CND Press Roundup Thursday 20th October 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• CND Chair Tom Unterrainer writes in the Morning Star on the need for diplomacy in order to avoid nuclear war.

• A spokesperson for Liz Truss said Russia would face “severe consequences” if a nuclear weapon was used in Ukraine. It comes as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace visits Washington DC to meet with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin.

• A top US general was spotted boarding a nuclear-capable submarine in the Arabian Sea on Monday. According to The Independent: “Gen. Erik Kurilla was shuttled out to the USS West Virginia and went aboard for about eight hours as the submarine rose to the surface in an undisclosed location in international waters in the sea.”

• Former US Ambassador Jack F Matlock Jr writes in Responsible Statecraft on the need for an urgent ceasefire and compromise in Ukraine.

• The Mirror reports that there are over 20 bidders for an underground bunker in Norfolk.

Trident

• 2,000 Prospect and UNITE members who work maintaining Trident nuclear weapons at AWE Aldermaston are balloting for strike action in a row with the government over pay. Coverage by Reuters, BBC, The Telegraph, The Times, Sky News, The Evening Standard, The Independent, and Daily Mail.

RadWaste

• Lincolnshire Live reports on opposition to the building of a nuclear waste dump in the former Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal. Nuclear Waste Services say 4,000 jobs would be created out of building and maintaining the dump – but the Guardians of the East Coast campaign group say it will harm tourism in nearby Mablethorpe.

Nuclear Energy

• Reuters Events has a piece about XR campaigner-turned-nuclear power advocate Zion Lights. “I don’t see myself as selling nuclear, I see myself as educating people in favour of science,” she said.

• Electric Review looks at the Tories tendency to blame Labour over the decline in nuclear power in Britain.

• NFLA has written to the UK government – condemning the move to absolve nuclear power firms from paying compensation in the event of an accident. Compensation will instead be paid by the government and taxpayer.

• Reuters looks at how a new fleet of nuclear reactors in the US will need a specific type of fuel – from Russia.

Korea

• North Korea fired 350 artillery shells near its border with South Korea over Tuesday and Wednesday – in response to South Korea’s annual military drills.