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* Sarkozy proposes nuclear projects in Turkey and Asia * Turkish president expressed interest, Elysee says * Sarkozy hopes for GDF Suez role in Nabucco pipeline By Yann Le Guernigou PARIS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - France offered Turkey cooperation on civil nuclear energy and closer trade ties on Friday, seeking to improve relations that have been damaged by President Nicolas Sarkozy's opposition to Turkey joining the European Union. Sarkozy proposed to his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul during a working lunch at his Elysee palace that the two countries could work together on nuclear projects not only in Turkey but also in central Asia, Sarkozy's office said. "President Gul said he was interested. He noted that he had met several times with Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive of (nuclear technology group) Areva (CEPFi.PA), and that there were very interesting prospects," said an Elysee source.

* Sarkozy proposes nuclear projects in Turkey and Asia * Turkish president expressed interest, Elysee says * Sarkozy hopes for GDF Suez role in Nabucco pipeline By Yann Le Guernigou PARIS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - France offered Turkey cooperation on civil nuclear energy and closer trade ties on Friday, seeking to improve relations that have been damaged by President Nicolas Sarkozy's opposition to Turkey joining the European Union. Sarkozy proposed to his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul during a working lunch at his Elysee palace that the two countries could work together on nuclear projects not only in Turkey but also in central Asia, Sarkozy's office said. "President Gul said he was interested. He noted that he had met several times with Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive of (nuclear technology group) Areva (CEPFi.PA), and that there were very interesting prospects," said an Elysee source.

Some of the world´s leading cancer control specialists met at IAEA headquarters in Vienna 29 June - 1 July to discuss strategies for fighting the growing cancer burden in Asia and the Pacific region. Cancer is fast becoming a major global health problem. It´s estimated that by 2020 there will be some 15 million new cancer cases a year, the majority of them in developing countries. Asia alone can expect up to 5 million cancer deaths annually. To effectively combat this trend, cancer control planning needs to be tailored to meet a country's specific requirements and resources. Outside support can play a crucial role.

An OSCE meeting on support to Central Asia in mitigating radioactive waste problems held here on Thursday urges international organizations and Central Asian countries to step up cooperation in managing radioactive waste. According to OSCE press release, this meeting attracted representatives of the OSCE, the UN Development Program, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Bank to discuss ways of enhancing regional cooperation between international organizations, donors and the private sector. Ambassador Tesoriere, head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, noted that this joint presentation seeks to inform a wider international audience about the dangers of radioactive and toxic waste in Central Asia to human life, economy and environment, and to demonstrate how these dangers can be addressed.

Representatives of Central Asian governments have met at a conference in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, to find ways of jointly tackling the issue of radioactive waste dumps and their environmental and health impacts. "The issue of uranium waste dumps and industrial waste in Central Asia is a very serious one and if there is not an urgent and effective solution to it, it can be the reason for serious implications for millions of people in the region. The mitigation of those implications might require dozens of years and substantial resources," Neal Walker, head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN system in Kyrgyzstan, said.

India's status as a nuclear power has been described as a "myth" by the scientist who carried out its controversial hydrogen bomb tests in 1998. He said the device had only "fizzled". The claims by the test director K Santhanam have provoked an outcry in India which treasures its nuclear status as a symbol of its power in Asia where it has been locked in an arms race with both Pakistan and China. The Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh recently unveiled India's first nuclear submarine as a statement of its naval ambitions. But according to K. Santhanam, who directed the secret detonations of five Shakt' nuclear devices at their nuclear test site at Pokhran, in the Rajasthan desert, the true test results were covered up and falsely hailed as a success by the Hindu nationalist BJP government.

*Kazakhstan aims to be world No.1 uranium exporter in 2009 *Mine to produce 3,000 tonnes uranium by 2014 *Output mostly destined for Japan KHORASAN, Kazakhstan, April 24 (Reuters) - Japan opened a major uranium mine in Kazakhstan on Friday, gaining access to alternative energy supplies from resource-rich Central Asia. Khorasan-1, tucked away in the arid steppes of southern Kazakhstan, is being developed by a group of Japanese firms including Toshiba Corp (6502.T), as well as Kazakh state uranium company Kazatomprom and a unit of Canada's Uranium One (UUU.TO).

* Says commitments from 10 customers * Customers include utilities in Asia, Europe, North America March 27 (Reuters) - Uranium fuel supplier USEC Inc (USU.N) said it had commitments worth $3.3. billion from 10 customers for a substantial portion of production at its American centrifuge plant. The commitments from customers, including utilities in the United States, Europe and Asia, represent both accepted offers and signed contracts, which are of varying length extending as far as 2026, USEC said. The centrifuge plant is being constructed in Piketon, Ohio, and the company has already invested more than $1.2 billion on it.

"A radioactive leak occurred at a Chinese nuclear power plant last month but has just been made public. Radio Free Asia reported that "radioactive iodine and noble gas" were in high levels around Southern China's Shenzhen's Daya Bay nuclear power station plant and that the May 23 leak had been covered up. Hong Kong electric utility CLP has a 25 percent stake in the power plant, which is 75 percent owned by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group. The plant, 31 miles from Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui district, supplies 70 percent of its electricity to Hong Kong."

"U.S. Senator Jim Webb abruptly canceled a planned visit to military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday because of concern about the country's alleged nuclear cooperation with North Korea. Politics | North Korea Webb, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific, said his visit would be "unwise" having learned of a report containing new allegations that Myanmar was seeking North Korea's help in developing a nuclear program. It was not immediately known what report Webb was referring to and a U.S. embassy spokesman could not confirm the origin of the report, or where it was published."

Environmental group Greenpeace on Monday accused Congress of using "myths" and "abusing scientific data" to support their bid to revive the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Von Hernandez, Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director, and geologist Kelvin Rodolfo, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, disproved claims by Representatives Mark Cojuangco and Juan Miguel Arroyo that the 30-year-old facility would yield clean, safe and inexpensive energy. "Nuclear energy is not clean, not safe and not cheap," said Hernandez, adding that it is "probably the most dangerous and expensive power source there is."

Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T), Asia's largest utility, is considering building nuclear power plants overseas, Kyodo News Agency reported on Wednesday. Kyodo said TEPCO was considering focusing such moves in emerging countries in Asia, such as Vietnam and India, where demand for electricity is expected to strengthen as their economies grow.

China's agreement to help Pakistan build two nuclear power plants is prompting warnings that the new US-India civilian nuclear deal is already pushing other countries to pursue their own nuclear relationships. The concern among South Asia experts and nonproliferation advocates is that the American deal allowing India to pursue an expanded civilian nuclear program with limited safeguards is prompting other countries in a volatile region to seek a similar deal - something the US had said would not happen.

CPI (M)'s Kerala unit today said the move to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal was aimed at bringing India closer to the U.S. to enforce American 'hegemony' over the Asian nations. The U.S, which does not like China's emerging stature as another economic super power, apprehends that it cannot impose its hegemony in Asia if India, Russia and China forged closer ties, CPI-M politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also Kerala unit secretary, said here. America wanted to "strike the nuclear deal" to turn New Delhi as its strategic partner, he said The American initiative to see through the nuclear deal was a clear ploy to get India's support for its 'secret imperialistic designs; at a time when others, including the Latin American nations, "are found to be refusing to toe the U.S. line," Vijayan said.

Police in Japan have raided the premises of a company suspected of illegally exporting machinery that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Officers targeted the headquarters of Horkos Corp and several related sites in the southern city of Fukuyama.

Police in Japan have raided two companies after vacuum pumps they manufactured and sold were found in a North Korean nuclear facility. They searched a manufacturing company in Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo, and a trading company in the capital.

Japan's Hitachi Ltd (6501.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it will develop mid-size nuclear reactors together with General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to tap growing demand for smaller nuclear power plants in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets.