CND Press Digest: Wednesday 31st May 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• IAEA chief Rafael Grossi MSP Bill Kidd AUKUS
  • A US Congressional report casts doubt on the AUKUS deal - with lawmakers specifying eight unanswered questions about the plan to give nuclear-powered sub technology to Australia. Is Washington getting cold feet?

  UK Nuclear Energy

  • Matthew Lynn writes for d7vHA”>this report in The Mirror: Pontins seaside town now haunted by empty bars, derelict shops and deserted streets.
  • East Anglian Daily Times: The outcomes of judicial reviews into the new Sizewell C nuclear power station and energy firm ScottishPower Renewables’ plans to route wind farm cables through the Suffolk countryside may not be known for months.

  Nuclear Energy

  • Webinar series by Nuclear Transparency Watch

  Space

  • The Guardian: A senior US officer from the US Space Command has said that Russian aggression and China’s vision to become the dominant space power by mid-century, had left the US with “no choice” but to prepare for orbital skirmishes.
  • North Korea’s first spy satellite launch ended in failure during its second stage on Wednesday, after the rocket failed due to instability in the engine and fuel system. The launch did prompt both South Korea and Japan to send out temporary warnings to take cover for residents in both Seoul and the island of Okinawa.

  AI

  • A group of leading technology experts have warned that AI technology should be considered a societal risk and prioritised in the same class as pandemics and nuclear wars.

  Iran Nuclear Deal

  • The Times of Israel reports that Washington is looking to Oman to help broker new talks with Iran on restarting the 2015 nuclear deal.
  • The news comes five years after Donald Trump dumped the 2015 accord which put a curb on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the easing of sanctions – NPRtakes a look at what’s happened in the years since.

  Fukushima

  • Asahi Shimbun editorial: Damage to a pedestal inside the No. 1 reactor at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is more critical than previously believed, triggering a more intricate assessment of its resistance to a major earthquake. 

  CND
  

  • Press release on CND’s website ahead of the 40th anniversary of the 4-day blockade at USAF Upper Heyford. 

   

  Best,

   

  Pádraig McCarrick

   

  Press and Communications Officer

  Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament