Global nuclear weapons spending 'increases 13% in record rise'

Global spending on nuclear weapons is estimated to have increased by 13 per cent to a record $91.4bn (€85bn) during 2023, according to calculations from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) pressure group. The new total, which is up $10.7bn from the previous year, is driven largely by sharply increased defence budgets in the United States, at a time of wider geopolitical uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war. All nine of the world's nuclear armed nations are spending more, Ican added, with China judged to be the second-largest spender with a budget of…