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KIEV, Ukraine – SNIPPET: "The suspects tried to peddle the substance as plutonium-239, a highly radioactive material that can be used to build nuclear weapons, and demanded $10 million, Ostapenko said. But security experts later determined that the material was likely americium, a widely used radioactive material. Ostapenko said it could be used in a dirty bomb, but not nuclear weapons."

Still in Control Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and—despite a flurry of rumors—not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling...

The International Atomic Energy Agency has declared a "nuclear emergency" over the radioactive material reported missing from Nigeria this week. The agency says that they are viewing it as a "stretegic theft," which is to say that the material was taken with nefarious purposes in mind. Baer reports that this very likely means dirty bombs.

Feb. 25, 2003 Nigeria reports unexplained loss of nuclear material Nigeria has asked the global nuclear agency's help tracking down radioactive material that it says disappeared from the West African nation's oil industry. "We have ... informed the International Atomic Energy Agency in case somebody stole it and wants to take it outside Nigeria," Shams Elegba, head of Nigeria's nuclear regulatory body, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Elegba gave no further details of the missing material or the circumstances behind its loss. But he said his agency was working hard to recover it, and had asked the global energy...

explosions on Columbia This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31066 Sunday, February 16, 2003 CATASTROPHE IN THE SKYEarth monitors recorded explosions on ColumbiaExperts won't say if infrasound readings coincide with 'electrical zap' on camera Posted: February 16, 20039:47 p.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com As NASA continues its probe into the precise cause of the space shuttle Columbia disaster, government researchers are confirming the recording of explosions as the orbiter broke apart during its fatal descent. Falling space shuttle debris (Photo: nbc5i.com) According to a report in the Toledo Blade, some scientists...