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Ukraine has a new butcher-in-chief – all the better to feed Ukrainians to the grinder

the comedian-on-the-way-to-the-presidency made one and only one specific promise: that he understood the absolute priority of peace and would do everything to find a negotiated solution with Russia.

Syrsky is gone, but his replacement is a sign that Zelensky as committed as ever to prolonging a losing war at terrible human cost

23 Jul, 2026 , By Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory https://www.rt.com/news/643351-ukraine-drapaty-new-butcher/

The rule of Vladimir Zelensky has been a catastrophe for Ukraine, and that is how it will be remembered once the dust of relentless info war campaigns in his favor – and against his critics – settles.

While the corruption of the Zelensky regime is stupendous, that fact – sad as it is – is not what makes him special, however. Because exorbitant, shameless embezzlement, kickbacks, and fraud have been the Ukrainian establishment’s perverse normal since independence. Zelensky and his cronies are certain to have cashed in like no one before because the West has pumped in money as never before while turning two blind eyes to what happens to it. But in principle, Zelensky has merely done what they all do. Not that that makes it any better.

Zelensky’s truly distinct contribution to Ukraine’s misery has consisted in two other things. His unprecedented ramping-up of authoritarianism – begun long before the escalation of the war in 2022 – and his merciless choice to relentlessly sacrifice his country and its people to serve as cannon fodder in a Western proxy war against Russia.


Zelensky’s responsibility before his country is all the greater because he once either knew better or he lied. During his 2019 election campaign, when he generally “avoided serious interviews and discussions about policy – preferring instead to post light-hearted videos to social media,” as the BBC back then was still ready to report, the comedian-on-the-way-to-the-presidency made one and only one specific promise: that he understood the absolute priority of peace and would do everything to find a negotiated solution with Russia.

And then in the spring of 2022, Zelensky, of course, deliberately missed a golden opportunity to end the large-scale war when it had barely begun. Heeding not Ukraine’s obvious national interest but duplicitous advice from the West’s emissary, then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Zelensky personally ditched an almost finished peace agreement, locking in years of devastation for his country. In the end, once the war will be fully lost, Kiev is virtually certain to get a deal much worse than what was on offer then.

Now, in the summer of 2026, it may seem as if Zelensky’s grip on Ukraine is finally slipping. A combination of street protests and – inevitable if quiet – Western pressure has forced him into a humiliating climb-down. After the president’s sudden dismissal of the popular – and much-hyped – defense minister Mikhail Fedorov, the protesters had demanded his re-instatement and the sacking of Fedorov’s rival, the military’s commander-in-chief Aleksandr ‘the Butcher’ Syrsky. Zelensky has now fired Syrsky to be replaced by General Mikhail Drapaty, while some new influential position for Fedorov is being discussed.

Boris Johnson, currently a more-than-usual washed-out has-been of British politics, busy trying to catch the public eye, has made meager headlines with blaming the Ukraine War on the Britain’s new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband. How is that supposed to work? Somehow via Syria. Yes, really.

The single most important cause of this perfectly avoidable war was of course the West’s reckless policy of NATO expansion. And the man who helped most directly to make the war go on when it could have ended quickly was Boris Johnson. But sure: “Syria.”
Boris, though, does stand for something, namely just how bizarre much of this developing story is. Here is a regime that, together with its Western supporters and users, has just been running an absurd but pervasive propaganda campaign claiming its drone and missile strikes are winning the war. And yet both the minister of defense and the head of the military have to go. An odd way to celebrate impending victory.

In reality, one thing the Fedorov-Syrsky saga shows is that even Zelensky doesn’t believe in his own boasts of moving the war from “the earth into the sky” and securing victory in that manner. Fedorov did not have to go despite finding a winning “asymmetrical” strategy, as many of the protesters and Western mainstream media claim. He never did. Fedorov did not fall over his alleged struggle against corruption either. He may have antagonized one set of war profiteers, but in Ukraine that only means another network will take a larger cut.

The most likely real reason for Fedorov’s sacking – whether it will be reversed or sort-of-reversed – is that Zelensky fears him as a rising political competitor, as Ukrainska Pravda reports. And while firing the defense minister, Zelensky himself created the cover story that there was no other way to deal with conflicts between Fedorov and Syrsky. In that way, it is Zelensky who made Syrsky, already widely disliked for wasting the lives of Ukrainian soldiers with futile and stubborn tactics, a target for the protesters.

The diehard Zelensky fans at Britain’s Telegraph may try to sell this outcome as “nimble” Zelensky successfully buying time by making Syrsky his fall guy in the same manner that he had already sacrificed his very intimate friend and top fixer Andrey Yermak to dodge the fallout from his own corruption. In reality, Zelensky has lost face again. His authority, brittle in any case, has taken another hit.

For Ukraine, though, none of this is good news. Yes, the de facto dictator Zelensky has suffered a defeat, and the abhorred ‘butcher’ Syrsky has been removed. But he has been replaced by a man who, while almost two decades younger, is very unlikely to be any better. Drapaty, who is treated with the usual kid gloves by Ukrainian and Western mainstream media, may or may not be an efficient commander. What is certain is that he first came to public attention in 2014, when his units brutally cracked down on resistance in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol (before, as often forgotten, losing control of the city). Nothing in his career since then indicates a change of attitude. This is the man in charge of the whole Ukrainian military now.

Zelensky may well know that his own hype about the current air campaign turning the war around is propaganda. Yet clearly that does not mean that the Ukrainian leadership is willing to be serious about a negotiated solution. Emboldened by exceedingly rash Western support, Kiev has not yet given up on continuing a losing war, propped up by brutal forced mobilization, until an end that will be even more bitter than Ukraine’s current wretchedness.

July 26, 2026 Posted by | politics, Ukraine, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Labour mayor candidate vows to push new nuclear with Burnham

News & Star, The Cumberland News, 21st July, By Gareth Cavanagh, Data Reporter

LABOUR’S mayoral candidate has pledged to work with new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham on delivering new nuclear in West Cumbria.

Speaking today, David Allen welcomed the appointment of Mr Burnham, as his party’s leader and Prime Minister.

Mr Allen, Police Fire and Crime Commissioner and a candidate in the Mayor of Cumbria election race, said that he was “delighted” to see Mr Burnham in 10 Downing Street.

Mr Allen said: “Andy has already signalled strong support for nuclear, so I’ll be working with him to help deliver new nuclear at Pioneer Park alongside Josh MacAlister MP.”………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/26298408.labour-mayor-candidate-vows-push-new-nuclear-burnham/

July 26, 2026 Posted by | politics, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, UK | Leave a comment

Israel spent £50,000 lobbying Reform

Before deputy leader Richard Tice told MPs not to talk about Israeli influence

DANIA AKKAD, 30 June 2026, https://www.declassifieduk.org/israel-spent-50000-lobbying-reform/

Reform UK’s deputy leader said last week that a parliamentary debate into Israeli influence on British politics was “antisemitic in its very motivation and at its core”.

“As such, we should utterly reject it,” argued Richard Tice to a room full of MPs.

What he did not tell them, however, was that he had been on a trip to “the Gaza front line” last September funded by the newly-created Reform Friends of Israel, where he concluded that the Gaza famine was a “blatant lie”.

And that trip is not the only example of pro-Israel pressure groups working with Reform. Just a few short weeks after Tice’s visit, his chief of staff and a motley crew of Reform figures visited Israel in a trip which has received scant media attention.

Their six-day jaunt in November 2025 included a visit to the illegally occupied Golan Heights, which the UK recognises as part of Syria.

They also visited Israel’s police headquarters, which is overseen by far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is sanctioned by the UK for “repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians”. 

This trip was funded by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to newly released Israeli government data seen by Declassified and found by Berlin-based journalist Yossi Bartel.

The records show that the ministry paid Conexión Israel – a company based in Jerusalem that organises high-level country visits – more than £50,000 to facilitate the delegation.

The delegates returned singing Israel’s praises and denouncing British protesters marching against the war in Gaza as antisemitic and “naively propping up a terrorist ideology”.

Dr David Bull, then Reform UK party chairman, said the trip had been “life changing”.

“I now understand the situation that Israel finds itself in and Reform UK will always stand with the Israeli people,” he said.

Andy Kalil, the member of the public who organised the petition that sparked last week’s debate in parliament, said the trip “goes to the heart of why we petitioned for an independent inquiry into pro-Israel influence in UK politics.”

“A trip funded by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs that exposed participants to the Israeli government’s perspective is clearly a matter of public interest,” he told Declassified. 

‘Their fight, our fight’

In addition to Bull, delegates included Lancashire county council leader Stephen Atkinson, London assembly member Alex Wilson, and Reform UK board member Gawain Towler.

Both Atkinson and Wilson declared that their place on the trip cost Israel’s foreign ministry £4,861 each.

Ryan Powell, Tice’s parliamentary chief of staff who recently ran unsuccessfully as a Reform UK candidate in south London, was also on the trip. 

As was Rafaella Stefani, another member of Tice’s parliamentary staff. She helped host an event at Reform’s party conference where Israel’s deputy ambassador spoke.

The reason for the visit, according to the parliamentary staff register, was to study Israel’s policing, border security, health service and immigration control. 

The group visited several locations targeted during the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, including the Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel and the site of the Nova music festival massacre. 

“It sickens me that something like this could ever happen,” said Wilson, who posted a video from where the mass killing took place.

“It also sickens me that back in the UK, week after week, we’ve seen thousands of people marching to give succour to the monsters who did this.” 

Bull wrote that the group also met with Tel Aviv’s deputy mayor to discuss “visa overstayers and asylum seekers” and the Israeli National Police operation headquarters “where the very advanced use of technology enables them to act on ALL CRIME”.

Towler questioned how the UK “once a steadfast ally, let relations with Israel collapse into this sorry mess”.

“After all, their fight is, in many ways, our fight. A fight for enlightenment ideals, international norms, democracy and the rest,” he wrote.

Rising power

The cost of the trip represents only a small fraction of an enormous influx of money flowing into Reform UK, particularly from a small group of overseas expats.

The party raised more than £9 million in donations in the first three months of 2026, far more than any other political party and nearly half of total donations raised by all the parties put together.

Most of the funding came from two crypto billionaires: Christopher Harborne, a British-Thai dual national, and Ben Delo, who is relocating to the UK from Hong Kong so he can keep donating to the party after new legislation capped overseas donations from British citizens to £100,000.

The party has also held international fundraisers in wealthy British expatriate communities including in the United Arab Emirates, and has said it will hold ones in Monaco and the US.

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu), said the trip was “very typical” of the Israeli government’s approach over decades.

With Reform leading in opinion polls, Israel has clearly assessed that the party “will have a high chance of either forming the next government, being part of that government in a coalition perhaps or being the lead opposition,” Doyle said.

It’s also very much in keeping with the Israeli strategy of reaching out to far-right groups across Europe, in the US and India which “have adopted highly anti-Muslim, Islamophobic positions”, he said.

“This is perfectly standard operating practice to reach out to such groups, build long-term links to try to get them to see the world as one between Israel as a representative of Western civilisation against barbaric Muslim extremists,” he said.

‘Greater scrutiny is needed’

Kalil said he found the strongly pro-Israel public statements from the delegation “very concerning”.

“Delegates were shown sites highlighting Israel’s security concerns, but not the devastation in Gaza. That’s not a balanced fact-finding visit,” he said.

On Monday, Kalil submitted a formal complaint about last week’s debate. 

Among his primary concerns, he said in his complaint, was “the repeated characterisation of the petition, its signatories and several MPs who spoke in support of it as antisemitic.”

“The debate did little to address fundamental questions relating to lobbying, political donations, parliamentary visits, transparency or influence,” his complaint said.

“Instead, it demonstrated why many people believe greater scrutiny is necessary.”

He has asked that the government review whether it met the standards expected of such debates and for it to be rerun.

In addition to trips paid for directly by the Israeli government, British politicians including Tice have been taken to Israel by Reform Friends of Israel.

The group is led by Jason Pearlman, who until December was a media adviser to Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.

Herzog has been found by a UN commission to have incited genocide in Gaza.

Speaking from Israel, he told Declassified that he started a conversation with Reform about turning the party’s ‘Friends of Israel’ group into a “full-time” organisation while he was still working for Herzog.

In addition to trips paid for directly by the Israeli government, British politicians including Tice have been taken to Israel by Reform Friends of Israel.

The group is led by Jason Pearlman, who until December was a media adviser to Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.

Herzog has been found by a UN commission to have incited genocide in Gaza.

Speaking from Israel, he told Declassified that he started a conversation with Reform about turning the party’s ‘Friends of Israel’ group into a “full-time” organisation while he was still working for Herzog.

“We did have a dinner with Nigel [Farage] and some key backers,” he said. “We were able to put seed funding together.” Pearlman refused to say who Reform Friends of Israel’s (RFOI) donors were.

The Israeli embassy in London and Richard Tice have been approached.

July 26, 2026 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

The Fall of Israel’s Longest-Serving Leader: Is This the End for Netanyahu?

Aleena Im , July 20, 2026, https://journal-neo.su/2026/07/20/the-fall-of-israels-longest-serving-leader-is-this-the-end-for-netanyahu/

Israel may be witnessing the twilight of Netanyahu’s era as security failures, war fatigue, and the rise of the Yashar party erode his aura of indispensability. In geopolitics, leaders who build their legacy on security often fall when that very promise collapses.

In the world of geopolitics, even the strongest of leaders can be dethroned by just one crisis. For almost two decades, PM Netanyahu has held on as the leader of the Israelis. Considered to be the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu’s foreign policy revolves around security and regional monopoly. However, now in 2026, he is facing serious political backlash. It seems like his policies are now backfiring, and the situation is getting out of hand.

From domestic political circles to the international ones, hatred against Netanyahu has been increasing at an alarming rate. Whether it’s the October 7 attack or the recent war with Iran, Israel has been caught in a protracted conflict where it has become too costly to win the war. Is Israel witnessing the end of Netanyahu’s era, or is he preparing for a bigger comeback? The unfolding of Israel’s domestic circumstances would direct the ultimate result.

Israel’s Multi-Party System

There are various political factions in Israel, divided into right-wing, left-wing, and centre-wing parties. However, due to intense political fragmentation, no single party has ever been able to secure a majority in the Knesset. Therefore, coalition-based politics have become central to Israel’s domestic political structure. Bibi Netanyahu belongs to the right-wing political party named Likud, while the centrists include the alliance of opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett. The leftist parties include Arab-Israeli factions, which never secured a majority.

The major reason why Netanyahu has remained in power for almost two decades is that he has mastered coalition politics and has made alliances with nationalist and religious parties. However, the same coalition-based politics that allowed Netanyahu to remain in power are now creating vulnerabilities for him. A new political party, ‘Yashar,’ has been established by the former IDF Chief Gadi Eisenkot. Although he belongs to the centrist faction, his popularity has seen a boom in recent months, even more than that of his predecessors, Lapid and Bennett. This ever-increasing political fragmentation would now decide the future trajectory of Israel’s foreign policy…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Conclusion

“The old order changeth, yielding place to new.” (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

The upcoming elections in Israel would decide the fate of Netanyahu’s political career. However, one thing would be permanent: any future administration would continue to pursue the aims of dismantling Iran and its regional partners in one way or another. Their strategies and policies might be different, but their ultimate objective would be the same. The newly emerged Yashar party is gaining momentum at an alarming rate. Although Netanyahu remains the most influential political personality in Israel, the combination of security failures and political fragmentation has caused a serious dent to his indispensability. Whether he will survive this challenge or not remains uncertain. The fact is that, for the first time in years, Israel is seriously contemplating a future beyond Benjamin Netanyahu. https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2026/07/21/fatal-fallout/

July 25, 2026 Posted by | Israel, politics | Leave a comment

Are Trump and AI driving a nuclear power boom?

July 20, 202 By Berly McCoy, Geoff Brumfiel, Regina G. Barber, Rebecca Ramirez, https://www.npr.org/2026/07/20/nx-s1-5884889/are-trump-and-ai-driving-a-nuclear-power-boom

A race started by President Trump is leading to the rapid construction of new, experimental nuclear reactors. If they work, they could power data centers for artificial intelligence. But critics worry that the breakneck pace is compromising safety and public trust. NPR correspondent Geoff Brumfiel talks about the potential risks and benefits, and whether this may lead to a new nuclear age.

Red, white and glowing blue: Trump’s push for new reactors reaches the finish line

June 29, 2026, Geoff Brumfiel, https://www.npr.org/2026/06/29/nx-s1-5847944/new-nuclear-reactors-america-250-safety-concerns

A little over a year ago, President Trump set an ambitious goal: He wanted to see American companies build at least three new experimental nuclear reactors by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Shortly after Trump signed an executive order enshrining his goal, the Department of Energy launched its Reactor Pilot Program. The program is designed to help companies build and run test reactors quickly, in part by radically cutting back on the regulations required for such reactors.

That program has sparked a nuclear race, and with less than a week to go, two companies have already reached the goal of switching on their reactor (“going critical” in nuclear-speak).

On June 4, Antares Nuclear announced it had gone critical, and Valar Atomics said it went critical on June 18 and is now producing tens of kilowatts of heat from its new reactor core, which is operating out of a tentlike structure in the Utah desert.

Other companies are getting close to making the deadline, and all this happened in less than the span of a year.

“We haven’t done anything this fast, basically ever,” said Nick Touran, chief nuclear officer at Ocean Atomics, which seeks to put nuclear power onto civilian ships. His company isn’t part of this program, but he has been tracking it closely.

He says this pilot program could jump-start America’s nuclear industry.

“I’m just excited that we’re now actually building these little reactors and trying it out and we’re going to look at what the economic story is and find out if there’s a market,” he said. “It’s going to be so much better than sitting there talking about it like we did for the last 40 years.”

But for others, the speed sparks alarm. The race is “essentially an exercise in public relations,” said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists. And, he added, the slashing of regulations undoes decades of safety lessons learned in the nuclear industry.

“This is taking us back to the 1950s, and that is not progress,” he said.

Building the core

A lot of the action is happening at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, where several of the companies have set up shop. One of them is Radiant, which hopes to build small reactors for everything from disaster relief to data centers. Rita Baranwal, the firm’s chief nuclear officer, said they are assembling their reactor inside a special secure building called the DOME.

“By July 4, we’re tracking to get the reactor into DOME and to initiate the testing,” she told NPR this month.

Initiating testing isn’t quite the same as going critical, and Baranwal said Radiant probably won’t be critical by the July 4 deadline. But she does expect that Radiant’s reactor will be running soon. “The only thing we will not be doing at [Idaho National Laboratory] this summer is generating electricity,” she said.

Radiant’s reactor looks radically different from the massive reactors that exist today. It’s far smaller, and its nuclear fuel takes a different form. In a modern power reactor, nuclear fuel is loaded into long tubes, but Radiant’s reactor uses little nuclear fuel balls filled with grains of uranium. “Do you remember gobstoppers?” Baranwal said

These nuclear gobstoppers can operate at higher temperatures and are more resistant to melting down. Radiant and several other companies plan on using this type of fuel along with other tech to build a bunch of smaller, more mobile reactors.

“We have broken ground on our factory to mass-produce reactors. We’re targeting around 50 per year,” she said. (Currently, 96 reactors are operating in the United States.).

Safety worries

To get the reactors built this quickly comes at a cost. This year, NPR reported that the Energy Department completely rewrote its safety and security standards to make it easier for companies to win regulatory approval. The department has said that the cut regulations were “unnecessary” and that safety hasn’t been compromised.

The department consulted with the companies but not with the public. It also exempted the new reactors from environmental reviews.

And that has some skeptics of the program worried.

“Yes, of course, if you bend all the rules, you can do things quickly,” said Lyman, referring to the Energy Department’s decision to rewrite its rules for the program.

The test reactors might be working, he said, “but that should not be confused with anything related to a nuclear power reactor that’s capable of producing electricity in a stable and safe way.”

Lyman said he worries that deregulation will erode standards for things like how much security is required or how much environmental monitoring should be done, at a time when these mass-produced little reactors could start popping up at locations all over the country.

July 23, 2026 Posted by | politics, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, USA | Leave a comment

New energy policy for Burnham?

, RENEW EXTRA WEEKLY

The soon to be UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, is being portrayed as a ‘new broom’ that could, or might, adopt better polices in all areas. Well, what about the energy sector? It’s in a mess, economically, driven by high fossil gas prices, with retail electricity prices at an all-time high, despite renewable energy doing well (65 GW so far) with its wholesale price mostly being low. It’s in a mess technologically, at risk of undermining the crucial next stage of its important renewables programme by diverting cash to support major high-cost nuclear and fossil carbon capture and storage projects.

Both of these programme involve multi-billion funding. The much delayed Hinkley Point nuclear plant may end up costing £40-50bn, inflation adjusted, when it finally gets completed, probably in 2030. Its follow-on project, Sizewell C, may not do much better, despite promises about learning from Hinkley, and despite the investment risks being met by a consumer levy.  There are already construction issues. A late 2030s start up at best? By then we might also be seeing some outcomes from the very speculative funding for small modular reactors and even maybe some results from the even more speculative fusion funding, with £2.5bn set aside for it.

Is any of that good value for money?  Will it deliver anything useful on time?  On past performance, it’s very uncertain. Same for the £21.7 bn  Carbon Capture and Storage programme, the full cost of which has been put at possibly up to  £264bn by 2050. CCS is basically an attempt to allow us to keep burning fossil fuel.  Is that sensible? Or for that matter the controversial Drax wood pellet combustion plant– it got £1bn in subsidies last year.  Burning imported wood from forests does not seem to be a very sustainable option…

There are arguably so many more worthy projects, for example in green hydrogen production and storage, a vital new area for expansion.  Heat storage linked to local heat networks too. To be fair, some of these ideas are now getting a bit of funding. For example, pioneering green hydrogen producer ITM Power has received £86.5 m from Great British Energy and DESNZ. It will be used to expand ITM’s electrolyser production at its Sheffield plant to 1GW p.a. But we need more like that for the rapid expansion of short and long duration storage. Freed from drain of endless nuclear and carbon capture diversions, we could also accelerate the newer renewables, like tidal stream turbines, via expansion of the Contacts for Difference (CfD) system. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What next? Hinkley Point C is about half-built, so a lot of capital has already been sunk in it, but there are yet more billions scheduled to be spent on it. Burnham is unlikely to be willing to halt it (he is, it seems, pro-nuclear) but he might be persuaded to ditch Sizewell C, work on which has hardly started.

And the big proposed CCS programme too, so as to release further billions. To soften the change of policy, he could keep some small projects going (an SMR perhaps, or a CCSU project) as ‘insurance’ options, much as some renewables were treated in the past (including, at one stage, offshore wind) when nuclear was seen as the main new UK energy option. 

More or less everyone, except some deadhead Reform supporters, now see renewables as that. The only debate seems to be on what backup might be needed. Large inflexible nuclear plants are not much use at that, nor are costly CCS fossil gas plants, while SMRs are as yet uncertain in terms of cost and viability.

But we don’t need any of this to deal with variable renewables. Storage, large and small scale, is part of the answer, along with improved transmission and flexible demand management plus smart grid systems, so as to balance local variable demand and variable supply efficiently.

We have to build a new system and that will inevitably be costly, although, arguably, not as much as trying to keep the old system going with dubious supply choices and carbon fixes. For example, on the basis of its latest LCOE data, Lazard says ‘Despite rising and inflationary cost pressures across all generation technologies, renewables remain the most cost-competitive form of new-build generation on an unsubsidised basis’.  

And economic cost is not the only issue. For example, if built, Sizewell C will produce around 40,000 kg of plutonium in its spent fuel over its 60-year lifespan. Plutonium has a half-life of around 25,000 years, with SMRs, if they ever work, also adding to the pile. Is that what we want to bequeath our far-off descendants? Along with other long-lived nuclear wastes? 

That’s a big challenge. Andy Burnham has made some commitments on energy and climate, but only so far mostly in a limited and cautious way. Will he now come up with something more radical? We will have to wait to see. Meanwhile, the latest data show that over 70% of DESNEZ expenditure is now nuclear related…   
https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2026/07/new-energy-policy-for-burnham.html?m=1

July 23, 2026 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

JD Vance Says Israeli Officials Are Pressuring U.S. to Prolong Iran War

 SCHEERPOST, July 16, 2026

Vice President JD Vance has made one of the most striking public acknowledgments yet of tensions between Washington and Israel over the future of the Iran conflict, claiming that members of the Israeli government are actively working to keep the United States engaged in an open-ended military campaign.

In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Vance said he was “beyond a shadow of a doubt” certain that Israeli officials had attempted to shift U.S. policy away from negotiations and toward indefinite military action.

“There have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military campaign.”

Vance framed the dispute as one between competing national interests, saying that while Israeli officials naturally prioritize Israel, his responsibility is to pursue what he believes serves Americans.

“I care about America first.”

Claims of an Israeli Influence Campaign

Vance also alleged that individuals connected to Israel were attempting to manipulate American public opinion in favor of continuing the war.

According to Vance, some actors were:


  • Leaking information to reporters.
  • Coordinating attacks against him on social media.
  • Opposing negotiations with Iran in favor of continued military operations.

He further claimed he had been falsely accused of acting on behalf of Qatar or taking direction from conservative commentator Tucker Carlson because of his position.

JD Vance on Israel, U.S. Policy, and the Iran War

Vance argued that he sees himself as occupying a moderate position in the debate over Israel within American politics………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A Growing Divide Inside the Republican Coalition

The interview also highlighted a widening divide within the Republican movement over U.S. foreign policy.

While some Republicans continue advocating close military coordination with Israel, others—including Vance and several prominent “America First” figures—have increasingly argued against deeper U.S. involvement in another prolonged Middle East conflict.

The debate reflects broader disagreements over whether Washington should prioritize diplomacy, military escalation, or a more restrained foreign policy………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… https://scheerpost.com/2026/07/16/jd-vance-says-israeli-officials-are-pressuring-u-s-to-prolong-iran-war/

July 22, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Hamas’s Governance Exit Exposes Israel’s Real Objectives

Abbas Hashemite, July 15, 2026, https://journal-neo.su/2026/07/15/hamass-governance-exit-exposes-israels-real-objectives/

Hamas’s decision to relinquish governance of the Gaza Strip appears to be derived from domestic and international strategic needs, and to further weaken the Israeli propaganda.

Hamas’s Administrative Withdrawal Amid Gaza’s Humanitarian Catastrophe

After ruling Gaza for around two decades, Hamas recently announced that it was prepared and willing to hand over the Strip’s governance to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the technocratic administration set up under US President Donald Trump’s so-called Board of Peace. According to the spokesperson of Hamas, the decision was made to “remove any pretexts for the [Israeli] occupation.” Indeed, the Israeli genocide, war crimes, occupation, and war of extermination against the Palestinian people persist despite the ceasefire, which took effect in October 2025.

According to a UNOCHA report, “nearly all of Gaza’s current population of 2.1 million people has been displaced, lacking access to sufficient shelter, food, life-saving medical services, clean water, education, and livelihoods.” According to some reports, the IDF has butchered more than 80000 Palestinians from October 7, 2023, to January, 2025; the actual figure is estimated to be much higher, as many bodies are still buried under rubble. The Israeli Defense Forces have also committed many other war crimes, such as raping Palestinian women and intentionally bombing hospitals, mosques, churches, and educational institutions, along with targeting journalists and welfare workers.

There are several indications that the Zionist regime may resume its full-scale genocidal operations in Gaza, using the resistance group’s refusal to surrender its arms and weapons as a pretext. Nonetheless, it appears that the Western nations have put the onus of honoring the deal only on Hamas, and Tel Aviv enjoys the freedom to violate the ceasefire at its will. This is evident from the fact that the IDF continues to kill Palestinian civilians, including women and children, despite the ceasefire. Moreover, it continues to control around 70 percent of the Gaza Enclave.

Why Relinquishing Governance Is a Strategic Calculation, Not a Defeat

Considering these developments, Hamas, in a strategic move, has decided to dissolve the Government Emergency Committee in Gaza. However, considering it as a surrender or defeat would be erroneous. In the current regional and domestic scenario, this was the most accurate move that Hamas could make. Through this move, the resistance group has reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the ceasefire deal and fulfilling Hamas’s objectives.

Even after one of history’s most horrific wars, the Zionist occupational regime has failed to achieve its primary objective: eliminating Hamas. The resistance’s decision to relinquish Gaza’s administration allows Hamas to reorganize its operational and institutional structures, minimize its institutional exposure, and focus on its fundamental objective, the struggle of Palestinian national liberation from the Zionist occupation. The Israeli government has long leveraged on the political, geographical, and ideological division between the West Bank and Gaza. This move would end this leverage and allow the two sides to unite.

A New Test for Israel and International Mediators

Despite this decision, the new administration would not mean complete foreign control over the Strip or exclusion of native Palestinians from politics, as Gaza belongs to its native population, not to any foreign-backed administration. Therefore, the most crucial challenge for the Western mediators will be to rebuild a representative and deeply rooted Palestinian leadership capable of raising the genuine concerns of the native people in the West Bank and Gaza. Otherwise, this new administrative structure will lose its credibility and domestic acceptance.

Another significant point to understand is that resisting and governing are two distinct functions. Therefore, this move must not be mistaken for a withdrawal from resistance. Hamas took this decision to advance its broader strategic objectives. For years, the Zionist regime of Israel has justified its war crimes, genocidal operations, and blockade of the Strip under the pretext of Hamas’s so-called threatening presence for the state.

After the resistance group’s complete compliance with the terms of the ceasefire and its announcement to transfer the administration of the Strip, the Zionist regime now seeks to hinder the implementation of the deal and hamper the National Committee from assuming the administrative responsibilities, to amplify the sufferings of the Palestinian people. This further exposes the propaganda of the Israeli government. It demonstrates that the actual ambition of the occupational regime was never to eliminate Hamas from the government; it was to deprive the Palestinians of their fundamental rights and resistance.

According to the Israeli government, the objective of this recent war was to end Hamas’s government in Gaza. After the recent decision by Hamas, the Israeli government has no reason left to blockade or bomb the Strip. Through this strategic move, Hamas is now confronting all the mediators and actors with their responsibilities. Moreover, this decision has further increased complications for the Zionist regime to legitimize its military aggression and genocidal operations in Gaza. It has been revealed once again that Hamas’s government was never the actual problem, but the refusal of the Palestinians to submit to the Israeli occupation. Through this decision, Hamas has not only gained strategic leverage but also achieved an opportunity to reorganize and restructure itself.

Аbbas Hashemite is a political observer and research analyst for regional and global geopolitical issues. He is currently working as an independent researcher and journalist

July 21, 2026 Posted by | Gaza, Israel, politics | Leave a comment

‘Seismic Shift’ as Over 100 House Democrats Vote to Cut Off US Military Aid to Israel

 

“This should be a blaring wake-up call for Democratic leaders,” said one campaigner. “The political tide is clearly turning against unconditional US military support for Israel.”

SCHEERPOST, Brett Wilkins Common Dreams,  July 16, 2026

Nearly half of all Democrats in the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to cut off US military aid to Israel, a move that underscored a dramatic shift away from the US support the Mideast ally has enjoyed for nearly 60 years.

While House lawmakers ultimately rejected Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) amendment to a national security spending bill that would have eliminated the $3.3 billion in annual foreign military financing provided to Israel’s military, the details of the vote were viewed as an encouraging sign by defenders of Palestine and the rule of law.

Massie and 103 Democrats voted for the measure, while 215 Republicans and 98 Democrats rejected it. The overall tally was 104 for, 314 against, and 10 “present” votes, with 9 absences.

“I cannot vote for aid to a country that committed genocide and has used tax dollars to detain Americans like me,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said ahead of the vote, referring to an incident in which heavily armed residents of an Israeli settler colony stopped and surrounded him last week in the illegally occupied West Bank of Palestine.

Speaking to reporters after the vote, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas)—who had urged colleagues to support Massie’s amendment—noted, “It used to be that just a small number of House Democrats would vote against sending taxpayer dollars to weapons for the Israeli military.”

“Today, over 100 House Democrats voted for a measure to block billions of dollars in weapons to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” he continued. “That is enormous progress. That is a victory for our movement, for security, peace, and justice for all people.”

The vote, Casar said, “sasends a strong message to Netanyahu that the days are over of an unaccountable blank check to his wars and his war crimes, at least from the Democratic Party.”……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. https://scheerpost.com/2026/07/16/seismic-shift-as-over-100-house-democrats-vote-to-cut-off-us-military-aid-to-israel/

July 21, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Liberals Have Relaxed About Trump Because They Trust Him To Keep The Wars Going

Caitlin Johnstone, Jul 16, 2026, https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/liberals-have-relaxed-about-trump?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=207158487&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Have you noticed how the liberal establishment hasn’t been nearly as emotional and outraged about Trump’s second term as they were about his first? Now that he’s the president who bombed Iran, the entire western political/media class is cool with him.

The term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has always been used by the MAGA crowd as a blanket pejorative to protect the president from criticism, but during Trump’s first term it wasn’t entirely unfair. You’d see Democrats shrieking their lungs out over Trump doing things that other US presidents did all the time like cozying up with dictators and tyrants. They’d lose their minds over relatively sane things like Trump talking about moving troops out of Syria. The whole Russiagate thing was liberals going bat shit over a crazy conspiracy theory that caused them to push for the escalations against Russia which ultimately gave rise to the war in Ukraine.

We’re not seeing any of that in Trump’s second term. That extra layer of screeching emotionality simply isn’t there. There are no Russiagates or emotional support Maddows this time around. Democrats hate Trump, but they hate him about as much as they’d hate any Republican president. The emotional response to his second presidency is wildly, wildly different from the first.

Which is nuts, because he’s quantifiably far worse this time around. His domestic policies are much more tyrannical. He’s as evil a warmonger as the White House has ever seen. He’s so corrupt that he’s just openly admitting to being bought and owned by Zionist oligarchs while making his family a fortune using the power of his office. Now that he doesn’t have to worry about re-election, he’s being completely nakedly monstrous.

And what’s creepy is that’s why the liberal establishment is so much more mellow about him. They’re no longer worried that he’s going to promote “isolationist” foreign policy and roll back the US war machine. He went to war with Iran, so they like him now. Because they know he’s fully compliant.

I’ve had many a Trump supporter tell me that all the anti-Trump vitriol we saw from the imperial political/media class was evidence that he really was fighting the Deep State and draining the swamp, but that was never what was actually happening. As I have been arguing since Trump’s first term, the oligarchs and empire managers never opposed Trump because they believed he was opposed to them. Rather, they simply viewed him as a poor steward of the empire. They didn’t trust him to keep the imperial gears turning in the way they must turn to maintain the status quo.

Clearly that has changed. They trust him now. They know he will keep the bombs dropping, keep the capitalism chugging along, and keep the power centers where they are.

They view him as one of their own now. When he finally dies, he will be lovingly eulogized by all the same liberal institutions which called him a second Hitler during his first term. He did enough to reassure them that the presidency of the United States had not been accidentally awarded to a decent human being.

July 20, 2026 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

‘Extreme risk’: AUKUS warnings as Garrett’s inquiry docks in Adelaide

16 July 26. https://www.indailysa.com.au/news/just-in/2026/07/16/extreme-risk-aukus-warnings-as-garretts-inquiry-docks-in-adelaide

“Extreme” economic risk and nuclear waste disposal concerns for the $368 billion AUKUS submarine project are being heard at an independent inquiry in Adelaide today.

The risk associated with the Federal Government’s $368 billion AUKUS nuclear submarine project are being criticised by former federal senator and self-described ‘transparency warrior’ Rex Patrick this morning at an independent inquiry held in Adelaide today.

And transparency warnings were raised over the government’s plans for nuclear waste from submarines built at Osborne in South Australia, Patrick saying he was fighting in the Federal Court for information to be made public.

Meanwhile, former South Australian Liberal MP Christopher Pyne, who was Minister for Defence from 2018 until his retirement in 2019, said he “thought twice about appearing” at the inquiry led by famed Australian musician and former federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett.

Pyne said he bit the bullet because he believed in the “battle of ideas”.

The independent inquiry into the defence agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States was established earlier this year to scrutinise the deal.

It is being led by former Labor MP and Midnight Oil front man Peter Garrett, with public hearings taking place across the country, including in Adelaide today and tomorrow.

Other commissioners included First Nations leader Karina Lester, former West Australian Premier Carmen Lawrence, former Chief of the Australian Defence Force Chris Barrie and co-CEO of the Australia Institute Leanne Minshull. A final report was expected on October 30.

“Adelaide is at the epicentre of the AUKUS project,” Garrett told reporters at a press conference before the inquiry started.

“Whether it’s questions on the safe, long-term storage of radioactive waste, whether it’s the impact on communities in Adelaide and around Osborne, whether it’s the question of opportunity cost for the Adelaide economy.

“It is a matter of some regret that the AUKUS decision – the biggest-ever decision by any Australian government to spend public money on submarines, some not even built – was made with minimal public debate.”

The inquiry has been supported by trade unions and non-profit organisations to address questions over whether risks – economic and political – were being managed appropriately, Patrick telling the inquiry the country was taking on a “hugely risky program”.

“From an absolute cost perspective, it is unaffordable and it is bankrupting,” he said.

“There’s also an opportunity cost. You know – $360 billion – if you think about what you can spend with that amount of money… we wouldn’t be worrying about fuel security, we wouldn’t be worrying about industrial resilience.”

He added that nuclear waste storage was “a problem that needs to be solved”, noting he was fighting in the Federal Court for the release of documents around where the government was planning to store waste from the nuclear submarines.

“I’m not asking for the release of documents that relate to how fast a submarine might go, how many weapons it might have… I’m asking for information that is incidental to this project but really important to it: Where are you going to put the waste associated with this?” Patrick said.

Pyne gave evidence ahead of Patrick, and emphasised the importance of the AUKUS project in terms of national defence against China, saying the uplift in defence capability would be imperative “if we find ourselves on our own in the worst case scenario”.

He described AUKUS as “unstoppable” and said it would deliver a permanent boost for defence spending, an upgrade to Australia’s bases and facilities, an investment in STEM and trade skills, and would be a permanent change to Australia’s national security.

The inquiry was set to continue until this evening, with other speakers including anti-nuclear campaigner David Noonan and SA Greens MLC Melanie Selwood.

The Greens today released new findings from a survey of 343 South Australians, showing 83.7 per cent of respondents were “mostly concerned” about AUKUS.

Seventy-one per cent said AUKUS would make Australia less secure, and 74.5 per cent said they did not see “clear benefits” from the defence pact.

AUKUS was set to be a boon for the South Australian economy and jobs creation, with the nuclear submarine shipbuilding yard set to be constructed at Osborne at a cost of at least $30 billion.

Both the state and federal governments said they hoped the project would create 10,000 jobs in design and construction as well as up to 1000 apprentices per year at an on-site training facility, with the first newly built submarines expected to be delivered to the Australian Navy in the 2040s.

Enough steel to make 17 Eiffel Towers as well as 710,000 cubic metres of structural concrete will be used in the construction of the 420-metre-long fabrication hall.

However it has already weathered several hiccups.

In June, Federal Defence Minister Richard Marles announced Australia would only buy three second-hand nuclear-powered submarines instead of the promised mix of new and used US vessels.

This plan was expected to happen before Australia eventually built its own submarines using US nuclear-propulsion technology and parts made in Britain.

The second-hand subs announcement comes after the US has struggled to make enough Virginia-class submarines for its own use, leading some American lawmakers to question how it could also build enough of the boats to meet Australia’s needs.

Australia faces a critical window to receive the submarines before its existing, 1980s-designed Collins-class vessels are retired from service.

July 20, 2026 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics | Leave a comment

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.

The Nuclear Fist: Five Federal Initiatives Pushing and Promoting Nuclear Power
There are currently five federal nuclear related initiatives / announcements: “Getting Major Projects Built in Canada – Discussion Paper on Proposed Legislative, Regulatory, and Policy Reforms” announced May 8th with the deadline now extended to July 22; the electricity strategy “Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy” which was announced May 14 with comment invited but no deadline; the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment electrification study with the deadline – and the study – now extended to mid-September; the Nuclear Energy Strategy for Canada announced June 22 with no comment invited and so no deadline for comment, and the June 24 announcement of the potential “listing” of the NWMO DGR under the Build Canada Act (aka Bill C-5), also no public comment period.

July 22nd Deadline to Comment on “Big Projects” Discussion Paper

The comment period will close on July 22nd on the federal government’s Discussion Paper Delivering on Big Projects in Canada. Released on May 8th, the discussion paper proposes that impact assessment of nuclear projects would be handed over to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.Visit Assessing-Nuclear-Risk.ca for more information including submissions by public interest groups, media coverage and contacts and updates.  Take one minute to send a message – the message tool is HERE.

July 19, 2026 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

The risk of nuclear war is rising. This is what Burnham must do.

In his first Downing Street briefing, the incoming prime minister is going to learn some hard truths about his country’s ultimate deterrent

David Blair

The risks of nuclear war are rising. This is what Burnham must do. In his
first Downing Street briefing, the incoming prime minister is going to
learn some hard truths about his country’s ultimate deterrent. The ritual
for an incoming prime minister, unchanged for decades, has never been so
fraught with significance.

Soon after Andy Burnham enters No 10, he will be
taken to a secure room where Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the
Chief of the Defence Staff, will brief him on how to authorise a British
nuclear strike. At that moment, Burnham will join the handful of world
leaders with the individual power to inflict a greater measure of
destruction than has ever been wrought before.

Burnham will be inducted
into the dreadful – in the true sense of the word – and singular
responsibility of what Lord Hennessy, the constitutional historian, calls
the “purely prime ministerial function” of overseeing Britain’s
ultimate deterrent and deciding this country’s nuclear policy.

 Telegraph 13th July 2026, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/13/burnham-must-bolster-britains-nuclear-defences/

July 17, 2026 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Add stopping Sizewell C to Andy Burnham’s “to do” list.

10 July 2026,
Alison Downes, Executive Director
Paul Collins, Chair, Stop Sizewell C

Andy Burnham is on the cusp of succeeding Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, and one more nomination by a Labour MP will guarantee it. Help us add to his swelling in-box by asking him to reconsider Sizewell C!

We’ve drafted a very short sample email at the bottom of this email, but we strongly encourage you to write your own message as it will be more impactful. You could use some of the following suggestions:


  • It would free up £ billions of taxpayers’ money (£14.2bn was committed to the end of this parliament but some has been spent), but we recognise money would have to be spent to restore East Suffolk.
  • It would reduce household expenses by removing the Regulated Asset Base (RAB, or “nuclear tax”) from energy bills.
  • It would save us from expensive electricity in future: the National Audit Office found Sizewell C’s electricity would cost £133 – £155/MWh [2024/25 prices], more than Hinkley C.
  • Sizewell C cannot provide value for money given it is unlikely to operate at 90% load factor and there is a major risk of placing so much electricity generation capacity on an eroding coastline. It will be another HS2.
  • The EPR reactor is an unproven technology in the UK and has a catastrophic delivery track record elsewhere in the world.
  • Call on Andy Burnham to keep the UK progressing to net zero by prioritising cheaper renewable energy, responsibly delivered, and developing storage capacity.
  • If you want more ideas, read our report “Sizewell C, the Unanswered Questions”:https://stopsizewellc.org/sizewell-c-the-unanswered-questions/.

How to contact Andy:
Once you have written your message you can email it to: andy.burnham.mp@parliament.uk or copy it into the contact form on andyformayor.co.uk/contact or contact.no10.gov.uk. Or post a letter to House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA or 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA.

Quick news roundup

July 16, 2026 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Government U turn as Sizewell B is to  get a fixed-price government contract.

 Government awards the last UK nuclear power station a fixed power
contract, backing away from its shift towards a new model of funding.

The UK energy department has extended the life of the Sizewell B nuclear power
plant in Suffolk by 20 years with a fixed-price government contract, after
energy price shocks following the war on Iran.

Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Rachel Reeves, called the nuclear power project “a vital part of
Britain’s energy future”. French project owner EDF said it has secured
a 20-year fixed price power contract from the UK government that will last
from 2035 to 2055.

Previously EDF had planned to commence decommissioning
of the plant in 2035. The French power company said it is “funding a
refurbishment of the nuclear power station during planned outages over the
next fifteen years, costing around £800 million”.

British Gas owner Centrica also said it is investing an undisclosed amount in the extension
of the 1.2 GW operational nuclear power project in Suffolk. It is the first
time that the Sizewell B nuclear power project will operate under a fixed
government power contract, priced at £70.50 per megawatt, after delayed
project Hinkley Point C was awarded such a contract a decade ago.


The energy department has since moved to shift nuclear power projects onto a
regulated asset base (RAB) structure for funding, the model that will be
used to finance Sizewell C at the Suffolk coastal site, a replica of yet to
be finalised nuclear power station Hinkley Point C in Somerset.

 Energy Voice 8th July 2026,
https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/600397/government-u-turn-as-sizewell-b-is-first-nuclear-plant-to-get-cfd/

July 15, 2026 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK | Leave a comment

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