NEW DELHI, May 30 – India will use the firepower of its navy in response to any future aggression by Pakistan, India’s defence minister said on Friday, weeks after the fiercest fighting in decades between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Relations between India and Pakistan are tense after four days of fighting this month, which involved fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery before a ceasefire was announced.

“If Pakistan resorts to anything evil or unethical, it will, this time, face the firepower and ire of the Indian Navy,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant off the coast of the western Indian state of Goa.

A spokesperson for Pakistan’s military referred Reuters to a May 12 statement, which said there would be a “comprehensive and decisive” response whenever Pakistan’s sovereignty was “threatened and territorial integrity violated”.

The latest fighting erupted after 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, were killed in an April 22 attack in Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan territory claimed by both nations. New Delhi blamed the attack on “terrorists” backed by Pakistan, which denied the charge.

A ceasefire took effect on May 10 and a top Pakistani military official told Reuters on Friday that both countries were close to reducing their troop build-up along their border to pre-conflict levels.

The Indian Navy has said it deployed its carrier battle group, submarines and other aviation assets in the northern Arabian Sea within 96 hours of the April 22 attack.

Defence Minister Singh said ‘Operation Sindoor’, under which India launched the strikes on Pakistan, was paused, but not yet over.

“We stopped our military actions on our own terms. Our forces had not even started showing their might,” he said.

REUTERS

KANO – The death toll in central Nigeria flash floods has risen to 36 after rescuers recovered more bodies, an emergency services spokesman told AFP Friday.

Flooding after torrential rains late on Wednesday washed away more than 50 homes in the city of Mokwa in central Niger state, drowning residents with many missing, according to the Niger state emergency management agency (SEMA).

“As at this morning, 11 more bodies were recovered in addition to the 25 found earlier, which brings the number of fatalities to 36 so far,” Ibrahim Audu Husseini, SEMA spokesman said.

Teams of rescuers continued to search for missing residents into Friday.

“We expect the toll to rise considerably because there are different rescuers at different locations,” Husseini said.

Nigeria’s rainy season, which usually lasts six months, is just getting started for the year.

Scientists warn that climate change is already fueling more extreme weather patterns.

Flooding, usually caused by heavy rains and poor infrastructure, wreaks havoc every year, killing hundreds of people across the west African country.

In Nigeria, the floods are exacerbated by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways, and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday.

In 2024, more than 1,200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in at least 31 out of Nigeria’s 36 states, making it one of the country’s worst floods in decades, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.

AN-AFP

BEIJING, May 30 – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted southwest of Africa at 0536 GMT on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 53.31 degrees south latitude and 9.16 degrees east longitude.

XINHUA

SYDNEY, May 30 – Two men have been hospitalized with severe burns after an arson attack on a business in Brisbane, Australia.

The two men, aged 47 and 54, were seriously injured when the business in the southern Brisbane suburb of Browns Plains was engulfed in fire around 12:15 am on Friday.

The police service in the state of Queensland said in a statement that emergency services arrived at the scene and found the two men fleeing the property with severe burns.

Police were told that a separate group of unknown males had entered the premises and poured a substance inside before setting it on fire.

The two men who suffered burns were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Nine Network television reported that the business was a tobacco store and that the two men were sleeping in the premises to protect it.

The Queensland Police Service said that a crime scene has been established at the premises and investigations into the fire have begun.

XINHUA

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico – The bodies of five musicians, members of a Mexican regional music group who had gone missing, were found in the northern city of Reynosa along the Texas border, authorities said on Thursday.

The musicians from the band Grupo Fugitivo, which played at parties and local dances in the region, had been reported missing since Sunday.

Tamaulipas state prosecutors, who had been investigating their disappearance, said the men were kidnapped around 10 p.m. that night while traveling in a SUV on the way to a venue where they were hired to play. Their bodies were found on the fringes of Reynosa. Prosecutors said nine suspects believed to be part of a faction of the Gulf Cartel, which has strong presence in the city, have been arrested.

Authorities were not immediately able to say why the men were slain, and did not deny reports by local media that the bodies had been burned.

The genre they played – Mexican regional music, which encapsulates a wide range of styles including corridos and cumbia – has in recent years gained a spotlight as it’s entered a sort of international musical renaissance. Young artists sometimes pay homage to leaders of drug cartels, often portrayed as Robin Hood-type figures.

It was not immediately clear if the group played such songs or if the artists were simply victims of rampant cartel violence that has eclipsed the city. But other artists have faced death threats by cartels, while others have had their visas stripped by the United States under accusations by the Trump administration that they were glorifying criminal violence.

The last time the musicians were heard from was the night they were kidnapped, when they told family members they were on the way to the event. After that, nothing else was heard of them.

Their disappearance caused an uproar in Tamaulipas, a state long eclipsed by cartel warfare. Their families reported the disappearances, called on the public for support and people took to the streets in protest.

On Wednesday, protesters blocked the international bridge connecting Reynosa and Pharr, Texas, later going to a local cathedral to pray and make offerings to the disappeared.

Reynosa is a Mexican border city adjacent to the United States and has been plagued by escalating violence since 2017 due to internal disputes among groups vying for control of drug trafficking, human smuggling and fuel theft.

This case follows another that occurred in 2018, when armed men kidnapped two members of the musical group “Los Norteños de Río Bravo,” whose bodies were later found on the federal highway connecting Reynosa to Río Bravo, Tamaulipas.

AP

NEW YORK, May 29 – The independent board of Ben & Jerry’s said the conflict in Gaza is a genocide, escalating a bitter feud between the ice cream maker and its longtime London-based corporate parent Unilever.

“Ben & Jerry’s believes in human rights and advocates for peace, and we join with those around the world who denounce the genocide in Gaza,” the board said in a statement viewed by Reuters.

“We stand with all who raise their voices against genocide in Gaza – from petition-signers to street marchers to those risking arrest.”

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have been at odds since at least 2021 when the Chubby Hubby ice cream maker said it would stop selling in the Israel-occupied West Bank.

Ben & Jerry’s sued its owner last year over its alleged attempts to silence it on Gaza and criticize U.S. President Donald Trump. Its statement on Gaza is unusual for a major U.S. brand.

A Unilever spokesperson said that the comments reflect the views of the independent social mission board of Ben & Jerry’s, and they do not speak for anyone other than themselves.

“We call for peace in the region and for relief for all those whose lives have been impacted,” the spokesperson said.

Unilever asked a U.S. judge to dismiss Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit. The company is also in the process of separating out its ice cream business, including Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s, to an independent company this summer.

Ben & Jerry’s has said its year 2000 merger agreement with Unilever gave its independent board “primary responsibility” to pursue the company’s social mission. The crux of the dispute between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever is how much leeway the board actually has.

REUTERS

May 30 – Ukrainian drones launched a night-time attack on Russia’s western Kursk region, damaging a hospital and apartment buildings and injuring at least one person, the regional governor said early on Friday.

Across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region, the regional governor reported fresh fighting in villages near the border where Russia has been seizing territory. He said various areas in his region were constantly changing hands.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to create a buffer zone in Sumy, which was used to help launch Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk last year.

In the Kursk region, where Russia’s military says Ukrainian forces who staged the incursion last August have been ejected, Governor Alexander Khinshtein said Ukrainian drones swarmed the main town, also called Kursk.

“Drone fragments damaged the No. 1 city hospital in Kursk. Windows were smashed. Fortunately, no patients were injured,” Khinshtein wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Falling drone fragments have also damaged high-rise apartment buildings.”

Ukraine’s military says its forces remain active in small areas of Kursk region.

Authorities in Sumy region, under constant Russian attack for months, acknowledged this week that Russian forces were in control of at least four villages near the border.

“Active battles continue in certain border areas, notably around the settlements of Khotyn and Yunakivka,” Governor Oleh Hryhorov wrote on Facebook.

“The situation on the line of contact is constantly changing. In some places, we hold the initiative, in others the enemy is proving to be active.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry on Thursday said its forces had captured three more villages as it slowly advances through parts of eastern Ukraine.
These were Stroivka in northeastern Kharkiv region, where Moscow has long been applying pressure, and Shevchenko Pershe and Hnativka near the town of Pokrovsk, the focal point of Russia’s westward drive for months.

Ukrainian military reports have made no acknowledgement of any of the three villages coming under Russian control. A statement on Thursday evening said Russian forces had launched 53 attacks over 24 hours near Pokrovsk.

REUTERS

SAN FRANCISCO, May 29 – Seven people were shot and wounded Wednesday evening at Harry Todd Park, a suburb of Tacoma, U.S. state of Washington, the police said Thursday.

Three of the victims remain in critical condition, the police said.

At the time of the shooting, more than 100 people were in the park.

Investigators have not determined the number of shooters involved or whether the victims were deliberately targeted. No arrests have been made, according to the police.

XINHUA

ABUJA, May 29 – At least 21 bodies have been recovered and 10 others remain missing after torrential rainfalls triggered severe flooding in Nigeria’s north-central state of Niger, local authorities said Thursday.

Ibrahim Hussaini, head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, told reporters that three people were rescued after the torrential downpour late Wednesday caused widespread destruction in the Mokwa area.

More than 50 residential houses were submerged and swept away, some with occupants still inside, Hussaini said, adding that a rescue operation is underway for the 10 missing.

Earlier this week, Zubaida Umar, director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency, said efforts were underway to mitigate the impact of flooding across the country this year.

Speaking during a national sensitization campaign on flood preparedness, Umar urged all levels of government to invest in drainage systems, dams, and flood-resilient infrastructure in riverine areas.

XINHUA

BEIRUT, May 29 – Two people were killed on Thursday in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, the country’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

According to the report, an Israeli drone targeted the entrance of the Ali Al-Taher forest in the hills of Nabatieh Fawqa, killing municipal employee Mahmoud Atwi while he was riding a motorcycle on the way to perform duties.

Another person was killed from Israeli gunfire on the village of Kafr Kila, according to the NNA.

Since Nov. 27, 2024, a ceasefire agreement has been in effect between Hezbollah and Israel, ending the hostilities triggered by the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the agreement, the Israeli army occasionally carries out strikes in Lebanon, claiming they are aimed at eliminating Hezbollah “threats.” Israel has also maintained a military presence at five key positions along the Lebanese border, even after the February 18 deadline for its full withdrawal.

XINHUA

WASHINGTON, May 29 – The White House said on Thursday that Israel has signed off on a 60-day Gaza ceasefire proposal as Israeli army continues its military actions in the war-torn area.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed at a press briefing that U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump “submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported.”

“Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas. I can also confirm that those discussions are continuing, and we hope that a ceasefire in Gaza will take place so we can return all of the hostages home,” said Leavitt.

“I won’t comment further, as we are in the midst of this right now,” she added.

An Israeli official and a U.S. source familiar with the case confirmed that the proposed deal includes not only the 60-day ceasefire but also plans to release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 dead hostages, CBS News reported.

Hamas said Thursday that its leadership had received a new Gaza ceasefire proposal from Witkoff through the mediators and was studying it.

“The Hamas leadership has received Witkoff’s new proposal from the mediators and is responsibly studying it in a way that serves the interests of our people, provides relief, and achieves a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said in a brief statement.

XINHUA

ISLAMABAD, May 29 – Five terrorists were killed in two separate intelligence-based operations in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, the military said on Thursday.

The operations were conducted in Loralai and Kech districts of the province on Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement.

During the operation in Loralai, four terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces, the ISPR said. Weapons, ammunition, and explosives were recovered from the scene.

In a separate operation in Kech district, one more terrorist was neutralized, the statement added.

The ISPR said the terrorists were affiliated with a banned outfit and had been involved in several terrorist activities, including deadly ambushes on passenger vehicles along the N-70 highway in the Rarasham area in August 2024 and February 2025, which claimed the lives of at least 30 civilians.

Sanitization operations are being carried out to eliminate the presence of other terrorists in the area.

The military said the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.

XINHUA, 29.5.2025

BISHKEK, May 29 – National security authorities in Kyrgyzstan have detained eight current and former employees of independent media outlet Kloop, their lawyers said, accusing them of inciting unrest amid a growing crackdown on media in the Central Asian country.

Five journalists from Kloop – known for its anti-corruption reporting – were arrested on Wednesday after authorities raided their homes and seized their electronic devices, lawyers for the people said. A further three people were arrested on Thursday.

They face charges of calling for mass unrest and disobeying government officials, which can incur up to 10 years in prison.

Daiyrbek Orunbekov, the head of the presidential administration, wrote on social media that the media workers had “spread false information” and had published material “directed against the state”.

A spokesman for the national security body declined comment.

Rinat Tukhvatshin, a co-founder of Kloop, said the government’s claims were fabricated.

Syinat Sultanalieva, a Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, condemned the detentions as “yet another example of the Kyrgyzstani authorities’ continued crackdown on freedom of speech and expression”.

Several of the people were released after hours of interrogation, while some are still in custody with no access to their lawyers.

Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, has historically enjoyed greater media freedom than its Central Asian neighbours.

However, under President Sadyr Japarov, who came to power in 2020, the government enacted a law prohibiting media and individuals from “discrediting” the authorities, providing a tool to suppress dissent.

Kloop, an independent outlet founded in 2007, was forced to shutter last year after state prosecutors filed a lawsuit arguing that its NGO publisher, Kloop Media, was not properly registered as a media organisation.

REUTERS

KAMPALA, May 29 – Six family members, including children, were killed in a fire outbreak in Uganda’s central district of Wakiso on Thursday.

Police said in a statement that the victims killed in the early hours of Thursday included a father, a mother, and their children aged between seven and 16.

According to police, residents heard a loud blast before rushing to offer assistance.

“However, the fire had already engulfed the house, making rescue efforts extremely difficult,” police said.

“Police were alerted, and the Fire Prevention and Rescue Services team responded swiftly, successfully containing the fire and preventing it from spreading to adjacent properties,” the statement added.

The bodies of the deceased have been conveyed to a city mortuary, with an investigation underway into the cause of the fire.

XINHUA

MADRID, May 29 – Three people were killed and three others injured on Thursday when a warehouse collapsed in the northern Spanish region of Asturias.

According to local emergency services, the incident occurred around 1 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) near Coana, a town of approximately 3,000 residents in the western part of the province. The roof of the warehouse, which was under construction on a livestock farm, suddenly gave way.

Police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the collapse.

A total of nine individuals were present at the site when the accident occurred. Three managed to escape uninjured, while one of the injured is reported to be in serious condition.

XINHUA

TUNIS, May 29 – Two people were killed and 27 others injured on Thursday morning in a traffic collision in Tunisia’s northwestern province of El Kef, the private radio station Jawhara FM reported.

A truck transporting female farmworkers collided with a light vehicle on the national highway between El Kef and Tunis in the Dar Essalem area, killing one female farmworker and the driver of the light vehicle, Jawhara FM quoted Moncef El Houani, regional director of public health in El Kef, as saying.

The injured have all been transported to the Kef Regional Hospital for treatment, four of whom require further medical attention, Jawhara FM reported.

XINHUA