Finland extends nuclear reactor outage, pushing up power price
November 20, 2023 —by Essi Lehto and Nora Buli for Reuters
HELSINKI, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Finnish power company TVO said on Monday it had extended an outage at Olkiluoto 3, Europe’s largest nuclear power generator, while it undertakes repairs, likely boosting electricity prices.
The 1,600 megawatts (MW) unit, known as OL3, on Sunday suffered an unexpected outage due to a turbine problem, TVO and Nordic power bourse Nord Pool said.
“We are looking into a fault on the turbine side and when we find out what it is, we can say what caused it and when we can return to electricity production,” said a TVO spokesperson.
“We will issue a statement as soon as we know more.”
The outage was expected to drive up short-term power prices in Finland and the Nordic region, an LSEG market analyst said.
TVO had initially predicted a return to full production capacity on Monday morning, but in a regulatory filing said it was instead aiming for a partial restart to take place on Tuesday…………………… https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/finland-extends-nuclear-reactor-outage-pushing-up-power-price
—
UK’s Foreign Secretary urged to send observers to nuclear ban meeting in New York
The Second Meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will be held at the United Nations in New York between 27 November and 1 December.
The Treaty, usually referred to as the TPNW or Ban Treaty, entered international law in January 2021 after an intensive campaign championed by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a global coalition of civil society and faith groups, Hibakusha (atomic bomb and test survivors), scientists, and academics. In total there are 661 partner organisations in 110 countries within ICAN, amongst them are the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities and Mayors for Peace, of which NFLA founder Manchester is a Vice-Presidential and Executive city. ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.
First opened for signature in July 2017, the TPNW now has 93 signatory states, of which 69 have taken the final step of ratifying their absolute adherence to it through their national parliaments.
The Treaty obliges signatory states not to ‘deploy, develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons’ or assist other states to do so. In addition, and importantly for the UK and the other nuclear weapons states, the treaty contains obligations placed upon signatories ‘to provide adequate assistance to individuals affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons, as well as to take necessary and appropriate measure of environmental remediation in areas under its jurisdiction or control contaminated as a result of activities related to the testing or use of nuclear weapons’.
Unfortunately, none of the nine nuclear weapon armed states (the USA, Russia, France, UK, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea), or their allies who choose to shelter under their supposed ‘nuclear umbrella’, have chosen to sign the Treaty, and in each of the nine states campaigners are seeking to influence government ministers to at least engage with this important international peace initiative by authorising observers to attend the second meeting in progress.
Norway and Germany have recently chosen to do so and now the Nuclear Free Local Authorities have joined the United Nations Association – UK and co-campaigners in writing to Britain’s new Foreign Secretary urging him to let Britain follow their lead. Campaigners also want the UK Government to acknowledge the ongoing harm caused to Indigenous people and their environments by the conduct of British atomic and nuclear weapons tests in Australia, in the Pacific and in the USA, and to use the meeting to listen to the testimony of representatives from Kiribati, formerly Christmas Island.
Councillor Lawrence O’Neill, Chair of the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities, explained why he was so determined to endorse the joint letter on behalf of the NFLAs:
“The UK Government claims to be committed, alongside the USA, Russia, France, and China, to achieving nuclear disarmament through the Non-Proliferation Treaty, yet in over fifty years this has achieved nothing. The reality is that India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea continue to operate as nuclear weapon states outside of the NPT and we now live in a world where the nuclear powers continue to invest in their frightful nuclear arsenals, where the use of nuclear weapons has being threatened in Ukraine and Gaza, and where the Doomsday Clock hovers at 90 seconds to midnight!
“The world needs something to bring us back from the abyss – and the Ban Treaty represents that hope. Half of the United Nations have so far signed up to it and the NFLAs want the other half to do so. Seeing the UK attend the New York meeting as an observer and listen to the testimony of the awful impact of nuclear weapons testing in Kiribati would be the first sign that our government is serious about achieving nuclear disarmament and righting the wrongs that we as a nation have inflicted on the Kiribati people.”
World Nuclear Industry Status Report due on 6 December
The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2023 (WNISR2023) will be released
on 6 December 2023, during a hybrid in-person/virtual presentation in
Brussels co-hosted by the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear
Waste Management, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Heinrich Böll
Stiftung, European Union.
WNISR 18th Nov 2023
UK MPs say that Wylfa big nuclear power project should go ahead, locals not so sure
Wylfa should be the next site for a nuclear power station, according to
politicians in Westminster. The recommendation was made my MPs and Peers on
the Cross-Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy. It said choosing the
site on Ynys Môn was key if the UK Government is to meet its target of
large-scale nuclear power stations producing 24 gigawatts of energy. The
group said the Conservative-led government in Westminster must give the
site its backing during this Parliament and start negotiations as soon as
possible in order to meet that ambition. A report produced by the
cross-party group of politicians described Wylfa as the “best site in
Europe for large-scale nuclear.”
There has long been talk about the
proposed project in north Wales, which the parliamentary group argues would
create high-quality jobs on Ynys Môn. That is disputed by local campaign
group People Against Wylfa-B. It said claims over the number of jobs
possibly created are exaggerated. The project has been a source of heated
debate from its inception more than a decade ago.
ITV 17th Nov 2023
EU media names member states against Ukrainian membership
Rt.com 19 Nov 23
Austria and Hungary are among the bloc’s members expected to impede Kiev’s European integration
Several EU member states are likely to resist the proposed accession of Ukraine to the union, media outlet EUObserver has reported, citing an unnamed diplomat.
Kiev’s possible integration into the European bloc is set to be discussed by the 27 EU heads of government at a summit in Brussels in December, after the European Commission recommended this month that integration discussions should begin. But while the European Council is expected to back the plan, signs indicate that the process may receive pushback from several key member states, EUObserver said in a report on Thursday.
“For sure, Austria will be obstructive [to Ukraine’s integration], but it will hide behind Hungary,” the publication said, citing comment from the anonymous EU diplomat. “Despite its new rhetoric, France doesn’t really want Ukraine in the EU and Germany is playing a cynical game.”……………………………………
EU leaders will decide at the summit in Brussels on December 14 and 15 whether Ukraine should be allowed to hold formal membership talks. https://www.rt.com/news/587553-ukraine-eu-membership-opposition/
Lies Surrounding Al-Shifa Hospital Recall Those Preceding the Iraq Invasion
The evidence-free claims that have flooded media regarding Hamas using Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital as a military headquarters recall similarly devastating intelligence lies preceding the US invasion of Iraq.
By Max Jones / ScheerPost Staff Writer 19 Nov 23
In the weeks before the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raided the Al-Shifa hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, the IDF “went to great lengths to depict the medical complex as a headquarters for Hamas, from where its attacks on Israel were planned,” according to The Guardian.
The U.S. has claimed that it produced its own intelligence that verifies this claim. National security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that “We have information that confirms that Hamas is using that particular hospital for a command and control mode” and likely for storing weapons.
According to Reuters, “[Kirby] said the United States had information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were using some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al Shifa, to conceal or support their military operations and to hold hostages.”
Despite Kirby’s claim that the information came from various intelligence methods, the U.S. has provided no evidence to verify that the hospital is being used by Hamas. …………………………………………….. https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/19/lies-surrounding-al-shifa-hospital-recall-those-preceding-the-iraq-invasion/
Nuclear news- week to 20th November
Some bits of good news. Dominica Creates World’s First Sperm Whale Reserve–for the 200 That Call the Island Home . Wave-Powered Desalination System Produces 13,000 Gallons of Drinking Water a Day From Each Buoy. China’s CO2 emissions are forecast to start shrinking next year, with fossil fuel use predicted to head into an era of structural decline, along with surging investment in solar in the country.
************************************************************
TOP STORIES. *‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 37: Al-Shifa Hospital No Longer Functioning as Israeli Ground Troops Surround the Hospital.
*Zelensky Headed For DISASTER, Ukraine’s FAILED Counteroffensive COVERED UP: David Sacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaJCUDOE6UA.
*Who Would Take the Brunt of an Attack on U.S. Nuclear Missile Silos?
*US, UK to Push Pledge to Triple Nuclear Power by 2050 at COP28.
*The End of DOE’s Flagship Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) — A Cautionary Tale.
***********************
Climate. 1.5C Limit ‘Only Option’ For Saving Earth’s Ice And Snow. Is the world warming faster than expected?.
Christina notes. The onslaught formally begins. The ruthless, morally bankrupt nuclear lobby moves to take over the COP 28 climate summit. Nuclear lobby targets young women, in the leadup to their propaganda blitz at COP 28.
AUSTRALIA. Whistleblower David McBride – his Trial Tests Australian Justice. A Duty to Obey: David McBride, Whistleblowing and Following Orders. The Militarised University: Where Secrecy Goes to Thrive.
AUKUS Submarine Revelations Compel a Rethink. $31m fines, 25 years jail for nuclear submarine safety breaches.
Barngarla traditional owners win national conservation award for successful radioactive waste campaign news on radioactive waste.
*********************************************
ART and CULTURE. Art Exhibition inspired by concerns over Sizewell C nuclear plan.
CLIMATE. Frozen fallout: radioactive dust from accidents and weapons testing accumulates on glaciers.
CIVIL LIBERTIES. UK gov’t departments compiling ‘secret files’ on its critics to prevent them speaking at official events.
ECONOMICS.
- Small nuclear reactors in Canada: at what cost? America’s first Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) fizzles out as uranium continues to ride high. THE COLLAPSE OF THE UAMPS small nuclear reactor DEAL RAISES THE PROSPECT OF BANKRUPTCY FOR NUSCALE. U.S. Bets on Small Nuclear Reactors – But major obstacles loom. Consortium green lights European NuScale style (!) small nuclear reactors.
- EDF won’t make ‘massive fortune’ from Hinkley, says director.
- The U.S. Is Paying Billions to Russia’s Nuclear Agency.
- French government, EDF agree on €70 MWh for nuclear power.
- World Nuclear Industry Status Report due on 6 December.
EDUCATION. Over 1,200 ‘Educators for Palestine’ Sign Open Letter Demanding Ceasefire. UK nuclear lobby brainwashing young students, especially women.
EMPLOYMENT. Are staff shortages at Sellafield nuclear power plant affecting safety at the site?
ENERGY. Chernobyl, site of world’s worst nuclear disaster, could soon be home to an exciting new project: ‘Tolerable exposure levels for limited periods of time’.
ENVIRONMENT. Frozen fallout: radioactive dust from accidents and weapons testing accumulates on glaciers. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of wastewater release, potentially impacting seafood quality in U.S.
ETHICS and RELIGION. Wars end in defeat for everyone: A reflection on Gaza. What a Catholic peace studies expert thinks is the way out of war in Gaza. Birthplace of Jesus dismantling all Christmas decorations ‘in solidarity with our people in Gaza’. ‘Burn Gaza now’ – top Israeli MP.
HEALTH. Exposure to CT Radiation and Risk of Blood Cancers in Young Patients.
HISTORY. The U.S. Army tried to build a secret military nuclear city under Greenland’s ice.
LEGAL. CND mounts legal challenge against US nuclear weapons storage at RAF Lakenheath.
MEDIA. Israelis Keep Hurting Their Own Public Relations Interests By Talking. How a hasbara group’s sham investigation put Gaza journalists in the firing line. Smearing Photojournalists as Hamas Collaborators – Gets Them Added to a Hit List.
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. UK small #nuclear competition: Rolls Royce in, Bill Gates snubbed. U.S. military quietly revokes planned contract for small nuclear plant at Alaska Air Force base. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission queried on proposal for untested small nuclear reactors in Ontario. Why the Godfather of A.I. Fears What He’s Built. Finland’s OL3 nuclear reactor suffers unexpected outage.
OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Council urged to review plans that could lead to UK hosting US nuclear bombs.
POLITICS.
- Zelensky may be ousted – ex-presidential aide. Ukraine war a ‘good investment’ for US – Trump rival .
- White House, Senate, House all out of sync with electorate on Gaza. Internal State Dept. memo blasts Biden, U.S. policy on Israel-Hamas war. Over 400 of Biden’s Own Administration Officials Demand Ceasefire in Gaza. Jill Stein’s Ominous Warning on Growing Threat of Nuclear War.
- USA’s Energy Department’s nuclear commercialization ‘small nuclear‘ adventures are burning holes in the taxpayers’ pockets. A small modular reactor’s demise calls for big change in Energy Department policy.
- Something fishy: Welsh Councils excluded from latest Hinkley Point C Consultation. UK MPs say that Wylfa big nuclear power project should go ahead, locals not so sure The Sir John Armitt interview: ‘I’m not sure the government is really serious about nuclear’.
- A four-decade-old Pacific treaty was meant to preserve the ‘peaceful region’. Now experts say it’s being exploited.
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.
- Biden and Xi will sign a deal to keep AI out of control systems for nuclear weapons: report. The US and China re-engage on arms control. What may come next.
- How the United States and its NATO allies sabotaged a peace between Russia and Ukraine. Washington raises stakes on ‘losing hand’ in Ukraine. EU media names member states against Ukrainian membership.
- Time’s Up for Netanyahu and Biden. Patrick Lawrence: ‘The Hinge of History’- Palestine and the New World Order. Herzog: Israel will maintain ‘very strong force’ in Gaza, Translation: We’re not leaving. Ever. First Ladies make joint call on the world about Palestine.
PUBLIC OPINION. Poll: Majority of Americans Support a Ceasefire in Gaza.
SAFETY.
- The Uzbek nuclear endeavour: Boon or bane for Central Asia?
- Russia Shuts Down Nuclear Plant Reactor Unit After Malfunction.
- Greenpeace installs radiation sensors in Ukraine and calls for EU sanctions against Rosatom.
- Simon Daigle lists the public concerns that must be addressed in planned development of BWRX-300 small nuclear reactors – Submission to Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
- Incident: Major malfunction on Royal navy nuclear submarine plunges warship into ‘danger zone’
SECRETS and LIES. Deadly alliance: Why has the CIA decided to allow US media to confirm its involvement in Ukraine’s brutal assassination campaign? Don’t be fooled. Biden is fully signed up to genocide in Gaza. Biden and Israel Refuse to Provide Proof of Hamas Base at Gaza Hospital. Biden Admin Justifies Israel’s Assault on Gaza Hospitals With Recycled Israeli ‘Intelligence’. Lies Surrounding Al-Shifa Hospital Recall Those Preceding the Iraq Invasion.
WASTES. Decommissioning. Uncharted waters: Navy navigating first-ever dismantling of nuclear-powered carrier. UK Has £10 Billion Per Nuclear Reactor Decommissioning Bottomless Pit.
WAR and CONFLICT. Israel demolishes Gaza parliament (VIDEO). Netanyahu Says Israel ‘Not Successful’ in Minimizing Civilian Casualties in Gaza. Amnesty International Calls Israel’s War on Gaza a ‘Graveyard of Children’. ‘This Is Not a War, but a Mass Murder Tragedy,’ Says Charles Freeman, Former US Assistant Secretary of Defense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRb4QhZi2MA&t=860s Mainstream
Narrative On Ukraine-Russia War CRUMBLING, Conflict Is Unwinnable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8Kaq0POOs . Zelensky comments on ‘frozen conflict’ prospects.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. The U.S.’s Plans to Modernize Nuclear Weapons Are Dangerous and Unnecessary. The Latest Nuclear Boondoggle? The Missiles on Our Land: New Research Reveals Growing Risks of America’s Land-Based Nuclear Missiles. Behind the Scenes at a U.S. Factory Building New Nuclear Bombs.
Nuclear weapons sharing, 2023. Armed With B61-12 Nuclear Bombs, Dutch F-35A Fighters Get Close To Nuke Strike Mission. Israel’s Nuclear Weapons in the Spotlight. US Is Quietly Sending Israel More Ammunition, Missiles. EU’s Ukraine weapons goal ‘unattainable’ – Germany .
‘This Is Not a War, but a Mass Murder Tragedy,’ Says Former US Assistant Secretary of Defense, Charles Freeman
November 18, 2023
Chas Freeman chairs Projects International, Inc.
For more than four decades, Projects International has helped its partner enterprises and clients to create business ventures across borders. It facilitates their establishment of new businesses through the design, negotiation, capitalization, and implementation of greenfield investments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, franchises, one-off transactions, sales and agencies in other countries. The firm operates on five continents.
Ambassador Freeman is a career diplomat (retired) who was Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs from 1993-94, earning the highest public service awards of the Department of Defense for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China. He served as U. S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm). He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the historic U.S. mediation of Namibian independence from South Africa and Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola. Ambassador Freeman worked as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok (1984-1986) and Beijing (1981-1984). He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon’s path-breaking visit to China in 1972. In addition to his Middle Eastern, African, East Asian and European diplomatic experience, he had a tour of duty in India.
Is the world warming faster than expected?
Is the world warming faster than expected? There have been historically
high sea temperatures, worrying lows in Antarctic sea-ice, and extreme
weather events hitting every continent – the latest being an “unbearable”
heatwave in Brazil. It’s now “virtually certain” that 2023 will be the
hottest year on record. That’s something that no major climate science body
expected at the start of the year.
Scientists have long known that
temperatures will continue to rise as humans keep releasing record amounts
of planet-heating greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, mainly through
burning fossil fuels. This is the main cause of global warming. While they
are struggling to fully explain 2023’s “gobsmacking” surge in temperatures,
here are four additional reasons that could be behind the increases. A
‘weird’ El Niño; Cutting aerosols; A large volcanic eruption; An Antarctic
‘radiator’?
BBC 18th Nov 2023
Amnesty International Calls Israel’s War on Gaza a ‘Graveyard of Children’
By ScheerPost Staff, https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/18/amnesty-international-calls-israels-war-on-gaza-a-graveyard-of-children/
In an appeal to raise funds for Amnesty International, the human rights organization claimed that “Gaza is becoming ‘a graveyard for children,’” citing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ comments from a press conference on the humanitarian crisis from November 6.
The advertisement goes on to list the myriad reasons why a ceasefire is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, such as “putting a stop to unlawful attacks by all parties, halting the mounting death toll in Gaza, and enabling aid agencies to get life-saving aid, water and medical supplies into Gaza to address the staggering levels of human suffering.”
The appeal is written below:
Gaza is becoming a “graveyard for children.”
Attacks by the Israeli military are killing or injuring hundreds of girls and boys every day.
More than 2 million Palestinians — half of them children — are trapped, with nowhere safe to hide from Israeli military bombardments, and have little access to food, clean water and medical supplies. Civilian hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza remain in danger, and ongoing indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel puts civilians at risk.
The unfolding humanitarian catastrophe makes the need for an immediate ceasefire more and more urgent with every hour.
More than one million people — people like you — have already signed Amnesty’s global petition demanding a ceasefire to end bloodshed. We need to continue to raise our voices.
A ceasefire is crucial and has the potential to achieve many things, including: putting a stop to unlawful attacks by all parties, halting the mounting death toll in Gaza, and enabling aid agencies to get life-saving aid, water and medical supplies into Gaza to address the staggering levels of human suffering.
It would allow hospitals to receive life-saving medicines, fuel and equipment they desperately need, and to repair damaged wards.
It would provide an opportunity to negotiate the release of hostages held in Gaza and enable independent investigations into violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by all parties.
In this crisis and always, Amnesty International is relentlessly focused on protecting civilian lives and ensuring international humanitarian law and human rights law are respected. We have teams on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel working to expose war crimes and work towards accountability.
We are investigating mass summary killings, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, hostage taking and siege tactics. What is happening in Gaza, the wider Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Israel must be documented and those responsible must be held to account.
…like many of us, you might be feeling helpless right now — but I want you to know one powerful way you can make a difference for civilians caught in this escalating conflict is by joining our call for an immediate ceasefire.
Tonight, you and I will go to sleep in the safety of our homes. In Gaza, the bombardment is non-stop, nowhere is safe, and more blood is being shed. And it’s civilians — especially children — who are suffering the most.
| Please, join us today. Sincerely, |
| Elizabeth Rghebi Advocacy Director, Middle East North Africa Amnesty International USA |
Biden Admin Justifies Israel’s Assault on Gaza Hospitals With Recycled Israeli ‘Intelligence’
In November alone, official Israeli social media accounts have been forced to walk about at least a half-dozen false assertions
The same week, Israel’s main government account on Twitter had to delete its false claim that “AP, CNN, NY Times, and Reuters had journalists embedded with Hamas terrorists on October 7th massacre”
As Israel assaults Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, the Biden administration claims that “Hamas does use hospitals” as military bases. Once again, Washington appears to be relying on dubious Israeli propaganda rather than independent analysis.
By Wyatt Reed / The Grayzone, https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/19/biden-admin-justifies-israels-assault-on-gaza-hospitals-with-recycled-israeli-intelligence/
With Israeli troops storming Gaza’s Al-Shifa and Al-Rantisi hospitals, the United States and Israel are doubling down on discredited claims that Hamas has been maintaining “command centers” out of the basements of hospitals in Gaza, even after so-called evidence produced by Tel Aviv was thoroughly debunked.
“I can confirm for you that we have information that Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, used some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them, to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.
Kirby’s claim echoed the assertion by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who maintained that “open-source reporting” shows “Hamas does use hospitals, along with a lot of other civilian facilities, for command-and-control, for storing weapons, for housing its fighters.”
On November 14, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that US intelligence had no “boots on the ground,” nor any intelligence assets capable of independently gathering intelligence from or about Shifa. When asked if the declassified intel briefing spun out by Kirby and Sullivan arrived through Washington’s “Israeli counterparts,” she refused to answer. But she strongly suggested the intelligence dump was politically motivated.
“This is newly-downgraded information that we felt was important to get out today, because there have been a lot of questions about the hospital and how Hamas operates, and so it was important to get out there,” Singh insisted.
Hamas denies using hospitals for military purposes, and both local healthcare workers and international humanitarian organizations back that up. “I’m sick and tired of these [Israeli] claims that there are Hamas command centers [in hospitals],” Norwegian physician Dr. Mads Gilbert told Al-Jazeera on November 12. Having performed life-saving procedures for several weeks inside Shifa during Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza, Gilbert noted, “As I’ve said 100 times… we’ve never seen high-ranking Hamas people in Al-Shifa,” adding “we’ve been able to roam freely.”
But that did little to prevent Israeli troops from waging an all-out assault on the facilities. As Israeli forces surrounded Shifa hospital on Tuesday with the full-throated support of the Biden administration, arresting journalists outside the facility and violently clearing displaced people from its grounds, doctors inside were forced to move babies in intensive care from one wing of the hospital to another to save their lives. A lack of fuel had already forced many of those infants off vital oxygen supply units.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have been unable to find any presence of hostages inside or around the hospital. As Israeli Army Radio reported on November 15, “There is no indication of the presence of abductees inside the hospital.”
Systematic Israeli misinformation campaign dismissed by US as “fog of war”
Israeli and American officials have yet to produced any proof that Hamas operates a “command center” under Al-Shifa. Video published by the Israeli military purporting to prove Hamas kept hostages in the basement of Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, Gaza’s last remaining medical center with a pediatric cancer ward, was less than convincing.
In that video performance, top Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari claims that what appears to be a bomb shelter for young children is actually a Hamas torture chamber, citing objects as unlikely as a baby bottle and a woman’s clothes. In one particularly memorable and widely panned moment, Hagari insisted the days of the week written in Arabic on a calendar were actually the names of the “terrorists” meant to guard captive Israelis ostensibly being held there.
The Israeli military has since attempted to downplay the deception as a “mistake in translation.”
It was hardly the first round in Tel Aviv’s fake news campaign. In the weeks since Palestinian resistance groups launched their shock assault on October 7, native Arabic speakers have taken to social media to mock the audio recordings Israel regularly publishes which purport to show Hamas members gleefully discussing carrying out war crimes.
In November alone, official Israeli social media accounts have been forced to walk about at least a half-dozen false assertions. A video showing a crying woman describing how she retrieved her son’s decomposing body from the streets of Gaza was transformed by Israel’s embassy to the US, which used fake captions to falsely claim she was blaming Hamas for the siege. When questioned, the embassy subsequently deleted the post.
The same week, Israel’s main government account on Twitter had to delete its false claim that “AP, CNN, NY Times, and Reuters had journalists embedded with Hamas terrorists on October 7th massacre” – a lie which the New York Times condemned as “reckless” and said put its journalists on the ground in Israel and Gaza “at risk.”
Days later, Israel’s official Arabic-language Twitter account deleted footage of a woman dressed in nursing scrubs who claimed to work as a nurse in Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital denounced Hamas for supposedly stealing fuel and medicine. Other doctors and nurses at the medical center reportedly told journalist Younis Tirawi: “We don’t know this woman; she has never worked here before & we’ve never seen her at the hospital.”
Social media users claimed the woman was Israeli actress Hannah Abutbul, who moonlights as a social media manager of an Israeli company named Aish International that works alongside the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Abutbul denies appearing in the video.
On November 10, Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) claimed Hamas was “INSIDE the Indonesian hospital last night,” citing a video which appeared to show a firearm being displayed. An observer who pointed out that the object was actually a billy club had their reply ‘hidden’ by the official Israeli account.
Throughout the blood-spattered onslaught on the Gaza Strip, US officials have consistently taken Israeli claims at face value, even parroting Tel Aviv’s excuses when prompted. Following Biden’s now-retracted claim to have seen “confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children,” US officials continue to exhibit a remarkable willingness to side with the Israeli government and echo its talking points.
During a November 14 press briefing, a reporter asked State Department spokesman Matthew Miller about the Israeli government’s habitual spreading of “misinformation.” Miller responded by brushing off Israel’s parade of fabrications as an inevitable feature of the “fog of war.”
Netanyahu Says Israel ‘Not Successful’ in Minimizing Civilian Casualties in Gaza
By Kyle Anzalone / Antiwar.com https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/19/netanyahu-claims-israel-not-successful-in-minimizing-civilian-casualties-in-gaza/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel was “trying to [minimize] civilian casualties. But unfortunately, we’re not successful.” The prime minister’s statement comes as the UN warns that the Israeli fuel embargo of Gaza could cause widespread starvation in the besieged enclave.
In an interview with CBS News on Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister said Tel Aviv was trying to wipe out Hamas with minimal civilian casualties. He stated, “That’s what we’re trying to do: minimal civilian casualties. But unfortunately, we’re not successful.”
Netanyahu went on to blame Hamas for the high civilian death toll in Gaza. “Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn’t have any because we’re doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm’s way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way,” he argued.
The Israeli leader says his forces have taken steps to warn civilians of upcoming strikes. “So, we send leaflets, [we] call them on their cell phones, and we say: ‘leave’. And many have left,” Netanyahu said.
In the first weeks of the Israeli military campaign, Tel Aviv instructed Gazans to move to the southern half of the strip. However, at least some who fled their homes were killed while trying to evacuate. After fleeing, numerous Gaza residents have been unable to locate basic resources and were forced to return to their homes.
On Wednesday, Israel began instructing Palestinians in southern Gaza to evacuate. It is unclear where the people could go.
Since Israel started bombing Gaza six weeks ago, at least 11,000 civilians, including 4,500 children, have been killed. The UN reports, The UN reports “One in every 57 people living in the Gaza Strip has been killed or wounded.” Dozens of journalists and doctors are among the dead. Over 100 UN staff members have been killed.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, told the UN Security Council the Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza has decimated the healthcare infrastructure. “WHO has recorded at least 137 attacks on health care in Gaza, with especially severe impact on Al-Shifa Hospital in recent days, where newborns on life support are dying due to power, oxygen, and water cuts, while many other patients of all ages are at risk – as well as medics, and people sheltering on the hospital grounds,” he said.
Netanyahu attempted to justify the two-day raid on the al-Shifa Hospital by claiming Israel believed it would find hostages in the facility and that Hamas was using the building as a headquarters. He told CBS News there were “strong indications” that Israeli hostages were being held there, and this was “one of the reasons we entered.” However, none were found.
The Israeli Prime Minister went on to say Tel Aviv had “concrete evidence” that there were “terrorist chieftains and terrorists” in the hospital, but that these fled as Israel’s forces advanced. Israeli forces who entered Al-Shifa found a small number of guns and uniforms.
After a Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, Tel Aviv cut off all food, aid, water, and fuel into Gaza. The Israeli government has relaxed the embargo and allowed small amounts of food and water into the besieged enclave. However, the lack of fuel has now completely halted all aid shipments. While Netanyahu says he is attempting to take a moral path and save Palestinians’ lives when possible, the international aid agencies warn that there is now a risk of mass starvation in Gaza.
UK gov’t departments compiling ‘secret files’ on its critics to prevent them speaking at official events
‘Shocking’ scale of UK government’s secret files on critics revealed
Dossiers were compiled by 15 departments after scouring social media activity to vet people invited to speak at official events
Guardian Anna Fazackerley 19 Nov 23
Fifteen government departments have been monitoring the social media activity of potential critics and compiling “secret files” in order to block them from speaking at public events, the Observer can reveal.
Under the guidelines issued in each department, including the departments of health, culture, media and sport, and environment, food and rural affairs, officials are advised to check experts’ Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. They are also told to conduct Google searches on those individuals, using specific terms such as “criticism of government or prime minister”.
The guidelines are designed to prevent anyone who has criticised the government in the previous three to five years from speaking at government-organised conferences and other events.
In September, the Observer revealed how three early-childhood education experts discovered that the Department for Education tried to cancel invitations for them to speak at government-funded events because they were judged to have been critical of government policy. Many more education experts and school staff have since uncovered files of their critical social media posts held by the department.
However, it has now become clear that the practice is widespread across government and is probably targeting large numbers of individuals. The scale of the monitoring was uncovered by human rights experts at law firm Leigh Day and shared with the Observer.
The revelations will be hugely embarrassing for a Conservative party that regularly claims to champion free speech and has slammed universities for allowing students to “no platform” experts with whom they disagree.
Tessa Gregory, partner at Leigh Day, who is pursuing legal action against the government on behalf of at least two experts, said: “This is likely to have impacted large numbers of individuals, many of whom won’t know civil servants hold secret files on them. Such practices are extremely dangerous.”
Gregory maintains that these hidden checks are unlawful, running contrary to data protection laws and potentially breaching equality and human rights legislation.
Dan Kaszeta, a chemical weapons expert, was disinvited in April from giving a keynote speech at a UK defence conference after officials found social media posts criticising Tory ministers and government immigration policy. He told the Observer this weekend that he knows of 12 others who have uncovered evidence of similar government blacklisting, most of whom are frightened of speaking out. But he said far more will be unaware they ever failed secret vetting.
He said: “The full extent of this is shocking and probably not fully known. I was lucky enough to be given clearcut, obvious evidence. It’s truly awful……………………………………………………………………
Caroline Wilson Palow, legal director at Privacy International, which has been investigating social media monitoring by the government for many months, said: “If the government is blacklisting people for using their right to free expression in a very valid way then that is very dangerous.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/18/shocking-scale-of-uk-governments-secret-files-on-critics-revealed
Greenpeace installs radiation sensors in Ukraine and calls for EU sanctionsagainst Rosatom.
Greenpeace Germany, Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe,
and Ukrainian environmental group SaveDnipro have installed sensors to
provide vital information on radiation levels in Ukraine in the event of
major nuclear contamination.
Following a visit to Chornobyl, Zaporizhzhia
and other frontline regions in southern Ukraine, Greenpeace and SaveDnipro
installed sensors on schools, hospitals and nuclear sites which aim to
provide early warning of increasing gamma radiation in case of another
nuclear disaster in Ukraine.
Greenpeace 17th Nov 2023
https://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/issues/climate-energy/46835/greenpeace-installs-radiation-sensors-in-ukraine-and-calls-for-eu-sanctions-against-rosatom/
-
Archives
- February 2026 (221)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (258)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
- May 2025 (261)
- April 2025 (305)
- March 2025 (319)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 