Author: Fission Today

Updated 17 February 2026 On 13 February 1960, France detonated a nuclear weapon over the deserts of Algeria. It was the first of what were eventually 17 nuclear detonations across two sites. Four of these took place while Algeria’s fight for independence was still raging. To this day, communities harmed by the development of France’s nuclear weapons arsenal are seeking recognition, compensation and redress. ICAN joins other organisations in a joint statement on the anniversary of France’s first nuclear detonations in Algeria, “66 Years Since the First French Nuclear Explosion in Algeria … No Truth Without Transparency, No Justice Without…

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19 February – VIRTUAL EVENT-Decision Time: AI and Our Nuclear Arsenal  12:45 p.m. Central / 1:45 p.m. Eastern Command and control of nuclear weapons is a delicate and complicated system, designed to prevent error while ensuring reliability under high-pressure conditions. In environments where vast amounts of data shape high-stakes outcomes, artificial intelligence has become a natural consideration.  The integration of a rapidly evolving technology raises fundamental questions about responsibility, data quality, and system reliability. When a single error could have irreversible consequences, how can confidence be built around the integration of machine learning into systems that have long relied on human judgment and oversight? What guardrails should be maintained? Where are there opportunities for…

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In a milestone for the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Feb. 13 issued its first approval of a commercial Category II nuclear fuel fabrication facility, granting a license to TRISO-X, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-energy, which allows the company to fabricate commercial tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at its TRISO-X Fuel Fabrication Facility (TF3) under construction in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Issued under 10 CFR Part 70, the 40-year Special Nuclear Material license (SNM-7007)—expiring on Feb. 13, 2066—authorizes TRISO-X to receive, acquire, possess, and transfer special nuclear material, including uranium enriched…

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Final Investment Decision Approved for Six 77 MW NuScale SMRs in Romania US Pledges $9 Billion Investment for Armenia SMRs Centrus Taps Fluor as EPC for Expansion of Uranium Enrichment Plant Solstice Plans Expansion of UF6 Conversion Capacity NRC Licenses TRISO-X LLC Fuel Fabrication Facility in Tennessee Project Omega to Recycle Spent Nuclear Fuel NGO Coalition Wants to Slam the Lid on Spent Fuel Reprocessing Inertia Fusion Raises $450 million in Series A Funding Helion Heats Up Fusion Progress with Tritium Fuel NuScale Power and ORNL Use AI to Reduce Nuclear Fuel Costs   ORNL to Give SMRs a Competitive Edge…

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I’ve been working on upgrades to the NUKEMAP for several years now, but I actually would like to get them implemented this year. I figured that one way to both make this “invisible” work visible to the rest of the world would be to write about it on here, and that this would also, perhaps, encourage me to Get It Done. NUKEMAP as it looks in Chrome on a Mac in February 2026. Sorry, New York. Note the use of Protomaps and not Mapbox or Google Maps, both of which became prohibitively expensive. Over the past few years, I’ve done…

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West and Central African states met the 27th of January, in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, for a conference on strengthening the TPNW. The meeting was hosted by Austria, which is co-chair of the informal working group on the universalisation of the Treaty, and Ghana, which ratified the treaty last September, as well as ICAN, the civil society coordinator for the TPNW, with the collaboration of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 19 countries in the region were represented, including those that have yet to sign or ratify the treaty. Also attending the meeting were the UN Deputy High…

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If You Think Our Rulers Do Bad Things In Secret, Wait Til You See What They Do Out In The Open. Caitlin Johnstone, Feb 09, 2026, They launched a live-streamed genocide in full view of the entire world. They’re openly targeting civilian populations with siege warfare in Iran and Cuba in full view of the entire world. They openly kidnapped the president of a sovereign nation in full view of the entire world. They deliberately provoked a horrific and dangerous proxy war in Ukraine in full view of the entire world. They spent years actively backing Saudi Arabia’s monstrous genocidal atrocities in Yemen in full view of the entire world. They’re plundering…

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As global electricity demand surges 40% by 2035 and warming projections worsen, nuclear, geothermal, gas, offshore wind, storage, and fusion must all advance—along with the workforce to build them. The global energy landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation since the Industrial Revolution. Electricity demand is surging at unprecedented rates while the imperative to decarbonize intensifies. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) World Energy Outlook 2025 (WEO), global electricity demand is projected to reach approximately 37,800 TWh by 2035—a 40% increase from today’s levels. This surge is being driven by electrification across industries, electric mobility, cooling demand, and the…

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One Maricopa County, Arizona, landowner appears to have gamed the land-based voting rules of Salt River Project (SRP), the large Arizona electric utility, in a way that enabled him to almost single-handedly decide the outcome of an election for a seat on that utility’s board of governance in 2024.  Public records show that the landowner, Nicholas J. (Nick) Vanderwey, converted almost 240 acres of land from a limited liability corporation (LLC) to a trust, just in time to vote nearly all of the acres associated with those lands in the 2024 election. Acres owned by an LLC are not eligible…

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