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How great corporate power shadows Gregoire on coal shipments to China
U.S. laws limit the burning of coal here, and Washington state has a strong green influence. Passenger rail in Seattle and beyond would suffer consequences from shipments to Bellingham. But the financial firepower lined up in favor of shipping coal from Washington ports to China is gigantic.
EU rejects Iran's offer of atomic site tour
The European Union has turned down an offer from Iran to tour its nuclear facilities, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said on Friday, but remains optimistic about talks with Tehran later this month. Iran has sent letters to a number of ambassadors to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, inviting them to visit two sites - the Natanz uranium enrichment plant and the Arak heavy water complex - in the coming weeks.
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and the enemy within
Steve Coll, the president of the New America Foundation and a South Asia expert, has raised the issue of the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in the wake of the assassination of the governor of most populous Punjab state by one of his bodyguards. It’s a question that comes up each time Pakistan is faced with a crisis whether it a major act of violence such as this or a political/economic meltdown or a sudden escalation of tensions with India obviously, but also the United States.
Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev rejects plan to scrap elections
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has rejected the idea of scrapping the next two elections and extending his term until 2020.
China's Push to Modernize Military Is Bearing Fruit
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, on a mission to resuscitate moribund military relations with China, will not arrive in Beijing for talks with the nation's top military leaders until Sunday. But at an airfield in Chengdu, a metropolis in the nation's center, China's military leaders have already rolled out a welcome for him.
Inside information on Turkey’s concern about a nuclear Iran
At the risk of angering its close ally the US but while safeguarding its own national interests, Turkey has been developing its ties with neighboring Iran while making intense efforts to end a lengthy stalemate between the international community and Tehran over its nuclear ambitions.
India says Security Council now more credibile
The presence of India and other key regional powers on the Security Council starting this week gives the U.N.'s most powerful body more credibility and legitimacy because it now reflects the world in the 21st century, India's U.N. ambassador
China reports it can reprocess atomic fuel
Chinese scientists have mastered the technology for reprocessing fuel from nuclear power plants, potentially boosting the supplies of carbon-free electricity to keep the country’s economy booming, state television reported yesterday.
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