CND Press Digest: Wednesday 1st November 2023

Posted: 1st November 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

  • ABC: Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday of damaging a nuclear waste storage facility in a drone strike on the Kursk nuclear power plant while fighting raged on for the control of the key eastern city of Avdiivika, where Russians apparently suffered heavy losses.

Gaza War 

  • CND’s Kate Hudson speaks to the Morning Star on the thousands of people turning out to support a ceasefire.
  • Hundreds of protesters staged a sit in at Liverpool Street station in London on Tuesday to demand an immediate ceasefire to Israel’s attacks on Gaza and an end to arms exports to Israel.
  • The Telegraph called for a ceasefireand an end to Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Non-paywalled coverage here.
  • Polly Toynbee asks in the Guardian: Labour calling for a ceasefire would achieve nothing. So why should it tear itself apart over this?
  • It comes as Andy McDonald was suspended as a Labour MP for his speech he made at last Saturday’s demonstration calling for a ceasefire.  
  • That’s as Tory MP Paul Bristow got sacked as a ministerial aide after publicly urging Rishi Sunak to back a permanent ceasefire.
  • Reuters: Belgian unions refuse handling arms shipments for Israel-Hamas conflict.

US Nuclear Weapons

  • The US Department of Defense is seeking congressional approval to fund the development of the latest version of the B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb. The bomb would be 14 times bigger than the bomb dropped on Nagasaki and reports say it would be likely carried by a B-2 stealth bomber instead of a fighter jet like the F-35.

AUKUS

  • A former Australian minister has called on the current Labor government to lobby the US to promise “no first use” of nuclear weapons.  Gareth Evans said party members needed to be assured that the party is “serious about nuclear arms control.”

UK Nuclear Energy

  • Magnox Ltd has will be part of the change.
  • The Court of Appeal begins its hearing into Sizewell C this afternoon, with proceedings due to start at 2pm. You can stream the hearings here.

Nuclear Energy

  • Three nuclear firms from the US, South Korea, and France have all submitted bids to provide Czechia with a new nuclear power plant.

Atoms For Peace?

  • Beyond Nuclear: Atoms for Peace had a nice ring to it. But it was a fantasy at best, at worst, a lie. Atoms for Peace was never the intention. Atoms for war, as it turned out, was brewing in the background even before Dwight Eisenhower became president of the United States.

Fukushima

  • The US military is bulk buying Japanese seafood to counter a Chinese ban on imports. Beijing introduced the ban after Tokyo went ahead with a plan to dump radioactive water from the defunct Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.  

Iran Nuclear Deal

  • The Telegraph: As tensions soar, Iran is months away from developing nuclear weapons. Tehran may well soon have the bomb – but it would be suicidal for the Mullahs to use it. The world’s attention is focused on Gaza, but it would be a grievous mistake to overlook the risks posed by Tehran’s nuclear programme. There are three critical components to the ability to deploy nuclear weaponry; it is nearing sufficient capability in all three.

CND

  • The National (paywall): Put aside your despair and help Scotland advocate for peace.
  • New ICAN director Melissa Parke will address Scottish CND’s Fesitval of Survivalthis week. 

Best,

 

Pádraig McCarrick

 

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

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