Big tension for US as China unveils killer nuclear missile 200 times, dangerous than atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, name is..., range...
China, a close ally of Pakistan and long rumored to have a secret nuclear arms program, has for the first time opened up about important information regarding one of its nuclear weapons. The historic disclosure marks a shift in Beijing's typically opaque defense posture and comes amid rising tensions with the United States.
China's state television CCTV has for the first time made public some of the most critical specifications of one of the nation's nuclear missiles. China's nuclear program has always been extremely sensitive, especially as to the details of certain missile capabilities and deployments, and it was unclear why the details of the DF-5, a Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), had been released.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, official Chinese disclosures usually rely on vague language and steer clear of specific weapon details. However, in a rare move, Monday's broadcast revealed that the two-stage missile—described as China's 'first-generation strategic ICBM'—is capable of carrying a single nuclear warhead with an explosive yield ranging between 3 and 4 megatons of TNT.
Additionally, the report also noted that the missile has a maximum range of 12,000 kilometers (7,460 miles), making it capable of reaching targets across the continental United States and Western Europe. It added that the missile's accuracy is within 500 meters (1,600 feet)—a level of precision considered crucial in modern military strategy.
Furthermore, the report mentioned that the missile was '32.6 metres in length with a diameter of 3.35 metres and a launch weight of 183 tonnes'. The yield of the warhead of the missile – up to 4 megatons – is approximately 200 times higher than atomic bombs, which were dropped by the US at Hiroshima and Nagasaki towards the end of World War II.
Former instructor with the People's Liberation Army, Song Zhongping, explained that the DF-5 missile—developed in the early 1970s and officially entering service in 1981—has been a cornerstone of China's nuclear deterrent.
'Without the DF-5, China wouldn't be regarded as a nation with credible intercontinental strike capability. It was instrumental in China's emergence as a nuclear power, demonstrating to the world that China must be taken seriously,' Former People's Liberation Army instructor Song Zhongping said the missile was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.
The main land-based missile in the American arsenal is the Minuteman III, which has been operational since 1970 and is equipped with a single nuclear warhead.
China, meanwhile, has been gradually updating its missile forces. It now deploys improved versions of the DF-5 capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, as well as newer and more mobile missiles such as the DF-31 and DF-41, marking a marked improvement in its strategic capabilities.
The Pentagon reported a year ago that China had over 600 deployed warheads, a figure it predicted would exceed 1,000 in 2030. It also estimated that China had 320 missile silos at three main facilities after constructing new ones and upgrading its old ones. Beijing has a no-first-use doctrine of nuclear weapons and has stated that it will not use them against non-nuclear countries.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Buyer with ties to Chinese Communist Party got VIP treatment at Trump crypto dinner
The Trump White House has repeatedly sounded an alarm about visitors with ties to China's Communist Party coming to the United States, arguing that they are a potential security threat. But the administration appears to have literally left the door open to a member of a Chinese government group when it went along with a plan to give the biggest purchasers of President Donald Trump's digital currency access to the president and the White House. Trump launched a so-called meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency, just days before his inauguration. To bolster sales, the president's business partners created a contest in April, offering the coin's top buyers a tour of the White House and a private dinner with Trump at his Virginia golf club. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If You Eat Ginger Everyday for 1 Month This is What Happens Tips and Tricks One of those buyers was He Tianying, who is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, according to government documents in China examined by The New York Times. That government group, referred to as the CPPCC, is an advisory body that seeks to broaden the Communist Party's influence and solicit support from influential people in Chinese society. Live Events He, who was registered at the Trump event as a resident of Hong Kong, advises the Chinese government through his role as a delegate of the Fangshan CPPCC, a district of Beijing. He is listed as a member of the organization's science and technology committee. The Times could find no indication that He is a member of the Communist Party, and the government body he serves on is fairly low-level. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories There were no restrictions on who could buy the Trump meme coin -- which was marketed like a collectible baseball card -- including foreign nationals. But the winning buyers were given the opportunity for close proximity to the president. It is not clear why He wanted to attend. Still, at a time when the administration is seeking to scrutinize and revoke the visas of Chinese students with ties to the Communist Party, the incident illustrates inconsistencies in the Trump administration's approach to how it handles Chinese nationals, as well as potential weaknesses in the background checks the Trump administration did on the guests who bought his meme coin. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in an interview that the dinner was a private event and that government officials were not closely involved. "As the White House has always maintained, this was not an official White House event," she said. Once a crypto skeptic, Trump has done an about-face and declared himself a digital coin enthusiast, raising ethical concerns and blurring the line between his personal business ventures and the presidency. His family's company has issued its own cryptocurrency, and he has also heavily promoted the meme coin, known as $TRUMP. The meme coin dinner engendered strong criticism from Democrats, government watchdogs and even some Republicans about the appearance of monetising the presidency for personal gain. The event was arranged by the president's business partners to directly enrich the first family, even as Trump spoke that evening behind a stand emblazoned with the presidential seal. Bidders competed to accumulate the largest holding of the coin over several weeks. The top 220 won a dinner with Trump, and the top 25 also got a "VIP" tour of the White House. The buyers used self-adopted nicknames that disguised their identities, but the Times obtained copies of several pages of an official sign-in sheet for the dinner and over the past two weeks has been examining the biographies of many of the attendees. He, using the nickname Sky, owned $3.7 million worth of the meme coin, public transaction records show, at the time the contest ended. He was ranked as the seventh-largest buyer of the cryptocurrency, which entitled him to a gold-colored VIP wristband for the event. The day after the dinner at Trump's golf club, He was observed by a reporter from the Times entering the White House for the tour that had been set up by Trump's business partner Bill Zanker, who created the Trump meme coin. Zanker and the Trump family share in the revenues from the meme coin business, which has already totaled at least $320 million, according to an estimate by Chainalysis, a crypto forensics group. After the tour, He, using a social media account under his Sky pseudonym, posted a series of photos from the dinner and White House tour, which he electronically modified to cover his face. The Times was able to establish his identity through publicly available information, including photos and biographical information on his company website. He made several waves of purchases during the three weeks of the meme coin contest, according to the transaction records. "May I have the pleasure?" he wrote in one social media post, showing off his standing as one of the top owners of the meme coin, several days before the contest ended. He declined to comment as he entered the White House, and he did not respond to follow-up emails, calls and text messages from the Times. The dinner invitation sent to He stands in contrast to the statement Trump issued Wednesday, arguing that his administration needed to urgently move to block visas for certain Chinese nationals, including those attending Harvard University, as "the Chinese Communist Party has sent thousands of midcareer and senior bureaucrats" to the United States. He said this order was for "crucial national security reasons." A senior White House official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the matter, said this week that the presence of He at the dinner and White House tour was unfortunate and that overall, the meme coin dinner had created unnecessary questions. But the White House official added that it had occurred because Trump "carelessly committed" to his longtime friend and business partner Zanker that he would be a part of it. The official added that Trump was not notified who would be attending and was unaware of He's background. Supporting the party The mission of the Fangshan District division of the CPPCC, which lists He as a member, is to "uphold the overall leadership of the Communist Party of China and strengthen the common ideological and political foundation," the group says in describing one of its meetings this year. CPPCC committees are advisory bodies to China's rubber-stamp legislatures at the national, provincial and, like Fangshan, district or county levels. Members can make policy recommendations to the legislative bodies, called People's Congresses. These committees are part of the Communist Party's United Front system, which is devised to co-opt broad segments of the population, including entrepreneurs like He, into supporting and carrying out the party's policies. The CPPCC bodies also act as networking clubs. "When you are a CPPCC member, you are expected to be a part of the United Front system and carry the water where the party asks you to," said Peter Mattis, the president of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation who studies the United Front. The Times turned up documentation on Chinese government websites showing He's participation in the CPPCC group, as well as an attendance list for the committee's gathering in Beijing in January that included He's name. Chinese government records show that He is the majority owner of a Beijing-based investment firm, TechSharpe (Beijing) Capital Management Co., which says on its website that it uses artificial intelligence to "conduct quantitative investment in stocks." Recently, He has also promoted a crypto firm called LuckyFuture and has interacted on social media with Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the giant crypto exchange Binance. In a social media post, responding to an inquiry from the Times, Zhao said he learned about LuckyFuture after He reached out to him in the last few weeks. (A Binance spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.) He came to the United States from China about a decade ago to get a master's degree in finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before returning to China and becoming active in the CPPCC, which is noted in his TechSharpe biography. This made He just the kind of student Trump is now targeting. But there was no hint of those kinds of fears in gracious invitations sent via email in mid-May to the dinner guests. "Congratulations!" said the notice sent to He, with a photo illustration of a muscular, smiling Trump at a dinner table, with an American flag on his lapel. "We can't wait to see you at the Gala Dinner." (He posted a copy of these emails on his social media account.) A table of foreign visitors According to a video taken at the dinner, the VIPs at just one table illustrated how many of the guests had traveled from overseas, including from China. He's dining companions included Justin Sun, a Chinese-born billionaire who was the contest's single largest buyer and one of the largest investors in the Trump family's other crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. Sun also has experience as a CPPCC member. In 2016, he was named as a delegate for a committee in a district in Guangzhou, a city in southern China. Only 26 at the time, he was among the youngest people in the country to sit on a CPPCC body. "I feel that the responsibility is very heavy, and I must strive to adapt to the new role as soon as possible," Sun was quoted in state media as saying at the time. (His representatives did not respond to a request for comment.) Also seated at the table were Cheng Lu, a Singapore-based crypto investor, who told the Times in an interview outside the White House that he bought a large amount of the family's meme coin because he wanted a chance to privately meet with Trump. Sheldon Xia, the founder of BitMart, a cryptocurrency trading platform backed by China-based Fenbushi Capital, joined them at the table, along with Sangrok Oh, the CEO of Hyperithm, a Seoul- and Tokyo-based firm that manages digital assets for institutional investors. Guests invited to the dinner were "required to fill out a brief form as part of the security background check to gain entry to the event," according to an email sent to the winners. The questionnaire was created with a service called CryptoComply offered by the New York-based firm Canaria Consulting. It requested information such as name, date of birth and place of residence. The 25 top Trump meme coin holders had their names submitted to a background check system called White House Worker and Visitor Entry System, a government official told the Times. This system compares the names of the pending visitors with government databases that include terrorist watch lists and lists of known criminals. "The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for vetting all White House visitors and guests, and we fully trust their process in doing so," Leavitt said. Some guests at the dinner said they were surprised at how lax the security appeared at the event. People not on the guest list were in certain cases allowed to enter the golf club grounds that evening and remain there after Trump arrived, the Times also confirmed. "I expected more from the security questions," said Nicholas Pinto, a Florida resident and crypto trader who attended the dinner. "It was very basic. And next thing you know, I am standing there in the room with President Trump."
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
US aerospace industry anxious as tariffs loom
US airlines and aerospace manufacturers insist they have no use for tariff protections, warning that the proposed Trump administration levies could eat into the healthy trade surplus the sector has enjoyed for more than 70 years. At the request of President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's department launched an investigation on May 1 to determine whether to impose tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on civil aircraft and parts, including engines. The US industry those tariffs were crafted to protect swiftly let the administration know it was not interested. "Imposing broad tariff or non-tariff trade barriers on the imports of civil aviation technology would risk reversing decades of industrial progress and harm the domestic supply chain," the Aerospace Industries Association said in a letter addressed to Lutnick and obtained by AFP. The interested parties were given until June 3 to communicate their positions. The very next day, Lutnick announced that Washington aimed to "set the standard for aircraft part tariffs" by the end of this month. "The key is to protect that industry," he said, adding: "We will use these tariffs for the betterment of American industry." But AIA and the Airlines for America trade association voiced fear that far from helping, the tariffs would end up harming US manufacturers. "Unlike other industries, the civil aviation manufacturing industry prioritizes domestic production of high-value components and final assembly," AIA pointed out. According to the organization, US aerospace and defense exports reached $135.9 billion in 2023, including $113.9 billion for civil aviation alone. This allowed the sector to generate a trade surplus of $74.5 billion and to invest $34.5 billion in research and development, it said. The sector employs more than 2.2 million people in the United States across more than 100,000 companies, which in 2023 produced goods worth nearly $545 billion. In its response to Lutnick, the A4A highlighted how beneficial the international Agreement on Trade in Commercial Aviation had been by helping to eliminate tariffs and trade barriers over nearly half a century. "The US civil aviation industry is the success story that President Trump is looking for as it leads civil aerospace globally," it insisted. A full 84 percent of production was already American, it said, stressing that Washington "does not need to fix the 16 percent" remaining. "The current trade framework has enhanced our economic and national security and is a critical component to maintaining our national security moving forward," it said. For manufacturers, the potential tariffs would act like sand jamming a well-oiled machine that has been running smoothly for decades, experts warned. They would also throw off balance an ultra-sensitive supply chain still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. "To avoid the situation getting worse, we advocate to keep aerospace outside of trade wars," Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association , told the organization's general assembly last week. AIA meanwhile stressed that "aircraft and parts are already in high demand and have a limited supply." "Integrating new suppliers and expanding capacity is complex, timely, and costly," it warned, pointing out that finding suppliers capable of meeting rigorous safety certifications could "take up to 10 years." Delta Air Lines also argued for sticking with the status quo, cautioning that the proposed tariffs "would hinder Delta's ability to maintain its current trajectory." "If component parts incur tariffs upon entering the United States, Delta will be at a competitive disadvantage to foreign competitors," it said. "The action would also impose an unexpected tax on Delta's purchases of aircraft contracted years in advance." Delta chief Ed Bastian insisted in late April that the airline "will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries we take," adding that it was "working very closely with Airbus" to minimize the impact. Delta pointed out in its letter to Lutnick that it currently had 100 aircraft on order from Boeing, and that it was demanding that its Airbus A220s be produced primarily in Mobile, Alabama. But if the tariffs are imposed, it warned, "Delta would likely be forced to cancel existing contracts and reconsider contracts under negotiation." elm/tu/ph/nl/aha AIA Group Delta Air Lines Airbus Group BOEING
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
Trump sends National Guard to LA amid immigration protests
NYT News Service Protesters walk the street near the site of a federal immigration raid in Los Angeles on Friday, June 6, 2025. Federal agents in tactical gear armed with military-style rifles threw flash-bang grenades to disperse an angry crowd as they conducted an immigration raid on a clothing wholesaler, the latest sign of tensions between protesters and law enforcement over raids carried out at stores, restaurants and court buildings. (Alex Welsh/The New York Times) Federal agents and demonstrators clashed for a second consecutive day in the Los Angeles suburb of Paramount on Saturday, as immigration raids triggered mass protests. Armed agents in riot gear used flash-bang grenades and tear gas to disperse crowds gathered near a Home Depot staging area reportedly used by chants of 'ICE out of Paramount,' protesters waved Mexican flags, burned American flags, and attempted to block enforcement vehicles. Some formed barricades using shopping carts and cement blocks, forcing authorities to shut parts of a nearby operation came after Friday's high-profile immigration raids across the city, which resulted in 118 arrests. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among those detained were individuals with links to criminal organisations and others with prior tensions flared, federal officials doubled down. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned protesters on X, formerly Twitter, that 'you will not stop us or slow us down,' and vowed full prosecution for any interference. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons criticised city leaders for what he called a failure to maintain order. 'Mayor Bass took the side of chaos and lawlessness over law enforcement,' he said. Tom Homan, Trump's border security advisor, told Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed Saturday night: 'We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor Bass should be thanking us.'FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirmed multiple arrests and stated, 'You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail.' — FBIDDBongino (@FBIDDBongino) On the ground in Paramount, the mood remained tense. Footage showed green-uniformed federal personnel lined across a boulevard as tear gas drifted through the air. Protesters wore respiratory masks and held signs reading 'No Human Being is Illegal.'A woman shouted into a megaphone, 'ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are. You are not welcome here.'Smoke rose from burning shrubbery and trash. In one incident, protesters surrounded a US Marshals Service bus, prompting further freeway raids also sparked alarm among immigrant advocacy groups. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), said that legal representatives had been denied access to detainees on Friday. 'It's very worrying,' she agents also carried out operations at a clothing warehouse in the fashion district after a judge found probable cause of fraudulent documentation use by the those arrested during the protests was David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union. Justice Department spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy confirmed Huerta's detention and upcoming court appearance. It was unclear whether Huerta had legal Chuck Schumer demanded his release, citing a 'disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.'President Donald Trump praised the crackdown and warned that the federal government would intervene if local authorities failed to control the situation. 'If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs… the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!' he posted on Truth Gavin Newsom responded, warning that federal control over California's National Guard would escalate tensions. 'This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,' he Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the raids as attempts to 'sow terror' in one of America's most diverse cities.'The tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,' she said in a statement. 'We will not stand for this.'Protests erupted soon after Friday's immigration raids, which targeted sites including garment factories, warehouses, and day labourer pickup points near Home Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and known immigration hardliner, described the scenes as 'an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.' On Saturday, he escalated his language, calling it a 'violent insurrection.'Protester Ron Gochez, 44, addressed the crowd: 'Now they know that they cannot go to anywhere in this country where our people are, and try to kidnap our workers, our people — they cannot do that without an organised and fierce resistance.' The protest movement appears set to grow, even as federal officials insist they will continue to carry out immigration enforcement operations. ICE has set a daily arrest goal of 3,000 under President Trump's second-term immigration push. The suburb of Paramount, where the standoff took place, is 82% Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data. Los Angeles remains one of the country's most immigrant-rich cities, with a large population of foreign-born broader standoff pits federal immigration authorities under a Republican White House against a Democratic-led city tear gas clouds clear, the political divisions remain sharp—and the likelihood of continued confrontation grows by the hour.
