CAIRO: Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir has met his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo, as the two countries look to repair ties that were recently frayed over an upstream Nile dam being built by Ethiopia.
At a joint press conference Monday, Al-Bashir and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi vowed to cooperate in managing the effects of the dam, which Egypt fears will cut into its share of the river. The Nile provides virtually all of Egypt’s freshwater, serving as a lifeline for the country’s 100 million people.
Tensions had risen in recent months, when Sudan appeared to take Ethiopia’s side in the dam negotiations and revived a longstanding border dispute with Egypt. Ethiopia has vowed to go ahead with the dam despite Egypt’s concerns, saying it is vital for the east African country’s development.
Egypt, Sudan vow to cooperate as Ethiopia builds Nile dam
Egypt, Sudan vow to cooperate as Ethiopia builds Nile dam
India urges restraint but remains ‘fully prepared’ amid tensions with Pakistan, army says
- Indian strikes were ‘measured, non-escalatory, responsible’ foreign secretary says
NEW DELHI: Indian forces are fully prepared to respond to any retaliation from Pakistan, an army spokeswoman said on Wednesday, after Delhi launched missile strikes on Pakistani sites that it said were linked to last month’s deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Indian Armed Forces launched “Operation Sindoor” in the early hours of Wednesday, hitting nine locations in Pakistan’s densely populated Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, from where it said “terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”
The strikes came amid heightened tensions between the rivaling neighbors in the aftermath of an attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, in which 26 people — 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen — were killed.
“India has demonstrated considerable restraint in its response. However, it must be said that the Indian armed forces are fully prepared to respond to Pakistani misadventures, if any, that will escalate the situation,” Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a joint briefing by the Indian military and Ministry of External Affairs in the Indian capital.
“Operation Sindoor was launched by Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of Pahalgam terror attack and their families.”
She said that Indian forces used niche technology weapons and carefully chose warheads to avoid collateral damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure, without providing more detail.
Sindoor, which refers to the vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women, is an apparent reference to the widows left by the April 22 attack, in which the victims were all men.
Indian officials showed footage of what they said were strikes on the targets in Pakistan during the Delhi briefing, as well as a map marking locations of what they said were “terror infrastructure.”
“Over the last three decades, Pakistan has systematically built terror infrastructure. It is a complex web of recruitment and indoctrination centers, training areas for initial and refresh of courses and launch pads for handlers. These camps are located both in Pakistan as well as Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir areas,” Singh said.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India’s actions were “measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.”
“They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India.”
He said the strikes were launched because there was “no demonstrable step” from Pakistan to “take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or on territory under its control” since the Pahalgam attack.
“Instead, all it has indulged in are denials and allegations. Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending,” he said.
Kashmir has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Both countries claim the Himalayan region in full and rule in part, and have fought two of their three wars over it.
Indian-administered Kashmir has for decades witnessed outbreaks of separatist insurgency to resist control from the government in Delhi, which accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants since 1989. Islamabad has denied those allegations, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.
A Pakistan military spokesperson said at least 26 civilians were killed in the Indian strikes on Wednesday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday the country’s top national security body had authorized its armed forces to take “corresponding actions” in response to the Indian strikes.
India and Pakistan have had near daily exchanges of fire across the de facto border, called the Line of Control, which divides disputed Kashmir between them.
On Wednesday morning, they also exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across much of the frontier, which reportedly killed and injured dozens of civilians on both sides.
EU takes Hungary to top court in migrant smuggler case
- The EU charged that no system was put in place to ensure smugglers were taken back into custody once expelled
- Brussels accuses Budapest of a failure to meet its obligations
BRUSSELS: The European Commission on Wednesday said it will take Hungary to the EU’s top court for breaching rules on combatting people-trafficking, in the latest showdown between Brussels and the nationalist government in Budapest.
Brussels launched legal action in 2023 after Budapest decided to release and expel several thousand jailed migrant traffickers on the grounds holding them in Hungarian prisons was a burden to the taxpayer.
An April 2023 decree by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government enabled the smugglers’ release — giving them three days to leave Hungary, theoretically with a view to serving out their sentences in their home country.
But the EU charged that no system was put in place to ensure smugglers were taken back into custody once expelled, and decided to refer Hungary to the European Court of Justice after it failed to address the concerns.
More than 2,400 people-smugglers had been released under the measure as of January this year, according to Hungarian government figures.
Brussels accuses Budapest of a failure to meet its obligations to “impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions” for migrant smuggling.
Hungary’s government has retorted that human traffickers can only operate because of European laws encouraging migration.
Brussels has repeatedly locked horns with Orban’s government over its tough line on migration — one of a long list of areas where the EU deems Budapest to be falling short of its democratic standards.
In June last year, the EU’s top court fined Hungary 200 million euros ($216 million) and imposed a daily one-million-euro penalty for illegally deporting migrants.
More broadly, billions of euros in EU funds are currently frozen over issues including the treatment of asylum seekers, LGBTQ rights, alleged corruption and the independence of academics.
Senior Tories urge Palestinian recognition in letter to UK PM
- Group of 7 MPs, 6 Lords peers break ranks with party over ‘opportunity for Britain to show leadership’
- It comes ahead of critical Saudi-French conference on 2-state solution next month
LONDON: A group of senior Conservative MPs and peers in the UK have broken ranks with their own party and called on the government to immediately recognize Palestine as a state.
In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer drafted in late March, seven MPs and six House of Lords peers urged the government to give formal recognition to Palestine, The Guardian reported.
It comes ahead of critical UN talks on the issue next month.
The letter, seen by The Guardian, was authored just after Israel broke its tenuous peace agreement with Hamas in March.
The breakdown in negotiations and peace efforts worsened this week after the Israeli cabinet approved plans to “conquer” and occupy almost all of the Gaza Strip.
Former government minister Kit Malthouse, from the moderate wing of the opposition Conservative Party, organized the letter.
It said: “For decades, the Palestinian people have endured occupation, displacement and systemic restrictions on their basic freedoms.
“Recognising Palestine would affirm our nation’s commitment to upholding the principles of justice, self-determination and equal rights. It would send a clear message that Britain stands against indefinite occupation and supports the Palestinian people’s legitimate aspirations.”
The letter was also signed by Conservatives associated with the right of the party, including John Hayes and Desmond Swayne.
Most countries with UN membership formally recognize Palestine as a state, but the US and the majority of European countries do not.
Saudi Arabia and France next month will host a conference to rally support for a two-state solution to the conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested that France could grant formal recognition to Palestine at the conference.
David Lammy, the British foreign secretary, said last week that the government was discussing its plans with France for the event in June.
Starmer is understood to not have replied to the Conservative letter.
Last year, David Cameron, the former prime minister, said that he wanted Palestinian recognition as part of peace negotiations with Israel, and not as a reward for the reaching of a two-state solution.
The letter sent to Starmer added: “Recognition should not be treated as a distant bargaining chip but as a necessary step to reinforce international law and diplomacy. Prime minister, we stand ready to offer our public support for this decision.
“This is an opportunity for Britain to show leadership, to be on the right side of history and to uphold the principles we claim to champion. More than 140 UN member states have already recognised Palestine — it is time for the United Kingdom to do the same.”
A government spokesperson told The Guardian that the UK remains committed to a two-state solution, highlighting recent talks between Starmer and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
Pakistan says armed forces authorized to undertake ‘corresponding actions’ after India strikes
- India says struck nine sites that served as militant recruitment centers, launchpads and indoctrination centers
- Pakistan army says at least six locations across its territory targeted, with 26 civilians killed and 46 injured
Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday the country’s top national security body had authorized its armed forces to take “corresponding actions” in response to Indian strikes inside Pakistani territory in which 26 civilians were killed overnight.
In the sharpest military escalation in more than two decades between the nuclear-armed rivals, the Indian government said it struck nine Pakistani "terrorist infrastructure" sites where a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 had been planned. The assault took place on the tourist hill station of Pahalgam in the part of Kashmir governed by India, with 26 men killed.
The Pakistani military said six locations across its territory - Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot, Shakargarh in the eastern province of Punjab and Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir - were targeted. Azad Kashmir is the part of the disputed Kashmir valley that is administered by Pakistan.
In response, Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said five Indian planes and one combat drone that had attacked Pakistan were shot down, naming three Rafales and an MiG-29 and Su-57 each.
“In consonance with Article-51 of the UN Charter, Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty,” PM Sharif’s office said in a statement after he chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee, referring to the right of self-defense according to Chapter VII, Article 51, of the UN Charter.
“The Armed Forces of Pakistan have duly been authorized to undertake corresponding actions in this regard.”
The statement added that India, “against all sanity and rationality, has once again ignited an inferno in the region,” saying the responsibility for ensuing consequences lay squarely with New Delhi.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said the Chargé d’Affaires had been summoned "to receive Pakistan’s strong protest over the unprovoked Indian strikes.”
“The Indian side was warned that such reckless behavior poses a serious threat to regional peace and stability.”
“Terrorist camps”
In New Delhi, two Indian military spokespersons told a briefing Indian forces had attacked facilities linked to militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistani officials say India only hit civilian infrastructure.
The strikes targeted "terrorist camps" that served as recruitment centers, launchpads, and indoctrination centers, and housed weapons and training facilities, the Indian spokespersons said.
They said Indian forces used niche technology weapons and carefully chose warheads to avoid collateral damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure, but did not elaborate on the specifics or methods used in the strikes.
"Intelligence and monitoring of Pakistan-based terror modules showed that further attacks against India were impending, therefore it was necessary to take pre-emptive and precautionary strikes," Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the top official in its external affairs ministry, told the briefing.
The joint briefing by the Indian military and foreign ministry listed past attacks in India blamed on Pakistan, with Misri saying Pakistan had not done anything to "terrorist infrastructure" after the Pahalgam attack, which triggered the latest standoff.
Pakistan had denied involvement in the attack and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had offered to be part of any credible and transparent investigation, which he reiterated in the latest statement by the NSC.
Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since 1947. Both rule it in part and claim it in full and have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants involved in a separatist insurgency in its part of Kashmir since 1989, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.
The current confrontation is reminiscent of the last major military standoff between the two nations in 2019, when an Indian airstrike in the northwestern town of Balakot was followed by Pakistani retaliatory action, including the downing of an Indian fighter jet and the capture of its pilot, who was later released in a gesture of goodwill.
On Wednesday morning, the South Asian neighbors also exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across much of their de facto border called the Line of Control, which divides disputed Kashmir between them.
The shelling across the frontier in Kashmir killed 10 civilians and injured 48 in the Indian part of the region, police there told media. At least six people were killed on the Pakistani side, Reuters reported, quoting officials.
Four local government sources in Indian-administered Kashmir told Reuters three fighter jets had crashed in separate areas of the Himalayan region during the night. Indian defense ministry officials have not officially confirmed the report.
(With input from Reuters)
Finnish fighter jet crashes in Arctic town, pilot ejected
- The road leading to the airport was closed to traffic, and police blocked access to the airport
ROVANIEMI : A Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet crashed Wednesday near the Rovaniemi airport in Finland’s Arctic north, but the pilot was rescued after ejecting, the armed forces said.
No details were available about the cause of the crash, which occurred “in the Rovaniemi airport area” around 11:00 am (0800 GMT), the military said.
Dark smoke could be seen rising from the scene and several emergency vehicles were dispatched to the area, public service broadcaster YLE said.
The road leading to the airport was closed to traffic, and police blocked access to the airport, it added.
Airport operator Finavia told AFP that it did not expect civilian flights to be affected by the accident for the time being, with the next flight not expected for several hours.
