CND Press Digest: Wednesday 17th January 2024

NATO / Europe

• The defense minister of Belarus said Tuesday that the country closely allied with Russia will put forth a new military doctrine that for the first time provides for the use of nuclear weapons.
• Top NATO military officer urges allies and leaders to plan for the unexpected in Ukraine.
• NATO needs ’warfighting transformation’, top military official says.
• ‘European elites have to pitch in’: Steve Bannon says NATO has become ‘a US protectorate, not an alliance’.
• Norway deploys F-35s to Iceland for NATO Air Policing.
• New on the CND website: Rehearsal for nuclear war? 20,000 British troops to take part in provocative NATO wargames.
• CND’s comments on the NATO exercises.
• A secret plan by the German government preparing for a potential Russian aggression against NATO has been leaked, revealing that the country’s Ministry of Defence is bracing for a possible all-out European war in the near future.

Middle East & North Africa

• The Taliban denies that it wants to access nuclear weapons.
• Davos 2024: Nuclear watchdog chief says Iran is ‘galloping ahead’ with uranium enrichment.

AUKUS / Indo-Pacific

• First Australian sailors complete AUKUS nuclear power training.
• Geopolitical Futures: AUKUS in 2024.

Global Nukes

• The disastrous sinking of the submarine K-219 on Oct. 6, 1986, stands as a testimony to the poor training, design, and maintenance of Soviet submarines.
• How Russia Is building the nuclear weapons of the future.

UK Nuclear Energy

• East Suffolk Council: Statement following commencement of construction for Sizewell C.
• 160 new homes planned for village near Hinkley Point C.
• France’s Naarea and the UK-headquartered Newcleo have announced a strategic and industrial partnership designed “to support all players in their industrial, technological, scientific and regulatory development” of Generation IV fast neutron reactors.
• Key update on progress of STEP nuclear fusion reactor near Retford.

Nuclear Energy

• Fukushima nuclear plant operator in Japan says it has no new safety concerns after Jan. 1 quake.
• Sweden could shoot down space junk.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament