UN chief sees end of New START as grave moment for int'l peace, security

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that the expiration of New START, the U.S.-Russia nuclear arms reduction treaty, marks a grave moment for international peace and security, calling on the two countries to return to the negotiation table.

"For the first time in more than half a century, we face a world without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States of America, the two states that possess the overwhelming majority of the global stockpile of nuclear weapons," Guterres said in a statement.

New START, which limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems of Russia and the United States, expires on Thursday.

Throughout the Cold War and its aftermath, nuclear arms control between the two countries helped prevent catastrophe. It built stability and, when combined with other measures, prevented devastating miscalculations. Most importantly, it facilitated the reduction of thousands of nuclear weapons from national arsenals. Strategic arms control drastically improved the security of all people, not least the populations of the United States and Russia, said Guterres.

This expiration of New START could not come at a worse time, as the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades, he said.

"Yet at this moment of uncertainty, we must search for hope. This is an opportunity to reset and create an arms control regime fit for a rapidly evolving context," the statement said. "I welcome that the presidents of both states have made clear that they appreciate the destabilizing impact of a nuclear arms race and the need to prevent the return to a world of unchecked nuclear proliferation. The world now looks to the Russian Federation and the United States to translate worlds into action."

The secretary-general urged the two states to return to the negotiation table without delay and agree on a successor framework that restores verifiable limits, reduces risks and strengthens common global security.

New START, which entered into force in 2011, was the last arms control pact between Russia and the United States after Washington withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019.

UN chief sees end of New START as grave moment for int'l peace, security

China registered the establishment of more than 25.745 million new market entities in 2025, with the number of businesses in operation increasing by 9.8 percent compared to the previous year, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said on Thursday.

This growth indicates a gradual recovery of China's economy and a strengthening of its microeconomic foundation.

In 2025, the administration stepped up efforts to curb rat race competition, investigating and handling 14,600 unfair competition cases such as aggressive price competition and subsidy competition. Additionally, authorities promptly corrected abuses related to "refund-only" policies and "mandatory Return Insurance". These measures strongly protected the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium-sized businesses and consumers, further improving the market competition environment, according to administration officials at a press conference in Beijing.

Targeting key challenges and bottlenecks in the industrial chain involving technological iteration and quality upgrade, market regulation authorities rolled out standards and implemented technical certifications in key areas such as new energy vehicles and automotive chips in the year, facilitating breakthroughs in the development of crucial technologies and promoting industrial upgrades.   "In 2025, we helped companies solve 21 key technology bottlenecks in the industrial chain and fill 71 quality and technical gaps urgently needed by industries. We published 4,929 sets of national standards, a year-on-year increase of 56 percent, which effectively improved the resilience and safety of our industrial and supply chains," said Deng Zhiyong, deputy head of the administration, said the press conference.

China sees over 25.745 mln new market entities set up in 2025