New Nukes
The French nuclear power sector is to re-focus its strategy, notably in Britain and the United States, after losing out to a South Korean consortium on a 20.4-billion-dollar project in the United Arab Emirates.
Middle East Online 29th Dec 2009 more >>
Hinkley
HUNDREDS of people from Nailsea, Backwell and Wraxall are expected to take part in a walk to demonstrate against plans for a huge power line in the area. Members of two campaign groups set up to battle against the proposals put forward by National Grid will join forces for the walk on Saturday.
Weston & Somerset Mercury 29th Dec 2009 more >>
Iran
William Hague: We in the West cannot determine the outcome of Iran’s internal power struggle. But we must do our utmost in 2010 to deal with the fact that Iran’s leaders are not only the cause of potential upheaval in their own country: they are also pursuing a nuclear programme that presents one of the greatest threats to the peace of the wider world.
Telegraph 30th Dec 2009 more >>
PRESIDENT OBAMA should not lament but sigh in relief that Iran has rejected his nuclear deal, which was ill conceived from the start. Under the deal, which was formally offered through the United Nations, Iran was to surrender some 2,600 pounds of lightly enriched uranium (some three-quarters of its known stockpile) to Russia, and the next year get back a supply of uranium fuel sufficient to run its Tehran research reactor for three decades. The proposal did not require Iran to halt its enrichment program, despite several United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding such a moratorium.
New York Times 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
The document we published has been independently translated by native Farsi speakers and exhaustively checked. It came from inside a military command structure and it reveals a programme that has no possible application for generating electricity. The Times, like all other newspapers, takes editorial positions; part of my job is to write editorials in which we express those positions. But the notion that we report news on Israel, let alone Iran, “with an aggressively pro-Israel slant” is plain ignorant.
Times 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Iran is said to be close to an agreement to buy more than 1,300 tons of uranium ore from Kazakhstan, a move that would allow the country to pursue its nuclear programme without conditions imposed in a UN-brokered uranium-for-fuel swap.
Guardian 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Israel
Israel is conducting nuclear blackmail against the US and Europe according to Vanunu.
Mathaba 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has been arrested for violating a ban on contact with foreigners. His lawyer said he was detained over a romance with a Norwegian woman rather than for revealing nuclear secrets.
Belfast Telegraph 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Times 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Daily Mail 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Guardian 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Telegraph 30th Dec 2009 more >>
UAE
South Korean firms are to lead the construction of nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after the nation concluded its long-awaited nuclear tender.
World Nuclear News 29th Dec 2009 more >>
Building 29th Dec 2009 more >>
India
A fire at an Indian nuclear research facility has killed two people. But a spokesman for the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, on the outskirts of Mumbai, said that the accident had not led to any leakage of radiation.
BBC 29th Dec 2009 more >>
Africa and Middle East
Many countries in Africa and the Middle East have said they want to develop civilian nuclear programmes to meet rising power demand. This Reuters Factbox details the nuclear aspirations of countries across Africa and the Middle East.
Reuters 29th Dec 2009 more >>
Lithuania
Lithuanians are braced for a devastating increase in energy prices when the struggling Baltic nation shuts down its main nuclear power station to comply with EU demands on New Years Eve.
Telegraph 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Uranium
Kazakhstan will produce 13,900 tonnes of uranium this year and 18,000 tonnes in 2010, state nuclear company Kazatomprom said on Wednesday, raising earlier forecasts. The Central Asian state became the world’s largest uranium producer this year and has been responsible for the bulk of global output growth in the last few years.
Reuters 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Disarmament
President Barack Obama’s drive for the US and Russia to agree cuts in nuclear weapons is under threat after Vladimir Putin insisted the US abandons its missile shield before a final deal can be reached.
Telegraph 30th Dec 2009 more >>
Daily Mail 30th Dec 2009 more >>
The United States has rejected fresh concerns raised by Moscow about its planned missile defence system.
BBC 29th Dec 2009 more >>
Energy Efficiency
Light-emitting wallpaper may begin to replace light bulbs from 2012, according to a government body that supports low-carbon technology. A chemical coating on the walls will illuminate all parts of the room with an even glow, which mimics sunlight and avoids the shadows and glare of conventional bulbs.
Times 30th Dec 2009 more >>
