International News
Russia To Extend Nuclear Arms Limits With US By One Year
Russia offered Monday to keep abiding by the nuclear warhead limits in a key treaty with the United States once it expires in February, but only for one year and if Washington did the same.
The New START treaty, signed in 2010, is the last remaining nuclear arms reduction agreement between the world’s top two atomic powers and limits the number of nuclear warheads each side can deploy.
However inspections were suspended during the COVID-19 crisis while talks on extending the agreement have broken down in recent years due to tensions over the Ukraine conflict, sparking fears that both sides will breach the limits once it expires.
“Fully abandoning the legacy of this agreement would be, from many perspectives, a mistaken and short-sighted step,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised meeting.
“To avoid provoking a strategic arms race… Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the central quantitative limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026,” Putin added.
“We believe that this measure will only be viable if the United States acts in a similar manner and does not take steps that undermine or disrupt the existing balance of deterrence potentials,” he said.
Russia froze its participation in New START in 2023 but has continued to voluntarily follow the limits set in the treaty.
The agreement restricts both sides to a maximum of 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads each, a reduction of nearly 30 percent from the previous limit set in 2002.
It also allowed both sides to carry out on-site inspections of the other’s nuclear arsenal, although these were halted during the coronavirus pandemic and have not resumed since.
Monday’s proposal from Putin did not provide for a resumption of these inspections, which were central to the original agreement.
Nuclear sabre-rattling
Heloise Fayet, a research fellow at the French Institute of International Relations, told AFP the proposal was Putin’s way of “controlling the narrative” after US President Donald Trump proposed denuclearisation talks with Russia and China.
She also linked the offer to Trump’s plans to build a massive air-defence shield covering the United States, dubbed the “Golden Dome”.
“It’s something the Russians do not want. What the Russians are implying is that if the Golden Dome project gains credibility, if the Americans commit to it, there will no longer be any limitations under New Start,” she told AFP.
Anti-proliferation talks between Russia and the United States, which together control more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads, have deteriorated in recent years.
In 2019, the two countries withdrew from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.
Concluded in 1987 by then-US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the agreement limited the use of medium-range missiles, both conventional and nuclear.
In 2023, Putin signed a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, although Moscow said it would stick to the moratorium on atomic testing.
Russia has also been accused of nuclear sabre-rattling since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
Days after launching the assault, Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert.
The Russian leader last year signed a decree lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
Some tensions between the two sides have abated since Trump came into office in January, but neither side has held substantive talks on the nuclear issue.
In August, Trump said he was moving two nuclear submarines in response to what he described as “highly provocative” comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Manuel Neuer has been called up to Germany’s World Cup squad – two years after his international retirement.
The 40-year-old was named as part of Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for the tournament this summer, having not featured for his country since Euro 2024.
Among the list include Premier League players Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade – both of Newcastle – Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz and Brighton’s Pascal Gross.
Injured duo Serge Gnabry and Anton Stach and forwards Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade and Niclas Fullkrug are among those to miss out.
Germany’s World Cup squad in full
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Pascal Gross (Brighton), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has opened up on the club’s decision to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new manager.
The Blues confirmed the Spaniard as their next head coach following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with Alonso set to take charge ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Mikel had previously been vocal about Chelsea’s managerial philosophy, urging the club’s ownership to move away from short-term head coaches and interim appointments and instead bring in a proper manager with full control over the squad
Speaking on his most recent podcast, Mikel said:
“I am glad the owners listened to me, and listened to the fans.
“Forget about coaches, what we have always had are managers, and what we need is a manager who decides on the players he wants out and the players who can stay.
“We need a strong personality, and that is what we have got now in Alonso.
“That title has been changed from coach to manager, but I hope it’s not just words and he is actually allowed to manage the squad. But I am very happy with the appointment.”
Chelsea are still in the hunt for Europa League football, and a win over Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season would go a long way in determining whether Alonso inherits a European stage to build on next season.
Enzo Maresca is believed to have signed a three-year deal to replace outgoing Man City manager Pep Guardiola, after it was revealed that the legendary head coach will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season.
Speculation around Guardiola’s departure date has been rife as the season draws to a close, despite the Catalan having one year left on his contract.
According to report, Man City’s sponsors were among those to have been told that Guardiola will be calling time on a remarkable trophy-ladened spell on Sunday.
The report also shared that Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant, was a front-runner for the vacant spot at the dugout, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on Tuesday morning that the ex-Chelsea manager will be taking over.
The Italian head coach has been out of work since his mutual departure from Stamford Bridge under strained circumstances on January 1.
But even before his acrimonious mid-season exit, Maresca has been viewed as a long-term successor to Guardiola following their stint working together at Man City.
The 46-year-old served as Guardiola’s assistant between 2022 and 2023 after previously coaching Man City’s youth sides, before departing to earn Championship promotion with Leicester.
Maresca then went on to win the Uefa Conference League and the Club World Cup with Chelsea during his 18-month spell in west London.
Guardiola is set to celebrate his time in English football with an open-top bus parade in Manchester after winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, but until Monday night, the manager had been notably vague over his future plans.
But before news broke of his shock exit, Guardiola had been keen to tamp down any suggestions that he would be commemorated with any fanfare.
‘The club don’t have to do anything, honestly,’ Guardiola, who has yet to officially confirm his departure, said. ‘The important thing in our lives is that when you look back, you can look with a big smile and say “that was good”.
‘Bernardo (Silva) and John (Stones) can feel that. We spoke about it over the last few days. When you’re old, a grandfather, you can look at the memories. That is the most important thing in life.’
Tired of addressing his contractual situation, Guardiola added with a dose of sarcasm: ‘Whatever happens at the end of the season – and when I extend my contract for three more years – I can look back and say, “how nice has that been?”
‘That is the most important thing by far. Most of the people who lived this time here together can feel it.’
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