Subject: HEADLINES: 2nd French nuclear test (1 Oct.) Reuter: - The French Defence Ministry announced France had carried out the second and apparently biggest in its bitterly disputed series of nuclear weapons tests at Fangataufa atoll in the South Pacific. It was the 194th French nuclear test. A ministry statement said the less than 110-kilotonne blast was detonated underground at 00.30 a.m. Paris time on Monday (2330 GMT on Sunday). The nuclear test was equivalent to an earthquake measuring 5.5 (U.S. Geological Survey) to 5.9 (Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, New Zealand) on the Richter scale. Nations around the world, especially around the Pacific, reacted to the first test with outrage, saying it was an anacrhonism after the end of the Cold War and risked encouraging non-nuclear states to get the bomb despite disarmament efforts. (1 Oct.) Reuter: - Tahiti's main independence group and non-government organisation said France's second South Pacific nuclear test could spark violence and unrest among homeless and jobless young people in the French territory. French Polynesia's peak non-government organisation, Hiti Tau, also warned on Sunday of possible violence. (1 Oct.) Reuter: - New Zealand said it was outraged and frustrated by France's second nuclear test and would again be calling in the French ambassador to protest. Prime Minister Jim Bolger said France risked losing its status as a dialogue partner of the 16-nation South Pacific forum. Bolger said the nuclear testing issue would be firmly on the agenda of next month's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. That would embarrass Britain, which has taken the line that the tests are a purely French matter. (1 Oct.) Reuter: - Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating said he deplored France's second nuclear test, saying it compounded the region's sense of anger at the first test and further damaged France's good name. (1 Oct.) Reuter: - Japan's Foreign Minister Yohei Kono will summon French ambassador Jean-Bernard Ouvrieu to express deep regret at the second in a series of French nuclear tests in the Pacific. (1 Oct.) Reuter: - Chronology of events behind France's latest N-test April 1992 - President Francois Mitterrand announces a moratorium on French nuclear tests. Between 1966 and the start of the moratorium, France conducted 41 atmospheric tests and 134 underground tests at its French Polynesian testing sites. June 13, 1995 - French President Jacques Chirac announces France will conduct up to eight underground nuclear tests between September this year and May next year. France would then sign a test ban treaty, he said. June 14 - Australia and New Zealand condemn the decision to resume tests, freeze defence ties with France. Other South Pacific nations express outrage at the decision. July 9 - French commandos use teargas to storm the Greenpeace flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, as it enters territorial waters off the test site at Mururoa atoll. Sept 1 - French commandos storm Greenpeace protest ships Rainbow Warrior 2 and MV Greenpeace as they attempt to enter the testing site's lagoon. Sept 5 - French officials announce the first test, setting off worldwide protests. Chirac says France may conduct fewer than eight explosions and end sooner than planned. Sept 6 - Tahitian anti-nuclear protesters rampage, burning down the territory's main airport terminal and 19 other buildings. Officials estimate the damage at 209 million francs ($40 million). Sept 8 - The mayor of Hiroshima urges Chirac to halt nuclear tests and said his decision to go ahead with the first of a series had been a betrayal of the human race. Sept 8 - A fresh wave of protests against French nuclear testing sweep through the South Pacific, but calm returns to Tahiti after violent riots shattered the capital Papeete. Sept 9 - French commandos seize a protest yacht and its seasick crew, including eight politicians, in the exclusion zone around France's main South Pacific nuclear test site. Sept 9 - About 3,000 people rally in Papeete to condemn the French colony's explosion of unrest, but they fail to give strong support for France's renewed nuclear testing. Sept 10 - Chirac vows to press ahead with nuclear tests in the Pacific despite riots in Tahiti. Sept 12 - France accuses New Zealand of misusing the International Court of Justice as a forum for political protest against French nuclear tests. Sept 13 - France announces moves to soothe European and Japanese opposition to its nuclear weapons tests in an effort to limit diplomatic damage among its major trading partners. Sept 15 - South Pacific leaders condemn France's nuclear testing programme at the end of their annual summit. Sept 17 - France says it has no intention of backing down from a series of nuclear tests in the South Pacific despite fierce opposition from regional leaders. Sept 22 - The International Court of Justice in The Hague rejects an attempt by New Zealand to stop further French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. Sept 25 - France tells critics that its nuclear tests are aimed at paving the way for its adherence to a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty next year. Oct 1 - French commandos seize the Greenpeace ship Manutea in international waters off France's main Mururoa atoll nuclear test site. Oct 1 - France carries out its second and apparently biggest test.