CND Press Digest: Friday 19th January 2024

NATO / Europe

• France denies Russian claim of mercenaries in Ukraine.
• Forbes NATO-standard systems.
• Biggest NATO drills since Cold War to start next week.
• The Telegraph, Sky News, and Politco on warnings from NATO officials of a war with Russia.

Middle East & North Africa

• Netanyahu publicly rejects US push for Palestinian state.
• Biden says US strikes on Houthis in Yemen have not stopped Red Sea attacks.
• The Telegraph view: The threat of a nuclear Iran. It has already shown itself to be a menace in the Middle East and an enemy of the West and its allies

AUKUS / Indo-Pacific

• North Korea AUKUS: The power of awareness.

Global Nukes

• Russia on Thursday publicly rejected US-Russian arms control talks for now because of US support for Ukraine, a stance Washington said cast doubt on Moscow’s openness to a successor to the last treaty limiting their strategic nuclear arsenals.
• The US Air Force has begun conducting test flights with the nuclear-capable B-21 Raider at Edwards AFB.
• The USAF is also arming its classic B-52 bomber with the cutting-edge, paradigm changing, nuclear capable Long-Range-Standoff (LRSO) weapon cruise missile.
• Meanwhile, the service said on Thursday that the replacement for the ground-based US nuclear arsenal anchored by the Minuteman III has officially busted through its $95.8 billion budget due to the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.
• A US Navy nuclear submarine captain fired days after drink driving arrest.

Nukes in Britain

• Weatherwatch: UK push for civil atomic power highlights link with nuclear weapons.
• A 3 star review from the Guardian of last night’s BBC2 documentary Nuclear Armageddon: How Close Are We? review – TV that leaves you asking ‘Is that it?’
• A less generous review from the Telegraph

Nuclear Energy

• The FT runs an opinion from John Thornhill suggesting Germany should go big on nuclear fusion energy.

CND

• CND’s press release on last night’s Panorama documentary. You can watch back on the iPlayer here.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament