North Korea
The United States is willing to hold a bilateral meeting with North Korea even before six-nation nuclear disarmament talks resume, in a concession aimed at restarting the stalled dialogue, US ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow said.
Interactive Investor 26th Sept 2006
North Korea will probably test a nuclear weapon, with an even chance of doing so this year, as Kim Jong-il’s regime tries to assert its defiance in the face of increasing international pressure, said Richard Armitage, former US deputy secretary of state.
FT 26th Sept 2006
Hinkley
An inspection of nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point B power station in Somerset has been brought forward amid new safety fears. It follows checks on reactors at Scotland’s Hunterston plant, which showed problems with cracked pipes. British Energy said it did not believe the position at Hinkley B – which has identical reactors – was as serious. But as a prudent measure, the date of the station’s three-yearly statutory inspection has been brought forward.
BBC 26th Sept 2006
Iran
Iran is close to a deal that would include a temporary suspension of uranium enrichment and clear the way for nuclear talks but Tehran wants to keep the agreement secret, The Washington Times reported on Tuesday.
Interactive Investor 26th Sept 2006
The head of Iran’s nuclear energy agency has met with Russian officials to hammer out a schedule for startup of the Bushehr nuclear power station, long delayed by political and technical problems.
Interactive Investor 25th Sept 2006
US
France’s Areva, along with Washington Group International and BWX Technologies, has submitted an expression of interest to the US Department of Energy for both the development and deployment of a consolidated fuel treatment center and an advanced burner reactor. The consolidated fuel treatment center will be capable of processing used nuclear fuel into recyclable, energy-producing components and final waste materials. It will serve also as a fuel manufacturing plant.
Energy Business Review 26th Sept 2006
Trident
The government has failed to make the case for renewing Britain’s nuclear deterrent, the former cabinet minister Charles Clarke said yesterday. Speaking at a Guardian debate at the conference, Mr Clarke, who was sacked as home secretary in May, fuelled the argument about Trident which some members have accused the party leadership of trying to curb.
Guardian 26th Sept 2006
Egypt
The sudden revival of Egypt’s plans to develop nuclear power have prompted speculation that President Hosni Mubarak may have more than just future energy supplies in mind. Both Mr Mubarak and his 42-year old son Gamal argued in speeches at the ruling National Democratic Party’s annual conference last week that nuclear power could help Egypt to manage its energy resources more efficiently. But experts and analysts point to the timing of the announcements – coinciding with western concerns that Iran’s nuclear programme may prompt an arms race in the Middle East – as a sign of their potentially broader regional significance.
FT 26th Sept 2006
Israel
In October 1973, with its forces battling to repel invasions by Egypt and Syria, Israel did what had previously been unthinkable: It briefly wheeled its nuclear-capable Jericho-1 missiles out of their secret silos. That, historians believe, was picked up by U.S. spy satellites and stirred up fears in Washington of a catastrophic flare-up between the Jewish state and the Soviet-backed Arabs. Message received, an urgent American shipment of conventional arms to Israel was quick to follow, and helped turn the war. With Israel’s current arch-foe Iran seen gaining the ability to produce nuclear weapons within a few years, and preventive military options limited, some experts now anticipate another “lifting of the veil” on the assumed Israeli atomic arsenal. Were that to happen, experts say, the objective would be to establish a more open military deterrence vis-a-vis Iran and perhaps win Israel’s nuclear option formal legitimacy abroad.
Reuters 25th Sept 2006
Argentina
Argentina’s President Nestor Kirchner and planning minister Julio De Vido have announced plans to revive the country’s nuclear programme after a twelve year moratorium on nuclear development.
Nuclear Engineering International 25th Sept 2006
