CND Press Digest: Monday 22nd April 2024

Posted: 23rd April 2024

Nukes in Britain

  • ‘Living under a mushroom cloud’: Daughter of nuclear bomb test veteran blames radiation for crippling health issues. The 44-year-old is now convinced her father’s exposure to radiation is the source of her suffering.

Global Nukes

  • Janet Daley writes in the Telegraph: “Could the world now be more dangerous than it was during the Cold War? Those who lived through that infamous time before the collapse of the Soviet Union will recall that there was a general expectation – not a vague fear but a literal expectation – that there would be a third chapter in the 20th century’s saga of world wars, and that it would be a final life-extinguishing event.”
  • Poland: We’re ready to host nuclear weapons. Polish President Andrzej Duda saidatomic sharing has been a topic of Warsaw-Washington talks.
  • Which countries have nuclear weapons? Nine countries currently have nuclear weapons – some legally and some illegally – with an estimated 12,100 warheads between them as of early-2024.
  • The Atlantic: The growing incentive to go nuclear. Biden has inadvertently encouraged vulnerable nations to seek the ultimate shield.
  • Nuclear weapons at sea – is their use viable?

UK Nuclear Energy

  • BBC: Nuclear waste storage facility told to take action after breach.

Nuclear Energy

  • The fantasy of reviving nuclear energy. World leaders are not unaware of the nuclear industry’s long history of failing to deliver on its promises, or of its weakening vital signs. Yet many continue to act as if a “nuclear renaissance” could be around the corner even though nuclear energy’s share of global electricity generation has fallen by almost half from its high of roughly 17 percent in 1996.
  • The Star: Inside abandoned Chernobyl in Ukraine frozen in time but decaying since nuclear disaster. In 1986 a steam explosion caused a fire during a late-night safety test and the Chernobyl power plant was destroyed as toxic nuclear smoke engulfed the city. Thousands died and the area was abandoned.

NATO / Europe

  • A response to Matthew Syed’s recent article in the Times on European military spending.
  • Reuters: Russia warns of direct clash with West over Ukraine.

Middle East & North Africa

AUKUS / Indo-Pacific

  • China says AUKUS pact risks nuclear proliferation in Pacific.
  • Reuters: US State Dept expects to finalize AUKUS trade exemptions in next 120 days.
  • Reuters: US to reduce licensing by 80 percent for UK, Australia to boost AUKUS.

  • A company is set to ‘strengthen’ its defence presence in Barrow as the AUKUS deal progresses. James Fisher & Sons PLC, a provider of specialist services to the marine industry, is strengthening its 177-year commitment to Barrow through a dedicated Defence presence within its company headquarters.

  • MoD update on AUKUS export reform progress.

Best,

 

Pádraig McCarrick

 

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

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