'Attacks on nuclear sites pose significant threats.'
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
The crises of the 21st century, 9/11, the economic meltdown, COVID-19, Russia-Iran war and the Hamas-Israel war seem to be never ending. In this situation, Iran might be contemplating a nuclear deterrent to defend itself, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the distinguished long-time Rediff contributor who turns 80 on June 17..
The United States has lifted most of its sanctions against Iran after a UN watchdog reported that Tehran had complied with a nuclear weapons deal.
Signalling the continuity of policy, the new government has ratified the Additional Protocol, a commitment given under Indo-US nuclear deal by the previous dispensation to grant greater ease to International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor India's civilian atomic programme.
India will complete the process of putting its 14 civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards by the year end as part of a commitment made under the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The Israel-Iran conflict has entered a 'decisive phase' after the United States bombed three major Iranian nuclear sites Sunday morning, feel strategic affairs experts with some of them arguing it was Washington, DC's 'responsibility' to not get involved in the military standoff.
Akbaruddin is currently serving as additional secretary in the MEA.
Membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group ensures continued availability of fuel sufficient to operate India's nuclear plants.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday and asserted that there can be no military solution to the Ukraine conflict, while also underlining that endangerment of nuclear facilities could have catastrophic consequences.
Nehru's faith in science and technology, his genuine respect for Bhabha, and their burning ambition worked synergistically to place India on the nuclear map of the world. Atomic energy developed and prospered because of Nehru's vision fulfilled by Bhabha's mission, recalls K S Parthasarathy, former secretary of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, on the occasion of India's first prime minister's 119th birthday today.
China on Tuesday angrily denounced the nuclear-powered submarine deal announced by the US, UK and Australia, saying the pact violates the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the three countries are travelling "further down the dangerous and wrong path."
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant's personnel are continuing to service the facilities and monitor the radiation situation at the station as usual, a top Russian official claimed on Friday, a day after Russian forces took over the decommissioned facility after a fierce fight with Ukrainian soldiers guarding it.
At the end of the day, for many worldwide, the ongoing mutual attacks between Israel and Iran would seem a contest devoid of any moral high ground and only a bout between two ordinary adversaries, one that nevertheless risks spinning out of control into a larger conflagration, notes Shyam G Menon.
Rejecting Biden's comments, Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal at a press conference here said that Pakistan was following the global standards.
"A Biden administration will be mostly positive for India," said Rick Rossow from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "I expect most positive areas of cooperation -- notably defence -- to be maintained," he said.
India has said it is committed to implementing the highest safety standards at its nuclear power plants as it seeks to harness the benefits of atomic energy to meet its growing energy requirements.
The study titled 'Indian Unsafeguarded Nuclear Program' published by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad is co-authored by four nuclear scholars, including Adeela Azam, Ahmed Khan, Mohammad Ali and Sameer Khan.
United States President Donald Trump has warned Iran of "major retaliation" if Tehran carries out any attack against America to avenge the killing of top military commander Qasem Soleimani and hinted at striking its cultural sites. His statement came hours after Iran announced it will no longer abide by the limits contained in the 2015 landmark nuclear deal.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying said China-Pakistan cooperation is in accordance with the 48-member nuclear club, which supervises global nuclear commerce.
Trump's decision to call off the visit came just a day after Pompeo had announced that the newly appointed special representative for North Korea Steve Biegun and he will be travelling to North Korea next week to "make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."
India for the first time on Wednesday voted against Russia during a "procedural vote" at the United Nations Security Council on Ukraine, as the 15-member powerful UN body invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address a meeting through a video tele-conference.
"Relevant cooperation is in strict accordance with the two countries' international responsibility and is for peaceful aim. We also receive the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
He said Pakistan was working with the international community to ensure the security of its nuclear installations, which were always in safe hands.
India has voted against the provisions of draft resolutions that would have required it to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying there is "no question" of it joining the treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
With the fight now having been taken to the seizure of nuclear plants, it is one more warning to Europe that this prolonged war could end up with disastrous consequences, observes Rashme Sehgal
Biden's remarks could be seen as a setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government's bid to improve ties with the US.
'...to bring the Global South and others to the negotiating table on the basis of Gandhi's non-violence so that we can leave a safer world for our children.'
'When human beings develop these dangerous toys and leave their control in the hands of aggressive megalomaniac politicians, the threat of a nuclear holocaust is always lurking on the horizon.'
'Chinese are going bang, bang, bang building 30-35 reactors.' 'We should announce a programme of 50 new reactors and show that we mean business on the ground and not just announcements.'
The Nobel Prize for Malala may have caused deep divisions across the globe and disturbed the peace, while the award to OPCW, though not without critics, may have served the cause of peace by eliminating a weapon of mass destruction from the face of the earth, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
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India, along with the United States and Pakistan, has voted against a provision in a United nations resolution calling on to 'promptly' accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon nation 'without conditions' and to place all its nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
This would make India the world's second-biggest nuclear energy market after China
The first five months of 2023 have witnessed at least six major events/trends that augur badly for global economic and socio-political prospects, points out Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
Information released by Israel provided new and compelling details about Iran's efforts to develop missile-deliverable nuclear weapons, says WH.
"Prudence and caution" needs to be exercised, warns China.
Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects and believes it could acquire atomic bombs "at will", the BBC reported on Thursday.
'This was undoubtedly a premeditated strategy to thwart India's entry into the NSG.' 'If India hopes to be a major player, it must use its rising clout on the world stage to influence amenable members of the group to alter such discriminatory practices and ensure fair rules of engagement,' says Vivek Gumaste.
Bibhu Prasad Routray explains why the US is supporting Japan's resolve to release 'treated' radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean. And what role China plays in the US decision.
