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Venezuela Says It Has Right To Pursue Nuclear Energy
The vice president of Venezuela insisted on Wednesday that his government had the right to develop civilian nuclear power as an alternative source of energy. "Venezuela has the absolute right to develop nuclear energy," Rangel said at a press conference. While the country was rich in oil, it was important to cultivate renewable sources such as solar, wind and nuclear energy, he said. Any nuclear program would be for purely peaceful purposes and in no way involve the development of nuclear weapons, he said. "President (Hugo) Chavez has been sufficiently emphatic in saying that there is no question of constructing an atomic bomb," he said. In an apparent reference to the United States and international rules governing access to nuclear technology, Rangel said it was "hypocritical" that some countries sought to block access to nuclear energy. Responding to recent reports that Venezuela allegedly had approached Argentina and Iran to discuss securing nuclear technology, Rangel said the government was merely exploring the possibility of nuclear power and had made no agreements with other countries. Rangel also rejected a report by Transparency International that described endemic corruption in Venezuela. He said the group was "totally unqualified" to present such a report and that the problem had been overstated. While corruption varied from country to country, Rangel said that "one of the most corrupt countries in the world is the United States." Transparency International, an international non-governmental organization devoted to combating corruption, gave Venezuela 2.3 points on a scale of 10 in a worldwide survey. That made Venezuela one of the most corrupt countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the annual index. All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Related Links SpaceWar Search SpaceWar Subscribe To SpaceWar Express 
Blair Determined To Keep Britain's Nuclear Weapons
London (AFP) Oct 19, 2005British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday that a nuclear deterrent remained a key part of Britain's defence, despite being useless against terrorism.
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