CND Press Digest: Friday 2nd February 2024

NATO / Europe

• Russia will not deploy nuclear weapons abroad except in its ally Belarus but will find ways to counter any deployment of US tactical nuclear weapons in Britain, the deputy minister in charge of arms control said on Thursday.
• An upcoming event from Carneigie: Should Ukraine have kept nuclear weapons?Deconstructing the decision to disarm.
• US lawmakers want pressure on Hungary to back Sweden’s NATO membership.
• Opinion: NATO has a munitions problem, and Europe needs to step up.

Middle East & North Africa

• The unthinkable looms: nuclear-armed Israel is at war.
• At least six Israeli Air Force aircraft have visited Britain since the Gaza bombing began, but the UK government refuses to tell Declassified what was on them.

AUKUS / Indo-Pacific

• New Zealand steps up interest in AUKUS as Pacific security concerns grow.

Global Nukes

• ICAN’s Melissa Parke and Alicia Sanders-Zakre write for Chatham House on the TPNW.
• Al Jazeera documentary on nuclear weapons from Hiroshima to the threat of nuclear attack on Hawaii.
• Defense News: Russian leaders have high hopes for new nukes this year — again.

Nukes in Britain

• Britain is poised to conduct its first Trident missile test since 2016. Coverage from CND, The Times, Sun, Sydney Morning Herald, Express, Telegraph.
• Green Party slams plan to station US nuclear weapons in Suffolk.

AI

• The Atlantic: The real AI weapons are drones, not nukes.

UK Nuclear Energy

• The FT asks: Why are nuclear power projects so challenging?
• What a Turkey: Hinkley Point C costs hit a new high.
• ‘Look to your own backyard,’ BANNG tells MP.
• Britain plans ‘robocop’ force to protect nuclear sites with paint bombs. AI-powered drones are being designed to cut labour costs and boost security at Sellafield.
• Cancer fears have been raised amid fresh concerns about the level of nuclear waste found in Scottish waters. As delays and costs mount on Britain’s new flagship nuclear project, SNP MP Allan Dorans has unearthed research showing the environmental impact of atomic energy – and has raised fears it could cause cancer. Dorans has previously raised concerns about the Sellafield nuclear waste processing plant in Cumbria, which pumps waste out into the sea, reaching as far as the Ayrshire coast in his constituency.
• Public meeting held over East Yorkshire nuclear waste plans.

Nuclear Energy

• Podcast: Newcleo’s Andrew Murdoch on its lead-cooled fast reactor plans.
• Iran begins building four more nuclear power plants.
• Vibrations in cooling system mean new Georgia nuclear reactor will again be delayed.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament