UK coalition sets out plans on runways and nuclear
‘The UK's new coalition government has cancelled controversial plans to build a third runway at London Heathrow airport. On nuclear, the parties have agreed a deal which is supposed to allow the Conservative majority to push through new nuclear stations through the energy department which will be run by Chris Huhne from the Liberal Democrats who have an historic opposition to nuclear. It is likely the Tories will frame policy and the Liberal Democrats will be allowed to abstain on the nuclear vote, although they may speak against. Labour will support nuclear, though, so the stations will get built - if conditions are met. This is a key proviso. The Conservative leadership is not so quite so firmly wedded to nuclear as Labour (The nuclear industry had direct access to Gordon Brown through his brother, head of media for the French firm EDF.)’
Local protests hit India's power generation plants
‘NEW DELHI, May 12 (Reuters) - India will miss its power generation target by a bigger margin than previously estimated as local people are opposing new projects, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said on Wednesday. "As I speak to you, there are 16 plants in deep trouble as local people do not want power plants in their area," he said. The northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and southern Andhra Pradesh state are among those that have witnessed local protest against power plants, the minister said. India had initially planned to add 78,000 megawatts of capacity in five years to March 2012, but the target was lowered to 62,000 megawatts, Chidambaram told a business conference. Protests and controversies have dogged several projects including dams, steel plants and mines in India as local people, including tribesmen in remote regions, are reluctant to surrender their land or they demand a higher compensation. "They do not want to give away lands...are against nuclear power plants, against thermal power plants and (hydropower) plants," Chidambaram said.’
Pyongyang's announcement based more on politics than scientific significance: Experts
‘Beijing - Pyongyang said on Wednesday it has successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction - a claim doubted by many - while Chinese experts believe the political significance of the announcement far outweighs its scientific value. Rodong Sinmum, the official newspaper of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said the technology is for "obtaining safe and environment-friendly new energy". "The successful nuclear fusion marks a great event that demonstrates the rapidly developing cutting-edge science and technology," it said. The paper also said the success coincided with the birthday of Kim Il-sung, the DPRK's late founder, on April 15. Laboratory demonstrations of nuclear fusion reactions are not new but if carried out in real fields - something the world's scientists are still striving for - it could provide a tremendous supply of clean energy and leave little radioactive residue. "In terms of science and the military, the news doesn't have much value because it can't be verified," said Zhang Liangui, an expert on Korean affairs at the Party School of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China in Beijing.’
Ukrainian security services arrests uranium sellers
‘Yesterday at 20:17 | Interfax-Ukraine May 12 - The Ukrainian Security Service has detained six Ukrainians in Slavyansk, Donetsk region, after allegedly attempting to illegally sell three slabs of depleted uranium weighing in total two and a half kilograms, the Ukrainian State Committee for Nuclear Regulation said in a statement on its website. The arrest was carried out almost two months ago on March 17, with the authorities reporting the arrest on May 12."The power of the exposure dose on the surface of the seized nuclear material is over 1.2 millirem per hour, which is 100 times the natural background level," the statement said. At the same time, no damage to the population and environment has been detected.’
Syria must disclose its intentions in case of Russia nuclear deal, U.S. says
‘Russia must take into account Syria's problematic nuclear stance before considering a cooperation in that field, a top U.S. official said Wednesday, following recent reports that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad had discussed the possibility of nuclear collaboration in Damascus earlier this week. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Medvedev said that "cooperation on atomic energy [with Syria] could get a second wind," while providing no further details on what nuclear cooperation were discussed with Assad. Russian news agencies quoted Assad as saying that he had discussed with Medvedev the possibility of building power plants, including nuclear ones, in Syria. On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters Washington was cautious in regards to any nuclear collaboration which included Syria.’