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A consortium of French energy companies made a final bid on Wednesday night to sell at least two nuclear reactors to Abu Dhabi, the Chief Executive of state-owned EDF (EDF.PA) said on Thursday. "We submitted the bid last night," Henri Proglio told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference at the Finance Ministry. He did not say when he expected to hear from the government of Abu Dhabi on the outcome of the bid.

A consortium of French energy companies made a final bid on Wednesday night to sell at least two nuclear reactors to Abu Dhabi, the Chief Executive of state-owned EDF (EDF.PA) said on Thursday. "We submitted the bid last night," Henri Proglio told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference at the Finance Ministry. He did not say when he expected to hear from the government of Abu Dhabi on the outcome of the bid.

French state electricity giant EDF said on Friday it had put on sale its electricity distribution network in Britain with the aim of raising more than 4.0 billion euros (5.8 billion dollars) to reduce debt. The EDF distribution network in Britain covers London and the southeast of the country, a region that accounts for 40 percent of British gross domestic product, EDF said. EDF provides power to 7.9 million homes in Britain, amounting to 28 percent of the country's electricity supply. The Sunday Times newspaper reported in August that several parties, including an Abu Dhabi investment fund, were interested in acquiring the network.

French state electricity giant EDF said on Friday it had put on sale its electricity distribution network in Britain with the aim of raising more than 4.0 billion euros (5.8 billion dollars) to reduce debt. The EDF distribution network in Britain covers London and the southeast of the country, a region that accounts for 40 percent of British gross domestic product, EDF said. EDF provides power to 7.9 million homes in Britain, amounting to 28 percent of the country's electricity supply. The Sunday Times newspaper reported in August that several parties, including an Abu Dhabi investment fund, were interested in acquiring the network.

A French attempt to win a 41-billion-dollar (27.2-billion-euro) contract to build nuclear power stations in the Emirates is at risk over pricing, the La Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday. The newspaper reported that the top official at the presidential Elysee Palace, Claude Geant, had held a meeting with the heads of big French companies concerned on Tuesday to discuss a further reduction in the price which the government in Abu Dhabi considered too high. Present at the meeting were the head of French nuclear power group Areva, Anne Lauvergeon, the head of GDF Suez, Gerard Mestrallet, Christophe de Margerie who leads oil group Total and Henri Proglio of the electricity group EDF, the report said.

A French attempt to win a 41-billion-dollar (27.2-billion-euro) contract to build nuclear power stations in the Emirates is at risk over pricing, the La Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday. The newspaper reported that the top official at the presidential Elysee Palace, Claude Geant, had held a meeting with the heads of big French companies concerned on Tuesday to discuss a further reduction in the price which the government in Abu Dhabi considered too high. Present at the meeting were the head of French nuclear power group Areva, Anne Lauvergeon, the head of GDF Suez, Gerard Mestrallet, Christophe de Margerie who leads oil group Total and Henri Proglio of the electricity group EDF, the report said.

More than 12 Arab countries, including the Gulf Co-operation Council states, have formally decided to seek nuclear technology to help face future energy challenges, a three-day conference on nuclear energy in the Gulf, held in Abu Dhabi, was told. Addressing the World Future Energy Summit organised by Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, Dr Jungmin Kang, visiting scholar at Strandford Institute for Economic Policy Researcher of the US, said the interest in producing nuclear power is widespread in the Middle East.

The global credit crunch is threatening to clip the wings of the worldwide nuclear renaissance before it has even taken flight, raising serious questions about the UAE's nuclear aspirations. Even before the US subprime mortgage crisis rocked the world's financial institutions, banks perceived financing nuclear plants as a major risk due to soaring costs, Stephen Thomas, a professor of energy policy at Britain's University of Greenwich Business School, told an Abu Dhabi nuclear conference yesterday.

The United States said on Wednesday it was very concerned by video of a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi allegedly torturing an Afghan man, footage that could stall a civilian nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the department was consulting with Congress about the agreement, which could be blocked if an outcry over the video grows. The deal could be worth billions of dollars to U.S. energy companies that build and operate nuclear power plants.

A videotape of a heinous torture session is delaying the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, senior U.S. officials familiar with the case said. Videotape allegedly shows al Nahyan torturing an Afghan grain dealer. Videotape allegedly shows al Nahyan torturing an Afghan grain dealer. Click to view previous image 2 of 3 Click to view next image In the tape, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates. The senior U.S. officials said the administration has held off on the ratification process because it believes sensitivities over the story can hurt its passage. The tape emerged in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas, by Bassam Nabulsi, a U.S. citizen, against Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan. Former business partners, the men had a falling out, in part over the tape. In a statement to CNN, the sheikh's U.S. attorney said Nabulsi is using the videotape to influence the court over a business dispute.

"State-controlled nuclear reactor maker Areva is considering producing cheaper nuclear reactors after its flagship EPR reactor lost out to a lower-cost South-Korean rival in a $20 billion tender in Abu Dhabi last month, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Top Areva management last week launched a review of its product range "to determine whether Areva should reintroduce the simpler second-generation CPR 1,000 reactors, which it stoppped building 20 years ago, for client countries that are new to nuclear power", the paper said."