Daily News: 07/2013

July 31, 2013

"Brazil sees Ukraine as possible partner in Brazilian Navy modernization programs" NRCU / July 31, 2013 Brazil wants to involve Ukraine in implementing programs for the modernization of the Brazilian Navy, the press service of the Ukroboronprom State Concern has told Interfax-Ukraine.... View Source ›

Alex Brown, "DOE Chief Supports Yucca Alternatives, New Agency for Nuclear Waste" National Journal / July 31, 2013 Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on Tuesday praised a Senate plan to deal with nuclear waste—an alternative to the long-disputed Yucca Mountain site—calling it a "promising framework for addressing key issues."... View Source ›

"Iran seeks key position on U.N. disarmament committee" Reuters / July 30, 2013 Iran is campaigning for a key position on a U.N. General Assembly committee that deals with disarmament and international security amid strong criticism from Israel and others who accuse Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.... View Source ›

Dave Sweeney, "Plan to use Aboriginal land as a nuclear waste dump is flawed and misguided" The Guardian / July 30, 2013 Radioactive waste management is difficult, but secretive deals made without Aboriginal Traditional Owners' full consent are even more worrying. A transparent debate is needed... View Source ›

Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito, "REFILE-Japanese utility, and the public, in dark about crippled nuclear plant" Reuters / July 30, 2013 Two and a half years after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, the operator of Japan's wrecked Fukushima plant faces a daunting array of unknowns.... View Source ›

Ali Akbar Dareini, "Team behind Iran's new president comes with Western accent" Associated Press / July 30, 2013 Just days after Hasan Rouhani's election victory in Iran, his top advisers and allies gathered for a closed-door strategy session at a think tank run by the new president. The group, lugging spread sheets, notes and policy papers, also carried something new into the mix — an array of degrees from Western universities.... View Source ›

Burak Ege Bekdil, "Turkey's Sat-Launcher Plans Raise Concerns" Defense News / July 28, 2013 Turkey has approved construction of its first satellite launching center to cater for the country’s mushrooming satellite programs.... View Source ›

July 30, 2013

"Iran's Rouhani to pack cabinet with old hands" Reuters / July 29, 2013 Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani will pick a cabinet of experienced insiders and will appoint the head of a powerful charity-cum-business foundation as his chief nuclear negotiator, Iranian news agencies said on Monday.... View Source ›

Ajay Banerjee, "N-powered sub Arihant all set to sail out from Vizag" The Tribune / July 28, 2013 Indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine, INS Arihant, is finally set to sail out from its base at Vishakhapatnam. The 6,000-tonne submarine, armed with nuclear missiles, is ready after years of efforts interspersed with sanctions in 1998 and impediments due to non-availability of cutting-edge technology.... View Source ›

Yoshihiro Makino, "U.S. shows nuclear facilities to reassure Japan, allies on deterrence" Asahi Shimbun / July 30, 2013 The United States has allowed Japanese officials to see confidential nuclear-related facilities to allay concerns that the Obama administration’s disarmament initiative could weaken its nuclear umbrella.... View Source ›

"Japan builds nuclear power station in Kazakhstan" The Times of Central Asia / July 30, 2013 Joint Japanese – Kazakh company intend to build a new nuclear power station in Kazakhstan, says Managing Director of JSC "Samruk-Kazyna" Kuanish Bektemirov, who met on this occasion with the delegation arrived from Japan.... View Source ›

Elaine M. Grossman, "Q&A: Envoy Says Saudi Nuclear Pact ‘Would Not’ Lead to Weapons" Global Security Newswire / July 29, 2013 A senior U.S. State Department official insisted that a nuclear trade pact now under negotiation with Saudi Arabia would not “in any way” advance an atomic weapons capability, which members of the nation’s royal family have said they could seek in response to neighboring rival Iran.... View Source ›

"Former U.S. President Carter has no plans to visit North Korea: aide" Reuters / July 29, 2013 A representative for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter denied reports on Monday that he was planning to visit North Korea soon to try to win the release of an American citizen being held in the reclusive nation.... View Source ›

David Swan, "Dick Smith calls for "vulnerable" Australia to go nuclear" ITwire / July 30, 2013 Australian icon Dick Smith has lashed out at the government's energy policies, describing our economy as "extremely vulnerable" and calling for the support of nuclear energy.... View Source ›

July 29, 2013

"Iran's Rouhani to nominate Forouzandeh as chief nuclear negotiator - ISNA" Reuters / July 29, 2013 Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani is to nominate Mohammad Forouzandeh as head of the Supreme National Security Council, a position which would automatically make him Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Iran's ISNA news agency said on Monday, quoting sources inside Rouhani's office.... View Source ›

Mari Iwata, "Japan Nuclear Watchdog to Step Up Fukushima Role" The Wall Street Journal / July 29, 2013 Japan's nuclear watchdog will play a more direct role in the cleanup at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after doubts were raised about the ability of the plant's operator to cope with continuing problems.... View Source ›

"U.S. export bank offers to co-finance Czech nuclear plant" Reuters / July 29, 2013 The U.S. Export-Import Bank is prepared to lend Czech power group CEZ around half the cost of enlarging its Temelin nuclear power plant if U.S. bidder Westinghouse wins a tender to build it, the bank's president said.... View Source ›

Timothy Gardner, "U.S. House set to vote on tough Iran sanctions bill this week" Reuters / July 28, 2013 Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are due to vote on a tough Iran sanctions bill this week that seeks to squeeze the Islamic Republic's oil exports to a trickle.... View Source ›

"Ex-President Carter plans to visit North Korea: report" Reuters / July 29, 2013 Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is planning to visit North Korea soon to try to win the release of a U.S. citizen held for committing crimes against the reclusive state, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Monday.... View Source ›

Brian Resnick, "Those Drone Blimps Over D.C.? They're to Stop Cruise Missiles" National Journal / July 26, 2013 If America is attacked, we might be saved by blimps. No, not state-of-the-art jet fighters that can fly well beyond the speed of sound. But blimps: lumbering, relatively jovial blimps -- the manatees of aviation.... View Source ›

"US senators lament lack of progress on India-US nuclear deal" The Hindu / July 29, 2013 Two influential US senators have lamented that even eight years since the landmark US-India civil nuclear agreement was announced, India was yet to provide a workable nuclear liability agreement allowing nuclear companies to move forward.... View Source ›

July 26, 2013

Jay Solomon, "U.S. Eases Iran Restrictions" The Wall Street Journal / July 25, 2013 The Obama administration, seeking to improve relations with Iran's President-elect Hassan Rouhani, eased restrictions on medical supplies, agricultural products and humanitarian aid entering the heavily sanctioned Middle East country.... View Source ›

Choe Sang-Hun, Chris Buckley, "North Korean Leader Supports Resumption of Nuclear Talks, State Media Say" The New York Times / July 26, 2013 The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, used his meeting with the visiting vice president of China this week to stress a “blood” alliance with Beijing, and expressed his support for reconvening six-nation talks on ending the North’s nuclear weapons program, the official news media of the two allies reported on Friday.... View Source ›

Michael R. Gordon, "Iran Is Said to Want Direct Talks With U.S. on Nuclear Program" The New York Times / July 26, 2013 Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq told the Obama administration this month that Iran was interested in direct talks with the United States on Iran’s nuclear program, and said that Iraq was prepared to facilitate the negotiations, Western officials said Thursday.... View Source ›

"Nuclear experts blast Fukushima operator Tepco over leaks" South China Monitoring Post / July 26, 2013 Foreign nuclear experts on Friday blasted the operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, with one saying its lack of transparency over radioactive water leaks showed “you don’t know what you’re doing”.... View Source ›

David L. Chandler,, "Improved nuclear fuel-rod cladding might prevent future Fukushimas" MIT News / July 26, 2013 In the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was initially driven into shutdown by the magnitude 9.0 quake; its emergency generators then failed because they were inundated by the tsunami. But the greatest damage to the complex, and the greatest release of radiation, may have been caused by explosions of hydrogen gas that built up inside some of the reactors.... View Source ›

"DPRK to deploy troops in Kaesong if talks fail" Xinhua Net / July 25, 2013 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) cannot help stationing its troops in Kaesong if the ongoing working-level talks with South Korea fail, Pyongyang's top delegate said Thursday.... View Source ›

"Cold War relic: LANL reveals tunnel to nuke storage site" ABQ Journal / July 26, 2013 ... View Source ›

July 25, 2013

"Turkey not against India’s membership in NSG, Turkish FM says" Daily News / July 24, 2013 Turkey does not object to India’s quest for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), but the prerequisite of being party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should be resolved first, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.... View Source ›

Brian Everstine, "STRATCOM chief: Upgrades needed for nuclear weapon arsenal, Global Strike fleets" Airforce Times / July 24, 2013 The head of U.S. Strategic Command today urged an end to the gridlock that has delayed long-overdue upgrades to the nation’s nuclear arsenal and the aircraft fleet that protects them.... View Source ›

David S.F. Portree, "NASA’s First Nuclear-Thermal Mars Expedition Study (1960)" Wired / July 24, 2013 As early as November 1957 – the same month the Soviet Union launched the dog Laika into Earth orbit on board Earth’s second artificial satellite, the 508-kilogram Sputnik 2 – about 20 engineers at Lewis Research Center, a National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio, commenced research into nuclear-thermal, chemical, and electric (ion) rocket propulsion for interplanetary flight and other applications.... View Source ›

"Generator flaw shuts down western NY nuclear plant" Associated Press / July 24, 2013 Federal authorities say a generator fault caused a nuclear plant located about 70 miles west of Syracuse to automatically shut down as a safety precaution.... View Source ›

"Can Africa Go Nuclear? Energy Demands Battle With Safety Concerns Across The Continent" International Business Times / July 24, 2013 Nuclear power generation is ramping up in South Africa, which recently signed a deal with the European Commission to cooperate on research, nuclear materials and equipment supplies. The deal will help bring power to South Africa's remote rural regions -- an initiative the rest of sub-Saharan Africa is eager to emulate.... View Source ›

Bill Gertz, "Inside the Ring: Bill blocks nuclear cuts" The Washington Times / July 24, 2013 The House approved an amendment to the fiscal 2014 defense appropriations bill this week that would block the Obama administration’s plan to cut U.S. nuclear forces under the 2010 U.S.-Russia New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.... View Source ›

Andrew Gretchko, "U.S. Shale Formations Might Safely House Nuclear Waste; Hess, PetroChina sign China's first shale oil deal" Pipeline / July 24, 2013 U.S. energy company Hess Corp (HES.N) has signed a production- sharing contract with PetroChina (0857.HK), China's first joint agreement to develop a shale oil block, the companies said on Wednesday. China, believed to hold the world's largest technically recoverable shale gas resource, aims to replicate the production boom seen in the United States, but its exploration for shale gas is at an early stage and for shale oil has barely begun. ... View Source ›

July 24, 2013

"Putin to visit Iran for nuclear talks" AFP / July 24, 2013 President Vladimir Putin is to visit Iran in August to try and restart talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme, Russia's Kommersant daily reported on Wednesday.... View Source ›

"Kremlin Tight-Lipped over Vladimir Putin's Iran Nuclear Talks Visit" International Business Times / July 24, 2013 Kremlin is tight-lipped over Russian president Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Iran over nuclear talks.... View Source ›

Kyoko Hasegawa, "Fukushima nuclear clean-up to cost $58 bn" AFP / July 24, 2013 The clean-up after the Fukushima nuclear disaster could cost five times more than estimated, figures have revealed, as Tokyo Electric Power said on Wednesday that steam had been seen again in a reactor building.... View Source ›

Gil Aegerter, "Ex-supervisor at Indian Point nuclear plant charged with falsifying test reports" NBC News / July 24, 2013 A former supervisor at the Indian Point nuclear plant in New York has been accused of falsifying test results involving emergency generators so the plant would not have to shut down.... View Source ›

"Chinese vice president to visit North Korea following period of strained ties" Associated Press / July 23, 2013 China’s vice president will visit North Korea this week for Korean War commemorations following a period of strained relations between the communist neighbors.... View Source ›

Amanda Kooser, "NukeMap3D brings nuclear apocalypse to Google Earth" CNet / July 23, 2013 Seeing footage of a nuclear bomb explosion can give you the chills. While we can all fervently hope no new images of mushroom clouds are ever created, there are ways to imagine the swath of destruction left by these powerful weapons. NukeMap3D simulates the effects of nuclear weapons using Google Earth.... View Source ›

"Paraguay upset over Argentine nuclear plant near border Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/07/23" UPI / July 23, 2013 Argentina has upset landlocked Paraguay with its plan to build a nuclear power reactor near their common border without formal consultations.... View Source ›

July 23, 2013

Cliff Owen, "Congress threatens new Iran sanctions as Obama gauges flexibility of incoming leader Rouhani" Associated Press / July 22, 2013 Congress is considering a new series of hard-hitting Iran sanctions on everything from mining and construction to the Islamic republic’s already besieged oil industry, despite concern from the Obama administration that the measures could interfere with nuclear negotiations.... View Source ›

"Iran not to accept nuclear obligations beyond NPT: spokesman" Xinhua Net / July 23, 2013 Iran will not accept nuclear obligations beyond the directives of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.... View Source ›

Jayanth Jacob and Nagendar Sharma, "Biden lands but govt still stuck on nuclear law" Hindustan Times / July 23, 2013 Civil nuclear cooperation may be high on Joe Biden’s agenda— the first official visit by a US vice president in three decades — which began on Monday but the government departments are clueless on how to proceed on the nuclear liability law.... View Source ›

"Fukushima nuclear plant: Japan takes steps over sea leak" BBC / July 23, 2013 Japan says it is taking steps to prevent contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant leaking into the sea.... View Source ›

Bill Gertz, "Red tide: China deploys new class of strategic missile submarines next year" The Washington Times / July 23, 2013 China’s navy is expected to begin the first sea patrols next year of a new class of strategic missile submarines, highlighting a new and growing missile threat to the U.S. homeland, according to U.S. defense officials.... View Source ›

Thomas Erdbrink, "Iran Leader Not Optimistic About Talks With U.S." The New York Times / July 22, 2013 Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threw some cold water on recent efforts to reinvigorate diplomatic contacts between Iran and the United States, saying he was not optimistic that any agreement would be reached, though he does not oppose talks “on certain issues.”... View Source ›

"Boeing to Assess B-61 Bomb Dynamics" Global Security Newswire / July 22, 2013 Boeing is set next month to begin testing how various military planes would drop the B-61 nuclear bomb once it is refurbished with a new "tail kit," Inside Defense reported last week.... View Source ›

July 22, 2013

Rick Gladstone, "Panama Charges North Korean Freighter Crew" The New York Times / July 18, 2013 Panama brushed aside North Korea’s demands on Thursday that it release an impounded North Korean freighter and its 35-member crew, pressing criminal charges against all aboard for endangering public security by attempting to transport a concealed cargo of Cuban weapons through the Panama Canal.... View Source ›

"Two Soviet-era fighter planes found on N. Korea ship" AFP / July 22, 2013 Panamanian authorities have found two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets aboard a North Korea-flagged ship seized this month as it tried to pass through the Panama Canal after departing from Cuba.... View Source ›

Lee Chi-dong, "Biden: U.S. will not countenance N. Korea's provocation-dialogue cycle" Yonhap News / July 18, 2013 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called Thursday on North Korea to demonstrate that it is willing to hold "genuine" talks on its nuclear program.... View Source ›

Amrutha Gayathri, "US Vice President Joe Biden Due To Begin India Visit For Talks On Trade, Nuclear Deal, Security" International Business Times / July 22, 2013 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will begin a four-day visit to India, on Monday, for talks on a host of issues including bilateral trade between the two countries and a civil nuclear power deal, as well as intellectual property rights and regional security.... View Source ›

Jon Hemming, "Iran denies missing World Bank payments, blames sanctions" Reuters / July 21, 2013 Iran denied on Sunday it had failed to make payments on its loans to the World Bank for the last six months, blaming Western sanctions for preventing an intermediary from forwarding funds to the global lender, Iran's IRNA state news agency said.... View Source ›

"IAEA experts visit areas near damaged Japanese nuclear plant" The Hindu Business Line / July 22, 2013 A team of 15 experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Japan’s Fukushima prefecture on Monday to look into decontamination efforts in areas near a damaged nuclear power plant following the 2011 atomic disaster.... View Source ›

Michael Kitchen, "Japan LDP election win may restart nuclear plants" Market Watch / July 21, 2013 Sunday's victory for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party in upper-house elections could pave the way for the reopening of many of the nation's shuttered nuclear-power plants, the Nikkei business daily reported Monday.... View Source ›

July 19, 2013

"TEPCO Sees Steam But No Crisis at Nuclear Plant Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/07/18/tepco-sees-steam-but-no-crisis-at-n" Associated Press / July 18, 2013 Steam or vapors appeared to be coming from a damaged reactor building at Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear plant Thursday, but the plant operator said radiation levels were steady.... View Source ›

"UN Experts to Investigate N. Korean Arms-Smuggling Ship" Ria Novosti / July 19, 2013 UN experts will soon travel to Panama to investigate a recent incident with a North Korean ship seized by Panamanian authorities on suspicions of illegal arms-trafficking, a US official at the UN said.... View Source ›

Charlie Zhu, "Public trust crisis threatens China's nuclear power ambitions" Reuters / July 18, 2013 As China pushes an aggressive expansion of nuclear power it is running into a major stumbling block - a breakdown of trust, post-Fukushima, in official assurances of public safety.... View Source ›

"South Africa, European Union seal nuclear energy deal" Jagran Post / July 19, 2013 Johannesburg: South Africa and the European Union on Thursday sealed a 100 million euro (USD 130 million) nuclear energy deal which will initially light up 300,000 rural households in Africa's wealthiest economy.... View Source ›

"Earthquake concerns over Iranian nuclear plant" Reuters / July 19, 2013 Arab Gulf states have raised concerns about the safety of an Iranian nuclear power station built in an earthquake-prone coastal area.... View Source ›

"Strides made in China's nuclear power tech research" China Daily / July 18, 2013 China has made great strides in the technological research into the control rod drive mechanism, a key piece of equipment for nuclear power plants, according to a ministry statement issued Wednesday.... View Source ›

Justyna Pawlak, "Insight - How European courts are dismantling sanctions on Iran" Reuters / July 15, 2013 In the years-long campaign to tie a web of sanctions around Iran and stall its nuclear programme, the European Union may just have met its biggest obstacle: its own law courts.... View Source ›

July 18, 2013

"Official: Iran open for nuke talks once team named" USA Today / July 17, 2013 Iran's foreign minister says Tehran will be ready to resume nuclear talks with world powers as soon as the country's president-elect puts together his negotiating team.... View Source ›

Jonathan Tirone, "Iran’s North Korea Links Draw Scrutiny at Nuclear-Weapon Meeting" Bloomberg / July 17, 2013 The possibility that North Korea is sharing nuclear-weapon test data with Iran cannot be ruled out and is a proliferation risk, the former chief of a U.S. atomic-bomb laboratory said today at a meeting in Vienna.... View Source ›

Lomi Kriel, "Panama calls in U.N. to inspect North Korean arms ship" Reuters / July 18, 2013 Panama said on Wednesday it had called in the United Nations Security Council to investigate a North Korean ship caught smuggling arms from Cuba, piling more pressure on Pyongyang over a possible breach of U.N. sanctions.... View Source ›

"Iran to stage exercises to tackle "possible nuclear contamination"" Xinhua / July 18, 2013 Head of Iran's Passive Defense Organization said Wednesday that the Islamic republic plans to hold exercises to increase its preparedness for any possible nuclear contamination incident, Press TV reported.... View Source ›

"NNSA conducts radiological response training in Kazakhstan" NNSA / July 18, 2013 The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) last week conducted an International Radiological Assistance Program Training for Emergency Response (I-RAPTER) training in Almaty, Kazakhstan.... View Source ›

"France to train Saudi nuclear workers" World Nuclear News / July 15, 2013 French nuclear giants Areva and EDF are to help train workers for Saudi Arabia's planned nuclear power industry.... View Source ›

Antoni Slodkowski, "Steam rising from Japan's destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant" Reuters / July 18, 2013 Steam is rising from a destroyed building that houses a reactor at Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said on Thursday.... View Source ›

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