CND Press Digest: Monday 7th August 2023

Hiroshima Day

• Japan on Sunday marked the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bombing on Hiroshima, where its mayor urged the abolition of nuclear weapons and called the Group of Seven leaders’ notion of nuclear deterrence a “folly.”
• The National preview from Friday’s edition with comments from CND and CND Cymru; a report on Sunday’s commemorations with comments from London Region CND, Bristol CND, and CND; an op-ed from Kate Hudson; and coverage of the commemoration in Hiroshima.
• Kate’s article for the Morning Star is also up on her blog on CND’s website.
• The BBC reports on a commemoration service held in Coventry Cathedral.
• Salon has a feature from Norman Solomon who highlights that the US government considered the atomic bombings of Japan as tests.
• Meanwhile, The Spectator USA has a strange take on the bombings - arguing it saved Japanese lives too.
• London CND’s Carol Turner was among those to speak to the LA Times about the film Oppenheimer and the omission of its impact on Japan.

War In Ukraine / NATO

• IAEA inspectors said on Friday that no explosives were found after being granted access to areas at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
• The Guardian reports on the meeting of some 40 countries in Saudi Arabia, with the summit aimed at laying the foundations for peace in Ukraine.

Proliferation 

• The director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Dan Smith, has warned that nations such as the United States, China, and Russia are on the brink of an “uncontrolled nuclear arms race spiral” similar to the Cold Waragainst the backdrop of conflict in Ukraine and Taiwan.

UK Nuclear Energy

• The Telegraph BBC reports on ongoing consultations over the siting of a nuclear waste dump in Lincolnshire.

Fusion

• Scientists in the US have repeated an experiment which successfully achieved a net energy gain from a fusion reaction for the second time.

Fukushima

• Japanese media is reporting that authorities could start releasing radioactive waterfrom Fukushima back into the ocean by the end of August. 

China

• The Times looks at the change in leadership of China’s nuclear forces - amid rumours of corruption and intelligence leaks – and asks what it means for tensions with neighbouring Taiwan. It notes: “Understanding China’s nuclear stance has become increasingly important to western analysts, but it remains especially difficult because Beijing will not discuss nuclear weapons and has refused to renew a range of military dialogues suspended when Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan last year. Obtaining secrets from the top of the Rocket Force, if that is what has happened, would be a significant intelligence coup.”

North Korea

• North Korea’s representative to the UN has defended the country’s right to nuclear weapons calling it an “exercise of sovereignty.”

Nuclear Testing

• A US compensation scheme for Marshall Islanders who were victims of nuclear testing has ran out of cash - after local officials used the funds to buy what they called “assets” for the people, but left no money for healthcare and living costs.Among the items bought were luxury cars, planes, and cargo ships for the government, as well as property which those implicated claim have yet to deliver a return on their investment.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament