The case of the missing nukes
The week's news at a glance.
Tripoli, Libya
Sophisticated nuclear weapons equipment that Pakistani smugglers sold to Libya was instead delivered to an unknown buyer, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. The missing equipment, which includes centrifuges that can enrich uranium to bomb-grade, was intended for the bomb factory that Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan was helping Libya build. But when the U.S. and Britain busted Khan’s smuggling ring in 2003, the shipment was diverted, and international investigators cannot determine whether it went to Iran, North Korea, or elsewhere. “For sure there were other customers,” one investigator said. “We just don’t know who, and we don’t know how far along they might be.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Selfies ban in art galleries: a sign of the times?
Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Quiz of The Week: 21 – 27 June
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?
Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?