GAZA - ISRAEL
Hamas issued a statement this morning saying that it was willing to release all hostages still in its hands in exchange for a five-year truce with Israel in Gaza. The Islamist movement, however, continues to reject the idea of disarmament, a condition set by the Netanyahu government for the end of the war. In the meantime, the UN is denouncing the worsening humanitarian situation in the territory, where no aid has entered since 2 March.
CHINA – UNITED STATES
Conflicting versions of contacts between China and the United States to find an agreement in the trade war continue. US President Donald Trump has insisted that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called him, despite Beijing denying any contact between the two countries. The world's two largest economies are engaged in an escalation triggered by Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, which have reached 145 per cent on many products. Beijing has responded with harsh countermeasures, but according to some sources it is quietly scrapping its 125 per cent retaliatory tariffs on some US goods, including semiconductors.
PAKISTAN – INDIA
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Islamabad is ready for "neutral investigation" into the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Indian-held Kashmir, which killed 26 people on Tuesday which India blames on Pakistan. Tensions between the two countries have reached worrying levels in recent days with fears that New Delhi might retaliate. “Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation," Sharif said during a ceremony at the military academy in Abbottabad. However, he also noted that Pakistani forces remain "fully capable and prepared to defend the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity against any misadventure.”
PHILIPPINES
About 15.5 million Philippine households consider themselves poor, this according to a new survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted in April. This is 55 per cent of the total, the maximum level for 2025 in this monthly survey. About 32 per cent of families do not consider themselves poor, while 12 per cent said they are on the verge of poverty.
NORTH KOREA
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the launch ceremony of a "new multi-purpose destroyer", the official KCNA news agency reported today. The 5,000-tonne warship is equipped with the "most powerful weapons" and built "within 400-odd days perfectly with our own strength and technology", Jo Chun Ryong, a secretary in the ruling Workers' Party is quoted as saying.
SRI LANKA – VIETNAM
Sri Lankan authorities have prevented a Buddhist monk, Thich Minh Tue, from continuing his walk through Sri Lanka after he left Vietnam four months ago on a multiple-country trip. The man religious became known in Vietnam for his pilgrimages on foot in poverty. Now he must leave the country for the last destination of his pilgrimage, India. Sri Lankan police detained Thich Minh Tue last week, citing a letter from the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha describing him as a threat to public order.
RUSSIA
A new environmental crisis is looming in the Urals that could spark large protests after the Russian Copper Company (Русская медная компания) announced that it was resuming geological exploration in the Kryktytau Mountain Ridge, in Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan (Bashkiria), to build a large copper mining and processing plant.
AZERBAIJAN – CHINA
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev made an official visit to China, during which the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy and Chinese companies signed an agreement to build the 100-megawatt Gobustan Solar Power Station, as well as other energy facilities, like a floating solar power on Lake Bejukshor, and wind projects.
