CND Press Digest: Monday 30th January 2023

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that Turkey may allow Finland to ascend to full NATO status – but not Sweden. It follows a diplomatic incident where a Quran was burned outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.  
• Boris John has told a BBC documentary that Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike, during a telephone conversation a week prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Johnson,who was prime minister at the time, said Putin added that “it would only take a minute.”
• The World Health Organization has issued new advice on stockpiling medicinesto treat radiation sickness in the event of a nuclear emergency.
• A weapons factory in central Iran was the target of a coordinated drone strike on Saturday night. The factory in the city of Isfahan made drones that had been supplied to Russia for use in Ukraine.
• The head of NATO has called on South Korea to step up its military support for Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg said Seoul should loosen its export policy to allow for weapons to be sent to countries already in conflict. At present, South Korea has given aid to Kiev via Poland. Stoltenberg also said Russia was preparing for “more war” and was sourcing weapons from North Korea.

Trident

• The Times reports that three senior officials from the Submarine Delivery Agency received more than £200,000 in performance related bonuses - despite serious delays in servicing Trident nuclear subs. HMS Vanguard, has been out of service for over seven years – with one source saying it may not be ready until the summer.

RadWaste

• Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services has stepped up its search for a radioactive capsule that has been missing for over two weeks. Meanwhile, the mining company responsible for the density gauge, Rio Tinto, has apologised for causing alarm.

Nuclear Energy

• The Morning Star has a review of Joshua Frank’s new book, Atomic Days, an expose of malpractice at the Hanford nuclear plant in Washington, USA.
• The i newspaper reports on recent demands by Britain’s nuclear industry, pro-nuclear MPs, and the Prospect union to stop delaying the set up of Great British Nuclear – the flagship agency that would oversee the rollout of a fleet of new reactors.

CND

• CND features in the letters page of The Guardian – noting how a film by CND for a 1976 episode of the BBC’s Open Door series, was censored on the request of the MoD.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament