CND's Press Round-Up - 6th July 2021
Posted: 6th July 2021
Anti-war
As the conflict in Afghanistan reaches its endgame, Turkey tries to insert itself as a key power broker.
War in Afghanistan
The New Arab has an analysis piece on what role Turkey might play in an Afghanistan from which U.S. and other NATO troops have withdrawn. The Turkish government has been attempting to play a co-ordinating part in ‘peace process’ talks in recent months, including trying to organise talks in Istanbul between the Taliban and the Afghan government. It has also offered to guard Kabul airport, something which would boost Turkey’s prestige in NATO and assuage strained relations with the U.S. In the opinion of the piece’s author, Alex Kassidiaris, ‘Ankara is seeking to expand its influence in Central Asia and further strengthen its position as a significant regional power’.
Kill the Bill
The Bill has passed its third reading by a very large margin in the House of Commons.
PCSC Act, Third Reading
The highly controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons last night, LabourList reports, with a majority of 100. Even some Tory MPs expressed concern about how little parliamentary time was allocated for debate of the 300 page bill.
This follows on from the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner writing to MPs to ask them to oppose the Bill, as the Morning Star reports. A few hundred protestors gathered for an emergency demonstration outside Parliament last night. Some senior police officers have also criticised provisions of the Bill, saying that their officers will be subject to ‘even greater political pressure’.
Nuclear Power
Iran has said its sole nuclear plant is back in normal operation, whilst Germany is on-track to phase out nuclear entirely and EDF announces a new reactor model.
Nuclear Power – Iran
Al Jazeera reports that the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran has recommenced operations after alleged sabotage last month. The plant being taken offline has exacerbated rolling blackouts across the country. Official sources have presented contradictory accounts of why the plant ceased operation suddenly and unexpectedly. Two additional reactors at the plant began to be constructed in 2016 and are expected to start operation in 2026.
Nuclear Power – Germany
NS Energy reports on analysis which suggests that Germany’s phase out of nuclear power will be completed by the end of next year. Angela Merkel’s government took the decision to phase out nuclear after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. At that point in time, nuclear made up around a quarter of Germany’s total electricity supply. Germany is also on course for its target of renewable providing 65% of electricity supply by 2030. Solar power in particular is a key element of German renewables strategy and is expected to produce 100 GW of power by 2030.
Nuclear Power – France
The Beyond Nuclear website carries a piece on the troubled history of the French EPR reactor and its future prospects. The flagship EPR reactor facility at Flamanville in France has been under construction since 2008 without yet generating any power. In spite of these problems, EDF has been successful in marketing the reactor world-wide, with plans for six in India and construction ongoing at Hinkley Point C. EDF has this week announced that it will invest hundreds of millions of euros in an ‘EPR 2’ project. Despite Emmanuel Macron previously saying that any investment decision on a new reactor would depend on the success of Flamanville, Beyond Nuclear argues that he is providing tacit support to the decision. France currently operates 56 nuclear reactors in total.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
As the conflict in Afghanistan reaches its endgame, Turkey tries to insert itself as a key power broker.
War in Afghanistan
The New Arab has an analysis piece on what role Turkey might play in an Afghanistan from which U.S. and other NATO troops have withdrawn. The Turkish government has been attempting to play a co-ordinating part in ‘peace process’ talks in recent months, including trying to organise talks in Istanbul between the Taliban and the Afghan government. It has also offered to guard Kabul airport, something which would boost Turkey’s prestige in NATO and assuage strained relations with the U.S. In the opinion of the piece’s author, Alex Kassidiaris, ‘Ankara is seeking to expand its influence in Central Asia and further strengthen its position as a significant regional power’.
Kill the Bill
The Bill has passed its third reading by a very large margin in the House of Commons.
PCSC Act, Third Reading
The highly controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons last night, LabourList reports, with a majority of 100. Even some Tory MPs expressed concern about how little parliamentary time was allocated for debate of the 300 page bill.
This follows on from the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner writing to MPs to ask them to oppose the Bill, as the Morning Star reports. A few hundred protestors gathered for an emergency demonstration outside Parliament last night. Some senior police officers have also criticised provisions of the Bill, saying that their officers will be subject to ‘even greater political pressure’.
Nuclear Power
Iran has said its sole nuclear plant is back in normal operation, whilst Germany is on-track to phase out nuclear entirely and EDF announces a new reactor model.
Nuclear Power – Iran
Al Jazeera reports that the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran has recommenced operations after alleged sabotage last month. The plant being taken offline has exacerbated rolling blackouts across the country. Official sources have presented contradictory accounts of why the plant ceased operation suddenly and unexpectedly. Two additional reactors at the plant began to be constructed in 2016 and are expected to start operation in 2026.
Nuclear Power – Germany
NS Energy reports on analysis which suggests that Germany’s phase out of nuclear power will be completed by the end of next year. Angela Merkel’s government took the decision to phase out nuclear after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. At that point in time, nuclear made up around a quarter of Germany’s total electricity supply. Germany is also on course for its target of renewable providing 65% of electricity supply by 2030. Solar power in particular is a key element of German renewables strategy and is expected to produce 100 GW of power by 2030.
Nuclear Power – France
The Beyond Nuclear website carries a piece on the troubled history of the French EPR reactor and its future prospects. The flagship EPR reactor facility at Flamanville in France has been under construction since 2008 without yet generating any power. In spite of these problems, EDF has been successful in marketing the reactor world-wide, with plans for six in India and construction ongoing at Hinkley Point C. EDF has this week announced that it will invest hundreds of millions of euros in an ‘EPR 2’ project. Despite Emmanuel Macron previously saying that any investment decision on a new reactor would depend on the success of Flamanville, Beyond Nuclear argues that he is providing tacit support to the decision. France currently operates 56 nuclear reactors in total.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament