CHINA MAY MATCH US IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS LEVEL BY 2030: REPORT

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2023 released on Monday says China’s nuclear arsenal increased in the last year and it could potentially have at least as many intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as either the US or Russia by the turn of the decade.

It notes that the nuclear-armed states are increasing the number of operational nuclear weapons.

The SIPRI’s estimate of the size of China’s nuclear arsenal is that it "increased from 350 warheads in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023, and it is expected to keep growing" and might increase subsequently.

"Depending on how it decides to structure its forces, China could potentially have at least as many ICBMs as either the USA or Russia has by the turn of the decade. China has started a significant expansion of its nuclear arsenal," says Hans M. Kristensen, an associate senior fellow with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

“It is increasingly difficult to square this trend with China’s declared aim of having only the minimum nuclear forces needed to maintain its national security.”

India and Pakistan appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals, and both countries introduced and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery systems in 2022.

As per SIPRI, there are nine nuclear-armed states -- the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel -- continue to modernise their arsenal and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2022.

DONALD TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN ARRAIGNMENT OVER CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to historic charges of mishandling sensitive files at a federal court in Miami, Florida.

Mr Trump is the first US president - current or former - to be hit with a federal criminal indictment.

Arms crossed, in a dark suit and red tie, he sat in stone-faced silence for his second court appearance this year.

The Republican later travelled to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he addressed supporters.

Against a backdrop of American flags, Mr Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, told the assembled crowd he had "every right" to hold the classified documents, but "hadn't had a chance to go through all the boxes".

He said he followed the law and went on to list series of unsubstantiated claims as well as grievances against President Joe Biden and his former rival Hillary Clinton.

Earlier in the day before leaving Miami, Mr Trump, on his social media platform Truth Social, thanked the city for "such a warm welcome on such a sad day for our country".

Just hours before, in a 13th floor room of a federal courthouse in downtown Miami, a sombre, subdued Mr Trump looked on while his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on 37 counts of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government's efforts to get them back.

"We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty," the attorney, Todd Blanche, told the judge.

The former president, 76, was allowed to leave court without any restrictions to domestic or international travel. Prosecutors told Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman the defendant was not considered a flight risk.

MAHMOUD ABBAS IN CHINA AS XI JINPING SET TO BROKER ISRAEL-PALESTINE TALKS

After effecting a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, China will attempt a far tougher mediation effort to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict with the arrival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing on Tuesday.

Abbas will stay until Friday on his fifth official visit to China. Beijing has been meticulously setting the stage for talks. Xi had co-chaired the first Arab-China summit in December last year in Saudi capital Riyadh where the Palestinian President was also invited.

PAK SEEKS QUICK REFINANCING OF $1.3BN LOANS FROM CHINA: REPORT

Cash-strapped Pakistan has requested its all-weather ally China to fast-track the refinancing of maturing commercial loans of $1. 3 billion and apprised it of the diminishing prospects of revival of the IMF loan programme, a media report said on Tuesday.

The request was made on monday by finance minister Ishaq Dar during a meeting with China’s Charge d’affaires Pang Chunxue, Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Chinese authorities have already assured Pakistan that they will refund both loans, but Islamabad wants the money to be re-lent as soon as it is paid back, the report quoted sources as saying. Dar urged the Chinese charge d’affaires about timely refinancing the loans, which will prop up Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan is scheduled to make a debt repayment of $300 million to the Bank of China in less than two weeks. The cash-strapped country is also expected to repay another $ 1 billion to China Development Bank within three weeks.

The country’s official foreign exchange reserves stand at $3. 9 billion, and any delay in refinancing the loans could pull the reserves much below the $3 billion mark. “The finance minister further updated the charge d’affaires about progress on talks with the IMF on completion of the ninth review,” the finance ministry said a statement. Pakistan and the IM have failed to reach a staff-level agreement on the much-needed $ 1. 1 billion bailout package aimed at preventing the country from going bankrupt.

IRAN AND VENEZUELA HAVE ‘COMMON ENEMIES,’ SAYS RAISI IN CARACAS

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi began a rare diplomatic tour of Latin America on Monday with a first stop in Caracas, where he said his country and Venezuela are “friends” with “common enemies.” His schedule is also set to include visits to Cuba and Nicaragua, who, like Iran and Venezuela, are all the target of U.S. sanctions.

RUSSIAN MISSILE STRIKE KILLS 11 IN ZELENSKY’S HOMETOWN

Russian missiles rained down in a central Ukrainian city overnight, killing at least 11 persons and wounding more than two dozen in a warehouse and an apartment building, regional officials said on Tuesday.

The attack in Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, comes as Ukrainian forces are in the early stages of a counteroffensive.

Russian forces have unleashed overnight missile strikes repeatedly against targets across Ukraine in recent weeks, and Tuesday’s toll was among the highest from a single attack. Images from the latest attack relayed by Mr. Zelensky on his Telegram channel showed firefighters battling a blaze as flames poked through broken windows in the damaged apartment building. Charred and damaged vehicles littered the nearby ground.

Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said 28 people were wounded.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its military fired missiles at Ukrainian operational reserves and a depot with Western weapons and ammunition. It said all targeted facilities were hit.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, meanwhile, was attacked with Iranian-made Shahed drones, and the surrounding region was shelled, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram. The shelling wounded two civilians in the town of Shevchenkove, southeast of Kharkiv.

FRANCE: RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN BUSTED

France on Tuesday said it had uncovered a major Russian disinformation campaign, with false news items hostile to Ukraine made to look like they were published by prominent French news media. “France condemns these actions unworthy of a permanent member of the UN security council,” foreign minister Catherine Colonna said. The campaign was carried about by “Russian actors” with “state entities or entities affiliated to the Russian state”, Colonna said. “The campaign is based in particular on the creation of fake web pages impersonating national media and government sites,” she said. At least four French dailies — Le Parisien, Le Figaro, Le Monde and 20 Minutes — were victims of the operation. German outlets were also targeted.

TWENTY-TWO TROOPS INJURED IN SYRIA HELICOPTER MISHAP, SAYS U.S.

DAMASCUS: Twenty-two U.S. service members were injured in a helicopter “mishap” in northeast Syria on Sunday, the U.S. military said late on Monday, without disclosing the cause of the incident. The U.S. military's Central Command said 10 service members were evacuated to higher-level care facilities outside the region.

RUSSIA SAYS IT HAS SEIZED GERMAN, U.S. WEAPONS

Moscow said on Tuesday that it had seized several German Leopard tanks and U.S. Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, releasing footage showing Russian troops surveying the equipment supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.

“Leopard tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. These are our trophies. Equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Zaporizhzhia region,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement. “Servicemen of the Vostok group inspect enemy tanks and infantry fighting vehicles captured in battle.”

GOLDEN GLOBES GETS NEW OWNERS AS HFPA SHUTTERS

The Golden Globe Awards have been sold to a new owner, Eldridge Industries, who will be shutting down the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the voting group that has faced controversy over ethical issues and lack of diversity. The assets of the Golden Globe Awards were purchased by Eldridge Industries in partnership with Dick Clark Productions (DCP), which will continue to manage the awards telecast and focus on expanding its viewership globally. The sale comes after the HFPA's reputation was damaged by criticism from the entertainment industry, leading NBC to drop the Golden Globes ceremony in 2022. The organization faced allegations of ethical lapses, lack of diversity, and inappropriate behavior by some of its members. The new owner, Eldridge, plans to reshape the HFPA into a for-profit venture and transform its nonprofit global entertainment reporters into hired workers. The current voters of the HFPA will still be eligible to cast ballots for the next ceremony in 2024. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

‘LAST’ BEATLES SONG TO BE RELEASED THIS YEAR... THANKS TO AI: MCCARTNEY

London : Paul McCartney revealed in an interview that a "last" Beatles song featuring the voice of late member John Lennon will be released this year, made possible through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). McCartney mentioned that they used AI on a demo recording by Lennon, allowing them to isolate his voice and mix it into a new song. Although the specific track was not named, it is speculated to be "Now And Then," a demo recorded by Lennon in 1978. McCartney also mentioned that director Peter Jackson used AI to extract Lennon's voice from a low-quality cassette for the documentary series "The Beatles: Get Back." The use of AI in music has generated both excitement and concerns, but McCartney acknowledged its potential and the need to navigate its implications.