CND Press Digest: Thursday 27th April 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a “long and meaningful” phone call on Wednesday, their first known contact since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, and Beijing appointed an envoy to pursue a “political settlement.”

Chernobyl

• Free to watch: Stalking Chernobyl: Exploration After Apocalypse.
• CNBC: Ukraine’s nuclear power plants are still a source of nightmares years after the Chornobyl disaster.
• Ukraine marked the 37th anniversary of the nuclear disaster by urging the world not to bow to Russian “blackmail” over nuclear facilities it has seized during its invasion.
• AP’s coverage of the anniversary.

AUKUS

• The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: What’s next for the AUKUS submarine deal?

Nuclear Modernisation

• US nuclear weapons modernization plan spurs cost questions. The US agency that oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal is moving ahead with plans to modernize production of key components that trigger the weapons.

UK Nuclear Energy

• NFLA: “A historic moment”: first meeting for rail campaigners with nuclear industry.

Nuclear Energy

• From CNN: Germany’s exit from nuclear power on April 15 doesn’t single it out as a quirky anomaly or black sheep in a world otherwise enthusiastically embracing nuclear energy. Rather, it situates Germany firmly within the global mainstream: ever more countries are abandoning or scaling back their nuclear power programs, including the US.
• Company seeks first-time restart of shuttered nuclear plant. A company hopes to restore a dead nuclear power plant to life for the first time in the US. The Palisades plant in southwestern Michigan closed in May 2022.
• US nuclear regulator inspects ground settling at Ohio plant.

Fukushima

• CNN: Fukushima’s fishing industry survived a nuclear disaster. 12 years on, it fears Tokyo’s next move may finish it off.

North Korea

• US nuclear-armed submarines will visit South Korean ports for the first time in 30 years, following discussions between Joe Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol. The agreement would also see Washington strike North Korea with nuclear weapons under the proviso that Seoul doesn’t seek to acquire its own. Coverage includes -fDGJsD1gO-SrT8WSYOXiRbzMfXs6hgJ3CI5KTbpr2Ix4iLRjvCIYqDTy/3vp/HC4NJm_wRQ-GRbYNNhESkg/h13/8n5rNH8GrOl0KLMWlnfLVdDBJr9xX8FqJ0iW58SZGIM”>Guardian, The Telegraph, The Mirror.
• Reuters covers the news with stories on the nuclear planning agreement, the submarine visit, and a background article.
• ICAN’s article on the US-South Korean nuclear cooperation agreement.

Climate

• Jacobin: The Board of Lockheed Martin Has Spoken – Climate Change May Proceed.
• A letter to The Guardian by Rae Street responding to George Monbiot’s article on reforestation in Costa Rica: “One reason is its decision to abolish its army in 1949. Its government had decided that it would rather spend money on health, education and the environment than on the military.”
• No arrests were made over the four days of XR’s The Big One, with the organisers estimating 60,000 people turned out to support the actions.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament