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Gordon Brown has invited oil-rich states like Saudi Arabia to invest in the next generation of British nuclear power stations. Saudi Arabian King Abdullah has been invited by Gordon Brown to invest in Britain's nuclear industry King Abdullah, pictured on a visit to the UK, will be invited to invest in the UK The Prime Minister extended the invitation to OPEC members as part of a deal he will propose at a summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

"Saudi Arabia is not considering developing an atomic energy program, even as neighboring oil producers pursue nuclear plants to meet power demand and diversify domestic energy sources. "We are ruling out nuclear energy for now," Mohammed Salim Sorour al-Sabban, who also heads Saudi's United Nations climate negotiations, said in an interview in Riyadh today. "We are joining the International Renewable Energy Agency and we will focus on solar energy as a renewable." Saudi Arabia aims to boost solar energy projects and export electricity from such plants, al-Sabban said. "

Saudi Arabia is conducting studies into the use of nuclear energy in meeting soaring power demands, the country's water and electricity minister said on Saturday. Abdullah al-Hussayen said the kingdom is looking at the use of nuclear power on its own as well as in conjunction with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. "We are looking into the feasibility of nuclear energy (on our own) … and also with the GCC," Hussayen told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai.

Saudi Arabia is conducting studies into the use of nuclear energy in meeting soaring power demands, the country's water and electricity minister said on Saturday. Abdullah al-Hussayen said the kingdom is looking at the use of nuclear power on its own as well as in conjunction with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. "We are looking into the feasibility of nuclear energy (on our own) … and also with the GCC," Hussayen told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai.

France and Saudi Arabia are close to finalizing a civil nuclear cooperation pact which could lead to the sale of French atomic energy technology, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Sunday. A deal could be completed "soon," Lagarde said after a day of meetings with top Saudi economic and energy officials as well as Saudi King Abdullah. "The talks have progressed well," she added. Lagarde gave no details of what would be covered by the agreement, but officials said it could be completed and signed by the end of 2009.

U.S. President George Bush is in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Abdullah marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Washington and Riyadh. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the two leaders are expected to reach agreement on civilian nuclear technology.

The UN Day for the Prevention of the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is Nov. 6 and is the International Day of Action in the campaign to ban depleted uranium (DU) weapons which are anti-tank shells. However, the impact of a fired shell with a tank puts a cloud of radioactive and chemically toxic DU oxide particles in the air that can be inhaled or ingested. As its half-life - DU is radioactive - is over 4 million years - once in the environment, it is here to stay. DU anti-tank shells have been used by the U.S. and the U.K. since 1991. During the First Gulf War in 1991, 320 tons of DU was dumped on Iraq, Kuwait and a little on Saudi Arabia. They have been used in the Balkans Wars of the 1990s and also in Iraq in 2003 where they were used in urban areas. Reports from Iraq indicate increased rates of cancer, especially in children, and increased rates of birth defects that may be due to DU exposure. DU has been found to cause mutations in humans and laboratory animals and cancers including leukemia in laboratory rodents.

The UN Day for the Prevention of the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is Nov. 6 and is the International Day of Action in the campaign to ban depleted uranium (DU) weapons which are anti-tank shells. However, the impact of a fired shell with a tank puts a cloud of radioactive and chemically toxic DU oxide particles in the air that can be inhaled or ingested. As its half-life - DU is radioactive - is over 4 million years - once in the environment, it is here to stay. DU anti-tank shells have been used by the U.S. and the U.K. since 1991. During the First Gulf War in 1991, 320 tons of DU was dumped on Iraq, Kuwait and a little on Saudi Arabia. They have been used in the Balkans Wars of the 1990s and also in Iraq in 2003 where they were used in urban areas. Reports from Iraq indicate increased rates of cancer, especially in children, and increased rates of birth defects that may be due to DU exposure. DU has been found to cause mutations in humans and laboratory animals and cancers including leukemia in laboratory rodents.

"An Iranian who claimed he was "abducted" by US spies last year denied upon his arrival in Tehran Thursday that he was a nuclear scientist, but said he was questioned by Israelis during his captivity. Shahram Amiri, who vanished from Saudi Arabia in June 2009 while on a pilgrimage, arrived in Tehran on Thursday after surfacing in Iran's Interest Section in Washington two days ago. Immediately after his arrival he told reporters that he was just a "simple researcher", refuting earlier claims by Iranian officials that he was a nuclear scientist. "I had nothing to do with Natanz and Fordo sites," Amiri said referring to Iran's two uranium enrichment plants."

Reuters) - Several people who could serve as energy secretary in U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's administration already have been mentioned by Washington insiders, lobbyists and blog writers, including: * U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He advocates renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. * Wesley Clark, retired Army general and former NATO commander who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. * General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt, who says government investment in environmental technologies can create green jobs. * Ray Mabus, former Democratic Governor of Mississippi and U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer. He served as a senior adviser to the Obama campaign. * U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. A long-time critic of OPEC and nuclear power, he supported higher fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. * Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google.org. A former assistant energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, he wants more U.S. electricity generated by renewable sources and promotes plug-in vehicles. * Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat who has called for a $850 million state Energy Independence Fund to invest in clean energy projects and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. * Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat who is a big promoter of developing liquid fuel from coal. * Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat who fought efforts to allow a coal-fired power plant to expand in her state, saying it would spew more greenhouse gas emissions.

Here's a quick geopolitical quiz: What country is three times the size of Texas and has more than 300 days of blazing sun a year? What country has the world's largest oil reserves resting below miles upon miles of sand? And what country is being given nuclear power, not solar, by President George W. Bush, even when the mere assumption of nuclear possession in its region has been known to provoke pre-emptive air strikes, even wars?

"Nuclear knowledge, nuclear technology and the corresponding delivery systems are now more easily available internationally than ever before. This favors the nuclear ambitions of states that see their security at risk and that have ambitions to become regional powers. If they were to get nuclear weapons, this would then trigger a chain reaction among their neighbors, who would feel threatened by those arms. For example, a nuclear-armed Iran would raise for the Arab states the question of an "Arab bomb," given that the main non-Arab actors in the region -- Israel, Iran and the US -- would all have nuclear weapons under this scenario. Large states like Egypt or Saudi Arabia might therefore want to join the club. "

Did you hear the alarming story about a country led by draconian Muslim religious extremists acquiring enriched uranium for their nuclear plants -- plants which could be weaponized any time in the future, putting weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Sharia law fanatics who repress women, chop off heads and throttle all dissent? What's more, they were given this weapons-grade material by a rogue nation led by a goonish tyrant who gained power only because he was the wastrel son of the former leader. Break out the regime change machinery right away; this evil must be stopped!