UN Urgently Seeking Funds To Fight Nuclear Terrorism

NUKEWARS

a truckload of suitcases

Georgia To Receive Technical Aid On Smuggled Nuclear Materials
Tbilisi (AFP) Mar 12, 2002 - The United States is to provide technical aid to Georgia to prevent the trafficking of nuclear components as part of its war against international terrorism, the head of Georgia's frontier police, Valery Chkheidze, said Tuesday.

"We have information concerning attempts to smuggle nuclear components across our territory. The American side is already supplying us with methodological aid, and will soon provide us with special equipment," Chkheidze told reporters.

Representatives from the United States, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, along with officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are attending an international conference on the issue in Tbilisi, which opened Tuesday.

Last month the IAEA expressed concern at the discovery in Georgia of two cylinders containing strontium-90, a radioactive material which, combined with conventional explosives, could be used by terrorists to produce a "dirty" nuclear bomb.

Last month Georgia said it was to receive US military aid in training its armed forces in the fight against terrorism.

Washington believes that some members of the al-Qaeda network, held responsible for the September 11 attacks in the United States, have taken refuge in the lawless Pankisi Gorge region of northern Georgia.

Vienna (AFP) Mar 19, 2002
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved Tuesday an action plan boosting anti-terrorist security for nuclear power plants worldwide, but called urgently for money to fund the initiative.

Several countries have already pledged contributions to the plan, launched after the September 11 terror attacks, but not nearly as much as the UN atomic watchdog needs, said IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.

"There is wide recognition that the international physical protection regime needs to be strengthened," he told a board of governors meeting at the agency's Vienna headquarters which approved the plan "in principle."

The IAEA launched a broad initiative last September to boost nuclear safety, expressing fears notably that terrorists could attack a nuclear facility or obtain materials to build a nuclear or radioactive bomb.

A number of countries, including Austria, Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the United States have already contributed sums totally over two million dollars to a special fund for the plan, said an IAEA statement.

But the figures so far pledged fall well short of the IAEA estimate of over 30 million dollars per year for its programmes and "to enable the Agency to respond to urgent situations that require immediate security upgrades."

"The board of governors called upon IAEA Member States to contribute to the fund as a matter of urgency," said the statement.

The IAEA statement said the first line of defense against nuclear terrorism "is the strong physical protection of nuclear facilities and materials" -- and reiterated concerns about this.

"National measures for protecting nuclear material and facilities are uneven in their substance and application," it said.

NUKEWARS

CIA Chief Cites Russia, China, North Korea As Proliferators

Washington (AFP) Mar 19, 2002
Russia has emerged as the top-of-the-line supplier of advanced technology and training to countries seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction, CIA director George Tenet said Tuesday.

SUPERPOWERS US Warned Not To Ignore Chinese Military Advances	NUKEWARS CIA Chief Cites Russia, China, North Korea As Proliferators UN Urgently Seeking Funds To Fight Nuclear Terrorism Chance Of War Between Nuclear Armed India, Pakistan Highest Since 1971: CIA Washington Risks Ending Taboo On Nukes With Support For Bunker-Busters
MISSILE NEWS Experts Fret Over China's Role In Weapons Proliferation North Korea Expanding Missile Sales: US General Iran Puts Off FM's Trip To Russia In Spat Over Meetings Scud "Axis" An Alliance With Missiles But No Direction	MISSILE DEFENSE Missiles In "Position" As India Mulls Further Action Against Pakistan Abm Pullout: The Phonecall That Soured Putin's Year. Or Did It? US Official Defends Plans for Missile Defense Despite Test Failure
AEROSPACE Boeing Signs Technology Development Agreement With JAI For Work On Sonic Cruiser Boeing Sonic Cruiser Completes First Wind Tunnel Tests	UAV NEWS Northrop Grumman To Begin Initial Production Of Global Hawks Aurora Flight Sciences To Help Tool Up For Global Hawk Production Northrop Grumman Awarded $41.5 Million Global Hawk Contract Boeing's Condit Downplays Prospects For Share In JSF Bounty
IRAQ WARS	MILTECH

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement