President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the United States military to resume nuclear weapons testing, ending a 33-year break.

The announcement came on Truth Social, minutes before he met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.

” Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately,” Trump posted.

“Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.

”The move appears aimed at both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia recently carried out a series of nuclear-related tests, though the Kremlin said none involved actual nuclear explosions.

“Until now, we didn’t know that anyone was testing ” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Russia would only test in response to another country doing so.

No nuclear power other than North Korea has conducted explosive testing in over 25 years. The U.S. last tested in 1992, Russia in 1990, and China in 1996.

Britain’s King Charles has stripped his younger brother, Andrew, of his title of prince and ordered him to vacate his Windsor home, Buckingham Palace.

The move seeks to further distance the royal family from Andrew’s ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Andrew, 65, the second son of the deceased Queen Elizabeth II, has faced growing scrutiny over his relationship with the late sex offender Epstein.

Earlier this month, he was directed to stop using his title of Duke of York.

The king has now taken tougher measures by removing all of Andrew’s remaining titles, meaning he will henceforth be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

According to the palace, a formal notice has been issued requiring him to surrender the lease of his Royal Lodge mansion on the Windsor Estate. He is expected to relocate to private accommodation on the Sandringham estate in eastern England.

The decision, which comes as King Charles continues cancer treatment, is seen as one of the most decisive actions taken against a senior royal in modern British history.

Indonesia will sign an agreement on Tuesday to repatriate two British nationals convicted of drug-related crimes, including Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother sentenced to death, according to a senior Indonesian government source.

“The practical arrangement will be signed today. The transfer will be done immediately after the technical side is agreed,” the official told AFP, naming Sandiford and Shahab Shahabadi, 35, as the individuals to be returned to the UK.

Sandiford was sentenced to death in 2013 after she was caught smuggling cocaine worth over $2.1 million into Bali from Thailand. The drugs were discovered concealed in a false bottom of her suitcase. Shahabadi, arrested in 2014, is currently serving a life sentence for separate drug offences.

Although the Indonesian source listed Sandiford’s age as 68, public records indicate she is 69.

A joint press conference with Indonesian officials and the British ambassador to Indonesia was scheduled for later Tuesday, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs.

Tabloid Attention and Personal Testimony

Sandiford’s case received widespread attention in the UK after she admitted to the offences but claimed she was coerced by a drug syndicate that threatened to kill her son. In a 2015 article published in The Mail on Sunday, Sandiford wrote from prison about her fear of imminent execution:

“My execution is imminent, and I know I might die at any time now. I could be taken tomorrow from my cell. I have started to write goodbye letters to members of my family.”

Originally from Redcar, in northeast England, she also wrote that she planned to sing the Perry Como hit “Magic Moments” before facing the firing squad.

During her time in prison, Sandiford reportedly became close friends with Andrew Chan, one of the “Bali Nine” Australian drug smugglers who was executed in 2015.

Policy Shift on Repatriation

The planned transfer follows recent moves by the Prabowo Subianto administration to repatriate foreign nationals serving harsh sentences for drug crimes. In December 2024, Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who spent nearly 15 years on death row, was allowed to return home. In February 2025, Serge Atlaoui, a French national, was repatriated after 18 years on death row.

Indonesia, known for having some of the world’s strictest drug laws, last carried out executions in 2016, when three Nigerian citizens and an Indonesian were executed by firing squad. As of early November 2025, more than 90 foreign nationals remain on death row in the country, all for drug-related offences.

The British Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment, directing inquiries to the Indonesian government.

Indonesian authorities have recently signalled the potential resumption of executions, after nearly a decade-long de facto moratorium.