Environmentalists from several European countries against Belarus – Russia nuclear power deal
Belarus and Russia sign off on Ostrovets nuclear plant in dubious contract Bellona Charles Digges, 13/10-2011 Russian and Belarusian environmentalists are concerned over a contract agreement signed by the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, for construction of the first two nuclear reactors in the Stalinist country, which was signed earlier this week.
Belarus’s state-owned Directorate for Construction of Nuclear Power Plants signed the contract with Atomstoriexport, the foreign construction wing of the Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, for the construction of a 2400 megawatt plant of the untested AES 2006 (NPP -2006) design.
The site for the plant is in Ostrovets in the Grodno region, close to Lithuania – which has vociferously protested the building of the nuclear power plan. Continue reading
Iran’s uranium enrichment offer should be accepted by USA
“These measures set out a foundation for diplomatic efforts focusing on establishing enhanced safeguards on Iran,” according to Vaez. He added that he thinks there is still “plenty of time” to strike a diplomatic accord.
U.S. Should Accept Iran’s Latest Uranium Enrichment Offer, Experts Say, Oct. 7, 2011 By Martin Matishak Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States should accept Iran’s offer to halt its production of higher-enriched uranium if provided equivalent material by Western powers as the first step in breaking the diplomatic standoff between the two countries, a new report by a pair of nonproliferation experts argues (seeGSN, Oct. 5). Continue reading
USA puts the pressure on India to buy US nuclear reactors
US puts onus on India for implementation of nuclear deal, Economic Times 9 OCT, 2011, WASHINGTON: Putting the onus on India, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today said the US has made clear the steps New Delhi needs to take “to allow us to move forward” on implementation of bilateral civilnuclear deal.
“We remain fully committed to expanding the civil nuclear cooperation with India and have made clear the steps that India needs to take to allow us to move forward,” she told PTI when asked if India’s nuclear liability bill was an irritant in the bilateral relations. …
India’s liability regime has been a bone of contention between it and many of its nuclear partners, including the US, which have expressed reservations about some aspects of the domestic law that they fear will impose huge penalty on foreign suppliers in case of nuclear accidents.
However, Indian officials have maintained that the law was in accordance with international standards but India was ready to allay any apprehension in this regard. …
Nuclear disarmament is possible, and essential – Mikhail Gorbachev,
A Farewell to Nuclear Arms, by Mikhail Gorbachev, Straits Times, 10 Oct 11, MOSCOW – Twenty-five years ago this month, I sat across from Ronald Reagan in Reykjavik, Iceland to negotiate a deal that would have reduced, and could have ultimately eliminated by 2000, the fearsome arsenals of nuclear weapons held by the United States and the Soviet Union.
For all our differences, Reagan and I shared the strong conviction that civilised countries should not make such barbaric weapons the linchpin of their security. Even though we failed to achieve our highest aspirations in Reykjavik, the summit was nonetheless, in the words of my former counterpart, ‘a major turning point in the quest for a safer and secure world.’
The next few years may well determine if our shared dream of ridding the world of nuclear weapons will ever be realised. Continue reading
USA – Israel’s cyberwar against Iran’s nukes
US, Israel Guilty for Worm Attack on Iran’s Nuclear Program: Russia, SPAMfighter News – 07-10-2011 Though it is shocking, it is true. Russia has blamed the United States and Israel for the Stuxnet worm, calling it a case of real cyber-war, according to a Techworld news report published on September 26, 2011. A number of Stuxnet infections were found in Iran and it was speculated that the worm, which was skilled to identify the system it was to hit, targeted at damaging the country’s nuclear facilities.
The experts, however claims that the Stuxnet system was initiated in June 2010 against the centrifuge control system with an intention to enrich uranium in Iran. Though Iran has also blamed Israel for the Stuxnet, it could not offer much evidence.
Meanwhile, Tehran has also held Israel and the US responsible for killing its two nuclear scientists in November 2010 and January 2011….. In early 2011, Russia’s NATO ambassador Dmitry Rogozi asserted that the Stuxnet infection had seriously affected Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant causing the equipment to breakdown.
The Stuxnet has drawn their attention towards the susceptibility resulting due to the industrial control systems that were under attack by the worm.Who created the Stuxnet still remains unproven and a mystery, but according to experts, Israel was responsible for this malicious cyber attack, which was likely funded by the US. http://www.spamfighter.com/News-16866-US-Israel-Guilty-for-Worm-Attack-on-Iran%27s-Nuclear-Program-Russia.htm
Germany objecting to Poland’s plans for nuclear reactors
German anger at Polish nuclear plant on border, The Australian David Charter ,October 08, 2011 “….. plans in neighbouring Poland to build an atomic plant in its western border region near to Berlin.
Brandenburg state, which borders Poland, said it had voiced strong objections after learning of four possible locations being considered for a reactor, including one just 275km from Berlin….
Opposition to nuclear power has grown in Poland after Fukushima, but the country has signed up to EU targets to reduce greenhouse emissions and 90 per cent of its electricity comes from coal-fired generators.
Court action over nuclear plant, Bulgaria versus Russia
Bulgaria takes Russia to court over nuclear plant
* Bulgaria files counter claim against Atomstroyexport
* Says Russian nuclear firm owes it over 60 mln euros
* Decision on Belene plant delayed until April
SOFIA, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Bulgaria has taken Russia’s nuclear company Atomstroyexport to court over delayed payments for equipment it agreed to buy under a deal to build the Belene nuclear power plant, the economy and energy minister said. Continue reading
Iran’s nuclear deal offer seen as a positive move
For the West, the idea offered a way to restore a degree of trust in ties with Tehran and help in the search for a comprehensive diplomatic solution to the nuclear dispute.
US cool on Iran atom offer, experts see chance, Arab News By FREDRIK DAHL | REUTERS Oct 3, 2011 VIENNA: An Iranian attempt to revive a nuclear fuel deal that fell apart in 2009 has drawn skepticism from the United States, even though two Western think-tanks urged Washington and its allies to pursue the proposal. Continue reading
Opportunity for USA and Iran to compromise
An Iranian Offer Worth Considering, WSJ, By ALI VAEZ AND CHARLES D. FERGUSON, September 29, 2011 A nuclear research reactor in Tehran may hold the key to resolving the prolonged nuclear stalemate between Iran and the West. The Iranian government is running out of the 20 percent-enriched uranium it needs to operate the reactor, and that appears to be making it amenable to compromise.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently proposed that Iran suspend production of some uranium-enrichment activities in exchange for fuel supplies from the United States. Whether the offer is an olive branch or an act of necessity, it is an unprecedented opportunity for Washington and its allies…. read more – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/opinion/30iht-edvaez30.html
USA – Ukraine deal on enriched uranium
US and Ukraine sign deal to remove Soviet-era stockpile of bomb-grade uranium, Washington Post, By Associated Press, September 26, NEW YORK — The United States and Ukraine signed a deal Monday to remove the former Soviet country’s stockpile of weapons-grade uranium by early next year.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko represented their nations in signing the agreement to remove the stockpile, which could provide enough material to build several nuclear weapons.
The deal was announced last year at an international nuclear security conference hosted by President Barack Obama but was not formalized until Monday….
Unsatisfactory outcome of IAEA safety meeting
Tighten regulations on nuclear industry, Bangkok Post, Editorial, : 25/09/2011 “…….. the outcome of the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier this month in Vienna is extremely disappointing. It was hoped that the meeting would act on the proposal by IAEA chief Yukia Amano that the world’s nuclear nations respond to the Japanese crisis with tougher safety regulations and mandatory inspections. The proposal included a one-year deadline for new safety standards and stress tests on all working nuclear reactors worldwide within 18 months. Yet in the end the draft resolution from the meeting contained no timelines, deadlines or mandatory inspections. Major nuclear nations such as Canada and Germany backed the proposal, but they were no match for the anti-regulation pressure coming from Russia, China, Pakistan, India and the United States. Considering the potential for global disaster posed by nuclear accidents and the plans all of these countries have to significantly ramp up their nuclear programmes in the coming years, this shirking of responsibility is inexcusable……” http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/258154/tighten-regulations-on-nuclear-industry
IAEA: Atomic energy states stymie progress towards nuclear disarmament
UN nuclear body ends annual meeting in disunity, by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Tim Pearce VIENNA, Sept 23 (Reuters) – The United Nations atomic agency ended its annual member state meeting in disunity late on Friday, with member states unable to adopt a resolution on a policy area central to its work in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons….. Continue reading
100 countries want USA and others to ratify Nuclear Test Nab Treaty
Officials from dozens of countries convene at UN to press for nuclear test ban, Washington Post, By Associated Press, September 23 UNITED NATIONS — With momentum toward international adoption of a nuclear test ban treaty stalled, representatives of more than 100 countries urged holdouts to ratify the document Friday.
Leaders convened at the United Nations General Assembly to mark fifteen years since the treaty was negotiated and to press remaining countries to bring it into force.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been signed by 182 countries and ratified by 155 of them. But it needs to be ratified by all 44 states identified as nuclear technology holders to enter into force.Nine have not yet done so — China, North Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon told the delegates the ban was “an indispensable stepping stone to a nuclear-weapon-free world.” He joked that he was uniquely qualified to make the case.
“My name is spelled Ban,” he said. “Therefore my name has a very clear, firm determination – nuclear test ban. I will ban this nuclear test.” Ban and other officials urged holdouts to ratify quickly.
Proponents of the treaty hoped that U.S. ratification would pressure the remaining holdouts. But despite support from U.S. President Barack Obama, the treaty has run into strong opposition from Republicans in the U.S. Senate and is unlikely to be considered before elections in 2012. Swedish Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who co-chaired Friday’s conference, said he hoped that other countries would move without the United States…..http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/officials-from-dozens-of-countries-convene-at-un-to-press-for-nuclear-test-ban/2011/09/23/gIQA1asnqK_story.html
Iran ‘s offer to stop enriching uranium
Iran offers to halt enrichment, if West provides uranium, Dawn.com, 22 Sept 11, WASHINGTON: Iran has offered to stop its production of low enriched uranium, provided the West gives it the nuclear material, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview published in Thursday’s New York Times…. Continue reading
Iran’s call for nuclear talks is refused by USA
U.S. Rejects Iran’s Call For Nuclear Talks Payvand.com Source: Radio Zamaneh, 16 Sept, 11, The U.S. has rejected the proposal to resume nuclear talks with Iran, accusing the country of a “charm offensive” in a letter to the European Union. The U.S. says Tehran has made no new commitments to address international concerns around its nuclear program…..
http://www.payvand.com/news/11/sep/1152.html
1 This Month
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- October 2026 (10)
- September 2026 (339)
- August 2026 (330)
- July 2026 (355)
- June 2026 (287)
- May 2026 (306)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (267)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
