Controversial nuclear club takes shape

A controversial nuclear club is taking shape. The UK has signed up to the Bush administration's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) just a few months after it was rubbished as unworkable by the US National Academy of Sciences. The UK joins several other recent recruits, including Canada, Senegal and South Korea. Set up to keep radioactive material away from "rogue" nations, the GNEP promotes nuclear energy, while restricting access to fuel and know-how. "Iran has focused minds on this," says nuclear expert Wyn Bowen of King's College London. Last week, a similar idea received a boost: Sweden offered $5 million towards a global nuclear fuel bank, which would limit production to existing nuclear nations. Previously, the US had been the only country to back the idea.