This week in nuclear-related non corporate news

Theme of the week. The World Cup football is nearly over – perhaps now we’ll get some real news. Lots of media reassures us that the wondrous FIFA religious ceremony will not be affected by wildfire smoke. But nuclear facilities will be.

Some bits of good news –

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, treated like failures, have changed billions of lives.

The UK (finally) ratified the high seas treaty. Children are overwhelmingly positive for the future, says survey

TOP STORIES.

Ministry of Ddefence (MoD) finally admits ‘extensive’ human radiation experiments on nuclear test veterans.
The Killing Machines -Governments and Technology Obsessing Over Efficient Death.
Israel And The United States Are Merging Their Militaries. Here’s Why.
The Men Who Own the War Now Run It.
Warming Europe complicates France’s bet on nuclear power . Europe’s Nuclear Plants Can’t Beat the Heat .
Nuclear Power is Now Trump Power…What Could Go Wrong?

From the archives – A 90 million gallon nuclear tragedy

Climate. Norwegian rocks to protect Sizewell B on Suffolk coast. The European holiday destinations where 50ºC summers could become the norm. UK has ‘no future’ if it fails to act on ecosystem collapse threatening national security.

Noel’s notes. The global small nuclear reactor bandwagon is led by Britain- It ought to fail, but will it?

AUSTRALIA.

‘Extreme risk’: AUKUS warnings as Garrett’s inquiry docks in Adelaide. ‘Height of unfairness’: Former SA senator slams government over AUKUS nuclear waste move.
Starting from scratch on nuclear in Australia would take longer, cost more than first-time offshore wind.
Royal Commission or Lobby Show? | The West Report Antisemitic, really? Jewish leader speaks out on Royal Commission hypocrisy.
Why Australia’s new office marks a turning point for AI governance.

NUCLEAR-RELATED ITEMS

CLIMATE. France Cuts 6.4 GW of Nuclear Power as Heatwave Grips the Country.

Atomic rivers. The (Un)sustainability of nuclear power in an age of climate change

France temporarily shuts down three nuclear reactors over heatwave.

Nuclear power reactor forced to shut down due to extreme 28C heat.

Heatwave: EDF will once again shut down nuclear reactors – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/07/15/3-b1-heatwave-edf-will-once-again-shut-down-nuclear-reactors/

EDF will spend nearly 9 billion euros to adapt to climate change – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/07/16/3-b1-edf-will-spend-nearly-9-billion-euros-to-adapt-to-climate-change/

Climate Change – It’s only a matter of time…

ECONOMICS.

Nuclear Commercial Shipping Still Fails The Business Case.

‘Sip your coffee while watching the sunrise’: How Israel is colonizing the West Bank by selling Palestinian land to Jewish Americans.

Bangladesh’s Nuclear Power Play Is a Test for Emerging Economies.

Insuring Small Modular Nuclear Reactors.

Holtec bets big on small nuclear reactors in its IPO filing.

Grant to support expansion of TRISO-X nuclear fuel campus.

Nuclear costs crowd out key defence priorities in UK investment plan, say SDR authors.

Great British Energy appoints Amentum and Cavendish in £360M SMR deal.

Government U turn as Sizewell B is to get a fixed-price government contract -ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/07/15/3-b1-government-u-turn-as-sizewell-b-is-to-get-a-fixed-price-government-contract/

Nuclear power costs billions- Here are seven better ways to use that money – Martin Roche- ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/07/14/3-b1-nuclear-power-costs-billions-here-are-seven-better-ways-to-use-that-money-martin-roche/

EDUCATION. What do you need to know to run a nuclear power plant?

ENERGY. Two Geothermal Bets Are Starting to Undercut Nuclear on Cost.

ENVIRONMENT. Federal government proposes to lessen nuclear reactor environmental reviews. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Targets Faster Nuclear Licensing With National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)Streamlining Proposal.

What is it like living near the site of a new nuclear power station?

ETHICS and RELIGION. The Killing Machines -Governments and Technology Obsessing Over Efficient Death.

What ceasefire? People still being killed and Gaza still under siege.

HISTORY ‘They used axes to spare the ammo’: How modern Ukraine’s Nazi heroes massacred Poles during WWII How Israel planned the Gaza genocide decades ago. 250 Years of a Country and What Have We Learned? – The nuclear industrial complex creation catastrophe.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES. Saugeen Ojibway Nation Says It Was Shut Out of Canada’s Nuclear Strategy

LEGAL. No, Israel Does Not Have ‘A Right To Exist’. Fearing Justice: Rubio Gets Bolshie About the International Criminal Court (ICC).

MEDIA Thirteen films that are essential to understanding the nuclear age. Iran aside, don’t ignore Trump’s war crimes in the Caribbean, Venezuela and Somalia. Walt Zlotow – Chicago Tribune misleads its readership with Bob Kustra’s imaginary commentary ‘What Ronald Reagan would do today for the people of Ukraine

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . TELL Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Don’t weaken radiation standards. How Fear of Nuclear Armageddon Leads Me to Protest. PICTURE Activists protest outside Pioneer Park nuclear event -ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/07/19/1-b1-activists-protest-outside-pioneer-park-nuclear-event/

POLITICS.

Hamas’s Governance Exit Exposes Israel’s Real Objectives.
‘Seismic Shift’ as Over 100 House Democrats Vote to Cut Off US Military Aid to Israel.
JD Vance Says Israeli Officials Are Pressuring U.S. to Prolong Iran War.
Liberals Have Relaxed About Trump Because They Trust Him To Keep The Wars Going.
The risk of nuclear war is rising – This is what Burnham must do. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/07/17/6-the-risk-of-nuclear-war-is-rising-this-is-what-burnham-must-do/ Add stopping Sizewell C to Andy Burnham’s “to do” list. Labour MP Brian Leishman opposes new nuclear energy near Clacks
July 22 deadline to comment on downgrade of impact assessment for nuclear projects | Canada’s Federal government pushing for power with a “nuclear fist” | Dates and Deadlines.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.

Europe is Teetering on the Brink. Support Without a Seat at the Table: Poland’s Costly Alignment with Ukraine. A Sustainable Peace in Ukraine: Diplomacy, Neutrality, and the Limits of the Current Order.

Jeffrey Sachs: We’re Led by the Most Incompetent Leaders Imaginable.

Walt Zlotow -All hail Marco Rubio, Potentate of Venezuela.

Trump Says Iran Deal Is “Over,” Signals More US Strikes Are Likely Coming,

RADIATION. Radiation Protection –analysis of NRC proposals. Challenging New York Time’s Suggestion That We Should Stop Worrying and Love Radiation Trump Administration Scrapping Nuclear Energy Rules Requiring Plants to Keep Radiation Levels “As Low as Reasonably Achievable”

SAFETY. ‘At risk of horrific contamination’: The Soviet nuclear submarine wreck that is a ‘ticking time bomb’. Incidents. Satellite images show damage inside Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant. World warned of ‘nuclear apocalypse’ after drone kills nuclear plant engineer in Ukraine Mysterious drones spotted flying over nuclear power plant. No radiation leak after ‘contamination’ events at Africa’s only nuclear plant, regulator says.

SECRETS and LIES. The West Won’t Punish The Settlements: its Two-State Solution Was Always a Sham. Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear sites were ‘obliterated’ – Now another is in his sights. Iran Accuses Kushner, Witkoff of Pursuing Profits Over Peace in Diplomatic Talks. 2009 quake may have prompted data rigging by central Japan nuclear operator

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Eight NATO allies to create new satellite mega-constellation. Corporations Lead U.S. Militarization of Space.

SPINBUSTER
The false promise of nuclear power. It’s Not Terrorism When We Do It.

TECHNOLOGY. BEC showcases nuclear powered A.I data centre, Pioneer Park (and Radiation Free Lakeland protestors were there in opposition) AI and the absurdity of nuclear deterrence.

WASTES. Uranium-Chomping Bacteria Found In Bowels Of Mine That Once Supplied Soviet Nuclear Weapons. Cumbrian environmental groups quit GDF nuclear waste talks . Ed Milliband to decide on Cumbrian nuclear waste plan. Canada’s Federal Government in Disarray Over Nuclear Waste Project Assessment . Decommissioning. Ukraine draft law on Chernobyl decommissioning to 2036 approved.

WAR and CONFLICT.