CND Press Roundup Wednesday 23rd November 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• On Tuesday, Russia launched two nuclear-powered ice-breaker vessels that will ensure year-round navigation of waters in the Western Arctic.

• Ukrainian intelligence has claimed that Russia could conduct a “false flag terror attack” on a nuclear plant in Belarus – planting the blame on NATO. The potential targets – the Astravets power plant and infrastructure in the historic city of Brest – are located near Belarus’ borders with Lithuania and Poland respectively.

Trident

• A letter in The National on the importance of anti-nuclear campaigning in the Scottish independent movement: “Brian Quail’s message (Letters, Nov 18) on the hatred of nuclear mass murder being integral to our independence struggle cannot be over-emphasised given the danger to Scotland as a prime nuclear target due to Trident and other nuclear weapons here, especially with the current risk stemming from the Ukraine war and Russian direct threats to Scotland. The SNP and other nationalist forces must make getting rid of nuclear weapons in Scotland their top priority for independence as cost of living and the EU are relatively less important than this clear and present danger of nuclear annihilation.”

AUKUS

• The UK Ambassador to the IAEA has written to the nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors on behalf of the UK, US, and Australia – where the pact claims to be committed to setting the highest possible non-proliferation standards.

Nuclear Test Veterans

• The Telegraph & Argus looks at the recent announcement to award medals to veterans of Britain’s nuclear weapons testing.

• The Mirror reports on cross-bench calls on No.10 for a compensation scheme and a public inquiry for nuclear test veterans.

ICAN

• ICAN’s Executive Director Beatrice Fihn has announced that she will step down from the organisation’s leadership at the end of January 2023.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• France, Britain, and Germany issued a collective statementcondemning the recent announcement by Iran is expanding its nuclear programme by enriching uranium to 60 percent purity at its underground Fordow nuclear site. The group added that the recent events were especially concerning since Iran stopped implementing all transparency measures outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal five months ago.

• The Independent looks at the reaction to the Iranian expansion by the IAEA, who only last week passed a resolution ordering Iran to cooperate with a years-long probe into the discovery of radioactive particles at two undeclared nuclear sites.

Nuclear Fusion

• The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project has announced that defects have been discovered in the thermal shields and vacuum vessel sectors and warned that the consequences on schedule and cost “will not be insignificant”

Nuclear Energy

• Kyrgyzstan has signed a deal with Rosatom to carry out a preliminary study for a new nuclear plant in the country.

North Korea

• Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has likened the US to a “scared barking dog,” following Pyongyang’s recent ICBM launch.

Tree Planting

• Pupils in Oldham have planted a tree with seeds from Hiroshima in a ceremony at their school. The planting was attended by Richard Outram, secretary of the UK/Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter and Maria Ellis, chair and founder of Peace Talks Oldham, who brought the hackberry tree to the school.