Counting the Cost - Japan: The Cost of Disaster
On this week's Counting the Cost we look at: The economic impact of the catastrophe in Japan, the global nuclear power debate and an unexpected pastime in Afghanistan - skiing.

The Game Is Up! Saudi Arabia Invited to Invest in British Nuclear Power Stations
Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has invited oil-rich states like Saudi Arabia to invest in the next generation of British nuclear power stations.

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. 



Mr Brown said he wants oil producers to allow Western energy firms to invest in their fields, increasing OPEC's extraction and refining capacity. 



In exchange, he said, Western oil-consumers led by Britain should open their economies to investment from oil-states' sovereign wealth funds. In particular, he said, sovereign funds should be encouraged to invest in alternative energy sources, including nuclear power.

The government has signalled its willingness to license a new wave of nuclear power reactors in Britain, but there are doubts about the energy industry's appetite for funding new stations. Gordon Brown Invites Saudi Arabia to Invest in Britain's Nuclear Industry >>> By James Kirkup in Brussels | June 21, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US)