A study has revealed that the tsunami which devastated Japan last week was at least 23 metres high.

The situation at Japan’s stricken nuclear plant is “very serious,” but does not appear to be deteriorating, says a senior official of the UN atomic agency.

THE UN atomic agency thinks Iran could have 8,000 centrifuges enriching uranium by December, a significant rise in nuclear capability likely to fuel fears that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons, diplomats said yesterday.

The UN atomic agency revealed today that Iran received black-market designs to encase weapons-grade uranium and diplomats said they appeared to be part of blueprints for a nuclear warhead.

The UN atomic agency today adopted a resolution censuring Iran for past nuclear cover-ups and warning that its activities would be thoroughly policed to put to rest suspicions that the country had a weapons agenda.

Indirectly challenging a US argument for war on Iraq, the UN atomic agency said today that the discovery of parts from Baghdad’s original nuclear weapons programme appears to back its stance that the project was not reactivated.

The UN atomic agency’s chief today urged world leaders to act quickly to safeguard radioactive materials, pleading for governments to impose stringent new controls to avert nuclear catastrophe.