Pentagon accuses Beijing of wanting to double its nuclear arsenal by 2030

Today's news: more Israeli air raids on Gaza with dozens of victims, 850 arrests in the West Bank since the beginning of the war. Tension between India and Canada: starting today, the withdrawal of immunity for dozens of Ottawa diplomats in the Asian country. Drought alarm in Bali. The Kiev parliament approved the suspension of religious organisations linked to the Russian Federation.

CHINA

A report published by the Pentagon claims that Beijing is aiming to double its nuclear arsenal from the current 400 warheads to over 1,000 by 2030. As of today, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia has a nuclear arsenal of approximately 5,889 warheads, while the United States can deploy 5,244.

PALESTINE - ISRAEL

It was another very harsh night of Israeli bombing in Gaza: a building adjacent to the Greek Orthodox church of San Porfirio was also hit, with dozens of deaths. Meanwhile, Israeli raids are underway in several areas of the West Bank to make arrests for suspected links to Hamas. More than 850 arrests have been made by Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories since the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel

ISRAEL - USA

US President Joe Biden, who returned to the US after a trip to Israel, said from the Oval Office that he will ask Congress today to approve additional funding for military support for Israel, in addition to the 3.2 billion sent by Washington every year . The first estimate would be 14 billion dollars to support the fight against Hamas. At the same time, Biden underlined the urgency of bringing aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza who have no food, water or medicine.

RUSSIA - ISRAEL

There are hundreds of Russians living in Israel, some of whom have arrived recently - especially after the invasion of Ukraine - but many who have been there for years, who feel completely abandoned by the Moscow authorities. Putin has not envisaged any evacuation plan, despite the slogans about "not abandoning your compatriots", repeated in the aftermath of the Hamas attack in which 13 Russians lost their lives and 12 others were missing.

INDIA - CANADA

Two weeks ago, India asked Canada to withdraw dozens of its diplomatic staff, threatening to lift their immunity from October 20 if they remained. Canadian officials called the threat a "violation of international law" and Ottawa withdrew 41 diplomats. Relations became tense after Canada accused the Modi-ruled country of masterminding the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on North American soil on June 18. India has denied the allegations, calling them "absurd." Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly confirmed that "all but 21 diplomats" will have their immunity "unilaterally removed" by today.

AFGHANISTAN

Climate change has a negative impact on Afghanistan, which is why officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are asking the international community to restart suspended projects - after the Taliban took over Kabul - to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The total value amounts to over 800 million dollars. “The 32 projects launched in Afghanistan would safeguard the diversity of life, forests and help fight drought,” said Muhibullah Bahar, representative of the Environmental Protection Agency in the country.

INDONESIA

The regional government of the island of Bali, Indonesia, has declared a state of alert due to the ongoing drought emergency. Alarm that will remain in force for 14 days. Bali's acting governor Sang Made Mahendra said extreme weather conditions in Bali from July to October caused water shortages in 113 villages and sparked forest fires in 10 areas of the island.

RUSSIAN CHURCH

The Verkhovnaja Rada of Kiev has approved the suspension of religious organizations linked to the Russian Federation, starting with the UPZ Orthodox Church, which have not completely severed ties with the Patriarchate of Moscow. The votes in favor were 267. All the specific decisions taken will be explained soon, but the Rada's decision was clear: "the history of the Russian Church in Ukraine is over".

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