The Telegraph: Britain's nuclear policy condemned by Jonathon Porritt
’Mr Porritt, who steps down as Chairman of the Government's Sustainable Development Commission on Monday, said that years had been wasted in pursuit of the the building of new nuclear power stations. In a parting interview with The Daily Telegraph, he also condemned a succession of transport secretaries for failing to understand the green agenda and singled out a junior minister as a "spoiler" who had been "deeply unhelpful"in a number of posts. "I am deeply disappointed that we have a Government position on nuclear power that is pretty unreconstructed," Mr Porritt said after nine years in his post. He said the Commission had worked with the Department of Trade and Industry in 2003, then headed by Patricia Hewitt, to produce an energy White Paper that concluded that "nuclear power is not necessary for a secure low-carbon efficient UK economy".

AFP: Pyongyang not against talks with US: envoy
’NEW YORK - North Korea's UN ambassador said his government was not opposed to negotiations with the United States on issues of common concern. "We are not against a dialogue. We are not against any negotiations on issues of common concern," Ambassador Sin Son Ho told reporters at the North Korean mission in New York. He said Pyongyang was not to blame for the absence of dialogue with Washington. "It is not because of us. We are ready anytime." And he reaffirmed that his government would not return to the six-party talks on a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. "We have already made our position very clear. The six-party talks are gone forever. We will never participate in the six-party talks, never again," the North Korean envoy said, referring to long-running negotiations involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.’

The Hindu Business Line: Areva offers stake to NPCIL in African uranium mines
’New Delhi, July 25 Areva SA has offered state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) minority stakes in a handful of uranium mines owned by the French nuclear major in Africa. These include existing mines in Niger and upcoming uranium assets in South Africa. NPCIL has also got feelers from the Kazakhstan Government to participate in mining operations in the Central Asian nation. "NPCIL is evaluating offers for picking up minority equity in both operational and some new uranium mines owned by Areva in Africa. During the discussion with Kazakhatomprom (the state-owned nuclear monopoly of Kazakhstan), the possibility of stakes for Indian utilities in mining assets there was also discussed," a Government official told Business Line.’

New York Times: Uranium Contamination Haunts Navajo Country
’TEEC NOS POS, Ariz. - It was one year ago that the environmental scientist showed up at Fred Slowman's door, deep in the heart of Navajo country, and warned that it was unsafe for him to stay there. "There were a lot of things people weren't told about the plight of Navajos and uranium mining," Stephen B. Etsitty said. The Slowman home, the same one-level cinderblock structure his family had lived in for nearly a half-century, was contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of uranium from the days of the cold war, when hundreds of uranium mines dotted the vast tribal land known as the Navajo Nation. The scientist advised Mr. Slowman, his wife and their two sons to move out until their home could be rebuilt. "I was angry," Mr. Slowman said. "I guess it was here all this time, and we never knew." The legacy wrought from decades of uranium mining is long and painful here on the expansive reservation.’

haber27com: Germany's nuclear misadventures continue
’The latest mishaps came less than three weeks after a fault at the Kruemmel reactor cuts power and water supplies to thousand of homes, breathing new life into the major campaign issue which has divided the country's coalition government ahead of the September elections. Emsland reactor in north-west Germany, one of the country's most modern nuclear power stations, underwent an automatic shutdown at 3:00 am (0100 GMT) on Friday due to a technical fault, operator RWE said. The reactor supplies around 3.5 million households. Meanwhile, a section of the aging Philippsburg nuclear power plant in southwest Germany was taken off the grid following another incident.’

Arabian Business: Saudi potential for nuclear energy 'huge' - Siemens CEO
’The CEO of Siemens has said the potential for renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia is huge, while declining to comment on whether the company would help Middle Eastern countries with their nuclear power ambitions. "Projects with renewable energies have a huge potential in Saudi. The country has very large areas which would be suitable for wind or solar power due to its geographical position - investments which would pay off very quickly," Peter Löscher told Arabian Business in an interview. Löscher declined to comment on whether Siemens had plans to help the UAE, or any other Middle Eastern countries, with their nuclear power ambitions.’