CND's Press Round-Up - 14th June 2021
Posted: 14th June 2021
Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
Nuclear Weapons
The talks in Vienna edge closer to a deal whilst Iran prepares to go to the presidential polls this week.
Iran Nuclear Deal
European diplomats are increasingly confident that the talks in Vienna will be successful, according to the Independent. An EU representative said that ‘The EU will continue with the talks with all the participants and separately with the United States to find ways to get very close to a final agreement in the coming days’.
The Morning Star reports that the final televised presidential debate in Iran was a controversial one, with the candidate perceived as being the most reformist breaching several political taboos. Abdolnaser Hemmati referenced the 2009 protest movement and said Iran risked going down a path similar to the aftermath of the 1953 U.S-backed coup.
G7
G7 Summit Aftermath
The Independent reports that G7 leaders have agreed a competitor infrastructure and investment programme to China’s Belt and Road initiative, to be entitled ‘Building Back Better for the World’. In a briefing from No 10 Downing Street, it is claimed that investment will benefit projects ‘from railways in Africa to wind farms in Asia’. Renewable energy and green technology is envisaged as a particular site of competition with China.
CND activist Jenny Clegg has a piece in today’s Morning Star, examining how the G7 summit might have served as ‘the platform for Joe Biden’s global launch of his new cold war on China’. Jenny embeds the recent history of the G7 in a wider attempt by self-interested Western powers to create ‘an ideological community’ against which Russia and China are ‘existential threats’. Worryingly, this will likely to be reflected in increased military expenditures across the G7 powers and a more aggressive set of foreign policies, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
NATO
China and Russia appear to be firmly in the sights of the ongoing NATO summit.
NATO Summit
The Guardian reports that Joe Biden wants to use the NATO summit to ‘atone’ for the Trump presidency. Briefings from U.S. officials said that ‘this will be the first time that the Nato countries will be addressing the security challenge from China’, something which is likely to fuel concerns of a ramping up of Cold War rhetoric and policies from the alliance. Cybersecurity is also expected to be a major subject of discussion at the summit.
Nuclear Power
The UK AEA has unveiled the long list of sites for the prototype fusion reactor whilst there are reports of a safety incident at a nuclear power plant in China.
Nuclear Fusion – UK
The UK Atomic Energy Authority has published a ‘long list’ of sites under consideration for the UK’s prototype nuclear fusion reactor project. 15 sites are on the long list, covering the length and breadth of the country. In addition to five sites in Scotland, there are two sites in Nottinghamshire and several across south Wales and the south west of England. By the Government’s account, ‘moving fusion from research and development to design and delivery is an important part of the UK’s ambition to be a world leader in sustainable, low-carbon energy’. A final decision on the site is expected to be announced by the end of 2022.
Nuclear Power – China
There are reports of a leak at a nuclear power plant in southern China, according to CNN. In a letter sent to the U.S. Department of Energy, the French builder of the plant, Framatome, warned of ‘an imminent radiological threat’ at the Taishan nuclear power plant and said that Chinese regulators had been raising the permissible levels of radiation detected near the plant in order to avoid having to shut it down. Around 5% of China’s power comes from its 16 nuclear plants.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament