A Russian official says a recent cyberattack on Iran’s atomic-energy program could have triggered a nuclear catastrophe on the scale of the Chornobyl disaster. Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s ambassador to NATO, said the virus that hit the computer system at Iran’s Bushehr reactor had caused centrifuges to spin out of control.
Posts Tagged ‘nuclear’
Iran nuclear talks end without agreement
January 22nd, 2011 |
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Two days of talks on Iran’s controversial nuclear program have ended without agreement.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton says she was disappointed with the outcome of the talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, a group known as the P5 + 1.
Computer worm sabotaged Iran’s nuclear program
January 16th, 2011 |
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A U.S. news report says experts at an Israeli facility were involved in testing a computer worm that is believed to have sabotaged Iran’s nuclear centrifuges.
According to the report, the worm disrupted Tehran’s potential to develop an atomic weapon.
Diplomats visit Iran’s nuclear sites
January 15th, 2011 |
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Iran has opened the doors of two atomic facilities to foreign diplomats, but representatives of the leading world powers declined to attend or were not invited.
The two-day tour reportedly takes the diplomats to the heavy water installation in Arak and the main uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz, both in central Iran.
Gates tours China’s nuclear command center
January 12th, 2011 |
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U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has toured China’s nuclear command center on the last day of his visit to China, RFE/RL reports. Gates got a rare look at the Second Artillery Corps headquarters outside Beijing.
EU to reject Iran’s invitation to nuclear sites
January 8th, 2011 |
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EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton says the EU will turn down Iran’s offer to visit its nuclear facilities. She stressed that the EU welcomed Iran’s invitation but that the task should be carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Serbia’s nuclear plant plans “unrealistic”
December 27th, 2010 |
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Environment Minister Oliver Dulić says that Serbia’s participation in the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant is “unrealistic at this moment”. Dulić also said that there had been “more debate in the media than in the government” about this issue.
Iran looks to Turkey to broker nuclear talks
December 24th, 2010 |
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Iran may ask Turkey to mediate in nuclear talks with six major powers when it plays host in Istanbul next month, euronews reprots. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held closed-door talks with his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, on a visit to the city this week.
U.S. ratifies nuclear treaty with Russia
December 23rd, 2010 |
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The U.S. Senate ratified a nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia on Wednesday by a strong bipartisan vote of 71 to 26, VOA reports. The New START treaty was one of the last measures approved during a busy post-election, end-of-year session.
Russia, India ready for nuclear cooperation
December 21st, 2010 |
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Russia and India intend to develop cooperation in the nuclear sphere, the Russian president and Indian prime minister said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “The sides have expressed satisfaction over the development of bilateral nuclear cooperation and hope for further widening and strengthening of ties in this sphere,” the statement, issued after Dmitry Medvedev and Manmohan Singh’s meeting in New Delhi, said.
Dec. 2, 1942: Nuclear Pile Gets Going Dec. 2, 1957: Nuclear Power Goes Online
December 2nd, 2010 |
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Dec. 2: It’s a double milestone for nuclear energy. The first man-made sustained nuclear chain reaction was created this day in 1942. And just 15 years later, the first full-scale nuclear power plant went online.
1942: Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard and their colleagues achieve a successful, controlled chain reaction in a squash court underneath the [...]
Nuclear power: Team France in disarray
December 2nd, 2010 |
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Unhappy attempts to revive a national industry
WHAT solar panels are to Germany and wind turbines are to Denmark, nuclear reactors are to France: not just a power source but a pitch for global leadership in a field that is green and sexily high-tech. Electricite de France (EDF), a giant state utility, runs all 59 of the country’s nuclear plants and more than anyone else in the world. Together with Areva and Alstom, two firms involved in many aspects of nuclear-power production, EDF is trying to compete for business overseas. But Team France is ailing.
Its main product is the European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR), vaunted as the most sophisticated, plane-crash-proof and efficient in the world. But just two are under construction, and only one is being built outside France. An EPR in Finland has been dogged by quality and regulatory problems, causing cost overruns of about €2.7 billion ($3.5 billion). The fiasco led Siemens of Germany to end a joint venture with Areva, the lead contractor, reducing the chances of Franco-German co-operation on further EPRs. …
Serbian nuclear plant plans unclear
December 1st, 2010 |
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Serbia is still considering whether to take part in building of the Belene nuclear power plant in Bulgaria.
Serbia’s investment could be worth between EUR 500 and 600mn, according to experts.
Iran Blames Malware for Causing Nuclear Program Problems
November 29th, 2010 |
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Iran has publicly blamed malware for causing "limited" problems with the country’s nuclear program. – Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the countrys enemies of using malware to disrupt centrifuges involved in uranium enrichment.
quot;They succeeded in creating problems for a limited number of our centrifuges with the software they had installed in electronic parts, quot; he was quoted as …
Serbia confirms interest in nuclear plant
November 24th, 2010 |
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Serbia’s PM Mirko Cvetković reconfirmed in a letter to hisBulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov his country’s interest in the Belene project. Serbia is interested in taking part in the construction of a nuclear power plant at Belene as one of the investor.
Russia, NATO to monitor nuclear programs
November 21st, 2010 |
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Russia will together with NATO monitor the nuclear programs of some countries, including Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
“Jointly with NATO states, we will closely watch the development of various programs by other countries. We are not indifferent to what the planet’s nuclear potential looks like,” Medvedev told journalists on Saturday after a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Lisbon.
Waste transported from nuclear facility
November 19th, 2010 |
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The transport of dangerous waste from Serbia’s VinÄa Institute of Nuclear Sciences is expected to start today. This is according to announcements coming from Infrastructure Minister Milutin Mrkonjić.
“Pak’s nuclear weapons are secureâ€: Musharraf
November 16th, 2010 |
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Pakistan’s pursuit of nuclear weapons was an “existential and defensive imperative†to compensate for the new imbalance of power tilted towards India, former president Pervez Musharraf has said, adding that the nation’s nuclear weapons are “secureâ€. In a Newsweek Pakistan exclusive, Musharraf said, “India’s ‘Smiling Buddha’ nuclear tests in 1974 changed everything. Pakistan was forced [...]
Clashes over German nuclear train
November 7th, 2010 |
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Police have clashed with activists trying to halt a train carrying nuclear waste from France to Germany. Officers used batons, pepper spray, tear gas and water cannon to disperse about 250 activists who were trying to sabotage railway tracks.
Russia, Venezuela sign deal on nuclear power plant
October 15th, 2010 |
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Russia and Venezuela signed on Friday an agreement on the construction of a nuclear power station in the South American country The agreement, signed during Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s visit to Moscow, was reached in April 2010 during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to Caracas.