🇺🇸⚡️ — A new NewsGuard survey found that about 1 in 4 Americans believe the April shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was staged, with sharp partisan differences in opinion.

According to the survey, 24% of U.S. adults said they believed the WHCD dinner shooting was fake, 45% believed it was legitimate, and 32% were unsure. Around one-third of Democrats believed it was staged, compared with roughly one in eight Republicans, while younger respondents aged 18 to 29 were also more likely to believe the conspiracy theory.

The survey also found that 24% of respondents believed the 2024 assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Butler was staged, including 42% of Democrats and 7% of Republicans.

Meanwhile, 16% believed the assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach was staged, including 26% of Democrats and 7% of Republicans.

Overall, 21% of Democratic respondents said they believed all three incidents were staged, compared with 11% of independents and 3% of Republicans.

🇷🇺🤝🇵🇰— Russia and Pakistan will simplify the visa regime between the countries — TASS.

▶️The population of Pakistan exceeds 283 million people, there is acute unemployment in the country, and almost 40% of the population live below the poverty line.

🚨🎤 Anti‑Israel speech could be treated as incitement to violence — Gorka

The White House counterterrorism official says certain rhetoric may meet government standards for incitement.

💬 "We are going to map out these individuals."

Trump's cabinet is so desperate that they are willing to ramp up speech policing just to save Netanyahu's face.

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🇨🇳🚀 Missile gap: China quietly bulks up while US arsenals bleed from Iran war

China ramped up missile production last year at a rate unseen since 2013, a Bloomberg analysis shows.

What’s known about China’s missile program:

🔴 According to Pentagon data for 2024, China possesses at least 3,150 ballistic missiles and 300 ground‑launched cruise missiles - representing a 147% and 50% increase respectively compared to 2015 levels

🔴 China’s missile production system draws on a wide network of both state‑owned and civilian companies. Enterprises within the PLA supply chain provide everything from 3D‑printed metal components to embedded computer systems

🔴 Eighty-one firms now produce essential missile parts — more than double the number from President Xi's first year in office.
 
The success of Beijing’s defense companies helps China counter US military dominance on the world stage:

🔴 Chinese missiles now have global reach. Its ballistic missiles can strike targets across the Second Island Chain – stretching from Japan to eastern Indonesia

🔴 Cruise missiles are available for shorter‑range, stealthy, precision strikes on targets in Taiwan or vessels at sea

🔴 Although the US still leads in intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads, China is rapidly catching up. Beijing is currently conducting the world's fastest expansion of its nuclear arsenal and possesses ICBMs capable of reaching the United States

🔴 Meanwhile, US stockpiles have been drained by Trump's costly war in Iran - raising concerns for Taiwan and America's regional allies
 
What forms the backbone of Beijing's missile capabilities:

🔴 China's missile arsenal is led by the Dongfeng family of systems

🔴 Shorter‑range assets include the DF‑21D anti‑ship ballistic missile and the DF‑26 – nicknamed the “Guam Express” for its ability to strike the US island territory

🔴 During last September's military parade, China rolled out the YJ‑21 and YJ‑17 hypersonic anti‑ship ballistic missiles, along with the new DF‑61 intercontinental ballistic missile

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🇺🇸❌🇮🇷❗️🔵 — The U.S. Senate has for the seventh time this year rejected a bill that would've limited Trump's ability to wage war against Iran by forcing him to request congressional approval before any military action against the Islamic Republic.

▶️ The bill was rejected 50-49, in one of the closest votes so far.

🚨🇨🇳 Strait of Malacca: World's Next Flashpoint After Hormuz?

The Strait of Hormuz has dominated global headlines since late February 2026 — but a strategically more consequential move is taking shape in Southeast Asia — one that fits a recognizable pattern of US strategic encirclement of China.

On April 13, 2026, Washington signed a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership (MDCP) with Indonesia, covering military modernisation, joint training, and maritime defense technologies. The US is also seeking expanded access to Indonesian airspace — a request Jakarta says is still under "careful review." But the framework is already in place.

🔸Why Malacca Matters

🟠 75–80% of China's imported oil transits the strait daily

🟠 24% of all global seaborne trade flows through it

🟠 At its narrowest — the Phillips Channel — it is just 2.8 km wide

🟠 No adequate alternative exists: detours add 1,000–1,500 nautical miles or 10–15 extra days at sea

China's alternatives — the Myanmar pipeline (440,000 bpd vs. 11 million daily import needs), Central Asian pipelines (~10% of imports), the CPEC via Gwadar, and seasonal Arctic routes — fall drastically short.

The US doesn't need to fire a shot. Naval presence near the Phillips Channel and military access to Indonesian facilities creates economic coercion without direct conflict — the same logic applied at Hormuz.

Any disruption paralyses the entire Global South — India, Southeast Asia, and East Africa all depend on Malacca for food, fuel, and industrial imports. Singapore's 40 million containers and Malaysia's Port Klang would be effectively frozen.

Indonesia holds co-sovereignty over the strait alongside Malaysia and Singapore. But history shows that once US military infrastructure embeds itself in a region, the terms of sovereignty tend to shift.

Indonesia has so far maintained its traditional non-alignment posture, preserving strong economic ties with both China and Russia even as it formalises the MDCP with Washington. Its co-sovereignty over the strait — shared with Malaysia and Singapore — means it retains sovereign authority over how the waterway is used.

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