Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 07:26:37 -0400
 
  21 may 1996 (Reuter) - Four people were injured by a
chemical explosion at the Czech nuclear power station Dukovany
on Tuesday. Officials said there was no risk of a radiation
leak and because the reactur was shut down four weeks ago for
regular maintance and the explosion happend outside the
builing it is expected to be rated as a level-zero accident on
the international zero-to-seven scale for nuclear risk.
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  21 may 1996 (Reuter) - Leaders of Sweden, Ireland and
Austria, three European Union partners which criticised
France's nuclear weapons tests, visited Paris on Tuesday in a
sign of reconciliation after months of frosty relations.
Despite the end of the nuclear furore, French policymakers
believe the rift over nuclear weapons reflects a split on the
concept of a European defence which could undermine its
efforts to build a more effective EU foreign and security
policy. 
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  21 may 1996 (Reuter) - Slovenian environmentalists conceded
defeat on Tuesday in a campaign to secure early closure of
their country's only nuclear power plant near Ljubljana,
saying they had too little money and lacked political support. 
Furthermore complex bureaucratic procedures required to sign
the referendum petition were partly to blame for the small
number of signatures (2'463 compared to 40'000 needed).