A UN Security Council resolution prohibits the export of nucleargrade graphite, a key material needed for the manufacture of a nuclear bomb, to Iran. A Mumbai-based export firm was allegedly caught doing precisely that by an alert customs officer in October 2007. It was issued a showcause notice by the customs department last week for alleged violation of the Customs Act and the foreign trade policy.
Pakistan on Monday testfired the Shaheen-II long-range ballistic missile for the second time in three days. The missile can carry nuclear and conventional warheads and hit targets deep inside India. The Shaheen-II or Hatf-VI surface-tosurface nuclear capable missile, which has a range of 2,000 km, was launched for the first time by the army's Strategic Forces Command to mark the culmination of a field training exercise.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads and hitting targets within India. The test-firing of the Shaheen-II or Hatf-VI surface-to-surface ballistic missile the first missile test since Pakistan's new government assumed office last month was witnessed by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and Gen Tariq Majid, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Striking an optimistic note, India on Saturday hoped civilian nuclear cooperation with the United States and other countries would become possible soon. This comes at a time when the Left is waving the red flag on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal is likely to meet on May 5. However, Left leaders refused to confirm the date. Sources also said CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has also written, on behalf of the Left parties, to foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee seeking clarifications about the IAEA safeguard negotiations and reiterating Left's opposition to the nuclear deal.
The US scientific community is against promotion of nuclear industry in their country. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee stated that if the 123 Indo-US nuclear deals were not carried out India would face "isolation and sanctions'. US spokesmen also expressed similar threats. The US Ambassador to India, David C Mulford had publicly and politically entered into the nuclear policy debate. But what are the opinions of the American scientific community on the issue.
Japan will lead discussions at July's Group of Eight summit on the North Korean and Iranian nuclear standoffs and on strengthening the nonproliferation framework, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tuesday in a biennial report on disarmament. The 2008 white paper on disarmament and nonproliferation also criticizes China's failure to provide an adequate explanation of its antisatellite test in January 2007, reiterating Japan's concerns and calling for greater transparency of its military capacities.
Sonia Primes Congress For Assembly Polls New Delhi: The UPA government is all set to defy the Left's veto and approach the International Atomic Energy Agency by mid-July for the ratification of India-specific safeguards if
Nine months ago, India's big power ambitions suffered a setback. The 3,000-km range Agni-3, launched for the first time last July from Wheeler Island off Orissa coast, fell into the Bay of Bengal. The then defence minister Pranab Mukherjee looked at it positively. "Partial success," he called it.
