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How Israel's Iran strikes might supercharge the global nuclear arms race

How Israel's Iran strikes might supercharge the global nuclear arms race

NBC News16-06-2025
There is growing jitteriness among America's allies, too, after President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned Washington's postwar commitment to defending them. That has 'created additional uncertainty,' SIPRI said, and calls for these countries to develop their own arsenals.
South Korea was always told it did not need its own weapons because it was protected by Washington's 'nuclear umbrella.' Now — after Trump openly suggested that it might have to pay billions of dollars for U.S. military support — South Koreans increasingly want their own warheads, with a poll by Gallup Korea last year putting support at 72.8%.
There's a smaller but growing debate in Germany, which signed a treaty upon unification in 1990 saying it was never allowed to own nuclear weapons. The pollster Civey found in March that 38% back the idea.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in March that the 'profound change of American geopolitics' means his country must assess nuclear options. And even Japan — where such a measure is taboo after the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of War War II — a once verboten debate has stirred discussion of the issue.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an ex-commanding officer of the U.K.'s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, believes Israel had no choice but to attack Iran, given it believed it was about to produce a bomb. He also thinks nuclear weapons have historically contributed to global peace.
Nevertheless, the global current picture worries him gravely.
'As long as there is parity and equilibrium between the superpowers, then it will carry on being the guarantor of peace,' he said of nuclear weapons. 'However, all this proliferation is creating a non-equilibrium.'
While the weapons programs of Washington and even Moscow may be 'robust enough to make sure a misjudgment, an accident or a misinterpretation doesn't lead to somebody firing off a weapon,' he said, 'I would not be so confident with some of the others: Iran, potentially Pakistan and particularly North Korea.'
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Epstein's brother hints at Ghislaine Maxwell's knowledge
Epstein's brother hints at Ghislaine Maxwell's knowledge

Daily Mail​

time17 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Epstein's brother hints at Ghislaine Maxwell's knowledge

Jeffrey Epstein's brother has accused the White House of a 'cover up' after Donald Trump's Justice Department said it would speak to Ghislaine Maxwell in jail. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed on Tuesday he expects to meet with Maxwell in the coming days to see if she has 'information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.' Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of trafficking of minors on behalf of Epstein. The move to speak to her is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent in the Epstein case, which has been shrouded in conspiracy theories. It follows a fierce backlash from parts of Trump's base over an earlier refusal by the administration to release additional records in the investigation. Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced mounting pressure from Trump's supporters to release all materials related to Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. A lawyer for Maxwell said she would cooperate with the Justice Department. 'I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,' her lawyer David Oscar Markus said. 'We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.' But Mark Epstein (pictured right), brother of the disgraced late financier, claimed it was the latest effort to distract attention from unpublished evidence and the circumstances surrounding the death of his brother. Two weeks ago, a months-long review conducted by the Justice Department and FBI concluded that Epstein died by suicide. Mark Epstein maintains his brother was killed. He said: 'They'll talk to her (Maxwell) and ask her what her favorite color is. So they can say they talked to her. It depends what the conversation is about. Maybe she'll be afraid to speak, afraid they'll hold it against her and turn down her appeal.' Mark Epstein said he knew Maxwell in the 1990s but had not spoken to her for several decades. But he believed she would have information about interactions between Epstein and Trump. 'She could certainly verify that Trump was in Jeffrey's office many times,' he said. He claimed a White House statement on Monday that Trump had 'never been' to his brother's office was 'the biggest crap I've ever heard. I would speak to Jeffrey and he'd say he was with Trump. I know people in his office saw him there,' he said. The White House referred a request for comment to the Justice Department. The Justice Department did not comment beyond Blanche's earlier statement. 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Trump's three word reaction to newly-resurfaced photos of him and Epstein
Trump's three word reaction to newly-resurfaced photos of him and Epstein

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time19 minutes ago

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Trump's three word reaction to newly-resurfaced photos of him and Epstein

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Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza

South Wales Argus

time19 minutes ago

  • South Wales Argus

Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza

More than half of those killed were women and children. Desperation is mounting in the Palestinian territory of more than two million, which experts say is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and nearly two-year offensive. People in #Gaza, including UNRWA staff, are fainting due to starvation and severe hunger. People including children are dying from severe malnutrition. People are being starved. UNRWA alone has thousands of trucks in neighbouring countries waiting to enter Gaza – banned by… — UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 23, 2025 A breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting and contributed to chaos and violence around aid deliveries. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly near aid sites run by an American contractor, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday. More than 100 human rights groups and charities signed a letter published on Wednesday demanding more aid for Gaza and warning of grim conditions causing starvation. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. Israeli activists take part in a protest against the war in the Gaza Strip (AP) Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. The Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday that forces were operating in Gaza City, as well as in northern Gaza. It said that in Jabaliya, an area hard-hit in multiple rounds of fighting, an air strike killed 'a number of' Hamas militants. "Silencing voices. As if banning international media is not enough. Humanitarian workers are also banned when they report on atrocities committed in #Gaza and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory. The denial of a visa to our colleague from @OCHAopt is the latest in… — UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 22, 2025 Troops struck roughly 120 targets throughout Gaza over the past day, including militant cells, tunnels and booby-trapped structures, among others, the military said. One Israeli strike hit a house on Tuesday in the north-western side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included six children and two women, according to the health ministry's casualty list. Another strike hit an apartment in the Tal al-Hawa area in northern Gaza, killing at least six people. Palestinians are relying on aid in an increasingly dire humanitarian situation (AP) Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said. A third strike hit a tent in the Naser area in Gaza City late on Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants operate from populated areas.

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