04/02/2026

WEDNESDAY | FEB 4, 2026

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Russia ready for a world with no nuclear limits

Germany eyes lasers, spy satellites SINGAPORE: Germany is weighing investments ranging from spy satellites and space planes to offensive lasers under a €35 billion (RM162.5 billion) military space spending plan aimed at countering growing threats from Russia and China in orbit, the country’s space commander said. Germany will build an encrypted military constellation of more than 100 satellites, known as SATCOM Stage 4, over the next few years, the head of German Space Command Michael Traut said on the sidelines of a space event ahead of the Singapore Airshow. He said the network would mirror the model used by the US Space Development Agency, a Pentagon unit that deploys low Earth-orbit satellites for communications and missile tracking. Rheinmetall is in talks with German satellite maker OHB about a joint bid for an unnamed German military satellite project, Reuters reported last week. The potential deal comes as Europe’s top three space firms – Airbus, Thales and Leonardo – are seeking to build a European satellite communications alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink. Traut said Germany’s investment in military space architecture reflected a sharply more contested space environment since Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. Berlin and its European allies, he said, needed to bolster their deterrence posture by investing not only in secure communications but also in capabilities that could hinder or disable hostile space systems. “(We need to) improve our deterrence posture in space, since space has become an operational or even warfighting domain, and we are perfectly aware that our systems, our space capabilities, need to be protected and defended.” – Reuters LISBON: Portugal followed France and Australia by seeking to ban social media for children in a proposal submitted by ruling party lawmakers to parliament on Monday. “The digital age of majority for autonomous access to the platforms, services, games, and applications covered by this law is set at 16,” said the proposal submitted by Portuguese lawmakers. The proposed law says adolescents aged 13 to 16 may access social networks only with parental consent, and that these platforms must implement an age verification and parental authorisation system compatible with the software used by the Portuguese administration. “Specialised literature and scientific data have shown that early use of these resources can compromise the normal social and cognitive development of children, proving increasingly addictive and harmful,” said an introductory text to the proposal. – AFP IRAN TO GO AHEAD WITH NUCLEAR TALKS TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had ordered the start of nuclear talks. “I have instructed my minister of foreign affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists – one free from threats and unreasonable expectations – to pursue fair and equitable negotiations,” Pezeshkian said. The talks will be held “within the framework of our national interests”, he said. In an interview with CNN, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a nuclear deal with the US was achievable. “I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Donald Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons.”– AFP PORTUGAL SEEKS TEEN SOCIAL MEDIA BAN

o Strikes on Kyiv resume

infrastructure and aimed to “cause maximum destruction ... and leave the city without heat during severe frost”, Synegubov said. Authorities had to cut heating to more than 800 homes to prevent the wider network from freezing, he said, urging people to go to round-the-clock “invincibility points” around the city if they needed to warm up. Overnight temperatures plunged to minus 17ºC in Kyiv and sank as low as minus 23ºC in Kharkiv. Russia’s special military operations in Ukraine will hit the four-year mark on Feb 24. Washington has sought to craft a peace settlement but the first round of trilateral talks held in Abu Dhabi last weekend failed to yield a breakthrough. A second round is due to begin today in the Emirati capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that recent “de-escalation” with Russia was helping build trust in negotiations, apparently referring to a break in attacks on energy facilities. But territory remains a sticking point, and the warring sides have not yet shown willingness for compromise. – Reuters/AFP

ultimatums. He said that if the US pumped lots of missile defence systems onto Greenland then Russia would have to take compensatory measures in its military sphere. In Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said, as a brief truce announced by President Donald Trump gave way to renewed attacks in freezing conditions. Trump said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to stop striking Kyiv and “various towns” during cold weather. The Kremlin said the truce would last until Sunday but did not link it to the subzero temperatures. Ukraine said Moscow had kept up its strikes anyway. Russia hit Kyiv “in the bitter cold with another massive strike” on Monday night, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city’s military administration, said yesterday. The emergency services said in a later post that three people in Kyiv had been wounded. In the eastern city of Kharkiv, two people were wounded by Russian shelling, regional military chief Oleg Synegubov said. The hours-long attack targeted energy

MOSCOW: Russia is ready for the new reality of a world with no nuclear arms control limits after the New START treaty expires later this week, Russia’s point man for arms control said yesterday. Unless Moscow and Washington reach a last-minute bilateral understanding of some kind, the New START treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev, will expire tomorrow. “The lack of an answer is also an answer,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by TASS news agency as saying in Beijing on the absence of a response from Washington on Russian proposals to extend the limits of New START. Russia was ready for the new reality of the world’s two largest nuclear powers having no limits for the first time in decades, Ryabkov said. He also said Russia supported China’s position on arms control. On Iran, he said the United States’ proposals to Iran were tantamount to

BR I E F S

Palestinians, including war wounded and patients, get ready to leave Gaza for treatment abroad through the Rafah border crossing on Monday. – REUTERSPIC

Accept patients from Gaza, more countries urged NEW YORK: UN humanitarians on Monday called on more countries to accept patients from Gaza as the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopens. patients and their companions to exit directly into Egypt, while others transited through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing. in Gaza and will be conducted transparently and comprehensively.

He said a high-level body has been formed to oversee the process, including representatives of Palestinian factions, tribal leaders, civil society figures and international organisations. Hazem urged all parties to facilitate the committee’s work, saying it is essential for Gaza’s recovery. A member of the National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip said, however, that technical problems have prevented its members from entering the enclave through the Rafah crossing. Aed Yaghi said the committee hopes to arrive within the next few days but did not elaborate on the obstacles. Another committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the body does not yet have a headquarters or an operating budget. He said a building or plot of land in Gaza City could be rented to start work and that no funding has been received so far. – Bernama

The office said the UN Development Programme reported that it was ready to provide bus transport for returnees from the Rafah checkpoint to Nassar hospital in Khan Younis, where OCHA and its partners set up a reception area. “A reception desk is staffed with psychologists and protection specialists and equipped with nutrition items, information materials and internet connectivity to provide people returning with immediate support and referrals so that they can access critical services.” The office also said it remains concerned over the impact of continued attacks on civilians. In Gaza, Hamas announced on Monday that it has finalised plans to hand over its governmental and administrative assets to the Gaza National Committee. Its spokesman Hazem Qassem said the handover will begin when the committee arrives

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said civilians must be allowed to leave and return voluntarily and safely, as international law requires, adding that essential supplies must enter in sufficient quantities and with fewer restrictions. OCHA said that more than 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, await medical evacuation from Gaza. An effective option would be to resume referrals to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and rehabilitate damaged health facilities in Gaza. “Until that happens, OCHA calls on member states to accept more patients so that everyone receives the treatment that they need,” it said. OCHA said the World Health Organisation supported medical evacuation from Gaza. The limited reopening of Rafah allowed some