The National Nuclear Security Administration has given the go-ahead for work on upgrading the B61 airborne nuclear bomb, as the Pentagon is eager to embark on a multi-billion-dollar scheme to improve the US nuclear arsenal. This means that the first upgraded bombs are set to roll out by 2020. Source: RT
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday populism was spreading across Europe like a disease that Europeans should fight more vigorously instead of criticizing the actions of pro-European governments like his. Italy’s anti-establishment leaders, clearly assuming Macron was referring to them, hit back by dismissing the 40-year-old French president as a “chatterbox” and accusing him of hypocrisy in his stance over immigration. Source Reuters
German industrial gases company Linde (LING.DE) and U.S. peer Praxair (PX.N) have offered concessions in a bid to address EU antitrust concerns and secure approval for their merger. Source: Reuters
Chinese oil buyers will keep taking crude from the United States through September, but plan to reduce future purchases to avoid a likely import tariff amid a trade spat between the world’s two largest economies, multiple industry sources said. Source: Reuters
