Nuclear Waste
New arrangements for finding an underground nuclear waste dump in Britain risk failure because ministers have ignored a recommendation from their official advisers to put an independent body in charge. Members of the government’s Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) have “substantial misgivings” about Scottish and English ministers’ plans, which they fear could undermine public trust.
Sunday Herald 10th Dec 2006
RobEdwards.com 10th Dec 2006
New nukes
Gordon Brown handed control of interest rates to unelected economists. Now he suggests another ‘committee of experts’ should decide whether to plonk a nuclear power station in your back yard. Unelected. A theme seems to be emerging to a Brown premiership: a crusade against democracy.
Observer 10th Dec 2006
BNFL
Something unusual was buried in the fine print of the UK Treasury’s pre-Budget report this week. Call it, if you like, gilts that glow in the dark. In the first three months of next year, the government plans to sell a pile of inflation-linked bonds that currently belong to state-owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL). This is a clever move, which could resolve many problems at once. It will also have important – though less obvious – consequences for some investors in UKgovernment bonds who have a strong appetite for so-called “linkers”. The backdrop is that investors, particularly pension funds, are hungry for inflation-linked gilts and long-dated gilts because these assets help to hedge against inflation or help match their long-dated liabilities. These BNFL gilts, most of which have maturities between 10 and 20 years, fall into both categories.
FT 9th Dec 2006
Nuclear Skills
PLANS for the UK’s first nuclear academy took a step forward yesterday, as councillors granted planning permission for the site at Lillyhall, Workington. Allerdale council’s development panel yesterday approved proposals for the £18.5m academy, which will form a centre of excellence for the nuclear industry. The academy will work with schools and offer NVQs, apprenticeships, reskilling courses and foundation degrees. It will focus on training local people, including those already at Sellafield, to take advantage of job opportunities in the decommissioning process.
Carlisle News and Star 9th Dec 2006
India
The US Congress early Saturday gave its final approval to landmark legislation allowing export of civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India for the first time in 30 years.
Interactive Investor 10th Dec 2006
Reuters 9th Dec 2006
Independent 9th Dec 2006
Pakistan
Pakistan has test-fired a short-range nuclear missile – the third trial in as many weeks.
Belfast Telegraph 9th Dec 2006
North Korea
THE US says stalled international talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme could resume in China within the next week.
Scotland on Sunday 10th Dec 2006
Iran
Put simply, the report recommends that while Iran should be engaged on Iraq (because we need them), the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme can be delegated to the UN Security Council, and should be dealt with separately. Quite apart from the fact that Iran’s nuclear programme cannot be resolved in isolation, there is no indication in the report quite why the government of Mr Ahmadinejad should have any interest in helping the United States.
Independent on Sunday 10th Dec 2006
Litvinenko
As detectives flew to Moscow last week, Russian police said they wanted to interview the exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky in connection with the poisoned spy’s death.
Sunday Times 10th Dec 2006
Terror
POLICE forces have been told to buy anti-radiation masks for their 100,000 frontline officers to protect them in the event of a “dirty bomb” terrorist attack.
Sunday Times 10th Dec 2006
Trident
SOCIALIST leader Colin Fox was expected to lead a campaign on Princes Street today against plans to replace Britain’s ageing nuclear deterrent.
Edinburgh Evening News 10th Dec 2006
Five peace protesters from Ireland were arrested after blockading an entrance to Faslane nuclear base.
ICScotland 9th Dec 2006
Every minute of every day a nuclear submarine with up to 48 warheads each capable of destroying a City is on patrol somewhere in the world. And that’s the way Blair wants to keep it.
New Scientist 9th Dec 2006
What is it about Tony Blair and weapons of mass destruction? In a week when a cross-party committee of MPs warned that British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are “desperately short” of equipment, the Prime Minister announced that he wants to spend up to £20bn on building a new generation of submarines for Trident missiles.
Independent on Sunday 10th Dec 2006
The cost of the renewal of Trident is presented as an insurance policy that costs ‘only’ a couple of billion pounds a year. But, quite apart from the implications for the sorely stretched non-proliferation treaty, ‘a couple of billion a year’ is not a micro figure. Indeed, the Chancellor’s need to raise another couple of billion a year was what last week’s pre-Budget announcement – stripped of the crowing, rhetoric and non-bipartisan politics – was all about.
Observer 10th Dec 2006
Huge sums are devoted to defence systems for which there is no obvious use, while servicemen are forced to cannibalise their weapons and kit.
Sunday Telegraph 10th dec 2006
