CND's Press Round-Up - 9th April 2021
Posted: 10th April 2021
Dear all,
Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
CND’s opposition to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
A very large number of CND activists, as well as CND as an organisation, are participating in the movement against the Government’s proposed legislation which would crackdown on peaceful protest. Thank you to Philip Gilligan for passing on this article in the Westmorland Gazette, which features the work of the local CND group prominently.
Please do continue to pass on any of the work your own CND group is involved in which is generating coverage in the local press. We’ll be hosting a workshop on this topic on Wednesday 5th May at 7 p.m. to which all are welcome. Full details can be found here.
Nuclear Weapons
The outlines of the discussions over the Iran deal become clearer in Vienna with positive indications so far, whilst France engages in a practice nuclear exercise.
Vienna JCPoA Talks
The two ‘expert-level’ working groups composed of representatives from the European powers as well as China and Russia have held their first meetings with Iranian representatives, according to Reuters. Whilst both the U.S. and Iran expected progress to be slow and arduous, EU sources said that it would be clear within weeks whether there was a chance of success. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department suggested that sanctions which were not imposed as a result of Iran’s JCPoA ‘non-compliance’ could also be lifted.
This comes as Emirati press reports that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech delivered in Jerusalem that ‘An agreement with Iran that would pave the way to nuclear weapons…would not compel us in any way’. The implicit comparison Mr Netanyahu drew between the Iranian state and Nazi Germany will cause anger in many quarters.
Nuclear Weapons-France
France held ‘massive drills’ of its strategic nuclear forces earlier this week, according to the Defence Blog website. As many as fifty military aircraft were involved in the mock nuclear raid exercise, with aspects including ‘air-to-air refueling of fighters, low altitude penetration by fighter bombers and the simulated shooting down of a missile’.
Anti-War
U.S. Defence Budget
President Biden is expected to publish initial details of his Department of Defense budget today, according to POLITICO. The delayed outline will be followed by a more detailed budget next month. There continues to be disputes within and between the two main parties over what the budget should look like, with a large increase seemingly off the cards.
Defence Spending-Sweden
Sweden is planning to increase substantially defence spending, according to DefenseNews. The Swedish Defence Minister told the media that this is part of a deliberate strategy to keep Sweden out of NATO. Sweden views Finland as a key geopolitical ally, and Swedish NATO membership would put the latter in an uncomfortable position along its border with Russia. Whilst the current Swedish minority government is explicitly opposed to NATO membership, a majority of seats in the parliament are held by parties who support eventual membership.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power-UK
EDF Energy is considering bringing forward the decommissioning date for its Dungeness B plant from its original 2028 date, according to Reuters. The plant has been offline for maintenance since 2018 and is due to return to operation in August. The plant has been generating electricity since 1983.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament