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"German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen has urged his conservative party allies to consider dropping plans to extend the use of nuclear power because of a public lack of acceptance. Roettgen told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper his party "should carefully consider whether we want to make nuclear energy our unique feature" and that "even after 40 years there is no sufficient acceptance in the public for nuclear energy"."

"The German government said scheduled talks will focus on improving the lifespan of nuclear power plants and using reactor funds to aid renewable energies. Der Spiegel said talks scheduled to take place Thursday in Berlin were expected to include German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, Ronald Pofalla, and other top officials, along with officials from German energy utility companies. If the negotiations help lead to the lifespan of nuclear power plants being increased by 25 years, the country's top four energy groups could reap significant profits."

"Chancellor Angela Merkel may have to put plans to extend the life of Germany's nuclear-power plants on ice as falling poll ratings diminish her ability to overcome a unified opposition. Weeks of coalition infighting over tax cuts and the war in Afghanistan have eroded Merkel's political standing, making it harder to promote nuclear power, "the most difficult task she has on her agenda," said Claudia Kemfert, chief energy analyst at the DIW economic institute. "The government has had a very bad start," Kemfert said in a phone interview in Berlin. "People have the feeling that she's not really a leader at the moment, and nuclear is not the best topic for her to win." "

"German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen is reportedly considering stripping the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) of its nuclear waste duties to expedite storage at the controversial Gorleben site. Daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung reported on Tuesday that sources at Röttgen's ministry said he may take away responsibility for the final disposal of nuclear waste from the BfS by creating another government agency or privatising the process. The potential change resulted from a conflict between Röttgen and BfS President Wolfram König. Whereas Röttgen on Monday announced the Environment Ministry would end a moratorium on exploring possible storage at the controversial underground site at Gorleben in the sate of Lower Saxony, König has said the site fails to meet international safety standards. "

"Around 120,000 Germans formed a 75-mile human chain to protest the government's plan to extend the lifeline of the country's nuclear power reactors. The peaceful demonstrators Saturday linked arms in a chain that stretched from the northern towns of Brunsbuettel through Hamburg to Kruemmel, the location of two nuclear power plants. "Today will spark a countrywide chain reaction of protests and resistance if the government does not reverse its atomic policy," organizers of the demonstration said in a statement. Berlin said this year it is mulling extending the lifetime of Germany's youngest reactors by several years, vowing to scrap the nuclear phase-out plan that foresees to shut down all 17 reactors by 2021."

"The centre-right coalition government is looking to bypass the Bundesrat upper house to push through one of its more controversial policy plans - extending the lifetime of atomic power plants - according to a chancellery official. "Regarding the extension of run times, we'll have a constitutional law that does not require [Bundesrat] consent," Chancellery Chief of Staff Ronald Pofalla, a member of Merkel's conservatives, told the WAZ newspaper group on Saturday. "

A senior figure in Germany's Free Democrats has threatened to drop plans to extend the lives of national nuclear plants if power companies take issue with conditions the next government attaches to such extensions. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are due to start coalition talks with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) on Monday and energy policy will be a key issue for negotiation. The two groups have said they will look to extend the lives of Germany's 17 nuclear plants, which an existing plan envisages phasing out by 2021 at the latest.

A senior figure in Germany's Free Democrats has threatened to drop plans to extend the lives of national nuclear plants if power companies take issue with conditions the next government attaches to such extensions. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are due to start coalition talks with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) on Monday and energy policy will be a key issue for negotiation. The two groups have said they will look to extend the lives of Germany's 17 nuclear plants, which an existing plan envisages phasing out by 2021 at the latest.

The German nuclear industry is expecting a revival for their power source, but not so fast, warns the new German government. The bosses of Germany's big utilities were rubbing their hands with glee when it surfaced that Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservatives would be re-elected in a team with the pro-business Free Democratic Party -- both groups had campaigned in favor of nuclear power, and they were set to scrap the planned phase-out of the controversial energy source. After the election, Juergen Grossmann, the head of utility RWE, urged the new government to swiftly extend the running times of the German reactors. But officials from both parties have warned utilities that nuclear won't be boosted at all costs. "If the utilities refuse our terms and conditions then the nuclear phase out will remain in place," Andreas Pinkwart, a senior FDP official, told German news magazine Der Spiegel.

The German nuclear industry is expecting a revival for their power source, but not so fast, warns the new German government. The bosses of Germany's big utilities were rubbing their hands with glee when it surfaced that Chancellor Angela Merkel's Conservatives would be re-elected in a team with the pro-business Free Democratic Party -- both groups had campaigned in favor of nuclear power, and they were set to scrap the planned phase-out of the controversial energy source. After the election, Juergen Grossmann, the head of utility RWE, urged the new government to swiftly extend the running times of the German reactors. But officials from both parties have warned utilities that nuclear won't be boosted at all costs. "If the utilities refuse our terms and conditions then the nuclear phase out will remain in place," Andreas Pinkwart, a senior FDP official, told German news magazine Der Spiegel.

Environmentalists from the international pressure group Greenpeace are trumpeting their biggest success in years after German-Dutch company URENCO announced on Monday that it is ending the practice of sending spent nuclear fuel to Russia for reprocessing and storage. Radioactive loads on board foreign ships had been arriving at the port of St. Petersburg every month for a decade to be sent by rail to factories in Siberia and the Urals. Environmentalists feared that transporting such loads through the city presented a major threat to public health and environmental security. In 1999, they failed in their attempts to have the importing of spent nuclear fuel from abroad into Russia banned. In December 2000, the State Duma voted overwhelmingly to adopt the practice of importing irradiated fuel from other countries.

Environmentalists from the international pressure group Greenpeace are trumpeting their biggest success in years after German-Dutch company URENCO announced on Monday that it is ending the practice of sending spent nuclear fuel to Russia for reprocessing and storage. Radioactive loads on board foreign ships had been arriving at the port of St. Petersburg every month for a decade to be sent by rail to factories in Siberia and the Urals. Environmentalists feared that transporting such loads through the city presented a major threat to public health and environmental security. In 1999, they failed in their attempts to have the importing of spent nuclear fuel from abroad into Russia banned. In December 2000, the State Duma voted overwhelmingly to adopt the practice of importing irradiated fuel from other countries.

German activists show how to shut down a nuke plant video, followed by news report over social democrats opposition in meetings.