- Associated Press
Watchdog: Nuclear-armed nations are deepening reliance on nuclear weapons
The world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on such deterrence in 2023, a Swedish think tank said Monday. “We have not seen nuclear weapons playing such a prominent role in international relations since the Cold War,” said Wilfred Wan, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's weapons of mass destruction program. Earlier this month, Russia and its ally Belarus launched a second stage of drills intended to train their troops in tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlin’s efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.
- Reuters
EU cybersecurity label should not discriminate against Big Tech, European groups say
A proposed cybersecurity certification scheme (EUCS) for cloud services should not discriminate against Amazon, Alphabet's Google and Microsoft, 26 industry groups across Europe warned on Monday. The European Commission, EU cybersecurity agency ENISA and EU countries will meet on Tuesday to discuss the scheme which has undergone several changes since ENISA unveiled a draft in 2020.
- Reuters
US as many as 15 years behind China on nuclear power, report says
The U.S. is as many as 15 years behind China on developing high-tech nuclear power as Beijing's state-backed technology approach and extensive financing give it the edge, a report said on Monday. China has 27 nuclear reactors under construction with average construction timelines of about seven years, far faster than other countries, said the study by Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute. "China’s rapid deployment of ever-more modern nuclear power plants over time produces significant scale economies and learning-by-doing effects, and this suggests that Chinese enterprises will gain an advantage at incremental innovation in this sector going forward," the report said.
