CND Press Digest: Wednesday 3rd May 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• The Times asks: Why did Russians dig trenches in radioactive Chernobyl woods?
• Russian language site The Insider on Kremlin reaction to depleted uranium being sent to Ukraine - while also possessing their own DU ammunition.

British Nuclear Weapons

• Baroness Goldie reaffirming Britain’s commitment to NATO nuclear sharing: “Our continued investment in the nuclear deterrent is vital to our security and that of our NATO Allies, keeping people safe from the most extreme threats every minute of every day.”
• House of Commons library just published an update on the progress of the Dreadnought submarines.

Nuclear Testing

• King Charles may be entitled to a medal for Britain’s test veterans due to his late father. Prince Philip visited Christmas Island in 1959 as part of a diplomatic mission to meet troops who had been involved in the testing of the first UK hydrogen bomb.

AUKUS

• Singapore’s government gives its backing to AUKUS and U21LMQW_wtguNCCE3khBMyj7QOyTTvw7Wp0TFi3Nr_4dIPfEAzYZt_xdX2ED2plO1T0RHd-3_fy1uVxDgE2hJmMLlAgvMJ7V0OVXlAOsbeSurTtkUFASamcZKMVvhpfRsMrz0HmEIF0fFVLkTl1HvKmyOiGB2kEry6fbhGUIZJ1rUGIxuqH1RF1INiH8cdJPx2-A2T03yfRBv8EngIuiVJheK0lVRAiiErZNOidtAB08WX8qqr9Hr588jVJt19kdJCk9uDtlKlzLqZFEkBAE0zyjGYauzF1cLwJsoVu_wEBtnw/3vv/1-hUkOfRQbu1J5yI_Quzww/h5/PQfbUMEEVRR0yyykw1NHjSERNYUZNVh9d9Pt8B-PY5Y”>says Australia could play a greater role in the region’s security.
• That’s as the ethics and integrity of Scott Morrison has been AUKUS-related job with a UK defence firm.

• The UK government has apparently given up on imposing new nuclear power projects in Scotland with energy minister Andrew Bowie accusing the SNP and Greens of having a “Luddite mentality” towards the technology.
• However, Westminster hasn’t given up on rolling out nuclear plants in Wales, with MPs on the Welsh Affairs Committee urging the government to make a commitment to siting a new plant at Wylfa.
• Some letters to The Telegraph on nuclear power, where some readers express their shock that small modular reactors (SMRs) haven’t already been rolled out across Britain.

Nuclear Energy

• US SMR developer NuScale is interested in investing in the Philippines, the country’s President Bong Bong Marcos said during a trip to the USA. Marcos and his team met representatives of NuScale for a meeting which took place in Washington DC on Monday.
• The French government’s full nationalisation of EDF is set to go ahead, after a French appeals court rejected on Tuesday a complaint filed by minority shareholders against the terms of a government buyout of power giant.

Fukushima

• Japanese authorities are unsure about what to do with sandbags that had been placed in the basements of buildings at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which then soaked up radioactive water.

North Korea

• The Morning Star’s coverage of Chinese and North Korean reaction to the news that the US will send nuclear-armed submarines to South Korean ports.
• The Korea Herald: South Korea and the United States should focus on rendering North Korea’s nuclear arsenal useless to gain the upper hand over North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to former US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament