Today

BBC

‘Small leak identified’

David Thornley

David Thornley

‘Victorian legacy’

What the airport says

How do de-icing chemicals affect streams and rivers?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for “direct talks” with Ukraine, saying they should “start without delay, as early as 15 May”.

“We seek serious talks… to remove the root causes of the conflict and start moving towards a lasting, strong peace”, he said on Saturday, in a rare televised late-night address from the Kremlin.

It comes hours after European leaders – including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron – visited Ukraine and urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Moscow would “have to think this through” – but warned that “trying to pressure us is quite useless”.

Nabatieh, Lebanon – It is a bitterly cold February morning, and Sanaa Khreiss tugs her cardigan tighter as she begins unloading her van.

The sharp bite of early spring has kept most people away from the Nabatieh souk, but not Sanaa and her husband, Youssef.

The market is quiet as the sun breaks through the grey clouds, except for a few vendors setting up.

Sanaa, who has sold at this spot for the past four years, moves with the calm precision of someone who has perfected her craft over time.

She arranges the lingerie she sells, piece by piece, carefully lining them up, each addition bringing a touch of colour and vibrancy to her stall.

The soft murmur of voices grows as more vendors arrive, helping each other set up canopies to shield their stalls from potential rain.

The task is far from easy. The wind tugs at the fabric, and some canopies still hold water from the recent rainfall. But they press on, and slowly, the white shapes pop up, and Nabatieh’s Monday Market has started.

Sanaa smiles at the occasional passer-by, her warmth never fading. She has come to know many by name and can anticipate their requests. Her voice is quiet but inviting.

“I choose the Monday Market because there’s always a lot of movement, and it’s a historic, popular spot in the south,” Sanaa tells Al Jazeera, her fingers brushing over lace and satin as she unpacks more items from the van.

In the stall next door, her husband Youssef works in silence. His movements are precise, almost meditative, but there is a hint of tension in how he arranges the containers and cookware.

Youssef has never imagined himself here; he used to be a driver for the Khiam municipality, but lost his job when the municipality ceased operations after the outbreak of the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2023, which particularly devastated Lebanon’s south, including Nabatieh, one of the region’s biggest cities.

Since then, Youssef has quietly adapted to the life of a vendor beside Sanaa.

Youssef is quiet and reserved, a stark contrast to Sanaa’s extroverted warmth. He focuses intently on his tasks, but when approached by a customer, his blue eyes shine with welcome, and his voice is friendly.

At first glance, no one would guess the weight those eyes carry – war, displacement, losing his livelihood and their home in Khiam. But at the market, it is business as usual.

The market

Shoes, toys, spices, clothing, books, food, electronics, and accessories – the Monday Market sells all that and more.

The Monday Market in Nabatieh has its roots in the late Mamluk era (1250–1517 AD) and continued to thrive under Ottoman rule. Along with the Souk of Bint Jbeil and the Khan Market in Hasbaiyya, it is one of the oldest weekly markets in south Lebanon, established as part of efforts to extend trade routes across the region.

Back then, traders moved between Palestine and Lebanon, transporting goods by mule and donkey over rough, slow roads. Nabatieh’s location made it a natural stop – a bustling centre where merchants from nearby villages would gather to buy, sell and rest before continuing their journeys. The market also sat along a wider network of internal pilgrimage routes, connecting Jerusalem to Damascus, Mecca and Najaf.

Nabatieh Mayor Khodor Kodeih recounts that merchants travelling between Palestine and Lebanon would stop at a “khan” – an inn that also served as a trading centre – on the site of the current market.

A khan typically featured a square courtyard surrounded by rooms on two levels, with open arcades. Merchants would rest, trade and display their goods there, gradually transforming the site into the bustling Monday Market.

Over time, the market has become more than just a place to buy and sell – it is a ritual that stitches together the social and economic fabric of southern Lebanon.

The area around the old khans expanded into a larger open-air souk. Israeli air strikes during the last war destroyed the original khans, but traces of the market’s past still remain. Today, the Monday Market spans three to four city blocks in central Nabatieh, surrounded by remnants of Ottoman-era architecture. While shops remain open throughout the week, the market itself is made up of temporary stalls and stands that operate only on Mondays.

Before Israel’s recent war on Lebanon, the market filled the streets, framed by Ottoman-era buildings with wooden shutters and iron balconies. Merchants packed the narrow alleys with vibrant goods, their calls for business filling the air. But on November 13, 2024, Israeli air strikes reduced the historic market to rubble. Stone arches crumbled, shopfronts burned, and what was once a bustling hub was left in ruins.

All that remains

Arriving at Sultan Square, the usual site of the old market, one is left confused. All that remains is a vast, empty space at the heart of the city.

The famous Al-Sultan sweet shop, after which the square was named, is gone. Nearby, other sweet shops – including al-Dimassi, established in 1949 and central to Nabatieh’s culinary identity and reputation – are also missing. They once sold staples of Lebanese dessert culture: baklava, nammoura, maamoul, and during Ramadan, seasonal treats like kallaj and an all-time favourite, halawet el-jibn.

Every market morning, merchants sweep the streets, using only brooms to push the debris to the sides and clear space for their stalls. Even as the wind blows rubble back towards their stand, they keep sweeping, determined to maintain a neat and orderly market.

Sanaa remembers the high-end lingerie shops that once competed with her; they’re gone too, reduced to debris amid which vendors have set up their tents as they wait for the municipality to clear the area.

There should be more vendors on that cold morning, but the rain and war have changed things.

“The good thing about rainy days,” Sanaa jokes, “is that there are fewer merchants, so customers have limited options.”

Before the war, she sold in bulk – new brides buying trousseaus, women stocking up. Now, purchases are small and careful – with homes and livelihoods lost, shopping is for necessity, not luxuries or impulse buys.

On a typical Monday, the market runs from 5am to 5pm. Merchants arrive early, making their way to their designated spots, some on the pavement, others against a backdrop of a collapsed building.

Vegetable vendors lay their produce out in large sacks and plastic crates. Normally, the market is so crowded with people that cars can’t pass and visitors have to squeeze past each other from one stall to the next.

Though profits aren’t what they used to be, Sanaa is just happy to be back. She’s kept her prices the same, hoping the market will rebound.

“This is the most important market in the south,” she says. “And we need to follow the source of our livelihood.”

‘Deep love story with the Monday market’

Next to Sanaa’s stall is Jihad Abdallah’s, where he has rigged up several racks to hang his collection of women’s sports clothes.

Yesterday’s snow is melting as the sun comes out, but Jihad keeps his hoodie up, still feeling the lingering cold.

Customers have started trickling over, but it isn’t enough to shake the frustrated, tired look on his face.

Jihad, from the border village of Bint Jbeil, spends his week travelling between different town markets in southern Lebanon to make ends meet.

He was among the first to set up in Bint Jbeil’s Thursday Market as soon as the ceasefire with Israel was announced on November 27, 2024. Jihad didn’t have many options. Bint Jbeil was the market he knew best – he memorised the rhythms, understood customer demands, and recognised how to turn profit. Still, business was slow.

“In Bint Jbeil, the market needs time to recover because many residents from nearby villages, like Blida, Aitaroun and Maroun al-Ras, haven’t returned yet,” Abdallah tells Al Jazeera.

“However, in Nabatieh, nearby towns have seen more returnees.”

Jihad was also among the first to return to the Nabatieh market, joining the very first band of merchants in clearing as much debris as they could manage.

“The Israelis want to make this land unliveable, but we’re here. We’re staying,” Jihad says. “They destroyed everything out of spite, but they can’t take our will.”

Further down the road, Abbas Sbeity has set up his stand of clothes for the day, a collection of children’s winter clothes he couldn’t sell because of the war.

“I had to empty my van to make room for mattresses for my kids to sleep on when we first escaped Qaaqaait al-Jisr [a village near Nabatieh],” he tells Al Jazeera, pointing to the van behind him, now packed with clothes.

Abbas is trying to make a profit, however small, from clothes that were meant to be sold when children returned to school last fall.

He’s been coming to the Monday Market for 30 years, a job passed down from his father, who inherited it from his grandfather.

“My grandfather used to bring me here on a mule!” he says with a nostalgic smile. For a moment, he stares off, lost in thought. His smile stays, but his voice holds a trace of sadness.

“There’s a deep love story with the Monday Market,” he adds. “But now, there’s a sadness in the air. People’s spirits are still heavy, and the destruction around us really affects their morale.”

Abbas remembers how people came not only to buy but to hang out for a weekly outing they could count on for fun, no matter the weather. Even if they didn’t buy anything, they’d enjoy the crowds or grab a bite, whether from the small shops selling manouches, shawarma, kaak or falafel sandwiches, or from a restaurant nearby, from local favourites like Al-Bohsasa to Western chains.

Many would also stop by Al-Sultan and Al-Dimassi, which were the closest to the market, to enjoy a sweet treat, a perfect way to top off their visit.

By noon, the rain had stopped, leaving behind a gloomy day as the sun struggled to break through the clouds, casting a faint light over the market. People haggled over prices, searched for specific sizes, and despite the changes brought by war, the Monday Market pressed on, determined to hold on to its place.

‘We won’t let them,’ determination versus reality

At one end of the Sultan Square, near the upper right corner, a half-destroyed building still stands where vendors used to set up shop before the war. Now, produce vendors arrange their stalls beneath it as if nothing had changed. The remnants of the structure loom above them – fragments of walls hanging precariously, held together by stray wires that look ready to snap.

Yet the vendors paid no mind, too absorbed in tending to customers. The building’s arched openings and ornate details, though battered, still hinted at the city’s rich past. Its verandas, standing like silent witnesses to the souk below, bore testament to both the scars of war and a culture that refused to disappear.

At the far end of the market, by the main road leading out of Nabatieh to nearby villages, one cart stands alone, piled high with nuts and dried fruits. Its owner adds more, making the stacks look like they might spill over at any second.

Roasted corn, chickpeas, and almonds sit next to raw almonds, hazelnuts, cashews and walnuts. Dried fruits are displayed front and centre, dates and apricots taking the spotlight.

At the back of the cart, Rachid Dennawi arranges candies – gummy bears and marshmallows in all shapes and flavours. It’s his first day back at the Monday Market since the war began.

Abir Badran, a customer dressed in a dark cardigan and a long black scarf that gently frames her face, is the first to reach Rachid’s cart while he’s still setting up. Her face lights up as she leans in to examine the dates, carefully picking through them.

“Finally, you’re back!” she says, reaching for the dates – they’re bigger and better than what she can find at other places, she says.

Rachid, originally from Tripoli in Lebanon’s north, makes the three-hour journey to Nabatieh because he believes the market is livelier, has more customers.

Over time, Rachid has built a loyal clientele, and people like Abir swear by his dried fruit and nut mix.

“The people here are different,” he tells Al Jazeera, handing Abir a handful of almonds to taste. “They don’t just buy from you – they welcome you and want you to succeed.”

But Abir didn’t just come to stock up – she is there because the Monday Market has become an act of resistance.

“The Israelis want to sever our ties to this land,” Abir tells Al Jazeera. “But we won’t let them.”

While the optimism is clear, the reality on the ground is tough.

Merchants and residents are doing what they can with what they have. Some have relocated their shops or started new businesses, but some are stuck in limbo.

Mayor Kodeih estimates it will take at least two years to rebuild the market and is critical of the Lebanese government’s support.

“We will restore the market,” he says. “It won’t be the same, but we’ll bring it back.”

The mayor was injured in the Israeli strike on the municipality in mid-October, which killed 16 people; he is one of the two survivors.

It is not easy to leave the market behind – or Nabatieh.

Despite the destruction, the city hums with life: Shops are open, cafes are busy, and people lean in doorways, greeting passers-by with warm smiles and easy conversation.

The gravity of war has left its mark. The destruction is visible at every turn – a bookshop reduced to rubble, shops flattened to the ground – but it has not stripped away the city’s kindness or its sense of humour.

In front of a lot with nothing more than a gaping hole in it, a playful banner by the shop that used to stand there reads: “We’ll be back soon … we’re just redecorating.”

One of the paths out of the Sultan Square leads visitors northeast, into a quieter neighbourhood of cobbled streets, where cafes and small shops line the way. Here, people sip coffee and linger by storefronts, seemingly untouched by the devastation only steps away.

Turning back at the boundary between the two, the destruction that has decimated the market is more apparent, as is the loss to Nabatieh and southern Lebanon.

The market’s heyday will live on only in the memories of those who experienced it, younger generations will never have that same experience.

On Saturday at a sun-kissed Bournemouth, Watkins guided Morgan Rogers’ low cross into the bottom corner with a delicate, deft touch.

It was his 16th Premier League goal of the season – no other Englishman has more.

Longevity is key. Watkins has scored at least 10 league goals in all of his five seasons at Villa, helping him move ahead of Dwight Yorke, Dion Dublin and Juan Pablo Angel in the club’s top-scorer charts.

“It’s a big achievement. some unbelievable players have played for this club,” Watkins told BBC Match of the Day.

“You look at the names, so to be up there on the top of that I’m really proud. It’s great achievement.”

This season, Watkins has had to battle for a starting place with Jhon Duran, who then moved to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr for £71m in January, and Marcus Rashford, who joined on loan from Manchester United in the same window.

Watkins had started each of Villa’s first 14 Premier League matches, but was limited to two league starts and three substitute appearances in April, and didn’t start either of Villa’s Champions League quarter-final matches against Paris St-Germain.

With Emery preferring Rashford in the starting XI, speculation was rife that Watkins may leave Villa.

The club had already rejected a £40m bid for the England international from Arsenal in January.

But Rashford was ruled out for the rest of the season last month with a hamstring injury and, since then, Watkins has returned up front to shine again.

“He’s shown his weight in gold,” former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie told Sky Sports.

“It’s not only his goals, but his team play. He works hard off the ball. He was chasing defenders in the last five minutes. He’s always looking what he can do to affect the game – that just shows how important he is.”

One might think that images of starving children, as political leaders withhold aid and openly call for ethnic cleansing, would be topping news agendas everywhere. In the case of Gaza, the failure of many in the international media to meet the moment has made them part of the story.

Lead contributors:
Chris Doyle – Director, Council for Arab-British Understanding
Daniel Levy – President, US/Middle East Project
Muhammad Shehada – Visiting fellow, ECFR
Sarah Leah Whitson – Director, DAWN

On our radar:

As India and Pakistan go toe-to-toe in their most intense fighting for decades, a flood of disinformation is fuelling the sense of panic on both sides. Meenakshi Ravi reports.

Seeking justice on Ghana’s courtroom shows

If you are dealing with something personal and painful – a broken marriage or a family dispute – you might turn to a friend. For something as serious as sexual assault, it might go to trial. But in Ghana, more and more people are turning somewhere else: live radio. The so-called “justice-style” shows promise swift, public resolutions. But they are also controversial, with critics accusing them of turning private pain into primetime theatre.

Featuring:
George Sarpong – Executive secretary, National Media Commission
Menenaba – Ghanaian writer
Oheneni Adazoa – Host, Sompa Nkomo Show
Zakaria Tanko Musah – Lecturer in media law and ethics, Journalism Institute

At least 21 people, including several children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn amid a months-long Israeli blockade that has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn coastal enclave.

Four Palestinians were killed and others were wounded Saturday evening after an Israeli airstrike targeted a tent sheltering displaced families in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

Earlier, Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli warplanes bombed a tent in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City on Saturday morning, killing five members of the Tlaib family.

“Three children, their mother and her husband were sleeping inside a tent and were bombed by an [Israeli] occupation aircraft,” family member Omar Abu al-Kass told the AFP news agency.

The strikes came “without warning and without having done anything wrong”, added Abu al-Kass, who said he was the children’s maternal grandfather.

In parallel, a drone attack on Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood left six people dead and one more in the Sheikh Radwan area of the city where Israel bombed an apartment belonging to the Zaqout family.

Further south, Wafa said Israeli gunboats opened “heavy fire” on the shores of Rafah, killing a man identified as Mohammed Saeed al-Bardawil. Two more civilians were injured in an attack on the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, west of Rafah.

In the past 24 hours, at least 23 Palestinians have been killed and 124 others injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Israeli blockade

The attacks came amid Israel’s continuing refusal to allow vital supplies into Gaza since March 2, leaving the enclave’s 2.3 million residents dependent on a dwindling number of charity kitchens, which have been shutting down in recent days as food runs out.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said: “There’s barely food … We’re talking about bakeries not operating, we’re talking about zero distribution points and we’re talking about only a few hot meal kitchens still operating.”

Khoudary said people queueing for hours would often leave empty-handed, with remaining kitchens stretching out food that would previously have fed 100 to serve up to 2,000 people.

“We’re seeing more people dying, we’re seeing more children dying due to malnutrition and the lack of food. But it’s not only the lack of food, it’s also the lack of medical supplies, it’s the lack of fuel, cooking gas and it’s the lack of everything,” she said.

Among the charities shuttering operations, the United States-based World Central Kitchen said on Wednesday that it had been forced to close down because it no longer had supplies to bake bread or cook meals.

The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs appealed for the blockade to be lifted.

“Children are starving, and dying. Community kitchens are shutting down. Clean water is running out,” it said on Friday in a post on X.

‘Failure of humanity’

The blockade is also having a devastating effect on people with chronic illnesses, depriving Palestinians who suffer from diabetes, cancer and rare conditions, of life-saving medication.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said: “Doctors here say the tragedy is not in what’s happening, but in what is preventable.”

“These diseases have a treatment, but people of Gaza no longer have access to them, and they say that this is not just a failure of logistics, but of humanity,” he added.

Mahmoud spoke to the father of a 10-year-old boy suffering from diabetes, who said insulin was not available across northern Gaza.

“I spend entire days searching pharmacies, hoping to find it. Sometimes we hear that individuals might have it, so I go to their homes to barter,” he said.

Said al-Soudy, head of emergency in the oncology department of Gaza City’s Al Helou International Hospital, told Al Jazeera: “A large part of patients are struggling to find their essential medications. Without them, their health conditions deteriorate and may become life-threatening.”

Pharmacist Rana Alsamak told Al Jazeera that Palestinians were unable to obtain medication for “multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, chronic illnesses and … immune-related diseases”.

“These conditions now go largely untreated,” she said.

On Friday, the United States said it was establishing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to coordinate aid deliveries into Gaza, with Israel providing military security for operations. The United Nations rejected the move, saying it would weaponise aid, violate principles of neutrality and cause mass displacement.

Carlo Ancelotti says Xabi Alonso has “all the doors open” for a move to a big club, with speculation building that the former Real Madrid midfielder is set to replace the Italian coach at the helm of the Spanish powerhouse.

Ancelotti gave his routine pre-game news conference on Saturday, a day after Alonso announced he was leaving Bayer Leverkusen.

He praised the work of Alonso, who has been widely linked to an eventual move back to Madrid after leading the German club to the Bundesliga title last season.

“I read that Xabi is leaving Bayer Leverkusen, where he did a fantastic job,” Ancelotti said before Sunday’s trip to Barcelona. “He has all the doors open because he has shown that he is one of the best coaches in the world.”

Ancelotti again refused to speak about his future, especially before a decisive Clasico in LaLiga. Madrid trail Barcelona by four points and need to win to keep alive their chances of winning a trophy this campaign.

But he did speak movingly about what Madrid means — and will mean — for the most successful manager in European football.

For Ancelotti, his relationship with the club he has spent six seasons at in two stints is an everlasting “honeymoon”.

“The honeymoon with this club never ends, it continues forever,” he said. “I think that Real Madrid, like Milan before, are the teams that stay with me, given the time I have spent here. At the beginning, there is passion, and when that fades, other feelings emerge, a sense of tender care. My honeymoon with Real Madrid will last for as long as I live.”

The 65-year-old coach is under contract through the next campaign but is widely expected to leave after an underwhelming season in which the team played worse despite adding Kylian Mbappe to its squad.

Brazil have been courting Ancelotti for over a year, and it appears talks are still ongoing with the veteran manager.

Real Madrid must play ‘complete’ game at Barcelona

With only four games remaining of the LaLiga season, only a win will realistically keep Real’s hopes of retaining the title, and for Ancelotti, they will need to get everything right to have a chance on Sunday.

“In this type of game, you have to do things well. Barcelona are used to keeping the opponent in their own area, but no team is perfect,” he said.

“It’s a game where there’s a lot at stake, and to win, you have to manage everything well, defend well, attack well. We have to play a complete game.”

With so much at stake against their great rivals, Ancelotti will have little trouble getting his players fired up.

“It’s not difficult to motivate the players because it’s the type of match for which the players already come out motivated and with a lot of confidence,” he said.

“Playing with Barcelona is special. It will be the last ‘El Clasico’ of the season because Barca are not in the Club World Cup.”

Who’s scoring in #ELCLÁSICO? 🤍 pic.twitter.com/Tgx1X8cVuA

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) May 8, 2025

Barcelona focused despite Champions League woe

Barcelona’s players have discussed last week’s Champions League elimination and are ready to put their disappointment behind them against rivals Real Madrid, manager Hansi Flick said in his news conference on Saturday.

Barca suffered a 4-3 Champions League semifinal defeat by Inter Milan on Tuesday.

A home win on Sunday would move Flick’s side one victory away from their 28th Spanish league title.

“We’re doing well. After the defeat in Milan, everyone knows it’s not easy … but we’re doing things right. We’ve talked about what we want to do in these two weeks,” Flick told reporters.

“There are four more games to go. El Clasico is important, we have to show how well we can play. We have to show confidence. The players are doing very well … We’ve been talking about what they are thinking, what they are feeling.

“We had to talk about it as a group. Everyone knows that in a Clasico, you have to give 100 percent. You have to be active, intense, dominant. Real Madrid is a very good team, and we need the fans.”

El Clasico – the low down

Translated as “The Classic” in English, El Clasico is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The special matchup between these football sides was born out of a more-than-a-century-old political-historical dimension between an increasingly distinct Catalan national identity, with FC Barcelona representing Catalonia, pitched against the centralised power structures of Spain’s capital city, Madrid, and by extension, its most famous football club, Real Madrid.

The first match between the two Spanish mega clubs was played on May 13, 1902.

In total, 260 matches have been played. Real Madrid lead in head-to-head results with 105 wins to Barcelona’s 103, with 52 draws.

Last five LaLiga matches

Barcelona: W-W-W-W-D (most recent fixture first)

May 3, 2025 – Real Valladolid 1-2 Barcelona
April 22, 2025 – Barcelona 1-0 Mallorca
April 19, 2025 – Barcelona 4-3 Celta Vigo
April 12, 2025 – Leganes 0-1 Barcelona
April 5, 2025 – Barcelona 1-1 Real Betis

Real Madrid: W-W-W-W-L (most recent fixture first)

May 04, 2025 – Real Madrid 3-2 Celta Vigo
April 23, 2025 – Getafe 0-1 Real Madrid
April 20, 2025 – Real Madrid 1-0 Athletic Club
April 13, 2025 – Alaves 0-1 Real Madrid
April 5, 2025 – Real Madrid 1-2 Valencia

European leaders have urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine starting on Monday.

The call was issued at a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Kyiv. The leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland were hosted by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, while others joined remotely.

They made the announcement after discussing the plan by phone with US President Donald Trump – who initially mooted an unconditional ceasefire. The leaders threatened Russia with “massive” sanctions if it does not comply.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the aim of the coalition of the willing was to show “that aggression will never prevail on our continent”.

“Once a ceasefire is achieved, it will take time, but this will be a huge moment in reconnecting Ukraine’s economy, boosting investor confidence, and helping to reunite families separated by this war,” Starmer told reporters.

He was speaking alongside Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish PM Donald Tusk and the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Zelensky said: “Thank you all for standing with us. Today we will focus on how to build and guarantee real and lasting security.”

Russia has so far insisted that before considering a ceasefire, the West must first halt its military aid to Ukraine.

However, Zelenksy said that the ceasefire should be unconditional.

“Attempts to put forward any conditions would be evidence of an intention to prolong the war and undermine diplomacy,” he added.

Macron said the planned truce would be monitored mainly by the US, with help from European countries. He said in the event of violation, “massive sanctions would be prepared and co-ordinated between Europeans and Americans”.

Merz said the war – which began with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – was “solely a war of aggression by Russia, in violation of international law”.

The Kyiv meeting was a symbolic response to the more than 20 leaders who joined Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow a day earlier.

Other leaders who joined the Kyiv meeting remotely included Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian PM Mark Carney, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato.

A 30-hour ceasefire, called on Friday by Putin to mark Russia’s Victory Day, is due to end later on Saturday. It has seen a decrease in fighting but both sides have accused the other of breaches.

The coalition of the willing was formed to reinforce any eventual peace agreement with security guarantees, including the possibility of placing troops in Ukraine.

Trump earlier reiterated the call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire after a phone call with Zelensky.

“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions,” he wrote on social media.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the Europeans of making contradictory statements that “are generally confrontational in nature rather than aimed at trying to revive our relations”.

Russian state media later quoted Peskov as saying: “We have to think this through. But trying to pressure us is quite useless.”

Reports of Russian attacks across Ukraine continue, despite Russia’s claims of a temporary ceasefire.

In the northern Sumy region, an 85-year-old woman was killed, three others were injured, 19 residential homes and 10 other buildings were destroyed or damaged, Ukrainian police said.

In Kostyantynivka, eastern Donetsk region, one person was injured and two apartment blocks caught fire after Russian attacks, Ukrainian state emergency service DSNS said.

And in the southern city of Kherson, a 58-year-old local resident sought medical help after being attacked by a Russian drone carrying explosives, the regional administration said.

India and Pakistan have reached a ceasefire agreement following a brief period of hostilities over the past few days, United States President Donald Trump announced on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, the two neighbours targeted each other’s military sites as Pakistan launched “Operation Bunyan Marsoos” after three of its own airbases were hit by India’s air-to-surface missiles. Both sides claimed to have intercepted most projectiles, but also admitted that some strikes caused damage.

More than 60 people have been reported killed since India launched missiles under “Operation Sindoor” on Wednesday, which it said targeted “terrorist camps” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan has confirmed the killing of 13 people on its side of the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between the two countries dividing the disputed Kashmir region.

The strikes had raised fears of a wider conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. While international mediation has resolved disputes between India and Pakistan before, it remains to be seen if this ceasefire will hold and whether people will be able to relax.

What has been agreed upon by India and Pakistan?

“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

“Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Multiple countries are understood to have been involved in these talks.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed the ceasefire shortly after.

“It was agreed between them that both sides would stop all fighting and military action on land, air and sea with effect from 17:00 Indian Standard Time today [11:30 GMT],” Misri said in a short statement.

“Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to this understanding. The directors general of military operations will talk again on May 12 at 12:00.”

India and Pakistan have also activated military channels and hotlines following the deal, according to Dar.

Will the two countries engage in further talks now?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said India and Pakistan had agreed to start talks on a “broad set of issues at a neutral site”.

However, in a statement on social media, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting partially denied this, stating: “There is no decision to hold talks on any other issue at any other place.”

Subir Sinha, director of the South Asian Institute at SOAS University of London, told Al Jazeera that broader bilateral talks would be a very challenging process as India had previously rejected such a development.

“One of the arguments about this so-called robust policy towards Pakistan that Modi’s government had adopted was that it was no longer possible to sit down and discuss a broad and long-term commitment to resolve issues,” Sinha said.

Therefore, this would mark a reversal of the Indian government’s position and could play out poorly with the right wing in India, whose members have been calling for an attack on Pakistan.

Sinha said both the Indus Waters Treaty, which India suspended its participation of and the Simla Agreement, which Pakistan threatened to pull out of, will need to be fully resumed and “to be looked [at] perhaps as bases for moving forward”.

Were India and Pakistan actually at war?

Officially, no. Despite intense military exchanges, including missile strikes, drone attacks, and artillery shelling, neither government made an official declaration of war.

India and Pakistan instead characterised their military actions as specific coordinated “military operations”.

Pakistan on Saturday launched a retaliatory assault it named “Bunyan Marsoos”, Arabic for “Wall of Lead”, just days after India initiated “Operation Sindoor“, responding to a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, which it blamed on Pakistan-based armed groups.

However, that is not unusual for these two countries. They have not officially declared war in previous major conflicts, even as thousands of soldiers and civilians died.

Has third-party intervention solved disputes between India and Pakistan before?

Yes. Third-party mediation has resolved disputes since 1947, when the subcontinent split through partition and India and Pakistan fought their first war. After a yearlong war over ownership of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, a United Nations-brokered ceasefire effectively split Kashmir between Indian- and Pakistan-administered regions in 1948.

The 1965 Indo-Pakistani War ended with the Tashkent Declaration in January 1966, following mediation by the erstwhile Soviet Union. The accord saw Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani President Ayub Khan agree to pull back to pre-war positions and restore diplomatic and economic ties.

During the 1999 Kargil War, Pakistani troops crossed the LoC and seized Indian positions. Then-US President Bill Clinton convinced Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to withdraw, warning of international isolation.

In 2002, then-US Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed he and his team had mediated the end of a tense stand-off along the LoC following an attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001. The following June, Powell said that through negotiations, he had received assurances from President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan that “infiltration activity” across the LoC would cease and that armed groups would be dismantled on Pakistani territory.

What constitutes a war?

There is no single definition. International humanitarian law, such as the Geneva Conventions, uses the term “international armed conflict” instead of “war”, defining it more broadly as any use of armed forces between states, regardless of whether either side calls it a “war”.

In modern international law, all uses of force are categorised as “armed conflict” regardless of justifications such as self-defence, according to Ahmer Bilal Soofi, an advocate in the Supreme Court of Pakistan who also specialises in international law.

The suspension of a treaty can also signal the start of war, he added. India suspended its participation in the landmark Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan on April 23, a move Pakistan described as a “hostile act”.

“Political scientists normally say a war only exists after fighting becomes quite intense – normally 1,000 battle deaths,” said Christopher Clary, assistant professor of political science at the University at Albany. “For governments, though, wars exist whenever they say so.”

Experts argue the recent escalation in military actions by India and Pakistan was as much about signalling strength as they were about military objectives, and was also part of a broader effort to manage domestic and international perception.

Sean Bell, a United Kingdom-based military analyst, said much of the current rhetoric from both India and Pakistan is deliberately aimed at domestic audiences. Each side is “trying to make clear to their own populations that there is a robust military response, and that they’re retaliating for any actions”, he told Al Jazeera. But this tit-for-tat dynamic, Bell warned, risks becoming difficult to stop once it starts.

Why are countries reluctant to formally announce a war?

Following the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945, “no country claims ‘war’ or declares ‘war’ as, legally speaking, it is viewed as unlawful use of force”, Soofi told Al Jazeera.

Officially, being in a state of armed conflict triggers international legal obligations, such as following the rules of armed conflict and being accountable for war crimes.

In the latest India-Pakistan standoff, both sides portrayed the other as the aggressor, insisting it should be the one to de-escalate.

The absence of a formal, universally accepted definition of war means countries can engage in sustained military operations without ever officially declaring war. Ambiguity also allows governments to frame military actions in ways that suit their political or diplomatic goals.

For example, Russia has consistently described its 2022 invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation”, despite large-scale troop deployments, air strikes and territorial occupation. Similarly, the US referred to the Korean War in the 1950s as a “police action” and framed its long-term activities in Afghanistan and Iraq as “counterterrorism operations”. Israel also often uses terms like “military campaign” or “operation” for cross-border offensives, such as “Operation Protective Edge” during its 2014 war in Gaza.

The paramilitary force has been blamed for attacks on a prison in el-Obeid and a displacement camp in Darfur.

At least 33 people have been killed in Sudan in attacks suspected to have been carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the brutal two-year war claims its latest victims.

An RSF strike on a prison on Saturday in el-Obeid killed at least 19 people, while on Friday evening, at least 14 members of the same family were killed in an air attack in Darfur, local sources said.

The attacks – part of the RSF’s ongoing war with the military-led government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since 2023 – came after six straight days of the paramilitary group’s drone attacks on the army-led government’s wartime capital of Port Sudan.

These attacks damaged key infrastructure, including a power grid and the country’s last operational civilian airport, which was a key gateway for aid into the war-ravaged nation.

The war has left tens of thousands dead, displaced 13 million people and triggered what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The attack on the prison on Saturday also wounded 45 people, a medical source told the AFP news agency. The source said the jail in the army-controlled city in the North Kordofan state capital was hit by an RSF drone.

The night before, 14 people were killed at the Abu Shouk displacement camp near el-Fasher in Darfur, a rescue group said, blaming the paramilitary.

The camp “was the target of intense bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces on Friday evening”, said the group of volunteer aid workers.

The camp near el-Fasher, the last state capital in Darfur still out of the RSF’s control, is plagued by famine, according to the UN.

It is home to tens of thousands of people who fled the violence of successive conflicts in Darfur and the conflict that has been ripping Africa’s third-largest country asunder since 2023.

The RSF has shelled the camp several times in recent weeks.

Abu Shouk is located near the Zamzam camp, which the RSF seized in April after a devastating offensive that virtually emptied it.

RSF escalation

Elsewhere on Saturday, SAF warplanes struck RSF positions in the Darfur cities of Nyala and el-Geneina, destroying arms depots and military equipment, a military source told AFP.

The RSF has recently said it had taken the strategic town of al-Nahud in West Kordofan, a key army supply line to Darfur.

The RSF’s escalation in Port Sudan earlier this month came after the military struck the Nyala airport in South Darfur, where the RSF receives foreign military assistance, including drones. Local media stated that dozens of RSF officers were killed in the attack.

Sudan’s army-aligned authorities accuse the United Arab Emirates of supplying those drones to the RSF, which has no air force of its own.

The war began as a power struggle between SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. It has effectively divided the country into two, with the army controlling the north, east and centre, while the RSF and its allies dominate nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.

Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.

Analysts have low expectations of a breakthrough, but host Switzerland hopes ‘roadmap’ will emerge.

China’s trade envoy He Lifeng has met United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Switzerland for talks aimed at easing a trade war between the superpowers that is roiling global markets.

The first official engagement, since the US slapped a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods, prompting a retaliatory 125 percent duty from China, began on Saturday at an undisclosed location in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

A motorcade of black cars and vans was seen leaving the home of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in the suburb of Cologny, The Associated Press news agency reported.

A diplomatic source, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the meeting, said the sides met for about two hours before departing for a previously arranged luncheon.

The trade dispute, which effectively amounts to a mutual boycott of products, was prompted by US President Donald Trump last month when he announced sweeping duties on almost every country in the world, which are now subject to a 90-day reprieve while negotiations take place.

Experts believe China may be looking for the same 90-day waiver as well as a reduction of the 145 percent tariff – Trump suggested that it could be reduced to 80 percent, saying in a Truth Social post on Friday that the amount “seems right”.

Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Friday that the US would not lower tariffs unilaterally, adding that China would need to make concessions as well.

Bessent has said the meetings in Switzerland would focus on “de-escalation”.

“The best scenario is for the two sides to agree to de-escalate on the … tariffs at the same time,” said Sun Yun, director of the China programme at the Washington, DC-based Stimson Center, adding even a small reduction would send a positive signal.

“It cannot just be words,” she said.

Distrust running high

Trump has justified the punitive tariff by citing unfair trade practices and accusing Beijing of failing to curb the export of chemicals used to produce fentanyl, a lethal synthetic opioid.

China, for its part, says it will not bow to “imperialists” and bullies.

With distrust running high, both sides have been keen not to appear weak, and economic analysts have low expectations of a breakthrough.

Trump has suggested the discussions were initiated by China. Beijing said the US requested the discussions and that China’s policy of opposing US tariffs had not changed.

Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met both parties in Geneva on Friday and said the fact that the talks were taking place was already a success.

“If a roadmap can emerge and they decide to continue discussions, that will lower the tensions,” he told reporters on Friday, saying talks could continue into Sunday or even Monday.

The founder of the Kwik Fit garage chain, Sir Tom Farmer, has died at the age of 84.

The Edinburgh-born businessman died peacefully at his home in the city on Friday, his family said.

He built the company into the world’s biggest independent tyre and automotive chain, selling it to Ford for £1bn in 1999.

Sir Tom owned a majority stake in Hibernian FC for 28 years, selling his interest in the club in 2019.

Sir Tom was born in Leith in 1940 and first opened a tyre business in 1964.

He started Kwik Fit in 1971, eventually operating in more than 2,000 locations in 18 countries.

He was knighted in 1997 for his services to the automotive industry and was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 2009 for his charitable work.

A statement from his family said: “Sir Tom’s long and extensive career touched many aspects of Scottish and UK life.

“His business career is well documented, as was his commitment to philanthropy, his many public roles and his unwavering support and appreciation for the communities and people that he lived his life within.”

Sir Tom’s philanthropic work saw him awarded the Carnegie Medal and he became a Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, an honour bestowed by the Pope, in 1997.

“Sir Tom’s Roman Catholic faith was present throughout all areas of his life. He attended mass weekly in Edinburgh and enjoyed the friendship and company of many people with the Catholic community both here in Scotland and further afield,” his family said.

“Sir Tom will be remembered by many for his deep commitment to his family, his work and his faith and for being at all times a proud Scotsman,” they added.

A statement from Hibernian on the social media platform X said:

“Hibernian FC are devastated to hear of the passing of former owner Sir Tom Farmer, aged 84.

“Thank you for everything, Tom. Rest in peace.”

First Minister John Swinney wrote: “Very sorry to hear of the death of Sir Tom Farmer, an outstanding entrepreneur and such a generous individual to so many causes in Scotland.

“My respect condolences to his family.”

On May 2, the New Taiwan Dollar (NTD) surged 3.3% against the U.S. dollar, marking the largest single-day gain in 23 years. As an export-driven economy, with exports accounting for 70% of GDP, this sharp currency appreciation is devastating to Taiwan’s economy.

Since April 2, when Trump proposed “reciprocal tariffs” on trading partners, Asian currencies, except China’s, have appreciated throughout April, particularly those of U.S. allies. The NTD rose 3.64%, the Japanese yen 4.44%, the South Korean won 3.6%, and other Asian currencies gained between 1.76% and 2.97%.

Including the first two days of May, the NTD’s appreciation reached 6.49%, far outpacing other Asian currencies. Why?

On May 2, Taiwanese market observers and exporters were puzzled by the rare single-day surge until May 3, when Taiwan’s trade negotiation team confirmed that the first round of talks with the U.S. began on May 1. This revealed the cause: U.S. pressure triggered the NTD’s surge.

Facing public skepticism, Taiwanese authorities denied any link between the currency surge and U.S.-Taiwan trade talks, attributing it to local market expectations of NTD appreciation and a rush of foreign investment into Taiwan’s stock market.

However, the authorities couldn’t explain why the NTD’s appreciation far exceeded that of other Asian currencies. Japan, for instance, held two rounds of trade talks with the U.S. and Japanese stocks continued to rise, but the yen depreciated in early May.

Perhaps the Taiwan authorities have not lied, but have only revealed part of the truth. Even so, the psychology of the local exchange market’s expectation of the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar fully reflects the pessimistic expectation of the Taiwan-US trade talks. Unlike Beijing’s hardline stance toward Washington, Taipei is eager to “pay tribute”.  Despite officials’ assurances of not yielding excessively to the U.S., the market’s reaction is the most honest.

Within a month, the NTD’s 6.49% rise is a trend the U.S. welcomes, as it narrows the U.S. trade deficit with Taiwan and pushes Taiwanese tech firms to set up factories in the U.S.

Currency appreciation shrinks exporters’ profits, drives industrial relocation, and directs firms to their main clients’ locations. High-margin tech firms have no choice but to establish U.S. factories to avoid tariffs and currency pressures. Low-margin traditional industries, like machinery and petrochemicals, rely on government subsidies to survive.

Of course, Taiwan’s traditional industries have another big market to choose from, namely the Chinese market. In other words, China has also benefited from the inward investment brought about by the U.S. tariff war.

Over the past four years, the trend is clear: Taiwanese tech firms serving U.S. clients have increasingly set up U.S. factories, but only larger firms—around a few hundred—have done so. Mid-sized tech firms, influenced by TSMC, may also invest in the U.S. during Trump’s current term, but their numbers won’t exceed 1,000 due to high U.S. production costs.

In comparison, there are tens of thousands of Taiwanese companies doing business in China, totaling 120,000 if we include companies that used to do business in China but withdrew due to various factors.

In recent years, due to the U.S.-China trade war, rising wages, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwanese capital has noticeably withdrawn from China. Nevertheless, cross-strait trade (including Hong Kong) accounts for about 35% of Taiwan’s exports, making China the most critical market for Taiwanese businesses. Taiwanese companies that will set up factories in the U.S. are all large corporations with major customers in the U.S. and a sizable capitalization.

Thus, the NTD’s sharp appreciation severely impacts Taiwanese exporters targeting the Chinese market, particularly the electronic components sector, which accounts for over half of Taiwan’s exports to China. Mentioned in the previous article, TSMC’s overseas factories only achieve significant profits in China, and Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain maintains robust exports to China.

It is important to note that Taiwan is one of the very few economies in the world that maintains a trade surplus with China, mainly because Beijing looks the other way and doesn’t care if bilateral trade is reciprocal. Taiwan bans 2,509 Chinese import items, far exceeding China’s restrictions on Taiwanese goods.

In other words, excessive NTD appreciation not only accelerates Taiwanese capital’s shift to the U.S. but also to China and Southeast Asian economies, making it a catastrophic event for Taiwan’s economy.

With TSMC being asked by Trump to invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S., speculation that Taipei might be overly conciliatory to Washington is a common concern of the market and the public. Taiwan’s leading business media even speculated that Trump’s target is an NTD-to-USD exchange rate of 1:13.3 (currently 1:31).

The 1:13.3 rate is derived from the implied exchange rate of The Economist’s purchasing power parity index, the “Big Mac Index”. Given the index’s limitations, this speculative rate reflects Taiwan’s perception of U.S. dominance and Trump’s “big appetite.”

Forecasts based on exaggerated exchange rate calculations mean that there is very little confidence in the government’s ability to defend Taiwan’s interests, and few believe that the current administration can resist U.S. pressure. The NTD’s 3.3% single-day surge indirectly validates these concerns.

Thus, the NTD’s surge reflects the likely outcome of Taiwan-U.S. trade talks: sacrificing economic interests is inevitable, and the scale will be unprecedented. After all, Taiwan is already considered “guilty” and now everyone is just waiting for the US to announce the “sentence”.

The NTD’s appreciation isn’t the end but the beginning. Taipei will not resist and will likely concede more to the U.S. than any other economy worldwide.

Iraq replaces Jesus Casas as head coach with former Australia boss Graham Arnold ahead of crunch World Cup qualifiers.

Former Australia manager Graham Arnold has been confirmed as the new head coach of Iraq by the country’s football federation ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Jordan.

Arnold’s appointment was announced on social media by the Iraq Football Association, which published photographs of the 61-year-old being welcomed in Baghdad by officials from the national body.

“We are delighted to announce Graham Arnold as the new head coach of the Iraq national team,” the federation said in a post on Instagram. “Welcome to the Lions of Mesopotamia!”

Arnold replaces Jesus Casas at the helm after the Spaniard’s departure in the wake of a 2-1 loss to Palestine in March during the third round of Asia’s qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

That result left the Iraqis in third place in the standings in Group B, four points adrift of leaders South Korea and one behind the Jordanians.

Welcome to Baghdad ✔️

Our new Australian head coach Graham Arnold has arrived in the Iraqi capital! 🛬 pic.twitter.com/AH1IybroHv

— Iraq National Team (@IraqNT_EN) May 9, 2025

The top two finishers in each of Asia’s three qualifying groups advance automatically to the World Cup, while the teams in third and fourth place progress to another round of preliminaries.

Arnold’s first game in charge will be in Basra on June 5 against the South Koreans before he takes his new team to Amman to face Jordan five days later. Iraq are attempting to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

The appointment sees Arnold return to international management more than seven months after standing down as Australia’s head coach.

Arnold, who led the Australians to the knockout rounds of the 2022 World Cup during a six-year spell in charge, quit after an uninspired start to the current phase of qualifying when his side lost to Bahrain and drew with Indonesia in September.

He was replaced by Tony Popovic, the former Western Sydney Wanderers coach who has taken the Socceroos to second place in Group C of Asia’s qualifiers ahead of games against already qualified Japan and Saudi Arabia in June.

These are the key events on day 1,171 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Saturday, May 10:

Fighting

• Russia and Ukraine accused one another of violating a May 8-10 ceasefire that had been unilaterally declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
• The Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday that Ukrainian troops had made four attempts to smash through the border into the Kursk and Belgorod regions in the past week. It claimed that Kyiv’s troops attacked Russian forces 15 times during the ceasefire.
• In Belgorod, the local governor said a Ukrainian drone had attacked a government building on Friday. Pro-Russian war bloggers said Ukraine attacked multiple villages in the region, with further “high-intensity fighting” near Tetkino, a village in the Kursk region.
• Ukraine, which has called the ceasefire “a farce” and did not commit to abide by it, said late on Friday that 162 armed clashes had been recorded over the previous 24 hours, along with 22 air strikes and 956 drone attacks.
• Ukraine’s military said Russian forces had attempted to break through Ukrainian lines 51 times, with heavy fighting near Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in eastern Ukraine targeted by Moscow’s troops for months.
• The military administration of Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region said Russia killed three civilians in armed clashes on Thursday and Friday.
• The governor of Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhia region said Russia had hit eight Ukrainian front-line villages 220 times since the ceasefire went into effect on Thursday.
• Further attacks were reported in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson and the central Dnipropetrovsk region, with two people wounded.

Politics and diplomacy

• Putin hosted 20 foreign dignitaries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at a Red Square military parade on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

• United States President Donald Trump said on Friday he would like Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “get this stupid war finished” after calling for a “30-day unconditional ceasefire” the previous day.
• Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said a group of 10 northern European nations in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) coalition had agreed to support the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US, noting that a “concerted approach” was now being taken.
• Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said he spoke by telephone on Friday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials about the 30-day ceasefire proposal.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia’s position on Friday that it supports the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict, but only with due consideration of “nuances”.
• Foreign ministers from almost 20 European nations met in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, backing the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Putin and his officials for crimes of aggression.
• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by Interfax as saying Russia and the US plan another round of talks aimed at getting their respective diplomatic missions fully operational.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war was “just”, calling it an exercise of sovereign rights in defence of a “brother nation”, state media KCNA reported on Saturday.
• Ukraine and Hungary, whose relations have deteriorated amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are expelling two diplomats each after each side accused the other of engaging in espionage.

Pakistan postpones its Twenty20 league indefinitely, scrapping UAE relocation plan, as tension with India escalates.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has postponed its Pakistan Super League T20 cricket tournament following rising military tensions between India and Pakistan.

The PCB said it acted on advice from Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“Cricket, while being a unifying force and a source of joy, must take a respectful pause,” the PCB said in a statement on Friday evening.

The PCB had earlier confirmed that it would relocate the eight remaining PSL matches to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, citing growing concerns among overseas players and the need to prioritise their safety.

The latest announcement, however, said the PSL was being postponed and gave no indication of whether this year’s edition would resume.

The cities of Rawalpindi, Multan and Lahore had been scheduled to host the remaining PSL games.

On Thursday, an Indian drone fell inside the complex of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium hours before the start of a PSL game in which several cricketers from New Zealand, Australia, the West Indies, South Africa and England were due to compete.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the interior minister in the Pakistan government, held meetings with foreign cricketers and six franchise owners of the PSL before initially saying the tournament was being moved to Dubai.

England cricketer Sam Billings, New Zealand’s Colin Munro, South African Rilee Rossouw and Jason Holder of the West Indies were among 43 foreign cricketers competing in the PSL.

“We have sincere regard for the mental well-being of participating players and the sentiments of our foreign players, and we respect the concerns of their families who want to see them back home,” the PCB statement said.

The PSL, in its 10th edition, started in the UAE in 2016. The UAE hosted the first two editions of the PSL, except for the final in 2017, and also some of the games in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Munro’s Islamabad United are the defending champions in the six-team league. Rossouw’s Quetta Gladiators lead the points table and have already qualified for the playoff stage while Multan Sultans, led by Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, were eliminated after losing eight of their nine league games.

The three other teams are Peshawar Zalmi, captained by Babar Azam; Karachi Kings, skippered by Australian David Warner and Lahore Qalandars.

The Indian Premier League was suspended for a week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Friday, in a similar move amid the current tensions in the region.

BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon

Adesoji Kukoyi

BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon

You may also be interested in:

Getty Images/BBC

In the world of politics, there is always that seductive lie: “Security comes from the barrel of a gun.” It’s a lie that Benjamin Netanyahu has peddled for years under the guise of “defending Israel’s existence.” But perhaps the turning point in this game is today—when Netanyahu, Israel’s ever-hawkish prime minister, has not only failed to drag the weak and indecisive Joe Biden into a war with Iran but is now trying to pull Donald Trump—who turned “America First” into the banner of his foreign policy—into the same trap. Will Trump fall for it? And if he does, what will remain of his image as an independent and patriotic leader?

Even Biden Says “No”

Biden’s foreign policy has often been cold, cautious, and at times indecisive. In response to the Gaza war, attacks on U.S. facilities, and Iran’s regional maneuvers, Biden has shown half-hearted and sometimes nervous—but ultimately neutral—reactions. From Netanyahu’s perspective, Biden seemed like an “easy target”: an old and hesitant president who could perhaps be pushed with minimal effort into a military confrontation with Iran. But even Biden resisted Netanyahu’s war-driven agenda. He stood against Israel’s demand for a direct and extensive U.S. response to Iran’s proxy attacks and tried to prevent the conflict from spiraling into full-scale war. As a result, Netanyahu repeatedly had to declare on his own that if necessary, Israel would fight Iran alone. And now, in this new chapter, Netanyahu is eyeing an old option: Donald Trump.

Trump has repeatedly shown his unwillingness to drag America into endless Middle Eastern wars. While he withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and applied maximum pressure, he refrained from military retaliation during critical moments—like when an American drone was shot down over the Persian Gulf in 2019. The reason was clear: Trump genuinely believes that wars in the Middle East are costly for the American people and bring no tangible benefits to the citizens of Indiana, Pennsylvania, or Ohio. This view is especially popular among the white middle class—the heart of Trump’s voter base. For these voters, Trump was not a “war hero” but a leader of “internal rebuilding”—someone who was supposed to build walls on the Mexican border, not in the Persian Gulf.

Netanyahu’s Grand Trap: A War in Trump’s Name, A Defeat for Trump

Under these circumstances, Netanyahu’s push to entangle Trump in a conflict with Iran is not only a repetition of a dangerous pattern but also a direct threat to the image Trump has cultivated: an independent, anti-militarist leader serving the American people’s interests. If Trump gets pulled into such a war, how would he be any different from the neoconservatives of the 2000s who dragged Americans into the quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan? Imagine images of dead U.S. soldiers, skyrocketing military costs, severe oil price fluctuations, rising inflation, and, most importantly, the collapse of the “America First” doctrine. This is exactly the scenario that Democrats—and some traditional Republicans—are waiting for to derail Trump’s momentum.

What Netanyahu Wants: Power Without Cost, War With Someone Else’s Signature

What Netanyahu wants is clear: he wants the U.S. to bear the political, military, and human costs of a war with Iran, while Israel plays the role of the “victimized observer.” Time and again, Netanyahu has shown he has no problem with war—as long as others fight it for him. From George W. Bush to Biden, from Obama to Trump, Netanyahu has always tried to align Washington with Tel Aviv’s objectives. But here’s the issue: if Trump accepts this game, he will no longer be the leader who sets his own rules. He’ll be just another pawn in the regional chessboard designed by Israel.

Conclusion: Netanyahu’s War, Trump’s Downfall?

Netanyahu fears even a symbolic agreement between Trump and Iran—an agreement that could eliminate the constant threat of war from the Middle East equation and diminish Israel’s role as the “frontline in the battle against evil.” But the real danger is not for Netanyahu—it’s for Trump himself. If Trump yields to Netanyahu’s pressure and enters into conflict, his political legacy will suffer a devastating blow. In fact, a war with Iran is precisely what Trump’s opponents need to destroy his image as an independent, America-centered, and rational leader. If even a passive Biden didn’t fall for this trap, perhaps Trump’s greatest leadership test is this: saying no to a temptation that appears powerful—but in reality, destroys his very identity.

Tensions are higher between India and Pakistan than they have been in decades as the two countries trade blame for drone attacks on each other’s territory over the past few days. At the heart of the dispute is what India claims is Pakistan’s support for armed separatist groups operating in Kashmir, a region disputed between the two countries.

An armed group called The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month in which 26 people were killed. India alleges that TRF is an offshoot of another Pakistan-based armed group, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and has blamed Pakistan for supporting such groups.

Pakistan has denied this. It condemned the attack in April and called for an independent investigation.

Here is more about who the armed groups are and the major attacks they’ve claimed or been blamed for.

The TRF emerged in 2019 following the Indian government’s suspension of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, stripping Indian-administered Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status.

However, the group was not widely known before the Pahalgam attack, which it took responsibility for in April via the Telegram messaging app, on which it said it was opposed to the granting of residency permits to “outsiders”.

Since the repeal of Article 370, non-Kashmiris have been granted residency permits to settle in Indian-administered Kashmir. This has stoked fears that the Indian government is trying to change the demographics of Kashmir, whose population is nearly all Muslim.

Unlike other armed rebel groups in Kashmir, the TRF does not have an Islamic name.

However, the Indian government maintains that it is an offshoot of, or a front for, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based armed group whose name means “Army of the Pure”.

In 2020, TRF started claiming responsibility for minor attacks, including some targeted killings. TRF recruits included rebels from different splinter rebel groups. Indian security agents say they have arrested multiple TRF members since then.

According to Indian government records, most armed fighters killed in gunfights in Kashmir were affiliated with the TRF in 2022.

The LeT, which calls for the “liberation” of Indian-administered Kashmir, was founded around 1990 by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is also known as Hafiz Saeed.

In 2008, armed gunmen opened fire on civilians at several sites in Mumbai, India, killing 166 people. Ajmal Kasab, the only attacker captured alive, said the attackers were members of LeT. Saeed denied any involvement in that attack, however. Kasab was executed by India in 2012.

India also blamed Pakistani intelligence agencies for the attack. While Pakistan conceded that the attack may have been partly planned on Pakistani soil, it maintained that its government and intelligence agencies were not involved.

According to the United Nations, LeT was also involved in a 2001 attack on India’s parliament and a 2006 attack on Mumbai commuter trains that killed 189 people. 

On May 7, India launched missile attacks on several cities in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. One of these cities was Muridke in the Punjab province. India claims that Muridke was the location of the headquarters of the Jamat-ud-Dawa, a charity organisation that New Delhi insists is a front for the LeT.

Last week, the Indian army claimed it had struck LeT’s Markaz Taiba camp in Muridke. The army also claimed Kasab had been trained at this camp.

Pakistan says LeT has been banned, however. Following an attack on Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pulwama in 2019, Pakistan also reimposed a lapsed ban on Jamat-ud-Dawa. Saeed was arrested in 2019 and is in the custody of the Pakistani government, serving a 31-year prison sentence after being convicted in two “terror financing” cases.

Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), or “The Army of Muhammad”, was formed around 2000 by Masood Azhar, who had been released from Indian prison in 1999.

Azhar, who had been arrested on “terrorism” charges, was released in exchange for 155 hostages being held by hijackers of an Indian Airlines plane.

Azhar previously fought under the banner of a group called Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, which calls for Kashmir to be united with Pakistan, and has been linked to al-Qaeda.

According to the UN Security Council, JeM has also had links with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Pakistan banned JeM in 2002 after the group, alongside LeT, was blamed for an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001.

The British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was convicted of killing US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, was also a member of JeM. Pearl was the Wall Street Journal’s South Asia bureau chief. However, a 2011 report released by the Pearl Project at Georgetown University following its own investigation claimed that Pearl had not been murdered by Sheikh. The report instead alleged that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks, was responsible. In 2021, a panel of three judges at Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered Sheikh’s release.

Despite the ban, Indian authorities claim the group continues to operate in Bahawalpur, in Pakistan’s Punjab province. On May 7, the Indian army claimed its strikes had also targeted the headquarters of JeM there.

In 2019, JeM claimed a suicide bomb attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Azhar has been arrested by Pakistani authorities twice, but was released and has never been charged. He has since disappeared from the public eye and his current whereabouts are not known.

Hizbul-ul-Mujahideen

Hizbul-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), or “Party of Holy Fighters” was formed in 1989 by Kashmiri separatist leader Muhammad Ahsan Dar.

The group emerged out of the 1988 protests in Kashmir against the Indian government. The group, also called Hizb, has become the largest Indigenous rebel group based in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Rather than calling for independence, HuM calls for the whole of Kashmir to be allowed to accede to Pakistan.

The group has a huge network of fighters in Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama districts in the south of Indian-administered Kashmir.

In 2016, the killing of popular HuM commander Burhan Wani triggered widespread protests in Indian-administered Kashmir, resulting in a crackdown by Indian security forces.

The following year, the US designated HuM as a “foreign terrorist organisation” and placed sanctions on the group.

HuM leader Riyaz Naikoo spoke to Al Jazeera in 2018. “It is the nature of the occupying Indian state that has compelled us to resort to violent methods of resistance,” he said.

When asked what the group’s demands were, Naikoo said: “Our demand is very simple – freedom. Freedom, for us, means the complete dismantling of India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir and all the structures that support it, be they military or economic.”

He added that the group considers Pakistan an “ideological and moral friend” because “Pakistan is the only country which has consistently supported our cause and raised the concerns of Kashmiri freedom struggle at international forums”.

The incident comes days after Oman said it mediated a ceasefire deal between the US and the Houthi group.

Air raid sirens were heard in Israel as a missile was launched towards the territory by Yemen’s Houthis, who say they are retaliating against Israeli sites in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel’s military said it intercepted the projectile on Friday using its air defence systems.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from the missile attack, according to a military statement.

The incident came days after Oman said it mediated a ceasefire deal between the United States and the Houthis, with the Yemeni group saying the agreement did not include Israel.

Houthi rebels fired a “hypersonic ballistic missile” towards Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, while also claiming a drone attack “targeting a vital Israeli enemy target” in the same area, according to the group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree.

Israeli media reported that air raid sirens were sounded in several areas across central Israel, with people receiving early warning mobile messages about the missile attack.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would respond forcefully in Yemen and “wherever necessary”, describing the Houthi missiles as “Iranian”.

‘Going to strike back’

“The Israeli defence minister has released some comments saying that Israel is going to strike back with full force,” said Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, Jordan. “But these comments aren’t really surprising because we’ve heard them from Israel Katz previously when the Houthis had launched any sort of ballistic missile towards Israel.”

However, “this time it’s a little bit different because earlier in the week one of those missiles actually made impact … at quite a strategic location at the main airport inside of central Israel,” Salhut said.

Friday’s missile sent thousands of people “running towards shelters and safe rooms”, she added.

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his country would stop bombing Yemen as the Houthis had agreed to stop their attacks on US ships in the Red Sea.

But the Houthis have continued to fire missiles and drones towards Israel, most of which the Israeli military says it has intercepted, without casualties or serious damage occurring.

The Houthis have attacked numerous vessels in the Red Sea linked to Israel and its allies in what they state is an act of solidarity with Palestine.

According to Israeli media, the Houthi group has launched 28 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones at Israel since March 18, when Israel resumed its genocidal war on Gaza.

Israel has been waging a devastating war on the enclave since October 2023, killing more than 50,000 Palestinians, after a Hamas-led attack into southern Israel that month.