19/02/2026

THURSDAY | FEB 19, 2026

8 China denies nuclear test allegations

o Beijing cites compliance with ban

the surrounding rock. Like China, the US has signed but not ratified the test ban. Under international law, both countries are obligated to uphold the pact. The US conducted its last underground nuclear test in 1992 and has been relying on a multibillion-dollar programme that uses advanced tools and supercomputer simulations to ensure its nuclear warheads work properly. China has rejected Trump’s call to negotiate a three-way treaty to replace New START, contending that its strategic nuclear arsenal is dwarfed by those of Washington and Moscow, the world’s largest nuclear powers. The Pentagon says China now has more than 600 operational warheads and is conducting a major expansion of its strategic nuclear force. It projects that China will field more than 1,000 warheads by 2030. – Reuters

The PS23 seismic station in Kazakhstan is part of a globe spanning monitoring system operated by CTBTO. The organisation’s executive secretary Robert Floyd said in a statement that the PS23 station recorded “two very small seismic events” spaced 12 seconds apart on June 22, 2020. The CTBTO monitoring system can detect “events” consistent with nuclear test explosions with yields of 551 tonnes of TNT or greater, he said. “These two events were far below that level. “As a result, with this data alone, it is not possible to assess the cause of these events with confidence,” Floyd said. Yeaw said China tried to conceal the test by using a method known as decoupling, in which the device is detonated inside a large underground chamber to reduce the magnitude of the shockwaves it sends through

commitment on refraining from nuclear tests, uphold the global consensus against nuclear tests, and take concrete steps to safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non proliferation regime,” Liu said. President Donald Trump is pressing China to join the US and Russia in negotiating a replacement pact to New START, the last US-Russia strategic nuclear arms limitation agreement, which expired on Feb 5. The treaty’s expiration has fuelled concerns that the world is on the verge of an accelerated nuclear arms race. China, which has signed but not ratified the 1996 international treaty banning nuclear testing, denied setting off an underground nuclear test blast after the US first levelled the allegation at an international conference earlier this month. China’s last official underground test took place in 1996.

with an earthquake,” said Yeaw, a former intelligence analyst and defence official who holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering. “It is what you would expect with a nuclear explosive test.” The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), which is charged with detecting nuclear test explosions, said there was insufficient data to confirm Yeaw’s allegation with confidence. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said the allegation about China conducting a nuclear test was “entirely unfounded” and an attempt “to fabricate excuses for resuming” US nuclear testing. “This is political manipulation aimed at pursuing nuclear hegemony and evading its own nuclear disarmament responsibilities,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in an emailed statement. “China urges the US to reaffirm the five nuclear-weapon states’

WASHINGTON: A senior US official on Tuesday revealed what he said were new details of an underground nuclear test blast that China allegedly conducted in June 2020. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw told an event at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington that a remote seismic station in Kazakhstan measured an “explosion” of magnitude 2.75 located 720km away at the Lop Nor test grounds in western China on June 22, 2020. “I’ve looked at additional data since then. There is very little possibility I would say that it is anything but an explosion, a singular explosion,” said Yeaw, adding that the data were not consistent with mining blasts. “It’s also entirely not consistent Takaichi, 64, became Japan’s first woman premier in October and won a two-thirds majority for her party in the snap lower house elections on Feb 8. She has pledged to bolster Japan’s defences to protect its territory and waters, likely further straining relations with Beijing, and to boost the flagging economy. In a policy speech expected tomorrow, Takaichi will pledge to update Japan’s “Free and Open Indo Pacific” (FOIP) strategic framework, local media reported. “Compared with when FOIP was first proposed, the international situation and security environment surrounding Japan have become significantly more severe,” chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara said on Monday. In practice, this will likely mean strengthening supply chains and promoting free trade through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that Britain joined in 2024. Takaichi’s government also plans to pass legislation to establish a National Intelligence Agency and to begin concrete discussions towards an anti-espionage law, the reports said. Takaichi has promised to tighten rules surrounding immigration, although Asia’s number two economy is struggling with labour shortages and a falling population.

Japan lawmakers reappoint Takaichi as PM TOKYO: Japan’s lower house formally reappointed Sanae Takaichi as prime minister yesterday, 10 days after her historic landslide election victory.

YOUTUBE RESTORES SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube said on Tuesday it has resolved an issue that briefly affected access to the video-sharing platform, after outage-tracking website Downdetector reported global disruptions. YouTube said an issue with its recommendation system had prevented videos from appearing across YouTube surfaces. “The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved, and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids and TV) are back to normal,” YouTube said in an update. At its peak, there were more than 320,000 user reports of YouTube issues in the US, Downdetector reported. The website’s numbers are based on user submitted reports. The actual number of affected users may vary. YouTube also faced outages in countries that included India, Britain, Australia and Mexico. – Reuters SIX SKIERS SURVIVE AVALANCHE SAN JOSE: At least six skiers survived an avalanche in northern California on Tuesday, local authorities said, while 10 people were unaccounted for. Four ski guides and 12 clients encountered an avalanche in the Castle Peak area of Truckee, about 300km northeast of San Francisco, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook. The six survivors remain at the avalanche site awaiting rescue, the sheriff’s office said, adding that the known survivors were told to shelter in place. “Weather conditions remain highly dangerous,” the sheriff’s office said. The Sierra Avalanche Centre had issued an avalanche warning on Tuesday. “Travel in, near, or below avalanche terrain is not recommended,” the centre said in the warning. – Bernama

BR I E F S

Takaichi receives applause after being re-elected as prime minister at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo. – REUTERSPIC

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said some members of the cohort had aligned with a “brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life”. “It’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” he said. News of the families’ possible return has caused controversy in Australia. – Reuters budget for the fiscal year beginning on April 1 after the process was delayed by the election. The ruling coalition also wants to pass legislation that will outlaw destroying the Japanese flag, according to the media reports. It wants too to accelerate debate on changing the constitution and on revising the imperial family’s rules to ease a looming succession crisis. Takaichi and many within her Liberal Democratic Party oppose making it possible for a woman to become emperor, but rules could be changed to “adopt” new male members. – Reuters

made on advice from security agencies,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said yesterday. Security agencies have not yet advised that other members of the group meet the legal threshold for a similar ban, he said. Introduced in 2019, the legislation allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 that the government believes are a security risk. (on food) would weaken the tax revenue base, since the consumption tax is an important way to raise revenues without creating distortions in the economy,” Anand said. To ease such concerns, Takaichi will tomorrow repeat her mantra of having a “responsible, proactive” fiscal policy and set a target on reducing government debt, the reports said. She will also announce the creation of a cross-party “national council” to discuss taxation and how to fund ageing Japan’s ballooning social security Bill. But Takaichi’s first order of business will be obtaining approval for Japan’s

On Friday, Takaichi will repeat her campaign pledge to suspend consumption tax on food for two years in order to ease inflationary pressures on households, local media said. The promise has exacerbated market worries about Japan’s colossal debt, with yields on long-dated government bonds hitting record highs last month. International Monetary Fund chief of mission in Japan Rahul Anand said yesterday that debt interest payments would double between 2025 and 2031. “Removing the consumption tax

Australia to temporarily ban Syrian camp returnee SYDNEY: Australia said yesterday it would temporarily ban one of its citizens held in a Syrian camp from returning to the country, under rarely used powers aimed at preventing terror activity. They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork.

Australia has already said it would not provide any assistance to those held in the camp, and is investigating whether any individuals posed a threat to national security. “I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was

Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected IS fighters are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.