Saudi Arabia new energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has announced the kingdom plans to enrich uranium for its future civilian nuclear power program. The move could mark the start of a race for nuclear weapons in the Gulf as attempts by the United States and European Union to strike a new deal with Iran on its nuclear plan falter. Forbes.com Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran had been developing nuclear weapons at a secret site near the city of Abadeh, but that Tehran destroyed the facility after learning it had been exposed. Reuters.com Unit 2 of the Taishan nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province has entered commercial operation, becoming the second EPR reactor to do so. The milestone was achieved on 7 September, following statutory functional testing of continuous operation at full power for 168 hours, which started on 30 August, EDF said. This step marks the achievement of all prerequisite conditions for the second reactor's safe operation just nine months after unit 1 was commissioned, it added. World-nuclear-news.org There is increasing and widespread recognition that nuclear energy will feature in the future global energy mix and make its contribution to sustainable development, the World Energy Council (WEC) says in a report published today. World-nuclear-news.org
