Date: Mon X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v2.52) X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.0 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Status: R Headlines 21 - 23 October 1997 TEHRAN Oct 21 1997 (AFP) - Iran cursed the US for pressuring China to end its nuclear cooperation saying it interferes in their internal affairs. Foreign ministry spokesman Mahmud Mohammadi said the cooperation was for peaceful use and under control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Chinese foreign ministry stated that China never have exported nuclear weapons or technology to Iran. WASHINGTON Oct. 21 1997 (UPI) -- FBI Director Louis Freeh and the new chief of the bureau's laboratory Dr. Donald Kerr have admitted the lab's growing role in heading off the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons in terrorism. Kerr former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory dealt with national security basic research and energy programs. For nuclear as well as other types of mass terrorism the FBI director says the bureau must deal with an increase in these types of threats. TAIPEI Oct 22 1997 (AFP) - Environmental activists will hold a demonstration here after the opposition failed to convince parliament to cancel the budget for a controversial nuclear power plant. Activists thinks that about 10 000 people would join the march on Sunday. Taiwan Power Co. the power supplier of Taiwan has three nuclear power plants in operation and plans to build a fourth one at an estimated cost of 6.4 billion US dollars. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union stated that there is not a short of electricity quoting a study by National Taiwan University which says that only 60 percent of the electricity output was consumed efficiently 20 percent lower than the target required by the law. If power consumption was bettered then not only the nuclear project could be dropped but one of the three nuclear-fueled power plants could be shut down according to the environmental organisation. BRATISLAVA Oct 22 1997 (AFP) - At the nuclear power station construction site near Mochovce two protestors were injured after a battle between the police and anti-nuclear demonstrators Greenpeace said. The environmental organisation protested against the police methods and said it was considering legal action before the courts. The Slovakian interior ministry said the police action had been an appropriate and lawful response. The two first 440-megawatt phases of the power station are due to come on stream in July 1998 and March 1999. WASHINGTON Oct. 22 1997 (UPI) -- To win President Clinton's assent for civilian nuclear trade with the US China has agreed to strenghten controls over its atomic programs. US officials say China may be willing to offer the US a formal pledge reflecting the new positions fleshed out during intense negotiations in Beijing this week at a presidential summit here Nov. 28. Clinton has come under intense pressure from such American firms as Westinghouse and General Electric which stand to gain lucrative contracts for the construction of atomic power plants in China to announce the certification during the summit. SAN FRANCISCO Oct. 22 1997 (UPI) -- Two seismologists say an Aug. 16 seismic event in the north of Russia was an earthquake not a secret Russian nuclear test as U.S. officials suspect. The scientists of the Colombian University say in Nature their study shows the need to revise the current US mechanism for evaluating such events since a misinterpretation could have global political repercussions. MOSCOW Oct 23 (AFP) 1997 - The Russian navy has retrieved a decommisioned nuclear submarine which sank in the Russian far east on May 29 the Interfax news agency reported Thursday. Despite the accident background radiation levels emitted by the vessel remained normal Interfax reported. A dozen ageing submarines are awaiting destruction but so far only two have been cut up because Moscow has so far failed to issue the 10 billion rubles (1.7 million dollars) needed to fund the work. WASHINGTON Oct 23 1997 (AFP) - The Implementation of a US-China nuclear agreement is supported by of a group of 16 US senators who said it would help the US economy and spur further cooperation on preventing chemical and nuclear proliferation. In a letter to President Bill Clinton the senators spoke of the lucrative sales US companies could make in the civilian nuclear power area if such an agreement is implemented. TOKYO Oct 23 1997 (Reuters) - US and Japanese officials signed agreements in Tokyo to intensify their cooperation on nuclear safety issues including the exchange of personnel and technical data. In particular the pacts will grant Japan further access to US research on probabilistic risk assessment techniques which allow nuclear power facilities to prepare preventions for and responses to radiation leakages and other accidents. Japan's nuclear power programme has been plagued by a series of major accidents and embarrassing cover-up attempts over the past two years which has rapidly eroded public faith in government nuclear policy. TEHRAN October 22 1997 (Reuters) - Iran has stressed that its nuclear cooperation with China is for peaceful purposes and accused the US of trying to disrupt Sino-Iranian relations. The official Iranian news agency said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi stressed the peaceful nature of Sino-Iranian nuclear cooperation. CHICAGO Oct 17 1997 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Edison Co(UCM - news) said it has formed a Nuclear Generation Group to improve the track record of and restore confidence in ComEd's nuclear programs. HOLLYWOOD October 23 1997 (Reuters) - Call it the blasts from the past. The Department of Energy next month plans to release films of US nuclear weapons tests taken by a secret team of filmmakers that have never been previously shown in public. The department said it would make public up to 20 films documenting the nuclear test explosions. ====================================================================== World Information Service on Energy - WISE PO Box 59636 Tel: +31-20-6126368 1040 LC Amsterdam Fax: +31-20-6892179 The Netherlands Email: wiseamster@antenna.nl (Visitors: Ketelhuisplein 43) http://antenna.nl/~wise ======================================================================