RADIATION FEARS IN IRAQ
Doubts remain over the safety of 400 medical and industrial radiation sources stored at the Tuwaitha nuclear complex in Iraq, despite an inspection completed this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency. There are fears that some may have been stolen, which may explain reports of locals suffering symptoms of radiation poisoning such as nosebleeds and diarrhoea. The sources could be combined with conventional explosives to make dirty bombs. The US administration in Iraq allowed the IAEA inspectors to verify that no uranium was missing, but did not permit them to check the sources.
GREENPEACE BANNED
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The International Maritime Organization is banning Greenpeace from its meetings. At a London conference, the IMO鈥檚 governing council decided to revoke the environmental group鈥檚 decade-old observer status. The final straw for the shipping nations, led by Turkey and Greece, came last year when Greenpeace activists protesting against the oil industry boarded the Greek oil tanker Crude Dio in the Bosphorus, which the shipping industry says was a dangerous manoeuvre. Greenpeace insists its activists are well trained and do not put lives at risk.
DNA TO BE PROTECTED
A proposal to outlaw the theft of a person鈥檚 DNA is one of many recommendations in the British government鈥檚 first ever White Paper on genetics, published this week. The document also proposes spending 拢50 million over 3 years on research into new gene therapies for single-gene inherited diseases like cystic fibrosis.
