| Fuel Loaded Into Iranian Nuclear Power Plant |
Fuel Loaded Into Iranian Nuclear Power PlantNTI Newswire 23 Aug 2010| Link to the original article Iran's sole atomic energy plant on Saturday began receiving nuclear fuel, a major step in bringing the long-delayed facility online, Reuters reported."Despite all the pressures, sanctions and hardships imposed by Western nations, we are now witnessing the startup of the largest symbol of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities," said Iranian atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi. The United States and other nations suspect Tehran's nuclear program is aimed at developing a weapons capability, a charge vehemently denied in Iran A total of 163 fuel assemblies are to be installed within the facility's reactor core in the next two weeks, the Associated Press reported. Electricity production would begin two months later. “Not a single professional in the world has any questions about the chance that the Bushehr nuclear power plant could be used for nonpeaceful purposes,” said Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian state-run atomic energy firm Rosatom, who was on hand for the fueling. The U.N. nuclear watchdog on Saturday said it "regularly inspects the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran," AFP reported. "The agency is taking the appropriate verification measures in line with its established safeguards procedures," which are intended to prevent civilian atomic sites from supporting proliferation, said IAEA spokesman Ayhan Evrensel. Meanwhile, Tehran also rolled out what was said to be its first drone bomber, Reuters reported. The Karrar system can fly as far as 620 miles at speeds reaching 560 mph, according to state television. It reportedly could carry four cruise missiles, or a load-out of either two 250-pound bombs or a single 500-pound bomb. "If there is an ignorant person or an egoist or a tyrant who just wanted to make an aggression then our Defense Ministry should reach a point where it could cut off the hand of the aggressor before it decided to make an aggression," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at the unveiling ceremony. "We should reach a point when Iran would serve as a defense umbrella for all freedom-loving nations in the face of world aggressors," he added. "We don't want to attack anywhere, Iran will never decide to attack anywhere, but our revolution cannot sit idle in the face of tyranny, we can't remain indifferent." Iran regularly warns Israel and the United States against attacking its nuclear facilities. Such a strike would be "suicidal," Ahmadinejad said. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi also said Friday the nation had conducted a test launch of a new ground-to-ground missile, AFP reported. He did not offer details on when the test had occurred or how far the Qiam missile could fly. "The missile has new technical aspects and has a unique tactical capacity," Vahidi said of the "new class" weapon. "Since the surface-to-surface missile has no wings, it has [a] lot of tactical power, which also reduces the chances of it being intercepted," he added. Issue specialists are generally skeptical of Iran's claims regarding its military capabilities, the Los Angeles Times reported. The nation's annual military spending barely exceeds $10 billion, an amount dwarfed by the U.S. defense budget. Tehran, though, could use friendly militant groups to carry out strikes aimed at causing a significant number of deaths and injuries and at pulling the United States into an unwanted armed engagement. |
The Guardian, by David Batty, with comments by NPSGlobal, 
NPT Preparatory Committee meets in Vienna
IAEA, NPSGlobal, 29 Apr 2012.
The Preparatory Committee - PrepCom for the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference starts in Vienna next Monday 30 Apr, and it will last until May 11.
Ambassador Peter Woolcott, Australia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva will be the Chairman of the meeting.
Obama Seeks More Money For Nuclear Arms and Non-proliferation
Global Security Newswire, Chris Schneidmiller, 8 Feb 2012.
The Obama administration is seeking a bump in funding for programs to maintain the U.S. nuclear arsenal and to prevent the spread of atomic arms around the world, according to budget figures released on Monday. The White House spending plan calls for the Energy Department's semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration to receive $11.5 billion in fiscal 2013, which begins on Oct. 1.
Is Biosecurity the Low-Hanging Fruit?
Center for Nonproliferation Studies, 3 Feb 2012.
The Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) took place in December 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference focused transparency in bio-industry and biodefense and on confidence-building measures. But the review conference might also contribute to the incremental approach to banning all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East—an approach that will be promoted at a conference later this year in Finland.
Russia Expects Next Nuclear Bomber by 2030
Global Security Newswire, 14 Feb 2012.
Russia has announced plans to prepare within two decades a next-generation bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons to targets, Interfax reported on Monday.
"We are developing an advanced long-range aviation system and we have entered the stage of project tender. I think we will inform the General Staff chief and defense minister in February about the advanced aircraft which is to be developed and to join the new and upgraded air force in the 2030s," Russian air force commander Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin said.
Largest city evacuation since WWII
Cnn.com, by Rick Noack with comments by NPSGlobal, 4 Dec 2011.
Bomb squads in Germany successfully defused on Sunday two bombs and disposed of an additional air-dropped military device that had caused an evacuation of historic proportions in a city in the country's west. "It's the largest German evacuation since the end of the war," fire brigade spokesman Ronald Eppelsheim said Sunday.
Pentagon Adviser: Taliban Think They Can Outlast U.S. Troops
US News, 13 feb 2012.
A report based on interrogations of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan shows the U.S.-led war effort is failing to meet Washington's goals, says a Pentagon adviser.
The Problem with Nuclear Power in Germany
Il Post- Italy, 26 Apr 2012 (based on an article published in the Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr 2012).
The abandonment of nuclear power plants has increased the use of fossil fuels and consequent pollution: after gloating, environmentalists complain and accuse the government of having made a hasty decision.
Additional Nations Expected to Vow to Eradicate Plutonium and Highly Enriched Uranium Stocks
Global Security Newswire, 16 Feb 2012.
A minimum of 10 additional countries are anticipated to promise at the upcoming Global Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea to relinquish their holdings of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium and highly enriched uranium, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday.
Turkey, Japan to Resume Atomic Trade Dialogue
Global Security Newswire, 10 Jan 2012.
Turkey and Japan have jointly decided to focus on relaunching formal talks for an atomic trade deal, Kyodo News reported on Sunday (see GSN, June 15, 2010).
New WMD Response Center Planned in India
Global Security Newswire, 17 Feb 2012.
The Indian government has approved the establishment of a new education center in Panipat in Haryana state that will be used to prepare military personnel and civilians to respond to potential weapons of mass destruction attacks, the Press Trust of India reported on Thursday.
COURSES
Regional Postgraduate Course on International Security, Disarmament and Non-proliferation
It starts on April 10, 2012
Informative Reunion: 23 Feb, 18.30 (confirm assistance)
Av. Córdoba 883, 10° - Buenos Aires
"Our vision: A World Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction"
