Trump announces ceasefire between Iran and Israel, but missile strikes continue

Today's news: India says militants involved in the Pahalgam attack were Pakistani members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group. Thailand has closed its border crossings with Cambodia. United States: million for information on Afghan-American businessman held by the Taliban since 2022. Brazilian tourist missing while trekking on a volcano in Indonesia.

IRAN - ISRAEL

Donald Trump announced that as of this morning, a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran is in effect after 12 days of hostilities. Trump has asked both countries to respect it. Both Israel and Tehran initially appeared to have confirmed this, but tensions rose again mid-morning after a missile launch from Iran, to which Israel announced it would respond. After a night of harsh Israeli raids on Tehran, an Iranian missile had already killed at least four people in Israel, hitting a residential building in the city of Be'er Sheva. The announcement of the 12-hour truce was made yesterday evening as Israeli military operations continued. Yesterday, Iran attacked US bases in Qatar in retaliation for the US attack on nuclear sites, giving advance warning.

INDIA - PAKISTAN

Indian investigators say that all three militants involved in the deadly attack on tourists in April near the town of Pahalgam in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir were Pakistani nationals belonging to the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is on the United Nations blacklist. The attack, which left 26 people dead, had brought the two countries to the brink of war. Pakistan has not commented on these claims; it had previously denied any involvement.

THAILAND - CAMBODIA

The Thai army has closed border crossings with Cambodia to almost all travellers, including tourists and traders, citing security reasons, while tensions between the two Southeast Asian countries remain high due to a persistent territorial dispute. The deterioration in relations was triggered by brief armed clashes in a border area, during which a Cambodian soldier was killed at the end of last month.

USA - AFGHANISTAN

The United States has announced a reward of up to million for information on Mahmoud Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman detained by the Taliban secret services since 10 August 2022. A former civil aviation chief under the now-deposed pro-Western Afghan government, he was abducted along with his driver and 29 other employees of the Kabul telecommunications company he worked for, according to the State Department.

INDONESIA

Rescuers in Indonesia are searching for a Brazilian tourist who fell while trekking near the crater of Mount Rinjani, an active volcano. Brazilian media and the woman's family have identified her as Juliana Marins, 26. She was hiking with a group when she disappeared at around 6:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.

Search and rescue attempts have so far been unsuccessful due to the rough terrain and foggy weather, according to Indonesian authorities.

ARMENIA - TURKEY

Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pašinyan made a historic visit to Istanbul at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the first between the leaders of the two countries since the centuries-old dispute over the Armenian genocide. However, Turkey expects Armenia to reach a definitive peace agreement with Azerbaijan before considering relations to be fully normalised.

RUSSIA - UNITED KINGDOM

In the three years of Russia's war in Ukraine, the number of students from Russia at British universities, where the children of the Russian economic and business elite usually study, has been reduced to a minimum. The largest group of foreigners, while in the last year, study visas were granted to 1,275 Russians, the lowest figure in the last 15 years.

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