CND Press Digest: Thursday 9th February 2023

Posted: 9th February 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

  • The Telegraph runs a daily podcast on the war in Ukraine, with yesterday’s edition giving extensive coverage to Zelensky’s visit to London. Lots of discussion for more military support for Ukraine – including fighter jets – and how the upcoming budget will need to factor in additional British defence spending.
  • Boris Johnson has urged Rishi Sunak to send Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Ukraine.
  • That’s as Zelensky visits the EU Parliament to urge the bloc to act quickly and consider sending fighters to Ukraine.

IAEA

  • The IAEA’s Rafael Grossi paid a visit to foreign secretary James Cleverly, where they discussed a range of nuclear issues including Iran, Zaporizhzhia, Hinkley Point C, and the AUKUS programme.

US in Britain

  • Declassified UK has a piece revealing that 183 US troops are stationed at secret location across Britain. A nice comment from Kate: “The extent of the US military presence in Britain is shocking, not least because they appear to operate and control a number of military bases without scrutiny or accountability. To discover that there are additional personnel at undisclosed locations – doing who knows what and why – is an additional affront. It’s time for this to change: parliament must be informed of everything pertaining to the so-called ‘special relationship’ with the US, and a new transparency established.”

New START

  • Russia has called US demands to restart nuclear arms inspections “cynical” given Washington’s support for Ukraine.

Nuclear War

  • A study by the journal Risk Analysis found that the best places to survive a nuclear apocalypse are Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu - as all countries are most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike.

Fukushima

  • Time magazine has a piece on the Japanese plan to dump toxic wastewater into the sea and the legacy of nuclear testing in the Pacific ocean.

North Korea

  • North Korea has put on the biggest display of its long-range missiles to date, to mark the 75th anniversary of the army. Kim Jong-un’s daughter was centre stage of the proceedings, fueling speculation that she is being groomed to succeed him.

Iraq War Protests

  • Labour Outlook