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Labour panned as nuclear project ‘to cost more than Scotland’s block grant’

 THE SNP have hit out at the projected costs for the Labour Government’s
flagship nuclear project. It comes after EDF pushed back the start-up of
the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant again, pushing up the final bill.


The French state energy company said the plant was now expected to cost £35bn
in 2015 prices — or almost £49bn at today’s prices. The project was
costed in 2016 at £18bn at the then-current prices. The SNP have now hit
out at Labour and the party’s push for more nuclear, highlighting that
the Scottish Government’s block grant from Westminster was £47.6 billion
in 2025/2026 – less than the new projected cost.

The SNP have opposed the
creation of new nuclear plants and are able to use planning policy to block
developments, despite energy policy being largely reserved to Westminster.
The Scottish Government instead wishes to focus on renewable developments,
with Scotland’s last nuclear plant, Torness, set to be decommissioned in
2030.

 The National 2nd March 2026, https://www.thenational.scot/news/25900166.labour-nuclear-project-to-cost-scotlands-block-grant/

March 5, 2026 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Tulsi Gabbard’s Own Testimony Resurfaces as Iran War Narrative Escalates

the public record now contains two different emphases from the same official — one under oath, the other amid mounting calls for confrontation.

February 28, 2026  by Joshua Scheer, https://scheerpost.com/2026/02/28/tulsi-gabbards-own-testimony-resurfaces-as-iran-war-narrative-escalates/

As Washington intensifies rhetoric around Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions, past sworn testimony from Tulsi Gabbard is resurfacing — and raising uncomfortable questions.

According to a recent Newsweek report, Gabbard testified under oath before Congress in March 2025:

“Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and has not reauthorized the nuclear weapons program Khamenei suspended in 2003.”

That statement directly contradicts the renewed claims now circulating in Washington and Tel Aviv suggesting Tehran is on the verge of weaponization.

Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern amplified the contradiction in a pointed public message addressed to Gabbard:

“Dear Tulsi Gabbard: You testified under oath in March 2025: ‘Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and has not reauthorized the nuclear weapons program Khamenei suspended in 2003.’ By your silence now you let yourself become just another female being used.”

The comment underscores growing frustration among critics who argue that intelligence assessments are being selectively interpreted — or politically repurposed — amid escalating U.S.–Israel military action against Iran.

Gabbard later claimed her March testimony was “taken out of context” — though how a direct, sworn statement before Congress could be misinterpreted remains unclear. The words were unambiguous: Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and had not reauthorized the program suspended in 2003.

Yet by June, her tone had shifted.

In subsequent remarks, Gabbard suggested Iran’s nuclear advances posed a growing threat and emphasized enrichment levels and regional escalation rather than the absence of an active weapons program. The pivot — subtle but significant — mirrored the broader shift in Washington’s messaging as tensions intensified.

Whether this reflects new intelligence, political pressure, or strategic recalibration is anyone’s guess. What is clear is that the public record now contains two different emphases from the same official — one under oath, the other amid mounting calls for confrontation.

The 2003 Suspension

The reference in Gabbard’s testimony points to Iran’s halt of its structured nuclear weapons program in 2003, a conclusion long reflected in U.S. intelligence assessments. Even at the height of tensions during prior administrations, intelligence agencies maintained that while Iran expanded uranium enrichment, there was no conclusive evidence of an active weapons program.

That distinction — between enrichment capacity and weaponization intent — has historically marked the dividing line between diplomatic engagement and military confrontation.

Silence Amid Escalation

Gabbard’s earlier statement now stands in tension with the current political climate. Critics argue that if intelligence conclusions have not fundamentally changed, then public silence from officials who previously acknowledged those assessments contributes to a dangerous narrative drift toward war.

Supporters of a harder line against Tehran counter that Iran’s enrichment levels and regional posture justify aggressive containment regardless of formal weaponization status.

But the broader question remains: if sworn testimony established that Iran was not actively building a bomb, what has changed?

As bombs fall and rhetoric sharpens, that question may prove more consequential than any single tweet.

March 5, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | 1 Comment

Democratic congressional leaders are working to stop War Powers Resolution opposing Trump’s criminal Iran war.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition   Glen Ellyn IL , 26 Feb 26

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are horrified that a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to stop Trump’s planned criminal war on Iran might actually come to a vote this week.

The last thing they want is for Democrats, including themselves, to go on record to stop Trump from his dastardly planned attack. Why? Both leaders, like many fellow Democrats, support the likely upcoming Trump attack but are loathe to admit such. They either truly believe the nonsense Iran is seeking nuclear weapons and represents a threat to the homeland…or they are simply aligning themselves with Israel’s interests, not America’s, due to the millions pumped into Democratic campaign coffers by the Israel lobby.

Neither Schumer nor Jeffries utter a word about their pro Israel, pro Iran war beliefs. They know a large majority of voters reject Trump’s rush to war to cater to Israel’s military interests over America’s national security interests. Schumer and Jeffries stay silent so Trump can self-destruct when US body bags arrive home from Iran’s missile killing fields.

Unlike pro Israel Republican lawmakers who brag about their fealty to Israel and the need to topple Iran into failed state status, Democratic lawmakers want it both ways. Destroy Iran while laying the blame for all the lethal blowback killing Americans on Trump’s doorstep.

Schumer and Jeffries had no issue supporting the War Powers Resolution to stop Trump from invading Venezuela to kidnap its president. That resolution neither affected Israel nor was likely to incur massive US casualties. Voting for the resolution, bound to fail due to solid Republican support, brought no political fallout.

Schumer and Jeffries will not publically oppose bringing the Iran War Powers Resolution to a vote. They can’t leave any fingerprints on their opposition to it. Behind the scenes they offer process concerns, objections and caucus unity arguments to slow down the march to a vote; indeed possibly prevent it before Trump launches possible the most catastrophic war this century.

Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries want their cake and eat it too. Destroy Iran and the Trump presidency by remaining AWOL from the most critical issue they have ever faced. You cannot get more cynical than the Schumer, Jeffries tag team allowing Trump to blunder into catastrophic war to serve a foreign government.

February 28, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Schumer, Jeffries blink…Senate, House to vote on War Powers Resolution next week to stop Trump’s criminal war on Iran

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition, 27 Feb 26

The two Democratic leaders in Congress failed in their attempt to quash a bi partisan War Powers Resolution demanding Trump hold off any war on Iran till he makes the case before Congress. That’s not just morally required, it’s constitutionally required.


Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would much prefer Congress to remain constitutionally silent. They both would like to see Trump demolish Iran on behalf of Israel, while self-destructing his presidency when the toll of senseless war visits the homeland. But they’re now on board, bowing to pressure from congressional Democratic peace advocates and the majority of Americans who loathe the rush to war to serve Israel’s regional hegemonic interests, not America’s national security interests.

Alas, the vote next week could be seven long days from now, plenty of time for Trump to act unilaterally, the Congress, the Constitution, the American people be damned.

February 28, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Democrats Aren’t Resisting Trump’s Iran War Because They Secretly Support It.

Caitlin Johnston, Feb 20, 2026, https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/democrats-arent-resisting-trumps?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=188566363&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US has been gathering the most air power seen in the middle east since the Iraq invasion in 2003.

CNN says the US military is prepared to strike Iran as early as this weekend.

A Trump advisor has reportedly told Axios that “The boss is getting fed up. Some people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think there is 90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks.”

The US is by every indication headed straight toward war with Iran, and Trump’s ostensible opposition has conspicuously little to say about it. We’re seeing some pushback from House Democrats like Ro Khanna, but party leaders like Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are completely missing from the scene on this issue of unparalleled urgency.

Democratic Party leaders are doing nothing to oppose Trump’s war plans for Iran because they support those plans. They just don’t want to be the ones pulling the trigger.

When the attack begins they’ll do the same thing they did with Venezuela: publicly finger-wag about rules and protocol while providing no meaningful resistance and privately being glad the empire took out another unauthorized leader.

Democratic Party empire managers love Trump. They love having a bad cop who’s willing to get his hands dirty and slit the throats that need slitting while they sit back looking pretty and fundraise off his depravity.

Democrats hate having to be the bad guy. They hated trying to come up with excuses for why it was fine for Biden to aggressively back a live-streamed genocide in Gaza, and they were relieved to finally hand off that PR nightmare to Trump. They wanted to lose in 2024, and they were glad when they did.

Now they get to just coast along and let Trump take the blame for all the imperial depravity.

On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Mark Warner told MS NOW’s Katy Tur that “I think it’s appropriate that the president has all the options on the table” with regard to war with Iran, complaining only that Trump was too incompetent to strike last month when Iranian domestic turmoil was at its peak.

Warner said that “seeing regime change in Iran would make sense” and made it clear that he would like to see the Iranian government removed, with his only criticism being that Trump was going about obtaining it in a clumsy and impolite way.

“First of all, remember the president said in our previous bombing that we had obliterated Iran’s nuclear program,” Warner said. “While clearly our military did an exquisite job, we did not obliterate Iran’s nuclear program, number one. Number two, if the president is calling for regime change in Iran — and Iran is an awful regime — but he should make the case to the American public and to the world of how we’re going to go about doing that.”


This is such a perfect example of the Democratic Party’s relationship with all of Trump’s most depraved agendas. Here’s this monstrous warmonger, poised to unleash violence in the middle east of potentially devastating consequence, and all Warner can do is hem and haw about proper war etiquette and criticize the president for failing to drop enough bombs on Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure.

The United States has two right wing war parties: the polite one and the rude one. No party or faction which advances peace and human interests is allowed to flourish at the heart of the empire.

Trump is responsible for the war crimes of his administration, and he belongs in a cell in The Hague. But these Republican swamp monsters wouldn’t be able to do the damage they do without the assistance of the Democratic Party.

February 24, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

A Dangerous Equation: Trump’s Iran Plans and the Democrats Who Expect to Benefit

 SCHEERPOST, February 22, 2026 , by Joshua Scheer

Recent reporting suggests that President Donald Trump privately envisions a bold “regime change” in Iran, seeing it as a historical legacy project. Sources indicate he has pressed military planners for contingency strategies that could allow major attacks while keeping potential chaos politically manageable for the midterms.

At the same time, some Democratic leaders appear less focused on preventing war than on the political calculus of who would bear the consequences. Internal discussions reveal a tension: a portion of the party sees a potential conflict as both strategically and politically advantageous if Trump ends up owning the fallout. Meanwhile, a few members of Congress, including Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, have pushed for a War Powers resolution to require public accountability.

This coverage raises pressing questions about political expediency versus ethical responsibility in decisions that could imperil thousands of lives abroad and American service members. The stakes are high, and the calculation of winners and losers in Washington may come at a catastrophic human cost………………………………………………………… https://scheerpost.com/2026/02/22/a-dangerous-equation-trumps-iran-plans-and-the-democrats-who-expect-to-benefit/

February 24, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

The Unelected Overlord: How Kushner Turned the White House into Israel’s Backroom Deal Den

Viewed closely, a pattern emerges, pointing to a presidency where private capital, foreign networks, and personal access converge to shape outcomes that consistently serve Israeli interests, and not Americans


Freddie Ponton, 21st Century Wire, February 2, 2026 , https://21stcenturywire.com/2026/02/02/the-unelected-overlord-how-kushner-turned-the-white-house-into-israels-backroom-deal-den/

”Trump did not walk into the White House alone. He stormed in with a promise to “drain the swamp,” but trailing in his shadow was Jared Kushner, carrying a tangled web of private financial networks, offshore holdings, and foreign capital so deeply embedded it functioned like a quiet engine at the heart of the presidency. Years later, FBI documents released alongside the Epstein files crystallised the danger, with a Confidential Human Source (CHS) alleging that Trump had been compromised by Israel, and that Kushner was the true centre of gravity, orchestrating both the Trump Organisation and the White House from within.

Here -documents: [on original]

DOCUMENT: Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) – CHS Reporting Document, 10/19/2020 (Source: US DOJ)

This is not theatre. Intelligence reporting rarely accuses outright; it maps vulnerability, flags leverage, and exposes the invisible pathways through which foreign influence can seep into the corridors of American power, remaining unnoticed, unchallenged, and structurally unstoppable

The question is not whether the allegation would hold up in court. The question is whether the record itself, including Trump’s 2025 mandate, his cascade of executive orders, and his most consequential foreign policy moves in the Middle East, confirms the risk it described. Viewed closely, a pattern emerges, pointing to a presidency where private capital, foreign networks, and personal access converge to shape outcomes that consistently serve Israeli interests, and not Americans’. The decisions emanating from the Trump 2:0 administration appear to be dictated from within rather than guided by democratic oversight. As this story unfolds, it becomes clear that these are not isolated incidents or accidental alignment—they are structural, enduring, and deeply consequential.

READ MORE: Trump Team Didn’t Just Collude with Israel, Kushner was Acting as Foreign Agent for Tel Aviv

A Presidency Rewired from the Inside

Continue reading →

February 19, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Trump Team Didn’t Just Collude with Israel, Kushner was Acting as Foreign Agent for Tel Aviv.

So Trump’s éminence grise, the wunderkind, who some people have called the President In-Law, is really Israel’s man inside the White House

Granted, this is a very serious charge – which comes with some serious consequences if Kushner would ever be indicted, but the facts clearly demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt, that then President-elect’s son-in-law was using his proximity to the incoming Commander and Chief to execute a series of highly sensitive foreign policy maneuvers at the request of a foreign country.

So what exactly are Jared Kushner’s credentials in international relations and diplomacy that he has been charged with negotiating Middle East affairs for the United States of America? Without sounding too cruel here, it’s difficult to find anything to say in his defense. In the end, his only visible qualification is that he’s married to the President’s daughter, and that’s he’s “a good friend” of Netanyahu. That’s really it

December 7, 2017 By NEWS WIRE Patrick Henningsen, 21st Century Wire

Much was made this week in the US media about Michael Flynn’s recent guilty plea to making false statements to the FBI, as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s never-ending “Russia probe.” Beyond the political window dressing however, there’s a much bigger and more profound story lingering in the background.

Continue reading →

February 19, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

The West Bank. Israel’s atrocities in clear sight, but out of mind

by Ben Bohane | Feb 7, 2026 , https://michaelwest.com.au/the-west-bank-israels-atrocities-in-clear-sight-but-out-of-mind/

While the world has focussed on the atrocities in Gaza, Israel continues its support of illegal settlements, hostility and apartheid in the West Bank. Ben Bohane reports from Bethlehem.

We are no more than 5 minutes out of Bethlehem on a crisp December morning when my  Palestinian driver – let’s call him Ahmed – stops and points to a curl of smoke rising in the valley below, near Beit Jala.

“That’s a local restaurant the Israeli’s are burning since last night. They demand permits even when it is on family land. Israel then gives demolition orders, and no one can stop them.”

It’s the day before Christmas. I’m in the West Bank and Israel for a month to see the situation for myself, to try and understand how this comparatively small area continues to hijack history and our news agenda. Gaza remains off-limits to all foreign media attempting to report on Israel’s genocide there, so I can’t go.

The international Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) states 249 media personnel have been killed so far by Israel in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel and Iran since the Gaza war began.

“Israel has killed more journalists in the past three years than any other government in history,“

assassinating more than all media personnel killed in all the wars of the 20th century combined.

Israel has also now banned many reputable international NGOs from operating there. In late January, the IDF finally acknowledged the death toll tally compiled by Palestinian health authorities as accurate, saying it believed 71,000 people had been killed so far.


I’ve come to the other front, the West Bank, as Israeli settlers and the IDF establish new illegal settlements and make life difficult for Palestinians just trying to eke out a living.

While I’m there, Israel announces 19 new settlements, bringing to 69 the number of new settlements approved in the past few years.

They are slowly circling and strangling Palestinian towns by taking the high ground on hilltops, establishing their own roads to link up with other settlements, and destroying ancient olive groves which locals have long relied on for a meagre income. Some of these trees are many hundreds of years old, and their desecration seems somehow symbolic of Israel’s attempts to change history and geography.

“We are trapped here”, says Ahmed. “Ever since October 7, Israel has closed off our access to Jerusalem and the rest of Israel. A lot of businesses are struggling to survive after 5 years of shutdowns – first it was Covid, and then the Gaza war. No tourists for years.”

Unless they are employed in one of a handful of jobs, such as in hospitals or working for a Christian organisation, Palestinians in the West Bank can’t leave. Denied both Palestinian statehood and Israeli citizenship,

“West Bank Palestinians are caught in a limbo where they can’t travel into wider Israel or beyond.“

“Israel controls all our movements, all our water, and controls our petrol supply”, says Ahmed. “The only thing they don’t control is the air we breathe, and if they could control that, they would.”

Bulldozer warfare

We visit a home recently bulldozed by settlers and fields uprooted because they were considered too close to the expanding nearby Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit. As locals lose access to their olive orchards, the only trees safe are those within towns or around their homes. I see a young boy with a wheelbarrow full of seedlings and uprooted olive saplings moving towards a nearby field. Ahmed translates:

“The boy says that part of their resistance is to immediately replant the olive trees when settlers chop them down. The olives aren’t just an income for us, they are part of our identity on this land.”

We have to be quick when visiting the contested edges of these towns and fields, as settlers are always watching from nearby hilltops and the IDF can be on scene in less than 5 minutes. On two occasions, my driver yells to get us back in the car for a hurried exit when he spots settlers driving down to intercept us.

Returning to Bethlehem, the annual Christmas parade is underway. Hundreds of Palestinian, Arab and Armenian Christians in uniforms march along roads leading to Manger Square in the heart of Bethlehem. Palestinian Authority police guard the route and Churches, including the Orthodox Basilica of the Nativity, first begun by Emperor Constantine’s Christian mother, Saint Helena, in the 4th century. Under this Byzantine church is a grotto where Jesus was supposedly born.

This is the first time in two years that Christmas celebrations, including a huge Christmas tree, have taken place. With few foreign tourists, shops in Bethlehem are happy to see many Muslim families from across the West Bank visiting with children to see Santa and the holy sites. It’s a peaceful time with Christian and Muslim families celebrating together.

I met Father Issa Thaljieh, a Palestinian (Greek Orthodox) priest overseeing the Basilica. ‘Issa’ is the Muslim name for Jesus. He says the number of Christians continues to dwindle, from 10% of the Palestinian population during the British mandate period 100 years ago, to around 1% today. Most live overseas now, with Israel incentivising their departure.

Apartheid

One thing I hadn’t known until I came here is that Israelis are forbidden from entering any West Bank towns. At the entrance to many towns I visited, including Jericho and Bethlehem, are large road signs in red warning Israeli citizens not to enter.

Although usually framed as a security measure to prevent kidnapping, it has the additional impact of preventing ordinary Israelis and Palestinians from mixing together and stops Israelis from really understanding what is going on across the West Bank. It underlined the sense of apartheid, along with the long winding separation wall that snakes between Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank.


Always interested in art and graffiti as forms of resistance, I cruise a length of the wall, near two refugee camps inside Bethlehem and come across artist Banksy’s ‘Walled Off’ hotel, which had only reopened the week before after 5 years of closure. Upstairs is a gallery supporting local artists, downstairs a museum about the wall and ‘occupation’, along with a chintzy piano bar styled like a frontier saloon.

The hotel faces a section of the wall emblazoned with graffiti and promises ‘the worst views in the world’. The wall began construction substantially in 2002, runs for 810kms and is Israel’s biggest infrastructure project. Banksy’s museum quotes the man put in charge of the build, Danny Tirza:

“The main thing the government told me in giving me the job was,

“to include as many Israelis inside the fence and leave as many Palestinians outside as possible.“

Down the road, a number of local stores have popped up selling cheap Banksy merch, and apparently, Banksy is fine with all the rip-offs.

Other days are spent visiting Jericho and Hebron with its shrine containing the tomb of Abraham, patriarch of all the monotheistic faiths.

It is a town often at flashpoint between Palestinians and hardcore Israeli settlers who have moved right into pockets of the town, protected by IDF soldiers. A day trip to Ramallah is aborted when my driver says that Israeli forces had entered that morning to destroy dozens of shops and shot two people.

“It’s too dangerous today to visit, and besides, it would take us 5 hours to get through the checkpoints instead of one hour as normal”, he says.

Every day across the West Bank, Palestinians must navigate security challenges, declining business and hungry families. Given the impunity with which Israel operates in Gaza, Palestinians across the West Bank are still standing their ground, but without much hope that the international community will stop Israel’s encroachment.

Netanyahu’s government wants to extinguish any hope of a two-state solution, but Palestinians will not cede their homes – or their olive trees – easily.

February 15, 2026 Posted by | Israel, politics | Leave a comment

“Beyond the Pale” – Protesters Slam Albanese for Hosting “War Criminal” | DRM News | AC1F

February 15, 2026 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics | Leave a comment

Japan Restarts Nuclear Power at Kashiwazaki Kariwa After 14 Years

By Alex Kimani – Feb 11, 2026, 
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Japan-Restarts-Nuclear-Power-at-Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-After-14-Years-in-the-Dark.html

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has restarted Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, following a 14-year shutdown following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The 1,360 MW reactor is the first unit to come online since the nuclear accident that saw Japan halt operations at all its nuclear plants pending regulatory changes. 

The accident was caused by the 9.1-magnitude T?hoku earthquake – the third-largest in the world since 1900 – that triggered a tsunami, resulting in electrical grid failure and damage to nearly all of the power plant’s backup energy sources. With a total capacity of roughly 7,965 MW, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant is the largest in the world.

TEPCO has implemented extensive, multi-layered safety enhancements at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant to prevent accidents, particularly focusing on tsunami, earthquake, and terrorism risks. The company has constructed a 15-meter-high reinforced concrete seawall (extending 1,000 meters) to protect against tsunamis far exceeding the predicted maximum of 7-8 meters; critical buildings, including reactor and turbine buildings, have been fitted with heavy, watertight doors and barriers to prevent water from entering during a flood while essential equipment and emergency diesel generators have been moved to higher ground (up to 35 meters) to remain operational if the site floods.

Similar to many Western nations, Japan is doing a 180 on nuclear power after virtually ditching the power source as it looks to enhance energy security, reduce heavy reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels, meet rising electricity demand (including for AI data centers), and achieve 2050 carbon neutrality goals. Japan imports 60-70% of its electricity resources. In 2024, the country spent nearly $70 billion on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal imports, with nuclear power offering a [?] cheaper, [?] home-grown alternative. 

February 15, 2026 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

REVEALED: Labour said Scottish nuclear study could be seen as ‘waste of money’

 by Tom Pashby, The Canary 11th Feb 2026

The UK government has admitted that a study into the suitability of Scottish sites for new nuclear power projects could have been “a waste” of money. The government commissioned Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N), a public body, to carry out the study.

The revelation came after Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) secretary of state Ed Miliband told Scottish journalists in October 2025 that:

given the growing interest in nuclear in Scotland, I’m asking GBE-N to assess Scotland’s capability for new nuclear power stations, including at Torness and Hunterston.

This is going to be a very, very big issue in the Scottish election campaign. We are saying yes to new nuclear in Scotland.

Labour hoping to end SNP ban on new nuclear in Scotland

Scotland is due to go to the polls to elect a new Scottish parliament and Scottish government in May 2026. Labour is hoping to wrest back control from the Scottish National Party (SNP).

In an article about the same interview published in October 2025, the Scotsman newspaper reported that a “senior UK government source” had said they were considering submitting planning applications for new nuclear developments at Torness and Hunterston because they expected a Scottish Labour victory at the Holyrood election.

The UK Labour Party and Scottish Labour support nuclear power and nuclear weapons. This position is coming under pressure as the Green Party of England and Wales, which vehemently opposes all nuclear, increasingly challenges Labour in public opinion polls.

Under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, the government released documents to the Canary about Miliband’s request to GBE-N. These included a Q&A document prepared by DESNZ officials. It revealed that officials knew there would be concerns about new nuclear proposals in Scotland.

No new nuclear can be built in Scotland because planning policy is a devolved matter, and the ruling SNP opposes nuclear power. The rebuttal in the DESNZ Q&A was that there is “cross-party interest in new nuclear” in Scotland.

Energy department officials contradict each other on responsibility for study

The documents released under FOI also revealed that a DESNZ official, whose name was redacted, had sought to reassure GBE-N colleagues that DESNZ was not “behind the briefing” in an email sent on 22 October 2025 at 4:02pm.

That position was contradicted by an email in a separate earlier conversation where, on 21 October 2025 at 6:46pm, John Staples, DESNZ director for new nuclear strategy and fusion energy, said:

our SpAds [special advisors] want SoS [secretary of state] to be able to say the below to Scottish journalists.

‘Below’ in the email were lines drafted for Miliband which included:

I will ask Great British Energy – Nuclear to begin assessing Scotland’s capability for new nuclear power stations.

The internally prepared Q&A included a question which asked:

Isn’t this study a waste of money?

The DESNZ answer said:

New nuclear projects can deliver millions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-quality jobs to a region – UK ministers want to understand the potential for new projects right across Great Britain.

The Canary approached the Labour Party for comment, which deferred to DESNZ. DESNZ did not respond to a request for comment.

‘Obvious’ that study would be ‘waste of money’ – Scottish CND

A Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) spokesperson told the Canary:

It is obvious that an assessment of the viability of new nuclear sites in Scotland would be a waste of money, since the foremost issue is not the viability of sites but Scottish government policy.

Energy policy is devolved to Holyrood and the Scottish government very sensibly opposes new nuclear plants in Scotland.

There are a whole host of reasons why new nuclear plants in Scotland would be a terrible idea, including the absolutely exorbitant cost of nuclear plant construction, the reliance on destructive and unjust international uranium supply chains, and the enormous and cross-generational burden of decommissioning nuclear plants, which in the case of Dounreay is expected to take hundreds of years.

In particular, the notion that Scotland, which is a net energy exporter and has the potential to become an international renewables powerhouse, should pivot to costly nuclear projects at this stage is somewhat absurd.

Investing the same sums invested in nuclear power plants – scores of billions and climbing for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C – into the grid, home insulation and the renewables sector across Scotland would be an immeasurably better investment.

For Scottish CND, another concerning element of the renewed push for nuclear power is the deep imbrication [overlapping] of the ‘civil’ and military nuclear industries, as openly promoted in the 2025 Industrial Strategy.

From this perspective, investment in new nuclear power plants can be seen as defence spending by stealth and a means of shoring up the UK nuclear weapons industry – something which is of no benefit to Scotland and indeed causes major risks and harms in Scottish communities.

New nuclear would be incredibly expensive – Scottish government minister………………………………………………….

SNP criticises ‘Westminster obsession with nuclear’………………………………………………

‘New nuclear would waste time, money and political attention’ – Scottish Greens……………………………………… https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2026/02/11/scottish-nuclear-study/

February 15, 2026 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

US Military Helping Trump to Build Massive Network of ‘Concentration Camps,’ Navy Contract Reveals

The Department of Homeland Security is using a repurposed $55 billion Navy contract to convert warehouses into makeshift jails and plan sprawling tent cities in remote areas.

Stephen Prager, Feb 02, 2026, https://www.commondreams.org/news/military-contract-concentration-camps

In the wake of immigration agents’ killings of three US citizens within a matter of weeks, the Department of Homeland Security is quietly moving forward with a plan to expand its capacity for mass detention by using a military contract to create what Pablo Manríquez, the author of the immigration news site Migrant Insider calls “a nationwide ‘ghost network’ of concentration camps.”

On Sunday, Manríquez reported that “a massive Navy contract vehicle, once valued at $10 billion, has ballooned to a staggering $55 billion ceiling to expedite President Donald Trump’s ‘mass deportation’ agenda.”

It is the expansion of a contract first reported on in October by CNN, which found that DHS was “funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help facilitate the construction of a sprawling network of migrant detention centers across the US in an arrangement aimed at getting the centers built faster, according to sources and federal contracting documents.”

The report describes the money as being allocated for “new detention centers,” which “are likely to be primarily soft-sided tents and may or may not be built on existing Navy installations, according to the sources familiar with the initiative. DHS has often leaned on soft-sided facilities to manage influxes of migrants.”

According to a source familiar with the project, “the goal is for the facilities to house as many as 10,000 people each, and are expected to be built in Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Utah, and Kansas.”

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Now Manríquez reports that the project has just gotten much bigger after a Navy grant was repurposed weeks ago. It was authorized through the Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC), a flexible purchasing system that the government uses to quickly move military equipment to dangerous and remote parts of the world.

The contract states that the money is being repurposed for “TITUS,” an abbreviation for “Territorial Integrity of the United States.” While it’s not unusual for Navy contracts to be used for expenditures aimed at protecting the nation, Manríquez warned that such a staggering movement of funds for domestic detention points to something ominous.

“This $45 billion increase, published just weeks ago, converts the US into a ‘geographic region’ for expeditionary military-style detention,” he wrote. “It signals a massive, long-term escalation in the government’s capacity to pay for detention and deportation logistics. In the world of federal contracting, it is the difference between a temporary surge and a permanent infrastructure.”

He says the use of the military funding mechanism is meant to disburse funds quickly, without the typical bidding war among contractors, which would typically create a period of public scrutiny. Using the Navy contract means that new projects can be created with “task orders,” which can be turned around almost immediately, when “specific dates and locations are identified” by DHS.

“It means the infrastructure is currently a ‘ghost’ network that can be materialized anywhere in the US the moment a site is picked,” Manríquez wrote.

Amid its push to deport 1 million people each year, the White House has said it needs to dramatically increase the scale of its detention apparatus to add more beds for those who are arrested. But Manríquez said documents suggest “this isn’t just about bed space; it’s about the rapid deployment of self-contained cities.”

In addition to tent cities capable of housing thousands, contract line items include facilities meant for sustained living—including closed tents likely for medical treatment and industrial-sized grills for food preparation.

They also include expenditures on “Force Protection” equipment, like earth-filled defensive barriers, 8-foot-high CONEX box walls, and “Weather Resistant” guard shacks.

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist, said the contract’s provision of materials meant to deal with medical needs and death was “extra chilling.” According to the report, “services extend to ‘Medical Waste Management,’ with specific protocols for biohazard incinerators.”

The new reporting from Migrant Insider comes on the heels of a report last week from Bloomberg that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has used some of the $45 billion to purchase warehouses in nearly two dozen remote communities, each meant to house thousands of detainees, which it said “could be the largest expansion of such detention capacity in US history.”

The plans have been met with backlash from locals, even in the largely Republican-leaning areas where they are being constructed:

This month, demonstrators protested warehouse conversions in New Hampshire, Utah, Texas and Georgia after the Washington Post published an earlier version of the conversion plan.

In mid-January, a planned tour for contractors of a potential warehouse site in San Antonio was canceled after protesters showed up the same day, according to a person familiar with the scheduled visit.

In Salt Lake City, the Ritchie Group, a local family business that owns the warehouse ICE identified as a future “mega center” jail, said it had “no plans to sell or lease the property in question to the federal government” after protesters showed up at their offices to pressure them.

On January 20, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined hundreds of protesters outside a warehouse in Hagerstown, Maryland, that was set to be converted into a facility that will hold 1,500 people.

The senator called the construction of it and other detention facilities “one of the most obscene, one of the most inhumane, one of the most illegal operations being carried out by this Trump administration.”

Reports of a new influx of funding from the Navy come as Democrats in Congress face pressure to block tens of billions in new funding for DHS and ICE during budget negotiations.

“If Congress does nothing, DHS will continue to thrive,” Manríquez said. “With three more years pre-funded, plus a US Navy as a benefactor, Secretary Kristi Noem—or any potential successor—has the legal and financial runway to keep the business of creating ICE concentration camps overnight in American communities running long after any news cycle fades.”

February 15, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Is the UK keeping up with the nuclear revival?

 Steve Thomas: Since the Starmer government came to power in 2024, it has
made a series of announcements that have placed the UK at the forefront of
the so-called Nuclear Renaissance. The government talks about a “Golden Age
of Nuclear Power” in the country. However, a closer look shows that these
announcements primarily concern what the government hopes to do and what it
hopes to achieve, in the absence of new projects in the pipeline.


Currently, the burden of submitting proposals falls on the private sector.
Regarding current nuclear projects, there is one under construction,
Hinkley Point C; another, Sizewell C, for which an investment decision has
been made and construction could begin in two to three years; and a project
for three Rolls-Royce small modular reactors (SMRs) for the Wylfa site,
where an investment decision is hoped for 2029.

The Hinkley Point C project
for two French European Pressurized Reactors (EPRs, 3.2 GW) is seven years
behind schedule, is 90% over budget, and requires at least six years to
complete. The Sizewell C project is expected to be built along the lines of
the Hinkley design and was supposed to be built approximately two years
after Hinkley, so that the workforce could seamlessly transfer from Hinkley
to Sizewell.

This means it is at least nine years behind schedule. Even if
the government’s estimated completion date is met, Sizewell will not begin
generating power until 2039. The estimated cost of this plant, £40.5
billion (2024 funding), is 70% higher than the actual estimated cost of the
Hinkley Point project at the time of the Final Investment Decision.

This ridicules claims that Sizewell would be cheaper than Hinkley due to the
“expertise” built at Hinkley Point. If it goes ahead, the Wylfa project
will not begin generating power until 2035. If there are no further delays
to these projects, it will be 2040 before the UK’s nuclear capacity returns
to 2015 levels, or approximately 9 GW. In 2022, Boris Johnson’s government
set a target of “up to 24 GW” of new nuclear capacity, in addition to the
Hinkley project, to be achieved by 2050. The “up to” specification left
room for vagueness, and in fact the Starmer government has clearly not
adopted this target.

So why is it so difficult and takes so long to build
nuclear capacity? And has the UK not performed well in this regard?
Research commissioned by the UK government found that, on average,
globally, the construction of a nuclear power plant, from the investment
decision to first start-up, takes 13-17 years. Add to this the time
required to reach the final investment decision. This includes: choosing
the supplier and technology; project assessment by the national safety
regulator; identifying and verifying the suitability of the chosen site;
and defining a financial model to provide the capital, own the plant, and
purchase the energy.

This process is unlikely to take less than five years;
in fact, it could take longer. Therefore, the construction time for a
nuclear project is likely at least 20 years.

 Rienergie 12th Feb 2026, https://rienergia.staffettaonline.com/articolo/35901/UK+sta+al+passo+con++la+rinascita+nucleare++++/Steve

February 14, 2026 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

France slashes renewable energy targets, expands nuclear power with new law

FRANCE 24,  12/02/2026 https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260212-france-slashes-renewable-energy-targets-favour-of-nuclear-power-new-energy-law

France is this week set to pass by decree a new energy law slashing the country’s renewable energy targets and massively expanding nuclear power production. The law change comes as a relief for state-run electricity provider EDF, which had been mandated to close some of its nuclear plants and is struggling to compete with price pressure from European solar and wind power producers.

France set out a new energy law after years of wrangling on Thursday which slashes its wind and solar power targets and drops a mandate for state-run firm EDF to shutter nuclear plants.

“We need to stop ​our internal family ‌squabbling. We need both nuclear and renewables,” Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters.

The law, to be ⁠pushed through by decree on Friday after almost three years of bitter disagreement among lawmakers, also reverses a previous legal mandate to shut 14 reactors.

That was a 2017 campaign ‌promise of President Emmanuel Macron, who later changed course, backing nuclear expansion with a plan for at ⁠least six new reactors.

The move to pare back renewables should help shield EDF, which operates a fleet of 57 reactors, as power demand grows more slowly than expected over the next decade. The company is struggling to ​remain competitive as abundant wind and solar in Europe have pushed down power prices and ‌forced reactors to lower output.

The new 10-year framework, known as the PPE, aims for EDF to produce 420 terawatt-hours of power from its existing fleet in 2035, a 5 percent increase.

“Nuclear is the backbone of our electricity system,” said Lescure, adding that a first new reactor should ‌be inaugurated by 2038.

EDF CEO Bernard Fontana welcomed the proposal, saying it would allow the company to advance toward its objectives. The law had triggered fierce debate among lawmakers pitting support ​for renewable subsidies against financing new nuclear at a time when France is struggling with high debt. The PPE also governs wind and solar tenders, and a decision on the matter is expected to be welcomed by the wind industry, which ​has struggled amid uncertainty over the plans and delayed tenders.

Still, wind and solar targets were lowered, to 105-135 gigawatts (GW) of installed ​capacity by 2035 from drafts that had called for 133-163 GW.

“If this PPE is ​more than two years late on paper, it’s at least a decade behind in its vision of an energy transition,” Greenpeace France said in a statement.

It lowers France’s 2035 target ​for installed offshore wind capacity to 15 GW from 18 GW the government had submitted for consultation in 2024.

The target for onshore wind capacity drops to 35-40 GW from the 45 GW previously communicated.

Solar capacity will be 55-80 GW by 2035, the report added, down from a previous forecast of 75-100 GW.  The law calls for France to consume 60 percent of its own energy ⁠from decarbonised electricity by 2030, shifting from 60 percent of energy from fossil fuels currently, and up to 70 percent from decarbonised electricity by 2035.

The new law is unlikely ⁠to lead to lower ​prices for end-users, said Emeric de Vigan, managing director of energy consultancy 42 Advisors, adding this could keep them from switching to electricity from oil and gas-based fuels.

February 13, 2026 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

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