
Vienna: Britain has stepped up efforts to let India join an influential global body controlling nuclear exports, a move that would boost New Delhi's standing as an atomic power but which has faced resistance from China and other countries.
The diplomatic tussle centres on whether emerging power India should be allowed into a key forum deciding rules for civilian nuclear trade, even though it has refused to join an international pact under which it would have to give up its nuclear weapons.
London, Washington, Paris and others argue nuclear-armed India should join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) - established in 1975 to ensure that civilian nuclear exports are not diverted for military purposes.
Britain has pressed its case in a paper prepared ahead of the NSG's annual meeting this week, arguing India qualifies because of the size of its civilian atomic industry and its commitment to stopping the spread of military material....
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06:20 AM, Jun 15, 2013

Stockholm: China, India and Pakistan have increased their nuclear weapons by about 10 warheads each in the past year, and other nuclear states appear set on maintaining their arsenals, a Swedish think-tank claimed on Sunday. At the start of the year, China had raised its number of nuclear warheads to 250 from 240 in 2012 as part of a process to modernise its defense, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute...

01:58 PM, Jun 03, 2013

Washington: In the late 1970s, Central Intelligence Agency had information that China might have provided a fairly comprehensive package of proven nuclear weapons design information to Pakistan, a recently declassified document has revealed. According to recently declassified CIA data, obtained by the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act, the CIA had evidence suggesting close Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation, to the point of facilitating a nuclear weapons capability, although...

12:47 AM, Apr 24, 2013

Pyongyang: North Koreans celebrated the birthday of their first leader Monday by dancing in plazas and snacking on peanuts, with little hint of the fiery bombast that has kept the international community fearful that a missile launch may be imminent. Pyongyang fired off a rocket ahead of the last anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth - the centennial - but this time the day was simply the start of a...

08:27 PM, Apr 15, 2013

Washington: North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles, an unclassified US intelligence report says, amid heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's saber-rattling. DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency) assesses with moderate confidence the North Korea currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low, Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn said during a Congressional hearing on Thursday. The Pentagon, however, said...

12:47 PM, Apr 12, 2013

Seoul: Staff at embassies in North Korea appeared to be remaining in place on Saturday despite an appeal by authorities in Pyongyang for diplomats to consider leaving because of heightened tension after weeks of bellicose exchanges. North Korean authorities told diplomatic missions they could not guarantee their safety from next Wednesday - after declaring that conflict was inevitable amid joint US-South Korean military exercises due to last until the end...

12:30 AM, Apr 07, 2013

North Korea said on Tuesday it will restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material, in what outsiders see as its latest attempt to extract US concessions by raising fears of war. ...

06:40 AM, Apr 03, 2013

Amidst escalating tension in the Korean peninsula, the US Navy is moving a warship and a sea-based radar platform closer to the North Korean coast as a shield against any missile attack by North Korea and in order to monitor Pyongyang's military moves. ...

12:20 PM, Apr 02, 2013

North Korea will restart all nuclear facilities including its shuttered Yongbyon nuclear reactor, its official KCNA news servce said on Tuesday. ...

11:40 AM, Apr 02, 2013

North Korean nuclear weapons act as a deterrent to potential aggressors and as a foundation for its prosperity, the country's leader said in a speech delivered on Sunday and published in full by the country's KCNA news agency on Tuesday. ...

10:20 AM, Apr 02, 2013

Arguing that North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, the US on Tuesday said that Pyongyang should choose the path of peace and comply with its international obligations. ...

09:00 AM, Mar 27, 2013

Greeting Iranians on the occasion Nowruz, US President Barack Obama, has said that it is now time for Iran to take immediate and meaningful steps to reduce tensions and work towards an enduring, long-term settlement of the nuclear issue. ...

11:15 AM, Mar 19, 2013

The US Treasury has imposed sanctions against North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank, the country's main foreign exchange institution, for its role in supporting Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, President Barack Obama's national security adviser said. ...

10:35 AM, Mar 12, 2013

Iran indicated that some progress was made in talks with the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, but that the two sides again failed to finalise an elusive framework deal over the Islamic state's disputed atomic activity. ...

02:46 AM, Feb 14, 2013

Expanding its nuclear arsenal at a rapid pace, Pakistan is now aiming to develop smaller and lighter atomic warheads more suitable for use on missiles, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist has said. Pakistan is expected to surpass Britain's nuclear stockpiles in a decade, the journal said, referring to the rapid development of nuclear warheads by Islamabad. ...

11:45 AM, Jan 15, 2013

Park has said she will hold talks with North Korea and resume aid to the isolated and belligerent country, but only if it abandons its nuclear weapons program. ...

06:20 PM, Dec 20, 2012

New Delhi: In a delicate balancing act, India Tuesday renewed its pitch for universal, time-bound nuclear disarmament, but underlined that it will not be part of any arms race and will continue to maintain credible minimum deterrence to deter others from trying out "nuclear coercion or blackmail". Reiterating India's commitment to no-first use of nuclear weapons, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna also highlighted the dangers of nuclear weapons falling into...

01:39 AM, Aug 22, 2012

Shimla: Making a strong plea for a world free from nuclear weapons, former president A P J Abdul Kalam on Saturday said "universal pressure" should be built to ensure destruction and non-proliferation of such arms. "Universal pressure should be built for a nuclear-free world," Kalam said while addressing a gathering at the historic Gaiety Theatre in Shimla. "Nuclear energy is required for power but nuclear weapons lead to mass destruction...

08:20 PM, Jul 14, 2012

Washington: Estimated to have more nuclear weapons than India, Pakistan is rapidly developing and expanding its atomic arsenal, spending about $ 2.5 billion a year to develop such weapons, a report has said. "Pakistan has been rapidly developing and expanding its nuclear arsenal, increasing its capacity to produce plutonium, and testing and deploying a diverse array of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles," said the report 'Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Modernisation...

09:15 AM, Apr 11, 2012

Islamabad: The new Special Response Force created to protect Pakistan's nuclear arsenal held a passing out parade on Monday, with a top official saying that "all available resources" had been put in place to effectively guard the strategic assets. The newly raised Special Response Force will be part of the security force of the Strategic Plans Division, which is responsible for maintaining the nuclear arsenal. The passing out parade at...

03:58 AM, Apr 03, 2012