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This Week – the Russian bear growls

With parliamentary elections scheduled next Sunday in Russia, the Russian bear is growling. President Dmitry Medvedev struck out last week against the U.S. plans for a missile defense system across Europe, warning that Russia might pull out of the New START treaty, and announcing a series of counter-measures.

IAEA Board discusses Iran this week – where now?

The IAEA Board meets this week on November 17 and 18 to accept a report from the Secretary General on Iran and to discuss its reactions. Last week witnessed an escalation in the threat of military action against Iran from the most senior Israeli officials, just prior to the IAEA report said to have detailed irrefutable evidence of warhead research within Iran.

This Week: Trident Commission turbines are turning

Tonight the Trident Commission hosts the first of its public events to involve Parliamentarians and others in the brewing debate over this stage in Britain’s nuclear weapons development. It will be holding a Question Time in Parliament on Britain’s nuclear choices, hosted by Anita Anand of the BBC in the chair with Baroness Williams, Julian Lewis MP, David Omand, Prof Mike Clarke and Tim Hare on the panel.

This Week: WMDFZ Middle East

Finnish diplomat Jaakko Laajava starts a new job this week.

Finland, the cradle of the Helsinki process that played a vital role in ending the Cold War, is no stranger to international mediation. But this could be the toughest assignment yet for Finland’s undersecretary of state at the foreign ministry, who was named last Friday to be facilitator of the 2012 conference on a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.