It's that rarest of creatures

these days, a good news story.

Nuclear Material Removed From Uzbekistan

By WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press Writer

April 20,2006 | VIENNA, Austria -- Spent nuclear fuel containing enough weapons-grade uranium to produce at least two bombs was safely returned to Russia from Uzbekistan this week in a high-security and classified operation, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency disclosed Thursday.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said the operation, which was completed on Wednesday after six years of planning, was the first time since the breakup of the former Soviet Union that fuel used in a nuclear research reactor was returned to Russia...

The material -- nearly 139 pounds of spent highly enriched uranium -- was transported over 16 days in four high-security shipments to Russia's main nuclear waste processing plant in Mayak, the IAEA said in a statement.

It said agency safeguard inspectors "monitored and verified" the packing of the fuel. The shipments were a joint operation by the IAEA, Kazakhstan, Russia, the United States and Uzbekistan as part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, an effort to ensure high-risk nuclear and radiological materials do not fall into the wrong hands.

See how well it all works out when we play well with others?