June 14 update

Donald Trump pled not guilty to 37 charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified documents. America’s former president was arraigned at a federal courthouse in Miami, and joined in court by Waltine Nauta, his personal aide and co-defendant. Mr Trump was neither handcuffed nor required to give a mugshot. Local police earlier said they were preparing for crowds of up to 50,000 around the courthouse, but only several hundred protesters turned up.

Russian missiles killed six people in Odessa, a city in southern Ukraine, and Donetsk, an eastern region, according to local officials. The strikes came as Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, claimed without evidence that Ukraine had suffered “catastrophic losses” in its counter-offensive. Mr Putin also ruled out the need for any further mobilisation in Russia.

Nvidia, a chipmaker, ended trading on Tuesday with a valuation over $1trn, becoming the seventh American company to do so. Shares in the firm have risen 181% this year, driven by booming demand for its semiconductors, which power generative artificial-intelligence systems. Nividia’s stock closed at $410.22, having risen 3.9% over the day. Its market capitalisation stood at around $1.01trn.

America’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke to China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, ahead of an expected visit to Beijing. Mr Qin urged America to “stop interfering” in China’s affairs, while Mr Blinken advocated for communication “to avoid miscalculation and conflict”. Mr Blinken’s planned visit to China in February was postponed after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down over American territory.

Britain’s economy returned to growth in April as GDP increased by 0.2% compared with the previous month. The expansion, which partially reversed a 0.3% contraction in March, was driven by the services sector. The positive GDP figures, coupled with strong labour-market data released on Tuesday, increase the chances that the central bank will raise interest rates again next week.

Mass evacuations took place in India and Pakistan as the countries prepare for Cyclone Biparjoy, which is expected to make landfall on Thursday. In Gujarat, a western Indian state, almost 38,000 people had been moved, according to the regional government. Heavy rains and high winds have already killed seven people in India’s coastal areas.

Cormac McCarthy, one of America’s most lauded novelists, died aged 89 at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He won the Pulitzer prize for “The Road” in 2007, and the National Book Award for “All the Pretty Horses” in 1992. Those two books became films, as did “No Country for Old Men”, which won four Oscars.

Figure of the day: 18m, the number of Indian migrants spread around the globe, according to the latest UN estimates from 2020. Read the full story.

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PHOTO: REUTERS

Russia’s answer to Davos falls flat

On Wednesday the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, the biggest event of Russia’s economic calendar, kicks off. The talking-shop has previously attracted everyone from the secretary-general of the United Nations to the president of France. The cost of attendance ($25,000) is supposed to reflect the opportunities for schmoozing.

But this year will be different. True, Russia’s finance minister and central-bank governor are expected to attend. President Vladimir Putin will probably stop by. Yet few other dignitaries will participate in the discussions, which will cover weighty subjects such as “technological sovereignty in agribusiness”. Western journalists are not allowed to take part; Western businesspeople do not want to. Indeed it is not clear that any world leaders are planning to make the trip. The event is billed as Russia’s answer to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos, a Swiss mountain resort. Instead, it merely highlights the country’s isolation on the global stage.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Lebanon tries to pick a new president, again

After 11 failed attempts, Lebanon’s parliament will try again on Wednesday to elect a president to replace Michel Aoun, whose term ended in October. Previous votes were a farce: many MPs cast blank ballots or failed to show up. Do not expect progress this time. The apparent front-runner is Jihad Azour, a former finance minister, who announced his candidacy on Monday after denying for months that he wanted the job. Christian parties and independent MPs have endorsed Mr Azour, whose economic expertise would be useful. The country has been mired in a financial crisis since 2019.

Still, he faces fierce opposition from Hizbullah, the Shia militia-cum-political-party. It wants Suleiman Frangieh, a veteran politician close to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, to fill the job. Many Lebanese think the parties supporting Mr Azour are in fact doing so to try and convince Hizbullah to dump Mr Frangieh and back a lesser-known consensus candidate. With little prospect of that, the deadlock looks set to continue.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Germany’s first National Security Strategy

Before taking office in late 2021, Germany’s three-party coalition sought to reassure voters it would govern wisely. Its pledges included drafting a National Security Strategy, a first for the country. Delayed by Russia’s war on Ukraine and internal wrangling, the document will finally be released on Wednesday.

The strategy will probably commit to strengthening Germany’s trans-Atlantic and European alliances. That means reaffirming a commitment to raise defence spending to 2% of GDP—a longstanding promise to NATO that Germany has failed to meet. But talk is cheap: analysts will pore over the wording for firm details. The text may also skirt tough topics, such as how to steer between German economic interests in China and the growing rivalry between the Asian military power and America. Still, it is the ambition underpinning the statement that counts: in a more dangerous world, Germany is recognising the need to step up.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Monitoring the Zaporizhia nuclear plant

A new team of monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN nuclear watchdog, could arrive at the Zaporizhia nuclear-power facility in occupied southern Ukraine as early as Wednesday. Fears of a possible nuclear accident are heightened. The plant drew water to cool its reactors from the Kakhovka reservoir, which was destroyed with the bursting of a huge dam in the neighbouring Kherson region.

After the dam explosion, IAEA staff said that there was “no immediate risk” to the facility as it stores enough water for a few months nearby. The new monitoring team will assess these water reserves and the plant’s cooling systems. Yet the dam’s destruction, probably by the Russians, has also introduced an ominous possibility that will hang over the team’s work. It’s now highly unlikely that the plant’s reactors, which have been in “shutdown” modes for months, could be fired up to generate electricity in the foreseeable future. If deemed useless by the Russian occupiers, it is possible that they might sabotage the plant, perhaps before a retreat.

PHOTO: CAPITAL PICTURES

“The Full Monty” back on screens

A quarter of a century after their one-night-only striptease, the six former steelworkers who were the heroes of “The Full Monty” are back. An eight-part drama series of the same name is out on Wednesday on Hulu in America and Disney+ elsewhere. Released in 1997, the original film was a surprise international hit. Its many fans fondly recall the scene in which the men dance to “Hot Stuff” in a dole queue in Sheffield, a city in Yorkshire.

In the television reprise, things are the same but different. The group’s ringleader is once again Gaz (played by Robert Carlyle), a chancer with a heart of gold; his best friend Dave (Mark Addy) is still married to Jean (Lesley Sharp). But do not expect the greybeards to get their kit off again. There are plenty of fully clothed high jinks, but the plot focuses on the friends’ enduring struggles as they navigate the impact of government austerity and the caprices of the welfare state.