An announcement is widely expected this week that the intergovernmental conference in Helsinki, on the establishment of a nuclear and WMD-free Zone in the Middle East, will be postponed.
Analysis
Hans Kristensen and Linton Brooks at third BASIC Strategic Dialogue
Amb. Linton Brooks from the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Hans Kristensen from the Federation of American Scientists engaged in a discussion on “Nuclear modernization”: What does it mean and what is required for U.S. security? at the third BASIC strategic dialogue held at the Capitol Hill Club on November 13, 2012.
Evidence submitted by the Nuclear Information Service – Aug 2012
August 2012
The Nuclear Information Service (NIS) submitted a redacted copy of the Defence Nuclear Executive Board's risk register for the defence nuclear programme, provided by the Ministry of Defence and an unredacted verision of the risk register by NIS detailing views as to the key risks which the Trident replacement programme will face over the years and decades ahead.
Nuclear weapons beyond the election
The U.S. election season now draws to a close, and as expected, not too much was made of nuclear weapons during the presidential race. The economy, and near the end of the campaign season the mega-storm in the northeast, overshadowed almost all other issues.
Istanbul Workshop Final Report: Preparing for the Helsinki conference on a Middle East Nuclear and WMD-free zone
This is the final report to come out of a roundtable workshop held by BASIC in Istanbul on October 24-25th, 2012 on preparing for the Helsinki conference on nuclear and WMD-free zone in the Middle East. Participants included Jaakko Laajava, facilitator for the Conference on a nuclear and WMD-free zone in the Middle East, and senior officials and experts from the region and beyond.
Are UK commitments to the SSBN now irreversible?
Today, UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is at the Faslane nuclear base in Scotland to announce another contract (worth £350m) for BAE Systems, part of the £3bn of projects that will be spent on development and initial manufacture on the current like-for-like replacement before the final decision is taken on renewal in 2016.
Cuban Missile Crisis 50th Anniversary
50 years ago this week, the world held its breath, waiting to see if nuclear armageddon would be averted, as the Cuban Missile Crisis reached its climax.
Scotland: questioning nuclear weapons and NATO membership
UK Prime Minister David Cameron meets with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond in Edinburgh today to sign a historic deal that will see a legally-binding referendum vote on the single question of full independence for Scotland within the next two years.