GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

Trump nukes plan

NEW YORK: President Donald Trump says he wants to ensure the US nuclear arsenal is at the “top of the pack”, saying the US has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity. Mr Trump also said China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea “very easily if they want to”, ratcheting up pressure on Beijing to exert more influence on Pyongyang. He said he would like to see a world with no nuclear weapons.

Ireland wants out

DUBLIN: The Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union should contain a clause that paves the way for a united Ireland, Ireland’s Prime Minister said yesterday. Enda Kenny called on British Prime Minister Theresa May to ensure the agreement would allow Northern Ireland to break away from Britain and rejoin the Republic. He said the proposal should mimic rules that allowed East and West Germany to merge, preventing Northern Ireland from being locked into Brexit. Mr Kenny was speaking in Brussels after a meeting with EU chiefs, and repeated demands Brexit does not lead to the return of a “hard border”.

Possible hate crime

OLATHE: A man accused of opening fire in a crowded suburban Kansas City bar, killing one man and injuring two others in an attack that some witnesses said was racially motivated, was charged Thursday with murder and attempted murder. Authorities declined to say whether the shooting was a hate crime, although local police said they were working with the FBI to investigate the case. A bartender at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, said Adam Purinton used “racial slurs” before he started shooting on Wednesday night, as patrons were watching the University of Kansas-TCU basketball game on television.

China buys studio

HONG KONG: A Chinese wire and cable maker is buying independent studio Millennium Films, which produced Rambo and The Expendables. It’s the latest acquisition in China’s overseas shopping spree for entertainment companies. Recon Holding said Thursday it is taking a 51 per cent stake in Millennium for $100 million.

Castros move over

HAVANA: If all goes as expected, in one year President Raul Castro will hand responsibility for Cuba’s faltering economy and ageing, disaffected population to a little-known, 57year-old Communist Party official. It will be the first time since its founding in 1959 the Cuban state has not been led by a member of the Castro family.