CND Digest: Monday 23rd January 2023

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of storing western-supplied weapons at nuclear power stations.
• The Telegraph looks at the differences of opinion within Germany on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. It comes as Germany’s foreign minister said the government wouldn’t stand in the way of Poland transferring its Leopards to Kiev.
• Simon Tisdall in The Observer on the need to be decisive in supporting Ukraine
• The Observer has an editorial on Belarus and its ties to Russia - including talk of nuclear weapon deployments.

TPNW

• Christian CND reflects on the second anniversary of the TPNW coming into force.
• Cross-party MPs in Australia call on the Albanese government to join the TPNW.
• Rethinking Security: Preventing Nuclear Use: A tale of two treaties

China

• The Times reveals how 40 higher level institutions in Britain have collaborations with institutions in China “connected to the Uighur genocide, nuclear weapons development, espionage, defence research or hacking.

France

• Emmanuel Macron announced a massive military spending boost on Friday -including a call for the modernisation of the country’s nuclear forces.

AUKUS

• Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong argues in The Guardian that the AUKUS pact and acquiring nuclear-powered submarines will actually strengthen nuclear non-proliferation in the region.

Fukushima

• The IAEA said Friday that Japan has shown its commitment to comply with safety standards, over its plan to dump radioactive water from Fukushima into the sea.

Health

• The US military has launched a probe into a nuclear silo in Montana, after it was revealed that nine officers who previously worked at the base have been diagnosed with blood cancer. 

North Korea 

• 38 North: The disastrous downsides of South Korea building nuclear weapons.
• The FT: North Korean drone incursion rattles nerves in Seoul over air defences
• Indepth News: Should South Korea go nuclear? 

Nuclear Energy 

• The French government is EDF.
• A judicial review into legal challenges looking into a plan to use waste heat from the plant to heat a nearby lido.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament