Date: Wed X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v2.52) X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.0 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Status: R WASHINGTON Oct 25 (Reuters) - US officials say that the US and China are close to reaching an agreement for Beijing to end nuclear cooperation with Iran. If the deal is completed (possible even before the summit on wednesday) Clinton is then able to approve the export of advanced reactor technology to China. A deal woost be a boost for the US nuclear industry which has a shortage on orders. An agreement with China can open a $50 billion nuclear market. HONOLULU Hawaii Oct 26 (AFP) - The Washington Post quoted an unnamed US official in saying that China has given "very firm clear and explicit assurances" to end their nuclear cooperation with Iran. Clinton fears Iran is using the civili- an nuclear technology fron Peking to develop nuclear weapons. Jiang and Clinton will meet in Washington and hope to sign an historic nuclear agreement. NEW DELHI Oct 26 (AFP) - Quoting a study the United News of India reported that by the turn of the century India can in six of their nuclear reactors produce enough weapons-grade plutonium for 50 N-weapons. According to the military think- tank IDSA (Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis) India however can not make bombs more powerful than those of the USSR and US 40 years ago. The country refuses to sign the NPT recently rejected the CBTB because it is in their view discri- minatory. India exploded an nuclear weapon in 1974. TAIPEI Oct 26 (AFP) - Some 5000 people protested against the construction of two nuclear reactors in Taiwan. They demon- strated in front of Japan'=FE and US' de facto embassy's. Hita- chi and Toshiba from Japan and General Electric from US last year won the US$1.6 billion contract. LONDON Oct 27 (AFP) - 59 percent of the Britons believe the country would be safer without nuclear weapons. This is the result of an opinion poll commissioned by teh Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The outcome was published on the eve of the debate on Britain's defence strategy. 63 % think that spending 1.5 billion pounds (US$2.4 billion) on the upkeep of the nuclear deterrent was a waste of money. SEOUL Oct 27 (AFP) - The South Korean daily Joong-Ang pu- blished what they claim to be the first photocopies of secret government directives of the countries N-weapons programm in the 70s. It used French technology and even dispatched scien- tists to France for obtaining the necessary technology. In Oct. 1979 the program was suddenly scuttled when dictator Park Chung-Hee was killed by his intelligence chief. Under pressure of the US Chun Doo-Hwan who succeeded Park scrapped the plan (which costed US$ 56.3 in 5 years). Russia Oct 27 (AFP) - The town of Sarov better known as Arzamas-16 is still a closed town whose inhabitants cannot freely travel. Arzamas (450 km east of Moscow) was one of the secret cities to develop the Soviet nuclear weapons. It star- ted now 50 years ago. In the town their was no crime nor any shortage. A 84 year old worker recalls: "I couldn't believe my eyes. After the ration tickets of post-war Moscow here we were faced with tables groaning with things we had forgotten about: sturgeon with mushrooms caviar fresh fruit.." (CSM Oct 27) - By participating in the Chinese nuclear market US firms claim they will boost the American economy and create or retain tens of thousands of domestic jobs. Furthermore they think participating in China will allow them to survice the shrinking market untill a revival of nuclear energy in the next century which they think will happen. But they believe that even if an US-Chino agreement is signed Russian Canadian and French companies are ahead in the race for orders. MOSCOW Oct. 24 (UPI) Russian Foreign Ministry says an agree- ment was signed after talks in Moscow this week with the visiting Libyan nergy Secretary. Part of the agreement is to fix a reactor at the Tajura Nuclear Research Center. The IAEA gave permission to Lybia to run the complex says Itar-Tass. WASHINGTON Oct. 27 (UPI) - The US urges Russia to remove 16 advanced IBM computers from Arzamas-16 a nuclear-weapons research centre. Russia purchased them in Germany after US denied selling the computers to them. Russia claim they use them to create models for theoretical testing of n-weapons. Russia imformally proposed to relocate the computers to a civilian complex. US might accept this and drop the threat of a possible criminal investigation. Maine US Oct. 27 (UPI) - The 74-year old anti-war activist Philip Berrigan is sentenced to two years imprisonment. A group of 6 smashed control panels and spilling bottles with some of their own blood on a nuclear warship on February 12. Five others will be sentenced later this week. Berrigan has served at least seven years in prison on various convictions. BERLIN 24 Oct 1997 (Reuters) - Angela Marquardt a 26 year old politician left-wing (PDS) was in court again after she was aquitted in a June trial for having made a link on her ho- me-page with an Internet-based magazine. In the magazine was shown how to sabotage railway-lines. But the court ruled she made the link before the magazine published about sabotage. This time she was accused of having illegally published the list of charges and allegations of her first trial. The pro- ceedings were adjourned because a witness did not show op. No restart date was given. ====================================================================== 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 ======================================================================