Foreign
Putin threatens global nuclear conflict over Western troops in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to fulfill Moscow’s goals in Ukraine and sternly warned the West against deeper involvement in the fighting, saying that such a move is fraught with the risk of a global nuclear conflict.
Putin’s warning came in a state-of-the-nation address ahead of next month’s election he’s all but certain to win, underlining his readiness to protect Russian gains in Ukraine.
In an apparent reference to French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement earlier this week that the future deployment of Western ground troops to Ukraine should not be “ruled out,” Putin warned that it would lead to “tragic” consequences for the countries who decide to do that.
Putin noted that while accusing Russia of plans to attack NATO allies in Europe, Western allies were “selecting targets for striking our territory and selecting the most efficient as they think striking assets and talking about the possibility of sending a NATO contingent to Ukraine.”
“We remember the fate of those who sent their troop contingents to the territory of our country,” the Russian leader said. “Now the consequences for the potential invaders will be far more tragic.”
Speaking before an audience of lawmakers and top officials, Putin said the West should keep in mind that “we also have the weapons that can strike targets on their territory, and what they are now suggesting and scaring the world with, all that raises the real threat of a nuclear conflict that will mean the destruction of our civilization.”
“Don’t they understand it?” he said, alleging that Western leaders are playing with options of deeper involvement in the conflict, as in a simulation. “Those people haven’t been through any tough challenges and they have forgotten what war means.”
The strong statement followed earlier warnings from Putin, who has issued frequent reminders of Russia’s nuclear might since he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 as he sought to discourage the West from expanding its military support for Kyiv.
Putin emphasized that Russia’s nuclear forces are in “full readiness,” saying that the military has deployed potent new weapons, some of them tested on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The Kremlin leader said they include the new Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile that has entered service with Russian nuclear forces, along with the Burevestnik atomic-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon atomic-powered, nuclear-armed drone, which are completing their tests.
He added that the Kinzhal and Zircon hypersonic missiles have proven their efficacy on the battlefield in Ukraine.
At the same time, he rejected Western leaders’ statements about the threat of a Russian attack on NATO allies in Europe as “ravings” and again dismissed Washington’s claim that Moscow was pondering the deployment of space-based nuclear weapons.
Putin charged that the U.S. allegations were part of a ploy to draw Russia into talks on nuclear arms control on American terms even as Washington continues its efforts to deliver a “strategic defeat” to Moscow in Ukraine.
“Ahead of the U.S. election, they just want to show their citizens, as well as others, that they continue to rule the world,” he said. “It won’t work.”
In his speech that focused heavily on economic and social issues ahead of the March 15-17 presidential vote, Putin argued that Russia was “defending its sovereignty and security and protecting our compatriots” in Ukraine, charging that the Russian forces have the upper hand in the fighting.
He hailed Russian soldiers and honored those who were killed in fighting with a moment of silence.
Putin has repeatedly said that he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to protect Russian interests and prevent Ukraine from posing a major security threat to Russia by joining NATO. Kyiv and its allies have denounced it as an unprovoked act of aggression.
The Russian leader has repeatedly signaled a desire to negotiate an end to the fighting but warned that Russia will hold onto its gains.
Putin, 71, who is running as an independent candidate in the March 15-17 presidential election, relies on the tight control over Russia’s political system that he has established during 24 years in power.
Prominent critics who could challenge him have either been imprisoned or are living abroad, while most independent media have been banned, meaning that Putin’s reelection is all but assured. He faces token opposition from three other candidates nominated by Kremlin-friendly parties represented in parliament.
Russia’s best-known opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose attempt to run against Putin in 2018 was rejected, died suddenly in an Arctic prison colony earlier this month, while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges. Navalny’s funeral is set for Friday.
President Donald Trump has directed the United States military to resume nuclear weapons testing, ending a 33-year break.
The announcement came on Thursday on Truth Social, minutes before he met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately,” Trump posted. “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.”
The move appears aimed at both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia recently carried out a series of nuclear-related tests, though the Kremlin said none involved actual nuclear explosions. “Until now, we didn’t know that anyone was testing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Russia would only test in response to another country doing so.
No nuclear power other than North Korea has conducted explosive testing in over 25 years. The U.S. last tested in 1992, Russia in 1990, and China in 1996.
China’s Foreign Ministry urged Washington to honor its long-standing moratorium on nuclear testing and maintain “global strategic balance and stability.”
According to Reuters, it remains unclear whether Trump’s order refers to underground explosive tests or missile flight tests.
Speaking later aboard Air Force One, Trump said testing was necessary to keep pace with rival powers. “With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also,” he said, adding that test sites would be announced later.
He dismissed concerns about rising nuclear risks, saying U.S. weapons were “well locked up,” and repeated his call for global denuclearization. “We are actually talking to Russia about that, and China would be added to that if we do something,” he said.
The decision follows China’s rapid nuclear buildup, doubling its arsenal from 300 to about 600 warheads since 2020, and Russia’s recent tests of nuclear-capable weapons, including the Poseidon underwater drone and Burevestnik missile.
In the U.S., Trump’s announcement drew swift criticism. Representative Dina Titus of Nevada said she would introduce legislation to block the move. Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association called Trump’s decision “misinformed,” warning it could “trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by U.S. adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
According to Reuters, experts say resuming underground nuclear tests in Nevada would take at least three years to prepare.
(Reuters)
China will slap port fees on U.S.-owned, operated, built, or flagged vessels on Tuesday as a countermeasure to U.S. port fees on China-linked ships starting the same day, China’s transport ministry said on Friday.
The move came shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump said there is no reason to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in two weeks in South Korea as planned, adding on social media that the U.S. is calculating a massive increase in tariffs on imports from China. Trump said China has been sending letters to countries saying it planned to impose export controls on rare earths production.
There are relatively few U.S.-built or U.S.-flagged vessels conducting international trade, but China will ensnare more ships by applying levies to companies with 25 percent or more of their shares or board seats held by U.S.-domiciled investment funds, analysts said.
‘Quite an impact’
U.S.-based shipping company Matson told customers on Friday it is subject to the new China port fees and has no plans to change its service schedule.
Also likely affected are CMA-CGM’s U.S.-based American President Lines and Israel-based Zim, which appears to have more than 25 percent of its shares owned by U.S. entities, Lars Jensen, CEO of consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said on LinkedIn.
The China fees also could apply to vessels owned by Poseidon’s Seaspan, said Jensen, an expert on container shipping.
“This could be quite an impact as it means that the more than 100 vessels owned by Seaspan, and chartered by a variety of major container lines, would now be subject to fees in China in addition to the fees in the U.S. for their Chinese-built vessels,” Jensen said. Also starting on Tuesday, ships built in China – or operated or owned by Chinese entities – will need to pay a fee at their first port of call in the United States.
Vessels owned or operated by a Chinese entity will face a flat fee of $50 per net tonnage per voyage to the U.S. China-owned carrier COSCO, including its OOCL fleet, is the most exposed with fees of around $2 billion in 2026, analysts said.
Maersk Line Limited, APL, Zim, Seaspan, and COSCO did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the fees.
China calls U.S. fees discriminatory
The U.S. fees on China-linked vessels, following a probe by the U.S. Trade Representative, are part of a broader U.S. effort to revive domestic shipbuilding and blunt China’s naval and commercial shipping power.
“It is clearly discriminatory and severely damages the legitimate interests of China’s shipping industry, seriously disrupts the stability of the global supply chain, and seriously undermines the international economic and trade order,” the Chinese ministry said.
The USTR’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a separate statement released later on Friday, Beijing’s commerce ministry said the Chinese countermeasures were in “justified” self-defence aimed at safeguarding fairness in the global shipping and shipbuilding markets.
Over the past two decades, China has catapulted itself to the No. 1 position in the shipbuilding world, with its biggest shipyards handling both commercial and military projects.
Last year, Chinese shipyards built more than 1,000 commercial vessels, while the U.S. constructed fewer than 10, according to military and industry analysts.
The Chinese fees on U.S. vessels could hurt the U.S. less than the U.S. fees might harm the legion of Chinese ships.
The fees announced by China, like those put in place by the U.S., “add further complexity and cost to the global network that keeps goods moving and economies connected, and risk harming their exporters, producers, and consumers at a time when global trade is already under pressure,” said Joe Kramek, president and CEO of the World Shipping Association.
Rates rise over three years
For U.S.-linked vessels berthing at Chinese ports starting Tuesday, the rate will be 400 yuan ($56.13) per net metric ton, the Chinese transport ministry said.
That will increase to 640 yuan ($89.81) from April 17, 2026, and to 880 yuan ($123.52) from April 17, 2027.
For vessels calling at Chinese ports from April 17, 2028, the charge will be 1,120 yuan ($157.16) per net metric ton.
Tensions between China and the United States have deepened since September, with the two superpowers struggling to move beyond their trade tariff truce — a 90-day pause from August 11 that ends around November 9.
Retaliatory tariffs in the U.S.-China trade war this year have sharply curtailed Chinese imports of U.S. agriculture and energy products.
Korea Times
The White House lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday (US time) after it awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and overlooked US President Donald Trump.
“The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said on X.
“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.”
Since returning to the White House for his second term in January, Trump had repeatedly insisted that he deserved the Nobel for his role in resolving numerous conflicts – a claim observers say is broadly exaggerated.
Trump restated his claim on the eve of the peace prize announcement, saying that his brokering of the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza this week was the eighth war he had ended.
But he added on Thursday: “Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for that, I did it because I’ve saved a lot of lives.”
Nobel Prize experts in Oslo had insisted in the run-up to Friday’s announcement that Trump had no chance, noting that his ‘America First’ policies run counter to the ideals of the Peace Prize as laid out in Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will creating the award.
An Ebola outbreak that has plagued southern Congo in recent weeks is starting to be contained, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, with no new cases reported since the U.N. health agency’s last update on Oct. 1.
“As of Oct. 5, 2025, 10 days have passed without any newly reported cases, indicating potential control of transmission in the affected areas,” the agency said during a news conference.
The agency said a total of 64 cases, including 53 confirmed and 11 probable, have been reported in Congo’s Kasai Province as of Oct. 5. The WHO also reported 43 deaths, including 32 confirmed and 11 probable.
Congolese authorities announced an Ebola outbreak in Congo’s southern Kasai province on Sept. 4, the first in 18 years in the remote part of the country located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the capital of Kinshasa.
Health authorities and organizations had recently sounded the alarm, warning they lack the funds and resources to mount an effective response to the crisis.
The WHO said improved logistics and field operations, including helicopter and ground deliveries of medical supplies and the decontamination of three health facilities, have helped contain the outbreak over the last week.
“This steady decline in transmission and improved case management reflect the impact of coordinated interventions led by the Ministry of Health with support from WHO and partners,” the agency said.
The WHO still advised caution, as almost 2,000 contacts — people who may have been exposed to the disease — are being monitored and a “single missed contact could reignite transmission chains, especially in areas with high population movement or limited community surveillance.”
Israeli hostages may be released as early as Saturday under a U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza and the country’s military will complete the first part of a partial withdrawal from the enclave within 24 hours of the deal being signed, said a source briefed on details of the agreement.
The signing of the agreement on the first stage of U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative for Gaza is expected to take place at noon Israel time (0900 GMT) on Thursday.
Israelis and Palestinians rejoiced after Trump announced that a ceasefire and hostage deal was reached under the first phase of his plan to end a war in Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 people and reshaped the Middle East.
Just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas militants’ cross-border attack that triggered Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded an agreement on the initial stage of Trump’s 20-point framework to bring peace to the Palestinian enclave.
The signing of the ceasefire is expected at 12 p.m. Israel time (0900 GMT), said the source briefed on the details of the agreement. The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt a war that had evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon.
“Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing,” said Abdul Majeed abd Rabbo, a man in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
“I am not the only one happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed.”
But the agreement announced by Trump late on Wednesday was short on detail and left many unresolved questions that could yet lead to its collapse, as has happened with previous peace efforts. “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump added.
Successful completion of the deal would mark a significant foreign policy achievement for the Republican president, who had campaigned on bringing peace to major world conflicts but has struggled to swiftly deliver, both in Gaza and on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convene his government on Thursday to approve the agreement.
“With the approval of the first phase of the plan, ALL our hostages will be brought home,” he said in a statement. “This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.”
The conflict upended the Middle East in Israel’s favour after it assassinated the leaders of Tehran-backed Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah and killed top Iranian commanders and pounded Yemen’s Houthis.
But global outrage has mounted against Israel’s assault. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a U.N. inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defence after the 2023 Hamas attack.
Hamas confirmed it had reached an agreement to end the war, saying the deal includes an Israeli withdrawal from the enclave and a hostage-prisoner exchange.
“We affirm that the sacrifices of our people will not be in vain, and that we will remain true to our pledge – never abandoning our people’s national rights until freedom, independence, and self-determination are achieved,” Hamas said. Gaza authorities say more than 67,000 people have been killed and much of the enclave has been flattened since Israel began its military response to the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.
Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage back to Gaza, according to Israeli officials, with 20 of the 48 hostages still held believed to be alive.
“These are moments that are considered historic moments, long awaited by Palestinian citizens after two years of killing and genocide that was committed with arrogance against the Palestinian people,” said Palestinian Khaled Shaat in the city of Khan Younis in Gaza. Despite the hopes raised for ending the war, crucial details are yet to be spelled out, including the timing, a post-war administration for the Gaza Strip and the fate of Hamas.
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza gathered in what has come to be known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv after the announcement.
“President Trump, thank you very much. We thank him, our children will not have returned home without him,” said Hatan Angrest, whose son Matan is among the hostages.
A Hamas source said the living hostages would be handed over within 72 hours of the Israeli government approving the deal. Hamas officials have insisted it will take longer to recover the bodies of dead hostages, believed to number about 28, from Gaza’s rubble.
Trump told Fox News’ ‘Hannity’ program on Wednesday that the hostages will probably be released on Monday.
Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone and congratulated each other on an “historic achievement,” and the Israeli prime minister invited the U.S. president to address Israel’s parliament, according to Netanyahu’s office. Hamas said earlier on Wednesday it had handed over its lists of the hostages it held and the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel that it wanted to be exchanged.
The Islamist group has so far refused to discuss Israel’s demand that Hamas give up its arms, which the Palestinian source said Hamas would reject as long as Israeli troops occupy Palestinian land.
Oil prices fell as the prospects of a ceasefire lessened one potential disruption to world supplies.
The next phase of Trump’s plan calls for an international body led by Trump and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to play a role in Gaza’s post-war administration.
Indian police have arrested the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, the cough syrup company linked to the deaths of at least 17 children in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, a senior police officer from the region told Reuters on Thursday, as reported by Trt World.
The children, all under five years of age, died in the past month after consuming cough medicine containing toxic diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit.
The deaths were all linked to Sresan Pharma’s ‘Coldrif’ syrup, which has been banned in several parts of India after a test confirmed the presence of the chemical last Thursday.
S Ranganathan, the owner of the Tamil Nadu state-based company that manufactured the syrup, was arrested on Wednesday in Chennai and will be produced in court, said a senior police officer.
After his court appearance, Ranganathan will be moved from his home state to the city of Chhindhwara in Madhya Pradesh, Chhindhwara Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey told Reuters.
By law, Indian drugmakers must test each batch of raw materials and the final product.
Exports of cough syrup require another layer of tests at government-mandated laboratories since 2023, after the deaths of over ten children in Gambia, Uzbekistan, and Cameroon were linked to Indian syrups.
The World Health Organisation has also said that the recent case highlights a “regulatory gap” in India’s screening of medicines being sold domestically, and warned that some exports could have taken place unofficially.
Indian authorities have this week also asked people to avoid two other locally sold syrups, Respifresh and RELIFE, made by Gujarat state-based Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals, after tests found they too contained the same toxic chemical.
Shape and Rednex did not respond to requests for comment.
Known as the ‘pharmacy of the world’, India is the world’s third-largest drug producer by volume after the US and China.
The country supplies 40 percent of generic medicines used in the US, and more than 90 percent of all medicines in many African nations.
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