.
FT 22nd Feb 2007
EDF Energy, the French-owned company that expects to be the first to build a new nuclear power station in Britain, yesterday welcomed a government statement that “subject to consultation, there is a case for having nuclear power stations as one of the options companies should consider”. EDF Energy, the UK subsidiary of Electricité de France, which is 87 per cent owned by the French government, drew encouragement from Mr Darling’s continued support for new nuclear power, and his reiteration yesterday of the government’s argument that it could make a “potentially significant contribution to security of supply and reducing carbon emissions”.
FT 23rd Feb 2007
Ministers will plough ahead with plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations, despite a court ruling that the public has been misled. Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Department of Trade and Industry want nuclear generators to provide around 20% of the UK’s electricity.
Public Finance 22nd Feb 2007
The former environment minister Michael Meacher has launched a challenge to Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership and called on the Chancellor to take tougher action on climate change. He said the Government’s defeat in the courts by Greenpeace over its failure to consult properly on a new generation of nuclear power stations showed that it was not prepared to listen. “I happen to agree with the Prime Minister on road pricing but the way it’s been treated is like consulting until we get the right answer, and if we don’t… stuff it. I think this is bringing the Government into disrepute.”
Independent 23rd Feb 2007
Pakistan
Pakistan successfully test-fired a new version of its long-range nuclear-capable missile today, the military said.
Belfast Telegraph 23rd Feb 2007
North Korea
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday expressed concerns about China’s military build-up and also questioned whether North Korea would follow through on its commitments in a recent nuclear deal.
FT website 23rd Feb 2007
The breakthrough nuclear agreement with North Korea could pay wide-ranging dividends for all sides, especially in the area of already improving U.S. relations with China and America’s allies, chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill said Thursday.
Guardian website 23rd Feb 2007
Trident
The constituents of both the Chancellor and Scotland Secretary are heavily opposed to renewal of Britain’s nuclear deterrent, according to a poll. The survey of people in Kirkcaldy and Paisley, represented at Westminster by Gordon Brown and Douglas Alexander, was carried out for environment pressure group Greenpeace, which this month stepped up its campaign against the renewal. It was designed as a warning to Mr Brown in particular that his party faces internal opposition to the scheme for new submarines and a new generation of missiles.
Herald 23rd Feb 2007
Britain on Thursday defended plans to renew its nuclear arsenal, saying the submarine-based Trident was a strategic deterrent it would only consider using in extreme cases of self-defence. Kim Howells, the foreign office minister responsible for disarmament issues, said current circumstances did not permit the country to unilaterally renounce its nuclear weapons, which he said accounted for less than one percent of global stocks. Prime Minister Tony Blair — invoking new threats from Iran, North Korea or terrorists — pledged last December to buy up to four new nuclear submarines at a cost of up to 20 billion pounds. A final parliamentary vote is due in March.
Reuters 22nd Feb 2007
The BBC is given a glimpse inside a Trident submarine ahead of the future of the fleet being put to the vote in Westminster.
BBC 22nd Feb 2007
United States
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday downgraded the safety rating of the nation’s largest nuclear plant, subjecting it to more inspectors and a level of scrutiny shared by just one other plant in the nation. The NRC made the announcement following three years of problems in various safety systems at the Palo Verde nuclear plant west of Phoenix. Inspectors in September found that one of its emergency diesel generators had been broken for 18 days. Emergency generators are critically important at nuclear reactors, providing electricity to pumps, valves and control rooms if the main electrical supply fails.
Guardian website 23rd Feb 2007
South Africa
Russia and South Africa are to cooperate more closely on mining and nuclear energy generation, South African foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told reporters following a trade meeting between the two countries.
Interactive Investor 22nd Feb 2007
NDA
“Following discussions with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority I have settled the Authority’s budget for 2007/08. The settlement will enable the Authority to operate a programme budget of some £2.47 billion. The Authority believes that this settlement will give it and its contractors the certainty they need without impacting on the planned programme of nuclear clean up work. The settlement strikes a proper balance between what is desirable and what is affordable, and it ensures that safety remains the paramount concern.”
DTI Press Release 22nd Feb 2007
