How Indian PM Modi’s efforts to isolate Pakistan ‘backfired’
Doha, Qatar – Thumping his fist on a lectern, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a direct challenge to the leaders of Pakistan. “India has been successful in isolating you, and we will intensify those efforts,” he said, addressing a large rally of supporters in the southern Indian state of Kerala, as dusk set in. “We will make sure that you are isolated around the world.” Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list It was September 2016, and Modi was responding to an attack by armed fighters in Indian-administered Kashmir days earlier, in which 18 Indian soldiers had been killed. “The leaders of Pakistan should listen: The sacrifice of our 18 soldiers will not go in vain,” the Indian leader said. Yet a decade later, Pakistan stands far from isolated: It is a close strategic ally of China, where the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, visited this week, and has reemerged as a trusted partner of the United States under President Donald Trump. Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir and Sharif have both visited Trump at the White House over the past year. Islamabad is the principal mediator between the US and Iran amid their ongoing war. Trump has also frequently praised the Pakistani leadership. In part, say analysts, that’s a reflection of Pakistan’s success in wooing Trump, and in capitalising on key geopolitical events to make itself an important diplomatic player for superpowers and regional players alike. But equally, say analysts, Pakistan’s growing diplomatic stature underscores missteps by Modi’s administration. Advertisement “Certainly, India’s strategy of undercutting and indeed isolating Pakistan, regionally and globally, has backfired in a big way,” Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow on South Asia at the Atlantic Council think tank, told Al Jazeera. Rubble of buildings in Muridke, Pakistan, hit by Indian missiles in May 2025 [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera] The ceasefire and the Nobel nomination On May 10, 2025, Trump announced that he had secured a ceasefire between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE,” he posted on his Truth Social platform. Shortly after, Sharif, the Pakistani PM, thanked Trump’s “leadership and proactive role” in securing the truce that ended four days of intense fighting involving ballistic missiles, fighter jets and drones. It was the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in decades: Dozens of people were killed on both sides of their heavily militarised border. The conflict erupted after the Indian military carried out attacks on “terror” sites deep inside Pakistani territory, in response to an attack by gunmen who killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. But unlike Sharif, Modi, who had cultivated a personal rapport with the US president – whom he had met just months earlier in the Oval Office – chose to remain silent, even as India’s foreign secretary confirmed the ceasefire. Days later, the US president offered to work with the two arch foes to find a solution to the Kashmir issue, which has defined India-Pakistan relations since 1947, the year the two South Asian nations achieved independence from British colonial rule. For India, Trump’s attempts to portray himself as a peacemaker between New Delhi and Islamabad were troubling: India has long insisted that its disputes with its neighbour were strictly bilateral, for the two countries to resolve among themselves – though US former President Bill Clinton had played a role in ending the 1999 Kargil War. In June, Modi was visiting Canada when Trump asked him to also fly over to Washington. Modi turned down the offer. He instead told the US president over the phone that New Delhi wouldn’t accept third-party mediation, and that the ceasefire in May was solely the result of bilateral conversations with Pakistan. Yet that tit-for-tat spiral of claims around the May truce continued. Trump has since insisted on more than 30 occasions that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He has claimed that he averted a nuclear war that could have killed millions. The US president also asserted that Indian fighter jets were shot down on the first day of the conflict, echoing the Pakistani narrative of downing several Indian planes. Advertisement New Delhi also failed to convince the international community on Pakistan’s role in the attack that triggered the May 2025 fighting in the first place, analysts say. “The world did not step back and encourage India to carry out strikes… World capitals noted that India did not provide proof of any Pakistani complicity in the Pahalgam attack,” Kugelman of the Atlantic Council said, referring to the scenic town in Indian-administered Kashmir where tourists were shot. Pakistan, he said, appeared to have won “the global battle of narratives”. “The fact that Pakistan was able to hold its own in a conflict and shoot down several Indian jets … that’s something that got a lot of attention around the world, including in the White House,” he added. New Delhi’s silence on the downing of the jets for almost three weeks further gave impetus to that perception. The country’s top general eventually acknowledged that several fighter planes were shot down by Pakistan, though India has never confirmed the number. Analysts say Modi’s refusal to give credit to the US president for the truce strained US-India ties. Pakistan, on the other hand, promptly acknowledged Trump’s efforts in achieving the truce and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize – an award the US president has said he deserved. Trump, who had accused Pakistan of “deceit and lies” during his first term, has since repeatedly praised Pakistani leadership, including army chief Asim Munir who led the war efforts against India. And to India’s dismay, Trump invited Munir to the White House for lunch – the first time that a Pakistani military chief who was not also president had been hosted by a US president. Trump has described Munir as his “favourite Field Marshal” and an “exceptional human being” –
Blue Origin rocket explodes on launch pad during test
NewsFeed A rocket belonging to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin exploded during a test at the Florida launch pad Thursday night. The explosion shook nearby homes and briefly painted the sky orange. Bezos said it was “too early to know the root cause” of the incident. No one was injured in the blast. The same rocket, New Glenn, failed a mission to deliver a satellite last month and prompted an investigation. Published On 29 May 202629 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Israel football dispute to ‘heat up’ after protest in Ireland-Qatar match
Ireland’s football match against Qatar was stalled by pro-Palestinian protests as pressure builds on upcoming games against Israel. By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters Published On 29 May 202629 May 2026 Republic of Ireland midfielder Jamie McGrath has warned that the controversy surrounding Nations League games against Israel could intensify after their friendly win over Qatar in Dublin was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protests. Ireland are set to host Israel at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on October 4, while a September 27 fixture designated as an Israel home match is expected to be staged at a neutral venue. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Qatar’s match against Ireland was part of their preparations for this summer’s World Cup, where they begin their campaign against Switzerland on June 13. Ireland failed to qualify for the event. Earlier this month, leading Irish footballers joined with celebrities in a campaign calling for a boycott of Israel’s matches, but Ireland’s governing body for football (FAI) has said it will go ahead with the fixtures and that a refusal to play could lead to disciplinary measures. Tennis balls featuring the Palestinian flag were thrown on to the pitch in Thursday’s friendly, causing the match to be halted twice, and McGrath expected more protests to follow. “I’m sure it’s going to heat up over the next few months. We (the players) don’t want to be put into a position,” he told the BBC’s Northern Ireland bureau after the match. “It’s obviously a unique scenario. The people [protesters], we have to listen to them, they have the right to do what they do, as long as it’s done in a peaceful way, that’s all that matters. “Hopefully, the powers above us can work something out or use it for the greater good, I’m not sure what the process will be as it heats up. Advertisement “At the end of the day, we’re footballers and we don’t want to be caught in this, but sometimes we might have to.” In November last year, 93 percent of FAI members voted for its leadership to press UEFA to suspend the Israel Football Association from European competitions. On Tuesday, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign held a protest at the Dail (Irish parliament). Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has also regularly weighed in on the debate and, ahead of the Qatar match, said his players must “win this war” against Israel in the upcoming matches. McGrath was pressed further on the matter as to whether he believed a resolution would be found ahead of the matches. “To be honest, I’ve no idea,” he replied. “We obviously touched on it a few days, I’m sure as it heats up, it might be taken out of our hands, I’m not sure.” Adblock test (Why?)
US Treasury secretary confirms plans for banknote featuring Trump’s face
Proposed $250 bill would mark the first time a living person has appeared on US currency in more than a century. Published On 29 May 202629 May 2026 US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent says preparations are under way to print a new $250 banknote featuring President Donald Trump’s face, with lawmakers to decide whether the bills will be put into circulation. US law bars any living person from appearing on US currency, but legislation was introduced last year to create an exception to allow current and former presidents to be featured. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Bessent said a design had been prepared in anticipation of a change in the law. “Right now, there is proposed legislation – front of the House, in front of the Senate – to change the first requirement so that a living person, Donald J Trump, could be on a $250 bill,” Bessent said. Bessent made his comments after The Washington Post reported that Treasurer Brandon Beach, a Trump appointee, has been pushing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to expedite the process for a new currency note to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “I don’t think that there’s anything untoward about having the president of the United States, the person who’s president of the United States, on the 250th anniversary bill,” Bessent told reporters. A design mock-up obtained by The Washington Post showed the words “America 250 anniversary”, a nod to the US declaring its independence on July 4, 1776. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. Behaviour of dictators, monarchs A banknote featuring Trump’s face would be the latest example of the US president expanding his personal brand in his official capacity since returning to the White House in 2025. Advertisement Banners featuring Trump’s portrait have been hung on the Department of Justice and other federal buildings. And his slate of appointees to the Kennedy Center governing board added his name to the national performing arts facility, which Congress originally designated as a memorial to assassinated President John F Kennedy. Trump’s signature is also set to appear on US currency as part of plans to mark the 250th anniversary, a first for a sitting president. US banknotes have until now featured the signatures of the Treasury secretary and the treasurer. In March, the US Commission of Fine Arts, led by Trump appointee Rodney Mims Cook Jr, approved the minting of a commemorative gold coin bearing the Republican president’s image. The announcement, which relied on a legal loophole for commemorative coins, prompted a backlash from critics, who likened the move to the behaviour of dictators and monarchs. Adblock test (Why?)
Anthropic soars to $965bn valuation, leapfrogging OpenAI
Anthropic has usurped OpenAI as the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup, soaring to a $965bn valuation ahead of expected public listings by the rival firms. Anthropic, the maker of the Claude family of chatbots, said on Thursday that it had raised $65bn from private investors after a fundraising round led by Altimeter Capital, Greenoaks, Dragoneer and Sequoia Capital. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The announcement catapults Anthropic, led by CEO and cofounder Dario Amodei, ahead of ChatGPT maker OpenAI in value, which attracted an $852bn valuation in its last fundraising round in March. “This funding will help us serve the historic demand we are experiencing, stay at the research frontier, and bring Claude to more of the places where work happens,” Anthropic’s Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao said in a statement. Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner hailed the adoption of Claude among the “world’s most demanding organisations” as evidence of Anthropic’s command in the field. “This momentum positions Anthropic to lead the next phase of AI innovation and capture the enormous opportunity ahead,” Gerstner said. Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, Anthropic has rapidly emerged as one of the leading players in Silicon Valley’s scramble to dominate AI. Anthropic’s Claude, first launched in 2023, is among the most popular AI models worldwide. In March, the San Francisco-based company said that the chatbot was receiving more than 1 million new sign-ups each day. While achieving stellar success in rapid time, Anthropic has also faced challenges – in particular, a high-profile dispute with US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has labelled the firm a “supply chain risk” over its refusal to allow unrestricted access to its tools for military purposes. Advertisement Anthropic unveiled its latest iteration of Claude, Opus 4.8, in a separate announcement on Thursday, calling it a “modest but tangible improvement” on its predecessor. Anthropic, OpenAI and Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX are all expected to go public in the near future in what are expected to be among the biggest initial public offerings in history. Jay R Ritter, an emeritus professor at the University of Florida who specialises in IPOs, said Anthropic has generated a lot of market excitement due to its widespread use by companies for software coding. “This is a big market where apparently Anthropic has the best product,” Ritter told Al Jazeera. “The increase in valuation in a short period of time is unprecedented for a startup, although publicly traded tech companies such as SK Hynix, Nvidia, and Alphabet have seen even bigger increases, although not as much in percentage terms,” Ritter said, referring to the South Korean and US chip giants, and Google’s parent company. While it remains to be seen whether the massive investments pouring into AI are creating a bubble, Ritter said, the handful of successful firms that are likely to emerge in the field could see enormous profits. “Nobody wants to use the eighth best product, so these companies are either one of the handful of successful firms, or they will have a zero market share,” he said. “The tech industry is different than the restaurant industry, where there are not large economies of scale, and where competition limits the profit margins.” Adblock test (Why?)
Lebanon Latest: Mass evacuations as Israel expands attacks
NewsFeed Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto brings you the latest from southern Lebanon amidst increasing Israeli attacks. Published On 29 May 202629 May 2026 Save Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share facebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylink googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Parisians defy swimming ban to cool off as record heat hits Europe
NewsFeed Parisians cooled off in the city’s Saint-Martin canal as an unprecedented heatwave pushed temperatures across Europe far above seasonal norms. Swimmers ignored long-standing bans, swimming outside designated bathing sites. Published On 28 May 202628 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Google employee charged with insider trading over Polymarket bets
Michele Spagnuolo allegedly used insider information to profit from bets on people on Google’s most-searched list. Published On 28 May 202628 May 2026 A Google software engineer has been charged with fraud by US authorities after allegedly using insider information to win more than $1.2m in bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket. Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, is accused of using confidential information to wager on the results of Google’s annual most-searched list, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list US prosecutors accuse Spagnuolo of using an account named “AlphaRaccoon” to make trades on various markets linked to the results of Google’s 2025 Year in Search. The total sum of the bets was approximately $2.75m, according to the complaint, filed in federal court in New York. Among the bets, Spagnuolo successfully predicted that indie pop musician d4vd would top the list for the most-searched for person last year, hours after accessing confidential data at Google, according to prosecutors. Spagnuolo, 36, faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. “Today’s charges reinforce a decades-old message: corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to turn a profit in our markets,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said in a statement. “Insider trading compromises the integrity of our markets, and the American people want this greed-driven conduct investigated and prosecuted,” Clayton added. Bets on Maduro’s capture Google said in a statement that it is working with law enforcement and that using confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of company policy. Advertisement Spagnuolo has been placed on leave, according to a Google spokesperson. A Polymarket spokesperson said the company had worked closely with the US Attorney’s Office on the investigation and that the firm “is the only prediction platform to date whose cooperation has led to insider trading charges in the United States”. “We are committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets as well as enforcing our rules and working with our regulators and law enforcement,” the spokesperson added. Last month, a US soldier was charged with using classified military information to place bets on Polymarket regarding the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Prosecutors accuse Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, of cashing in on the US operation against Maduro, to the tune of more than $400,000. Adblock test (Why?)
Aid cuts and climate change drive deadly malaria surge in Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimbabwe – Precious Mvundura woke up with joint pain, a high fever and a pounding headache on a chilly autumn morning in eastern Zimbabwe. The 37-year-old initially thought it was just the flu. But when the headache persisted for three days, she became worried. Her five-year-old son had also fallen ill and was sweating heavily. In early May, the pair sought help from a village health worker in Chishakwe, a rural farming community outside Zimbabwe’s third-largest city, Mutare. Both tested positive for malaria. “I felt relieved,” Mvundura told Al Jazeera. “From the moment I took that medication, I started getting better.” Her son has also recovered and is back in school. Their ordeal comes as malaria cases and deaths surge across Zimbabwe after US funding cuts disrupted key malaria control programmes. Shortly after returning to office for a second term in 2025, US President Donald Trump slashed foreign aid funding, including programmes backed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In Zimbabwe, the cuts disrupted tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria research, prevention and treatment programmes. Among the affected initiatives were the Zimbabwe Entomological Support Programme in Malaria (ZENTO) at Africa University in Mutare, which provided scientific research to support the country’s National Malaria Control Programme, and the Zimbabwe Assistance Programme in Malaria II (ZAPIM II), which helped strengthen malaria diagnosis, treatment and prevention in high-burden districts. Advertisement USAID had disbursed $270m for health and agriculture programmes in Zimbabwe in 2024. Malaria cases jumped to 65,399 between January and April 2026, up from 36,000 recorded during the same period in 2025 and 17,000 in 2024, according to Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health National Malaria Control Programme weekly surveillance report. Deaths have also risen sharply, reaching 174 between January and April 2026, compared with 85 during the same period last year and 34 in 2024. Mvundura and her son survived because they sought treatment early. In many other cases, the disease has been fatal. Shortages of mosquito nets, test kits Thomas Chuchu, the health programme lead at Save the Children Zimbabwe, said several malaria elimination activities previously supported by ZAPIM II had been disrupted. “In practice, elimination has continued through government and other partners, but with weaker operational capacity and slower implementation,” Chuchu told Al Jazeera. Zimbabwe’s dependence on donor funding for essential medicines, diagnostic kits and mosquito-control supplies has left the country vulnerable [Farai Shawn Matiashe/Al Jazeera] The ZAPIM II programme ran through Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health system in 11 districts across the provinces of Central and East Mashonaland and the province of Matabeleland North. Before falling ill, Mvundura said she had not been using mosquito nets or repellents. “I only started using a mosquito net a friend shared when I fell sick,” she said. In December 2025, Caroline Mawombedzi was diagnosed with malaria while living in Burma Valley, a farming community about an hour’s drive from Mutare. She had last contracted the disease in the late 2000s while still a child. In mid-May, her five-year-old daughter was also diagnosed with malaria by a village health worker in Chishakwe after suffering severe headaches and stomach problems. Although her daughter received treatment, Mawombedzi said she could not afford preventive measures such as mosquito nets. “I am unemployed. I cannot afford to buy a mosquito net. We have not been sleeping under a mosquito net for years,” she said. Virginia Chakandinakira, a village health worker serving Chishakwe, said malaria diagnostic kits and drugs are now in short supply. “I used to get plenty of malaria test kits and drugs. But in 2025, they did not give me. I referred everyone showing malaria to a nearby Chitakatira clinic,” she said. Chitakatira is a rural settlement about an hour’s drive from Chishakwe. “I only received test kits and drugs in February. However, the supplies are limited. The authorities told us they were only distributing them to hotspot communities.” Advertisement Research programmes crippled Professor Sungano Mharakurwa, the director of Africa University’s Malaria Institute, said the abrupt withdrawal of US support had worsened the malaria outbreak by affecting the programme. ZENTO was contributing data from the surveillance of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, which guided strategies employed by the National Malaria Control Programme to control malaria transmission, he said. The Trump administration’s funding cuts have also effectively put a stop to the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), launched in 2005 by former President George W Bush to control and eliminate malaria worldwide. Mharakurwa said the PMI had played a major role in funding malaria medications, and communities had been left exposed without it. He said the Malaria Institute later secured funding from the United Methodist Church General Board of Global Ministry, but it fell far short of previous US assistance. Zimbabwe’s dependence on donor funding for essential medicines, diagnostic kits and mosquito-control supplies has left the country vulnerable. Itai Rusike, the director of Zimbabwe’s Community Working Group on Health, said the government needed to strengthen domestic health financing to reduce dependence on foreign donors. “It is risky for a country to depend substantially on external partners, as donors can withdraw financial support anytime should their interests shift,” he said. Climate change fuels spread Experts say climate change is also driving the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases across Africa. Rising temperatures are allowing malaria to spread into higher-altitude areas, which were once less vulnerable to outbreaks. Zimbabwe experienced El Niño between 2023 and 2024, a climate phenomenon marked by unusually warm temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, which typically disrupts rainfall patterns across Southern Africa. Heavy rainfall followed in 2025 and 2026, creating ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes. Chuchu, from Save the Children Zimbabwe, said that the current spike in malaria cases was closely linked to the heavy rains during the 2025–2026 season. “The rains created favourable breeding conditions for mosquitoes, particularly in already endemic provinces such as Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West,” he said. Health workers say malaria diagnostic kits and medicines are now in short supply in rural Zimbabwe [Farai Shawn Matiashe/Al Jazeera] “The
Mogadishu gathers for Eid with prayers, family meals and outings
Published On 27 May 202627 May 2026 Mogadishu, Somalia- Muslims around the world celebrated Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, which marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage period. It is the second major holiday in the Islamic calendar after Eid al-Fitr, which follows the holy month of Ramadan. In Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, families and communities gathered across the city on Wednesday to celebrate the occasion. The holiday is typically marked by communal prayers in the morning, family visits, festive meals and outings for children. Popular locations for the city’s residents include Lido Beach, the Darus Salam Zoo, and Maka al-Mukarama Road, the central business district. More broadly, Mogadishu has been tentatively emerging from the waves of violence that have rocked the city over recent decades. Since 2006, the government has been battling al-Shabab, a local affiliate of al-Qaeda, for control of the country – a conflict that has made Mogadishu one of the world’s most dangerous capitals. But improving security has led to a surge of investment in the city, alongside the emergence of new cafes, restaurants and other recreational spaces. At an Eid speech at the Islamic Solidarity Mosque, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said, “We see the change that has happened in Mogadishu’s security,” and called on the public to protect the city’s peace. Ali Jimale Mosque, the country’s largest, usually draws the biggest crowds and serves as a gathering place for the city’s residents. Central to Eid al-Adha is the ritual sacrifice of livestock, commemorating the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son before God provided a ram in his place. Advertisement The meat is traditionally shared among relatives, neighbours and people in need, reflecting the festival’s emphasis on charity, community and devotion. Costs for livestock have soared in recent months in Somalia due to failed rains and drought, with a United Nations hunger monitor warning of famine risk in parts of the country. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has said 6.5 million people in Somalia are facing “high levels of acute food insecurity”, a crisis worsened by the country’s ongoing armed fighting and a political standoff that has persisted since the president’s term expired on May 15. Adblock test (Why?)