CND Press Digest: Wednesday 22nd November 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• Reuters: Russia has deployed a new Yars intercontinental ballistic missile at the Kozelsk base in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.
• Forbes magazine writes on how nuclear weapons are still an option for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

AUKUS

• It’s time for Japan to join the AUKUS pact, says this opinion in Asia Times.

Israel-Palestine

• The Guardian: Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal for the release of 50 women and children hostages held in Gaza in return for 150 Palestinian women and children to be freed from Israeli jails during a four-day ceasefire, both sides announced on Wednesday morning.
• Al Jazeera Analysis: How Israel could gain from a pause in the Gaza war.
• Declassified UK: Ministry of Defence takes extraordinary step of censoring all requests for information by MPs about RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus, which Declassified has reported is facilitating arms supplies to Israel’s war on Gaza.
• Reuters: Turkey will not allow the issue of Israel’s nuclear weapons to be dropped from the global agenda, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

RAF Lakenheath

• NFLA has published an updated briefing paper on RAF Lakenheath.

UK Nuclear Weapons

• News item on CND’s website about the latest safety incident involving a Vanguard-class submarine. 
• The BBC has been told that some of the sub’s equipment suffered from a “concerning” malfunction, which caused it to continue to dive towards crush depth without crews noticing.
• Coverage of the incident from ITV X and the North West Evening Mail.

Uranium Mining

• The Guardian: ‘We didn’t know we were poisoning ourselves’: the deadly legacy of the US uranium boom.

UK Nuclear Energy

• The UK’s dedication to nuclear power is becoming a financially challenging commitment as the dismantling expenses for its nuclear generating facilities continue to escalate. These costs have been advantageous for businesses involved in the dismantling process but a noteworthy expenditure for UK taxpayers. Regardless of the substantial costs associated with the new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Site C and the rising price of clean-up initiatives, the nation’s government remains committed to nuclear technology. Read more on Dev X.
• Claims that Milton Keynes is being considered as a site to store nuclear wastehave sparked a war of words between the Labour and Conservative parties.

Fusion

• The US will lay out the first international strategy to commercialise nuclear fusion power at the upcoming UN climate summit in Dubai, US special envoy on climate change John Kerry said on Monday.

CND

• The National previews Scottish CND’s plan to attend 2MSP.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament