US to take on Kazakh uranium

THE United States is taking control of a huge cache of enriched uranium - reportedly enough for 50 nuclear bombs - discovered at a poorly protected site in Kazakhstan, a Clinton administration official says.

The former Soviet republic, after months of secret talks, is said to have agreed to turn over the weapons-grade uranium for storage in the United States.

Defense Secretary William Perry and Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary were expected to announce details of the agreement at the Pentagon this week.

One official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the uranium had posed a ``potentially severe danger'' in the effort to curb the proliferation of nuclear material and keep it out of the hands of radical states such as Iran and Iraq.