St. John Island, United States: Hurricane Maria slammed into the US Virgin Islands Tuesday, lashing the archipelago with rain as Puerto Rico braced for the Category Five storm’s expected landfall on Wednesday.
On St. John Island, which was also battered by Hurricane Irma two weeks ago, locals reported seeing trees dramatically swaying in swirling winds, with rain pouring “sideways.”
Judi Buckley, former senator for St. Croix Island, traveled to St. John from her South Carolina home to help with the Irma relief effort — only to get caught up in Maria.
“Rain is coming through sideways and the trees are swaying,” she told AFP.
“We have become the Irma relief hub and our brothers and sisters across the pond can’t afford for us to be crippled,” she said, referring to those on St. Croix.
Maria’s 160 mile (255 kilometer) per hour winds had already roared into the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica Tuesday, with official communications to the island completely cut off in the wake of the storm.
“We have lost all what money can buy and replace,” Dominica’s premier Roosevelt Skerrit posted on Facebook.
But amateur radio operators on the island, home to 72,000 people, have been able to get word out about Maria’s impact — with some reporting downed trees and roofs of homes blown off.
Both a team of Trinidian authorities and a Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency team had to abort rescue and rehabilitation operations to Dominica due to continued intense winds. Both teams hoped to fly out Wednesday instead.
The US National Hurricane Center warned of a “potentially catastrophic” impact as Maria churned northwest toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico Tuesday — with Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello describing it as “the worst storm of the last century.”
US President Donald Trump vowed “help” to the island’s residents on Twitter, writing “Puerto Rico being hit hard by new monster Hurricane. Be careful, our hearts are with you- will be there to help!“
Maria lashes US Virgin Islands as Puerto Rico prepares for impact
Maria lashes US Virgin Islands as Puerto Rico prepares for impact
Indian army says talks with Pakistan’s military operations chief delayed
- There were no reports of explosions or projectiles overnight, with Indian army saying Sunday was first peaceful night in recent days
- Before ceasefire on Saturday, Pakistan and India had fought with missiles and drones during four days of intense confrontation last week
ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan have delayed until Monday evening talks between their military operations chiefs to discuss the next steps after a ceasefire, the Indian army said, as New Delhi reopened airports and shares rose in the nuclear-armed rivals.
A fragile 48-hour-old truce appeared to be holding on Monday after both sides blamed the other for initial violations on Saturday night, hours after the US-brokered deal was first announced. There were no reports of explosions or projectiles overnight, after some initial ceasefire violations, with the Indian Army saying Sunday was the first peaceful night in recent days along their de facto Line of Control border.
Saturday’s ceasefire followed four days of intense fighting with drones and missiles and gun fire exchanges across the Line of Control that divides the disputed Kashmir valley into parts administered by India and Pakistan. Dozens were reported killed.
The Indian army said on Monday both sides’ director generals of military operations would speak by telephone in the evening, a delay from an initial timing of noon (0630 GMT), but gave no reason.
“In spite of some minor damage, all our military bases and systems continue to remain fully operational,” India’s director general of air operations, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, told a media briefing.
A day earlier, Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the director general of military operations, said India’s armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir.
At a televised news conference on Sunday, Pakistan military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan’s armed forces targeted a total of 26 Indian military installations in response to India’s missile strikes which were launched before dawn Wednesday.
He said the military had vowed it would respond to the Indian aggression, and it has fulfilled its commitment to the nation. Sharif warned that any threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty or territorial integrity would be met with a “comprehensive, retributive, and decisive” response.
He said Pakistan exercised “maximum restraint” during the counterstrike, employing medium-range missiles and other munitions, and that no civilian areas were targeted inside India.
MARKETS INCH UP
Pakistan halted trading on Monday for an hour after its benchmark share index rose nearly 9 percent, having recovered most of its losses in the past three sessions after India’s first strikes last Wednesday.
Late on Friday, the International Monetary Fund approved a fresh $1.4-billion loan to Pakistan under its climate resilience fund and approved the first review of its $7 billion program.
Pakistan’s benchmark share index closed up 9.4 percent on Monday, while India’s blue-chip Nifty 50 index closed 3.8 percent higher in its best session since February 2021.
Before the ceasefire took hold on Saturday, the arch rivals had targeted each other’s military installations with missiles and drones, as relations turned sour after India blamed Pakistan for a militant attack that killed 26 tourists on Apr. 22. Pakistan denies the accusations and has called for a neutral investigation.
Saturday’s truce was first announced by US President Donald Trump. US officials also said the two nations had agreed to hold talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site though no date has been announced yet.
Kashmir has been a bone of contention between the two countries since independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Both countries claim the Muslim-majority region in full but govern only parts of it. They have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over the disputed territory.
Islamabad has thanked Washington for facilitating Saturday’s ceasefire and welcomed Trump’s offer to mediate on the Kashmir dispute with India but New Delhi has not commented on US involvement in the truce or talks at a neutral site.
- With inputs from Reuters
Quinta Brunson opts for Lebanese gown in Los Angeles
DUBAI: Emmy-winning actress, comedian and writer Quinta Brunson showed off a gown by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad at the 14th Annual Spring Break Gala by City Year Los Angeles.
Founded in 1988, City Year is a national service program that offers full-time community service. This weekend, the Los Angeles chapter held its annual gala, which was attended by the likes of US actress and film producer Viola Davis and “Abbott Elementary” sitcom creator Brunson.
Brunson’s column gown hailed from Zuhair Murad’s Pre-Fall 2025 collection. The look featured star-like embellishments across the torso, bust and cuffs.
It is not the first time Brunson has worn a Lebanese creation on the red carpet — in September, she showed off a mermaid sculpted gown from Lebanese designer Georges Chakra’s Fall/Winter 2024-2025 couture collection at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, Murad has continued to attract celebrity clientele to his eveningwear label.
In late April, Murad made a statement at the 2025 Time 100 Gala with US actress Blake Lively, as well as singer and songwriter Nicole Scherzinger, showcasing his creations on the red carpet.
Lively, who attended the event with her husband Ryan Reynolds, wore a pink taffeta off-the-shoulder gown featuring a corseted bodice and a train detail from Murad’s ready-to-wear Spring 2025 collection.
Scherzinger, meanwhile, chose a black off-the-shoulder sequin gown from Murad’s ready-to-wear Pre-Fall 2025 collection.
One month earlier, Murad unveiled his latest collaboration with Italian label Marina Rinaldi. Murad designed the brand’s Spring/Summer 2025 capsule collection inspired by China’s Tang dynasty.
Drawing from the dynasty’s introduction of peony cultivation in imperial gardens, Murad infused the collection with images of the flower.
The collection focuses largely on eveningwear.
“Grand evening gowns go beyond the pure object, they are a way of investing in one’s personal history,” the designer said in a released statement. True to his signature style, the collection features hourglass silhouettes and intricate hand-embroidered details.
The collection’s color palette mirrors another element of Tang dynasty artistry — delicate chinaware. Soft shades of cream, sky blue, aquamarine green and pink infuse the flowing chiffon gowns, pleated bodices and long plisse skirts.
Saudi Arabia aiming to drive up food exports, non-oil trade with China
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia is pushing to expand food exports to China and attract agricultural investment with a ministerial visit that aims to deepen bilateral trade and boost non-oil economic cooperation.
Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley has begun an official visit to China, heading a high-level delegation to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of environment, water, and food production.
The trip also focuses on boosting exports — particularly of over 20 new local food products— facilitating knowledge exchange, and promoting sustainable development and trade growth between the two countries, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports to China soared to SR3.68 billion ($980 million) in December, representing a 69.6 percent increase from the previous month, according to recent data from the General Authority for Statistics.
The SPA report said the minister’s visit “forms part of broader efforts to deepen Saudi-Chinese relations, attract strategic investments to the Kingdom, and explore mutual opportunities in the environment, water, agriculture, and livestock production sectors.”
Al-Fadley is scheduled to meet with Chinese ministers, senior officials, and leaders of major companies operating in key sectors.
The discussions will focus on exploring future partnership opportunities, transferring advanced technologies, and opening new opportunities in the Saudi market.
Al-Fadley will also participate in the Saudi-Chinese Forum on exporting Saudi products and sustaining the agricultural sector. The forum will bring together senior government and private sector representatives from both countries, including more than 80 Saudi businesspeople and investors.
GASTAT figures showed that in December, plastic and rubber products led Saudi exports to China with a value of SR1.12 billion, followed by chemical goods at SR1.11 billion and transport equipment at SR1.02 billion.
The Kingdom’s non-oil shipments to China stood at SR2.17 billion in November, SR2.35 billion in October, and SR1.73 billion in September, reflecting a steady upward trend.
This sustained growth highlights the deepening economic ties between Riyadh and Beijing, with Saudi Arabia maintaining its role as China’s top trading partner in the Middle East since 2001.
The increase in non-oil exports also signals tangible progress in the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts, as it works to reduce its longstanding dependence on oil revenues.
UK veterans break silence on ‘barbaric’ killings in Iraq, Afghanistan
- Unlawful executions ‘became routine,’ ex-special forces members tell BBC
- Veteran: ‘Everyone knew. There was implicit approval for what was happening’
LONDON: British special forces allegedly carried out a pattern of war crimes going back more than a decade to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, former members have told the BBC.
Breaking years of silence to provide eyewitness accounts to the “Panorama” investigative program, multiple veterans reported that their colleagues had killed people in their sleep, executed detainees — including children — and planted weapons to justify the murders.
The two units at the center of the reports are the British Army’s Special Air Service and Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service, the country’s top special forces units.
One SAS veteran who served in Afghanistan said: “They handcuffed a young boy and shot him. He was clearly a child, not even close to fighting age.”
The eyewitness accounts relate to allegations of war crimes that took place more than a decade ago, far longer than the scope of a public inquiry into the allegations now being carried out in the UK, which is examining a three-year period.
The SAS veteran told “Panorama” that the execution of detainees by British special forces “became routine.”
Soldiers would “search someone, handcuff them, then shoot them,” before “planting a pistol” by the body, he added.
British and international law only permits deliberate killing when enemy combatants pose a direct threat to the lives of troops or other people.
An SBS veteran told the program that some troops suffered from a “mob mentality,” causing them to behave “barbarically.”
He added: “I saw the quietest guys switch, show serious psychopathic traits. They were lawless. They felt untouchable.”
The “Panorama” investigation includes witness testimony from more than 30 people who served with or alongside British special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Another SAS veteran said: “Sometimes we’d check we’d identified the target, confirm their ID, then shoot them. Often the squadron would just go and kill all the men they found there.”
Killing became “an addictive thing to do,” another SAS Afghanistan veteran said, adding that some soldiers in the elite regiment were “intoxicated by that feeling.”
He said: “On some operations, the troops would go into guesthouse-type buildings and kill everyone there.
“They’d go in and shoot everyone sleeping there, on entry. It’s not justified, killing people in their sleep.”
One veteran recalled an execution in Iraq, saying: “It was pretty clear from what I could glean that he posed no threat, he wasn’t armed. It’s disgraceful. There’s no professionalism in that.”
Awareness of the alleged war crimes was not confined to individual units or teams, veterans told “Panorama.”
Within the command structure of the British special forces, “everyone knew” what was taking place, one veteran said.
“I’m not taking away from personal responsibility, but everyone knew,” he added. “There was implicit approval for what was happening.”
In order to cover up the killings, some SAS and SBS members went as far as carrying “drop weapons,” such as Kalashnikovs, to plant at the scene of executions.
These would be photographed alongside the dead and included in post-operational reports, which were often falsified.
One veteran said: “We understood how to write up serious incident reviews so they wouldn’t trigger a referral to the military police.
“If it looked like a shooting could represent a breach of the rules of conflict, you’d get a phone call from the legal adviser or one of the staff officers in HQ.
“They’d pick you up on it and help you to clarify the language. ‘Do you remember someone making a sudden move?’ ‘Oh yeah, I do now.’ That sort of thing. It was built into the way we operated.”
The investigation also revealed that David Cameron, UK prime minister at the time of the alleged war crimes, was repeatedly warned about the killings by then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
He “consistently, repeatedly mentioned this issue,” former Afghan National Security Adviser Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta told the program.
Gen. Douglas Lute, a former US ambassador to NATO, said Karzai was “so consistent with his complaints about night raids, civilian casualties and detentions that there was no senior Western diplomat or military leader who would have missed the fact that this was a major irritant for him.”
In response to the gathering of new witness testimony by “Panorama,” the UK’s Ministry of Defense said it is “fully committed” to supporting the public inquiry into the alleged war crimes. It urged all veterans with knowledge relating to the allegations to come forward.
Normalcy slowly returns to Azad Kashmir as ceasefire holds
- India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after exchanging drone, artillery and missile attacks
- Residents return to homes near contested border in Azad Kashmir but remain skeptical of lasting peace
CHAKOTHI, AZAD KASHMIR: Shops began reopening in Azad Kashmir on Sunday (May 11) after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire along their contested border, but residents expressed doubts about how long the peace would last without a political solution to the decades-old Kashmir dispute.
The border town of Chakothi, which had borne the brunt of recent cross-border shelling, showed tentative signs of normalcy as shopkeepers returned to assess damage and restart businesses. Many residents who had fled the violence remained hesitant to return.
“We’ll restart business but it will take time,” said Shabbir Abbasi, a shopkeeper and head of the local traders’ union. “People won’t come back until there’s a proper ceasefire agreement.”
The nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to stop cross-border firing in Kashmir, but locals said temporary truces were not enough.
“The Kashmir issue must be resolved now if they want real peace,” Abbasi told Reuters.
Some residents welcomed the pause in violence but remained skeptical.
“A ceasefire is good, but talks to resolve Kashmir would be better,” said Mohammad Aslam, a Chakothi resident.
Muhammad Munir noted that people don’t rely much on ceasefire agreements.
“Today there is a ceasefire but by evening there may be firing here,” he said. “That’s why people don’t rely on this too much, they don’t think this is a final thing.”
Hafiz Muhammad Shah Bukhari, a resident of district Poonch in India, was also happy at the cessation of hostilities.
“There is a lot of joy in the village [after ceasefire],” he said. “Personally, I am very thankful to Allah. It is a very good decision that the shelling has stopped.”
Saturday’s ceasefire marks the temporary end to fighting that started on Wednesday (May 7), two weeks after 26 men were killed in an attack targeting Hindus in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir.
