The infamous Stuxnet worm may have had its eyes set on motors at nuclear power facilities, according to Symantec. – Researchers at Symantec say they have made a breakthrough in
deciphering another piece of Stuxnet’s puzzle – the
disruption of motors at nuclear power plants.
Stuxnet – which is considered by some to be one of the most sophisticated pieces of
malware ever seen – was first uncovered by the secu…
ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani reiterated his Government’s commitment to take all political parties into confidence on all the national policies particularly related to defence, Kashmir and nuclear issues.
He informed the members that he desired to take all the political forces in to confidence before his visit to Washington to participate in the Nuclear Security Summit to be held on April 12-13.
In his opening statement while chairing a special meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security at the Constitutional Committee Room in the Parliament House on Wednesday afternoon, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan being a nuclear state was cognizant of its responsibilities and had developed an effective nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation measures underpinned by extensive legislative, regulatory and administrative framework.
“As Chairman of the National Command Authority, his Government fully accepts the responsibility of nuclear security, which reflects the determination of the political Government to accept the responsibility collectively,” he further said.
The Prime Minister said that nuclear power generation offers viable solutions for energy addressing the challenge of climate change. He mentioned that Pakistan had more than 35 years experience of operating nuclear power plants successfully. He further said that highly trained manpower and a well established foolproof safety and security culture fully qualified Pakistan for equal participation in civil nuclear cooperation at the international level, which would help Pakistan in addressing immediate energy problems and would bring greater stability as well.
The Prime Minister said, “Pakistan is a democratic, progressive and peaceful country, adding, “Our socio-economic development hinges on our ability to meet rapidly expanding energy requirements”. He stressed the need of exploring all options to ensure a reliable energy mix and civil nuclear power generation, which was, therefore, an essential part of the country’s national energy strategy.
The Prime Minister declared that the Government considered nuclear safety and security as vehicles to facilitate international civil nuclear cooperation. He observed that the objectives of nuclear non-proliferation, safety and security could only be served and promoted through a non-discriminatory paradigm for the international cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Pakistan, he added, needs access to civilian nuclear technology on a non-discriminatory basis.
Earlier, Lt. General (Rtd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, DG SPD, briefed the Parliamentary Committee on PakistanÂ’s Nuclear Programme and Security of Nuclear Assets. During his presentation, he mentioned that Pakistan had one of the best systems for the safety and security of nuclear assets and technology both on the defence and civilian side.
Masood Khan, PakistanÂ’s Ambassador in China, who participated in the preliminary deliberations of the forthcoming Nuclear Summit in Washington, apprised the Parliamentary Committee on the objectives of the Summit and the preparations made by Pakistan to contribute in the deliberations of the Summit positively.
The USA, he mentioned, has already made the objectives public, which were a manifestation of President Barak ObamaÂ’s three points strategy for non-proliferation of nuclear technology in the interest of global security. He also apprised that while leading the Pakistan delegation at the Summit the Prime Minister was likely to meet other leaders on the sidelines of Summit.
The representatives of all the political parties in the Parliament Committee on National Defence applauded the gesture of the Prime Minister for taking them into confidence prior to his participation in an important international Summit. They assured him of complete support and expressed confidence that he would be able to put across PakistanÂ’s viewpoint forcefully being a democratically elected Prime Minister enjoying complete backing of the entire nation.
The members of the Committee also appreciated the preparations made by the Pakistani side for the Summit and expressed satisfaction over policies and measures in place for the safety and security of nuclear materials and facilities in Pakistan. The members also gave suggestions on various aspects of the subject of the Summit, which were aptly accommodated.
The special meeting was also attended by Mr Ahmed Mukhtar, Defence Minister, General Tariq Majid, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee and the Foreign Secretary.
The leaders of the Parliamentary parties who attended the meeting represented PPPP, PML-N, PML-Q, ANP, JI, MQM, PML-F, PPP-S, PKMAP, BNP-A and JWP.
Monitoring Desk adds: Masood told the Committee that Pakistan and China would attend the US summit with a joint strategy, reported a private TV channel, quoting sources.
He said China would support Pakistan demand that the United States also makes a civilian nuclear deal with Pakistan like it had done with India.
The Ministry of Mining and Energy has made no plans to construct nuclear power plants in Serbia, according to a spokesman. This is in accordance with the nuclear ban still in power in the country, Milan Budimir told Tanjug on Monday.
A uranium shortage could derail plans to go nuclear to cut carbon emissions
THERE is an awesome amount of energy tied up in an atom of uranium. Because of that, projections of the price of nuclear power tend to focus on the cost of building the plant rather than that of fuelling it. But proponents of nuclear energy—who argue, correctly, that such plants emit little carbon dioxide—would do well to remember that, like coal and oil, uranium is a finite resource.
Some 60% of the 66,500 tonnes of uranium needed to fuel the world’s existing nuclear power plants is dug fresh from the ground each year. The remaining 40% comes from so-called secondary sources, in the form of recycled fuel or redundant nuclear warheads. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is a United Nations body, and the Nuclear Energy Agency, which was formed by the rich countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, both reckon that, at present rates, these secondary sources will be exhausted within the next decade or so. …
While in the US we have been regulating and making decisions about electricity mostly on a state level, things are becoming more interconnected.
India was set on Monday to reveal where US firms will build multi-billion dollar nuclear power plants, during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first official talks in New Delhi, aides said. The move, once confirmed, will highlight benefits President Barack Obama’s administration will derive
By Jill McGivering
BBC News
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in India shortly at the start of a high-profile visit designed to bolster political and economic ties.
Ms Clinton is also expected to reassure India that the current US alliance with Pakistan is not at India’s expense.
At present, the US focus is on Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the battle against Taliban insurgents in both countries.
But the Obama administration is keen to address concerns in India that Delhi’s interests are being neglected.
Mrs Clinton’s visit is an important gesture, designed to show that India still matters.
It is partly about business.
The agreement which ended a three-decade ban on the sale of civilian nuclear technology to India was a centrepiece of the last Bush administration.
Now India is expected to name two sites where US companies can build nuclear power plants.
It is business worth billions of dollars.
Mrs Clinton is also likely to press Indian politicians to resume peace talks with Pakistan.
On Thursday, India and Pakistan’s prime ministers met in Egypt and made broad commitments to working together.
These were greeted with cautious optimism but stayed vague in terms of detail.
The relationship was thrown off track by the Mumbai attacks last November.
India wants Pakistan to punish those responsible and take tough action against militant groups.
The US has been working hard behind the scenes to coax both sides back into dialogue.
If tensions along Pakistan’s border with India were reduced, the Pakistani military would be able to focus more fully on the north-west and dealing with its own insurgency there.
India may take some persuading.
Pakistan is now promising to address the concerns about militants – but many in India are sceptical, saying they have heard promises from Pakistan before which resulted in very little change. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
By Sanjoy Majumder
BBC News, Delhi
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived on a four-day visit to India, a country she knows well and where she is immensely popular.
But her visit comes at a sensitive time in relations between Washington and Delhi, a time when key geopolitical issues hang in the balance.
Mrs Clinton first visited India in 1995 as US first lady, a trip that helped break the ice between two countries on opposite sides of the Cold War fence.
It also paved the way for her husband’s immensely successful visit five years later.
She now returns as a representative of US President Barack Obama and will find that Indians are a bit apprehensive of her new leader.
While former President George W Bush is credited with transforming relations with India – the cornerstone of which was a landmark civilian nuclear agreement – Mr Obama’s regional focus has been entirely on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Cashing in
But Washington knows it cannot afford to ignore India.
"The world has a lot riding on our co-operation"
Hillary Clinton
In a front-page article in the Times of India newspaper on Friday, Mrs Clinton wrote that close co-operation between India and the United States was vital to tackle global security threats, nuclear proliferation and climate change.
"I hope a new era of stronger co-operation between India and the United States will be one of the signature accomplishments of our new governments," she wrote. "The world has a lot riding on our co-operation."
Key to that close relationship is the economy.
The US is India’s largest trading partner, with investments of close to $10bn (£6bn). But India too is investing heavily in the US economy, its stake valued at some $3.7bn (£2.3bn) last year.
With the civilian nuclear trade agreement in place, the US is hoping to cash in.
During her visit, Mrs Clinton is expected to announce the location of two nuclear power plants that US companies will build.
A recent report by the Confederation of Indian Industry says that India intends to import 24 nuclear reactors in the next 10-15 years, creating "as many as 20,000 new jobs directly and indirectly in the US from nuclear trade".
Delhi is also in the market for some 125 new fighter aircraft to replace ageing Soviet-era planes, and the US is locked in competition with France, Britain and Russia to win the multi-million dollar deal.
Sharp differences
But the Obama administration also needs Delhi’s co-operation on three key global issues which are among its key policy objectives – nuclear non-proliferation, climate change, and a new world trade treaty.
India has sharp differences with Washington on all three areas.
Along with China, it has been a key dissenter on trade and climate change talks, refusing, for instance, to agree to emission caps.
India has also refused to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, describing it as discriminatory since it does not press existing nuclear powers to give up their weapons.
Without India on board, the Obama administration knows they will make little headway on any of these issues.
And while President Obama’s new Afghanistan-Pakistan policy forms the cornerstone of his regional approach, Washington is only too aware that without India’s co-operation, any resolution of the situation in those two countries could come apart.
So if the US wants Pakistan to concentrate its efforts on the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban along the Afghan border, it needs to ensure that there is peace between India and Pakistan so that troops from the east can be relocated to the battle in the north-west.
Regional wrangling
For the first time, a major US figure is visiting India without also travelling to Pakistan.
Many in India strongly believe that it was gentle pressure from Washington that persuaded Delhi to restart peace talks with Islamabad, on hold since last year’s Mumbai attacks.
And Pakistan has recently indicated that it may be willing to broker peace between the US and the Taliban, but in exchange wants India to reduce its engagement in Afghanistan.
After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, India quickly re-established diplomatic ties and now operates four missions in Afghanistan, two of them located in Kandahar and Jalalabad, uncomfortably close to the Pakistan border.
Islamabad accuses Delhi of using these missions to foment trouble in Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province, a charge that India denies.
But there is some suggestion that the US is trying to press India to at least scale down its diplomatic presence, if not close down some of its posts.
Despite her popularity, Mrs Clinton will have her diplomatic skills tested to the fullest in India.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to warn Iran that the US will not extend its offer of engagement "indefinitely".
In a foreign policy speech to be delivered later, Mrs Clinton will say that Iran needs to respond to President Barack Obama’s overtures now.
If it does not, Iran could face more penalties and isolation over its nuclear programme, she will say.
She will say Iran used "deplorable" means to quash post-election protests.
Violent street protests broke out after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in the 12 June disputed election.
Some 17 people were thought to have died during days of clashes.
"Neither the president nor I have any illusions that direct dialogue with the Islamic Republic will guarantee success."
Hilary Clinton
Mr Obama has talked of engagement with Iran but has not made clear how that might take place.
Shortly after coming to office in January, Mr Obama said: "If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fists, they will find an extended hand from us".
In her speech in Washington on Wednesday, Ms Clinton will say: "We remain ready to engage with Iran, but the time for action is now.
"The opportunity will not remain open indefinitely."
The US fears Iran’s nuclear programme is a cover to build atomic weapons, a charge Iranian officials deny.
Enriched uranium can be used to make atomic weapons, but can also be used in nuclear power plants.
Mrs Clinton will say the Bush administration policy of isolating Iran did not stop it moving towards developing nuclear weapons.
"Neither the president nor I have any illusions that direct dialogue with the Islamic Republic will guarantee success.
"But we also understand the importance of trying to engage Iran and offering its leaders a clear choice: whether to join the international community as a responsible member or to continue down a path to further isolation."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has a “Low-cost Clean Energy Plan” being marketed to people with substandard reading skills. His press release claims his plan to…
