Israeli police are investigating whether instructions on how to produce heavy water, which can be used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, were stolen from water company Gal-Al, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, April 27).
Gal-Al has accused a rival firm of stealing the instructions by hacking into company computers.
Twenty individuals have been arrested so far in the “Trojan Horse” investigation into theft of Israeli nuclear secrets. Computers from television stations, public relations firms, car importers and car companies were all infiltrated by hackers.
The Trojan Horse investigation has spread beyond Israel to the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany (Agence France-Presse, June 9).
The U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee yesterday voted down a measure to stop the sale of military equipment to Pakistan — including F-16 fighters jets — unless Islamabad provides access to former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, under house arrest for his role in setting up an international nuclear black market, Bloomberg reported yesterday (see GSN, May 26).
Representative Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y) introduced the measure, but James Leach (R-Iowa) and Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the two senior committee members led opposition to defeat the amendment to the State Department funding bill 28-14.
“There is a recognition that Pakistan is an important ally on the global war on terrorism,” said Lantos, who argued during the debate that the measure would undermine Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s attempts to support Washington, a position unpopular in Pakistan (Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News, June 8).