Biden seeks extension on New START treaty

President Joe Biden seeks a five-year extension with Russia on the New START Treaty. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Biden seeks US-Russia arms deal extension [In this file photo taken from a video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile launches as part of a drill, Dec. 2020.] Credit: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP/File photo President Joe Biden seeks a [five-year extension with Russia]( on the New START treaty — the only deal left that limits the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals — with just weeks before it expires on Feb. 5. The deal allows each country to have no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, plus sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance. Russia [unconditionally]( welcomes the arms control pact that was first negotiated in 2010, when Biden was vice president, signaling an openness even to a shorter term if necessary. However, months of talks between Russia and the former Trump administration were overshadowed by tensions fueled by the [Ukrainian crisis](, Moscow’s [meddling in US 2016 elections](, allegations that Russia may have [offered bounties to the Taliban]( to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, and the ongoing targeting of Alexei Navalny, Putin’s loudest critic, who was arrested on Sunday after returning home from Germany, where he was mending from [nerve-agent poisoning](, most likely arranged by Kremlin. Despite the extension, Biden intends to hold Russia “to account for its reckless and adversarial actions,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. What The World is following Iran has launched what appears to be a Twitter attack against former US President Donald Trump, [according to the BBC](. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei [tweeted a photo]( of what appears to be Trump golfing in the shadow of a large drone with the words, "Vengeance is inevitable.” The tweet, taken down by Twitter after suspending Khamenei’s account, seemed to imply a call for revenge on Trump for coordinating the [assassination by US drone]( of Iran’s top military commander, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, in Baghdad a year ago. On Tuesday, [Iran imposed sanctions]( on Trump and others in his administration for their alleged role in supporting “terrorism,” as a largely symbolic act in the hours before Trump’s presidency ended. In Honduras, lawmakers seek a [permanent constitutional ban on abortion,]( just as a [“green wave” sweeps through Argentina]( and [other Latin American countries]( to protect abortion rights for women. Known as the “shield against abortion” by its proponents, the law would make it impossible to legalize abortion in Honduras now or in the future. The [measure is predicted to pass]( within the next week. Honduras is one of four Latin American countries that prohibits abortion under any circumstances, including cases of rape. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Revisiting Wuhan a year after the coronavirus hit the city]( [The COVID-19 Exhibition in Wuhan, China, pays tribute to soldiers.]( Credit: Rebecca Kanthor/The World Life appears to be back to relatively normal a year after a 76-day lockdown in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected. More than 3,000 people died of the coronavirus in Wuhan. [But there hasn’t been a case there since last spring](. [Can Spain’s new paternity leave law address entrenched gender roles?]( [Erika Oliva, left, and her husband Benjamin Lopez's family gather inside their apartment in the southern neighborhood of Vallecas, in Madrid, Oct. 15, 2020.]( Credit: Bernat Armangue/AP Starting this year, fathers in Spain have four months of federal mandated paid leave — the same amount of time mothers have had for years. While that puts Spain ahead of many European countries, some [critics say the law won't do much]( to change gender norms and roles. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Turkish musician Bilal Göregen may have been one of the[biggest memes to emerge from 2020]( after a fan of his YouTube channel added a dancing cat to a video of him playing the Finnish folk song "Ievan Polkka." Then came the [meme of US Sen. Bernie Sanders]( at President Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday — with his modest parka and knitted mittens — and [the meme is back, fresh for 2021](. Thank you, internet. [A screen grab of a YouTube video of the cat vibing to Ievan Polkka meme, now with the Bernie Sanders meme.]( Credit: YouTube --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it from The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.