Russian Spy
The investigation into the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko gathered pace dramatically yesterday as it emerged that a number of British Airways aircraft that fly between Moscow and London have been contaminated with radioactive material.
Guardian 30th Nov 2006
Times 30th Nov 2006
Independent 30th Nov 2006
The radioactive poison used to kill the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is being offered for sale over the internet for less than £40. A company in the US claims to supply polonium-210 to anyone for just $69 plus postage and packing. A three-pack set of “alpha, beta, gamma” radioactive isotopes also includes polonium-210.
Times 30th Nov 2006
John Urquhart, a statistician at Newcastle University, reckons the cloud of radioactive fallout from the 1957 Windscale Fire contained enough polonium to kill 1,000 people, and even the regulatory body that advised the government on nuclear safety and radiation limits conceded in the 1980s that there would be at least 32 deaths from the Windscale disaster – half of them directly attributable to polonium 210. Who needs the KGB?
Guardian 30th Nov 2006
North Korea
The United States urged reclusive North Korea on Thursday to get out of the nuclear business and rejoin a treaty that aims to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.
Reuters 30th Nov 2006
North Korea said on Thursday it was ready to implement an international agreement made last year but would not unilaterally give up nuclear weapons, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Reuters 30th Nov 2006
HOW do you get the attention of North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Il? Stop him getting hold of iPods, plasma televisions and Harley Davidson motorbikes, it would appear.
Scotsman 30th Nov 2006
Japan
Japan has the technological know-how to produce a nuclear weapon but has no immediate plans to do so, the foreign minister said Thursday, several weeks after communist North Korea carried out a nuclear test.
Guardian website 30th Nov 2006
Emergency Planning
Three journalism students from the Scottish Centre for Journalism Studies have been singled out for praise after helping an energy company practice its emergency procedures. Students from the centre, based at the University of Strathclyde, took part in mock press conferences with staff from British Energy and a range of emergency services spokespeople. The simulated exercise followed a ‘nuclear leak’ at Torness Power Station, which would have been Scotland’s worst nuclear disaster.
Hold the Front Page 29th Nov 2006
Climate
Uttlesford councillors have voted against allowing expansion od Stanstead Airport. No small council has ever tackled a decision as big as this with such ingenuity. It launched a website on the issue to inform and mobilise residents and cleverly turned local objections into a national issue by pointing out the gap between government rhetoric on the environment and its support for bigger and busier airports. It even has had the cheek to ask ministers to consider whether the recent Stern report on climate change means they should think again about the rise in air passenger numbers.
Guardian 30th Nov 2006
Trident
Charles Clarke, the former cabinet minister, has put himself at the head of the Labour rebellion against plans to replace Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system. In a speech last night, Mr Clarke said the Government was in danger of equipping the nation to “fight the last war” and the Cold War rather than the threats facing it in the 21st century.
Independent 30th Nov 2006
