Nuclear Transport
One of the greatest concerns facing the international community is the potential for piracy to make the transition to international terrorism. Piracy has considerable attractions for observant international terrorists, particularly Islamist fundamentalists seeking new outlets in their struggle against the west: the ability to command the attention of the western media (the demands of the pirates who captured the Sirius Star were announced on al-Jazeera); the customary threats against western hostages that have become such a familiar part of terrorist abductions over the years; the ability to hold the west in thrall by controlling a floating time-bomb;
Guardian 7th Dec 2008 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
A new international group committed to eliminating nuclear weapons over the next 25 years has enlisted scores of world leaders as its campaign gets under way at a conference in Paris on Tuesday.
CBS 6th Dec 2008 more >>
North Korea
Western representatives to negotiations due to start today on North Korea’s nuclear programme expressed pessimism that any progress could be made at the last talks likely to take place before President-elect Barack Obama takes office in Washington.
Telegraph 8th Dec 2008 more >>
South Asia
A mysterious night-time telephone call brought India and Pakistan, two nuclear armed countries, to the brink of war at the height of the crisis over the Mumbai terror attacks, it was revealed yesterday.
Guardian 8th Dec 2008 more >>
Africa
Only one in three of Africa’s 700 million people have electricity – and in the countryside only one in ten has light at the flick of a switch. For many people, solar energy is the most obvious route for a continent blessed with abundant sunshine. However, some countries are already heading in the nuclear direction.
BBC 7th Dec 2008 more >>
Climate
A global campaign in the style of Make Poverty History is needed to pressure political leaders into sealing a treaty on tackling climate change, Ed Miliband, the environment secretary, has said. His view comes as environment ministers prepare to attend UN talks in Poznan, Poland, on the likely shape of a global deal to succeed the Kyoto protocol. The talks aim to secure an agreement at a meeting in Copenhagen this time next year.
Guardian 8th Dec 2008 more >>
Telegraph 8th Dec 2008 more >>
Figures released by the UN last month suggest the world is on track to meet its Kyoto targets for greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons. Emissions by the 40 industrialised nations that agreed binding cuts in pollution are down 5% on 1990 levels. But the drop has little to do with climate policies: the bulk of the decline is down to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent economic decline in eastern Europe in the 1990s. Without these so-called “economies in transition”, greenhouse gas emissions have grown by almost 10% since 1990.
Guardian 8th Dec 2008 more >>
Seven key issues facing Poznan Conference.
Guardian 8th Dec 2008 more >>
This week, ministers and officials gather in Poznan at the start of a one-year countdown to the Copenhagen summit, at which experts say a deal must be reached if we are to have a chance of averting catastrophic warming. Today, in the first of a major series, we look at the crucial question: will China and the US sign up?
Guardian 8th Dec 2008 more >>
How different countries stand on climate change.
Guardian 8th Dec 2008 more >>
Rich countries will have to help poorer nations develop alternatives to fossil fuels as well as cutting their own emissions if the world is to tackle climate change, according to a new report.
Telegraph 8th Dec 2008 more >>
