On the night of 25-26 April 1986, unknown to most of the world, scientists were busy testing Chernobyl's reactor No 4 to determine whether its coolant pumps would keep running in the event of a loss of power. Within minutes of beginning the test, a power surge caused a chain reaction which lead to a massive explosion and meltdown of the reactor's core. Two days later Tass, the then-Soviet state news agency, acknowledged there had been an “incident”.
Given the political climate at…
This year's CND conference took place close to the heart of London's poshistani shopping district -- the West End. Within two minutes of arriving, we had discovered the first two rules of the venue we had managed to break (no bicycles,no gaffa tape, blimey, good job we ditched the dog!). You can't take some people anywhere.
However, the morning quickly moved into the usual round of resolutions and voting, with very little to report. The resolution opposing Trident replacement was…
The recent meeting of the Second Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in Geneva was notable for an increasingly public conflict between the United States and Iran, which the Bush administration is accused of being determined to incite.
Displaying antagonism not seen at previous PrepComs, the US accused Iran of developing a nuclear weapons programme, and demanded that Iran declare its intentions openly.
In response…
