Bloomberg: Areva Offers India Stakes in African Mines, Jain Says (Update1)
’June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Areva SA, the world's biggest maker of atomic reactors, has offered India stakes in African uranium mines to ensure supplies for fuel-starved plants, the head of the nation's monopoly nuclear generator said. State-run Nuclear Power Corp. of India is considering investing in as many as four mines, including projects in South Africa and Nigeria, Chairman Shreyans Kumar Jain said in an interview in Mumbai. Patricia Marie, a spokeswoman for Areva in Paris, confirmed "strategic talks" with partners to develop some mines and declined to comment on specific proposals. India would gain resources for its atomic expansion after Australia, with the world's largest known uranium reserves, refused to sell to countries that haven't signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Areva is building the first large- capacity reactor project in the South Asian nation, which plans a 14-fold increase in nuclear generation by 2030.’

Reuters: Niger to hold constitutional referendum on Aug 4
’NIAMEY, June 5 (Reuters) - Niger will hold a referendum on its constitution on Aug. 4, state television said on Friday, confirming President Mamadou Tandja's plans to shrug off criticism of his bid to extend his rule of the uranium-exporter. Tandja is due to stand down when his second term in power runs out later this year but the president wants voters to approve constitutional changes that would give him three more years in power and hand future presidents more authority. The plan has led to demonstrations in Niger, drawn criticism from donors and worried some investors who fear it will fuel political instability in the nation that hopes to become the world's No. 2 uranium exporter.’

Edmonton Sun: Group says funds to fix nuclear reactor better spent elsewhere
’OTTAWA - The federal government should use the millions it will spend repairing the leaky Chalk River reactor to invest in safer alternatives, says the Canadian chapter of Physicians for Global Survival. Dr. Nancy Covington, the group's past president, said Canada's current method of producing isotopes, vital to diagnostic scans for cancer and heart disease, relies on the use of weapons-grade uranium. "[That] can be diverted to produce a Hiroshima-type bomb," she told Sun Media. "So it's a risk for terrorists." Hospitals and clinics across Canada face serious isotope shortages this summer as Chalk River's 51-year-old NRU reactor stays shuttered for at least three months, and as the main European reactor that also supplies medical isotopes goes dark for a month of maintenance.’

Expatica: Watchdog backs new licence for Spain's oldest nuclear reactor
’Madrid - Spain's nuclear watchdog has recommended that the government renew the operating licence of the oldest of the country's six nuclear plants for another 10 years. The Nuclear Safety Council said it will only publish its recommendations on Monday after weekend elections for the European Parliament but radio Cadena Ser and other media said the report it sent to the industry ministry said the plant at Garona could safely operate for another decade. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government now has until 5 July, when the 38-year-old nuclear plant's licence expires, to decide whether to follow the watchdog's recommendations. A decision to prolong the life of the Garona plant on the Ebro river in northern Spain would be a major reversal for Zapatero who pledged during general elections in 2004 and 2004 to gradually phase out nuclear power and concentrate instead on renewable energy.’

Reuters: Steam leak in pump at quake-hit Japan reactor-Kyodo
’TOKYO, June 7 (Reuters) - Steam leaked from part of a pump carrying water to the No. 7 nuclear reactor in the quake-hit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in northern Japan on Saturday, but the leak was soon fixed, Kyodo news agency said. Though the steam contained a minuscule amount of radioactive material, there was no impact on the outside environment, Tokyo Electric Power Co, which runs the plant -- the world's biggest -- was quoted by Kyodo as saying. TEPCO officials were not available for comment.’

Antiwar.com: Despite Refusing to Subject Their Own Program to International Scrutiny, Israel Demands "Firm" Action
’Addressing Friday's reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Israeli Foreign Ministry today demanded that the group take "immediate and determined" action against Iran and Syria, two states over which certain questions remain unanswered. Israel has accused both nations of pursuing covert nuclear weapons programs that the IAEA has not uncovered. The incredible thing is that Israel is not itself a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has developed its own massive nuclear weapons program, which it has refused to subject to international scrutiny.’

JoongAng Daily: Breaking into nuclear exports - Korea can turn to developing markets, but may need to forge alliances: experts
’Countries that are able to build and export nuclear power plants include the United States, France, Russia, Canada and Japan. However, the market for commercial nuclear power plants is mostly split between the U.S., France and Russia. In particular, Westinghouse and GE of U.S. and Areva of France dominate. The U.S. currently holds the highest number of key technologies to build nuclear power plants. It has 129 such sites, the most in the world. Nuclear power is being reviewed for expanded use by U.S. President Barrack Obama for economic and environmental reasons. France, like the United States, is one of the few countries that owns key technologies and has development and export capabilities. Westinghouse and Areva share the pressurized water reactor market, while the Atomic Energy Power Corp., which is an affiliate of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency or Rosatom, is in charge of the Russian nuclear power plant industry. ASE, the production and sales arm of the Atomic Energy Power Corp., has exported nuclear power plants to Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.’