3 Nuclear Plants to Be Shut Down

Moscow will shut down three of eight plants involved in nuclear weapons production amid severe fund shortages, a top government official said. Atomic Energy Minister Viktor N. Mikhailov said Russia’s military nuclear program has been cut by half over the past six years and now accounts for 10% of the nuclear industry’s output. However, Mikhailov said Russia will complete construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant that it is building in Iran, and he denied U.S. allegations that the plant could help Tehran build an atomic bomb.