Indian military strikes Pakistan, Pakistan-administered Kashmir
NewsFeed Video captured the moment of an Indian military strike in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The Indian Ministry of Defence says it struck multiple sites in what it calls “Operation Sindoor.” Pakistan’s military says at least 2 people were killed in the strikes. India has blamed Pakistan for an attack that killed 26 people last month in Pahalgam. Published On 6 May 20256 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
US Supreme Court allows ban on transgender troops to take effect
The United States Supreme Court has allowed a ban on transgender military members to take effect while legal challenges over the restriction continue. On Tuesday, the court’s conservative majority issued an unsigned order lifting a lower court’s injunction that had blocked the ban from taking effect. The order also indicated that the Supreme Court’s three left-leaning judges – Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson – sought to deny the emergency request to lift the injunction. Since taking office for a second term on January 20, President Donald Trump has sought to curtail the rights and visibility of transgender people in the US, including through restrictions on military service. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order declaring that his administration would only “recognise two sexes, male and female”. That same day, he rescinded an order from his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, that allowed transgender troops to serve in the military. Then, on January 27, he unveiled a new directive, called “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness”. It compared being transgender with adopting a “‘false’ gender identity”. Advertisement Such an identity, the order added, was not compatible with the “rigorous standards necessary for military service”. “Adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” the executive order said. “A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.” That executive order sparked a slew of legal challenges, including the one at the centre of Tuesday’s Supreme Court order. In that case, seven active-duty service members – as well as a civil rights organisation and another person hoping to enlist – argued that a ban on their transgender identity was discriminatory and unconstitutional. Advocates for the group point out that the seven have together earned more than 70 medals for their service. The lead plaintiff, Commander Emily Shilling, had spent nearly two decades in the Navy, flying 60 missions as a combat pilot. Her lawyers estimate that nearly $20m has been invested in her training during that time. But the Trump administration has argued that the presence of transgender troops is a liability for the military. “Another MASSIVE victory in the Supreme Court!” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media following Tuesday’s order. “President Trump and [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth] are restoring a military that is focused on readiness and lethality.” Advertisement Hegseth also posted a short message, using an acronym for the Department of Defence: “No More Trans @ DoD.” The Supreme Court issued an unsigned order allowing the ban on transgender troops to take effect [Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo] This is not the first time Trump has attempted to exclude transgender people from the armed forces. In July 2017, shortly after taking office for his first term, Trump announced a similar policy on the social media platform Twitter, now known as X. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote in consecutive posts, divided by ellipses. Similarly, in 2019, the Supreme Court allowed that ban to take effect. Then, in 2021, Biden’s executive order nullified it. The Trump administration pointed to its past success at the Supreme Court in its emergency appeal to lift the lower court’s injunction blocking its latest ban on transgender troops. That temporary injunction was the decision of a US district court judge in Tacoma, Washington: Benjamin Settle. Himself a former army captain, Settle was named to his position under former President George W Bush, a Republican. In March, Settle blocked the ban on transgender troops, saying that – while the government made reference to “military judgement” in its filings – its arguments showed an “absence of any evidence” that the restriction had to do with military matters. Advertisement “The government’s arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record,” he wrote. Other judges have likewise issued injunctions, including District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, DC. She ruled in a case where 14 transgender service members sued against Trump’s ban, citing the right to equal protection under the law, enshrined in the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. “The cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them,” Reyes wrote in her decision, issued shortly before Settle’s in March. Of the more than 2.1 million troops serving in the US military, less than 1 percent are estimated to be transgender. One senior official estimated last year that there are only about 4,200 transgender service members on active duty, though advocates say that number could be an undercount, given the risk of violence and discrimination associated with being openly transgender. The human rights groups Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation have been among those supporting transgender service members in their fight against Trump’s ban. The two organisations issued a joint statement on Tuesday denouncing the high court’s decision. “By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice,” they wrote. Advertisement “We remain steadfast in our belief that this ban violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection and will ultimately be struck down.” Adblock test (Why?)
Inter defeat Barcelona by equalling Champions League semifinal record
Inter Milan take their Champions League semifinal in record-equalling 7-6 aggregate score against Barcelona at San Siro. Inter Milan substitute Davide Frattesi struck an extra-time winner to send his side into the Champions League final following a barnstorming 4-3 victory over Barcelona after Francesco Acerbi had rescued them from the brink of elimination with a stunning equaliser deep in added time. Frattesi’s goal and a string of stunning saves by goalkeeper Yann Sommer secured Inter a rip-roaring and record-equalling 7-6 aggregate victory in a semifinal for the ages, which finished with the Italian side reaching the Munich final. They will later this month face either Paris St Germain or Arsenal, who meet on Wednesday. It was a tale of two halves as Inter dominated the first 45 minutes and opened a two-goal lead thanks to a Lautaro Martinez goal on the counter in the 21st minute, before Hakan Calhanoglu extended the lead with a penalty right before the break. However, Barca woke up in the second half with Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo netting within six minutes to level the scoring and, even though Sommer worked his magic to help keep the hosts alive, the Catalans thought they had scored the winner through Raphinha who struck from close range in the 87th minute. Advertisement But as Inter made a desperate run for an equaliser, Denzel Dumfries found 37-year-old Acerbi inside the box, who fired a first-time effort into the net to score his first European goal in his 20th season and take the game to extra time. In the 99th minute, Marcus Thuram made a brilliant run from the right and played the ball into the area for Frattesi, who set himself up before neatly guiding a curling shot into the bottom corner to send the delighted home fans into raptures. Barcelona’s Spanish defender, Eric Garcia, right, scores his team’s first goal with the pick of the seven goals on the night [Piero Cruciatti/AFP] Sommer made two world-class saves from teenager Lamine Yamal to secure the hard-fought win for Inter, who will bid to claim their fourth Champions League title and their first in 15 years after losing to Manchester City in the final two years ago. “I’m lucky to have finished the game. I screamed so much that I saw everything black,” Frattesi told Sky Sport. “I have to thank the physiotherapists because, in recent days, I was not well, I dedicate the victory to them. It’s incredible, I don’t know what to say. Tonight, the incredible happened.” Barcelona, who were chasing a treble after winning the Copa del Rey by beating Real Madrid in extra-time, will now have to focus on LaLiga, where on Sunday, they host their old rivals who are in second place and trail them by four points. “Football has been very cruel to us,” Barca defender Eric Garcia told Movistar Plus. “We were down 2-0 again, and the character this team showed was remarkable. “We are a team full of young players and this has been a great year. We still have the [Spanish] league to play for.” Advertisement The previous standalone record score for a semifinal was Liverpool’s 7-6 aggregate win against Roma during the 2017-2018 season. Adblock test (Why?)
India launches attacks on several sites in Pakistan
India has launched missiles at several locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administred Kashmir, the government said, and Pakistan promised to respond to the attacks. Several explosions were heard in the city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday. “A little while ago, the Indian armed forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the Indian government said in a statement. “Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” it said. A Pakistani military spokesman told broadcaster Geo that Pakistan’s response was under way, without providing details. The spokesman said five places were hit including two mosques. Advertisement Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military said two people have been killed and 12 others injured. Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said among the targets that were hit were the cities of Muzaffarabad and Kotli. Pakistan has said that if it is attacked, that it will “respond in force”, Hyder said, adding that the situation remains “quite fluid”. The development comes amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the aftermath of an attack on Hindu tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last month. India blamed Pakistan for the violence in which 26 men were killed and vowed to respond. Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings. After India’s strikes, the Indian army said in a post on X early on Wednesday: “Justice is served.” More to come… Adblock test (Why?)
Key takeaways from Donald Trump’s meeting with Canada’s PM Mark Carney
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has made his much-anticipated first visit to the White House, as his country and the United States continue to spar over trade, tariffs and the prospect of reimagining their shared borders. Seated across from Carney in the Oval Office on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump continued to advocate for Canada becoming part of its southern neighbour. But Carney reiterated his firm commitment to defending Canadian sovereignty, in one of the few moments he interjected during his half-hour public appearance with Trump in the Oval Office. “As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney told Trump, in a gesture to the president’s background as a real-estate developer. He then referenced his mandate from Canada’s recent federal elections, which reflected growing anti-Trump sentiment among Canadian voters. “Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign these last several months, it’s not for sale — won’t be for sale — ever,” Carney said of his country. Advertisement Overall, however, the meeting was cordial, with the two leaders exchanging warm words — and Trump teasing upcoming breakthroughs with armed groups like the Houthis in Yemen. Here are the key takeaways from their meeting. President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney outside the White House on May 6 [Evan Vucci/AP Photo] Trump weighs in on Canada’s election Carney’s appearance at the White House comes just over a week after his country’s federal elections on April 28, which saw Trump emerge as a defining force. While the research firm Ipsos found that affordability and the cost of living topped the list of voter concerns in Canada, 24 percent of respondents in April identified Canada’s increasingly fractious relationship with the US as a leading issue in the race. A separate Ipsos poll found that more voters trusted Carney to handle Trump than any other candidate. Carney’s Liberal Party has also seen renewed public support, buoying it to a fourth consecutive victory in the federal elections. The centre-left Liberals won 169 seats out of 343, enough to form a minority government — and enough for Carney, a political newcomer, to remain Canada’s prime minister. The backlash to the Trump presidency began in earnest in January, when Trump took office for a second term. His remarks about Canada becoming the US’s 51st state and his aggressive tariff policy alienated many Canadians, who felt their country’s close ties with the US had soured. Some voters even feared that Canada’s Conservative Party — which had previously been considered the frontrunner in the elections — might capitulate to Trump’s demands, a sentiment that helped propel the Liberal resurgence. As Trump opened his sit-down with Carney, he gave a nod to the Liberals’ come-from-behind victory, joking that he took partial credit for the party’s electoral success. Advertisement “I think I was probably the greatest thing that happened to him,” Trump told the journalists assembled in the Oval Office, gently ribbing Carney. “But I can’t take full credit. His party was losing by a lot. And he ended up winning. So I really want to congratulate him. It was probably one of the greatest comebacks in the history of politics. Maybe even greater than mine.” Reporters gather to ask Carney and Trump questions about the future of US-Canada relations [Evan Vucci/AP Photo] Trump and Carney exchange praise Trump proceeded to shower Carney with praise, calling him a “very good” and “very talented person” with whom he had “a lot of things in common”. By contrast, the US president launched a quick barb at Carney’s predecessor, fellow Liberal Justin Trudeau, who served as Canada’s prime minister from 2015 until March of this year. “I didn’t like his predecessor,” Trump said shortly. He also hinted at other tense relationships with other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom he had an Oval Office shouting match in February. “ This is very friendly. This is not gonna be like we had another little blow-up with somebody else. It was a much different. This is a very friendly conversation,” Trump said. Carney, for his part, responded with compliments of his own for Trump. “You’re a transformational president,” Carney said at the outset, praising the US president’s “relentless focus on the American worker”. He also drew a parallel between Trump’s leadership and his own, saying he had been elected “to transform Canada, with a similar focus on the economy” and “securing our borders”. Advertisement “The history of Canada and the US is we’re stronger when we work together, and there are many opportunities to work together,” Carney said. “I look forward to addressing some of those issues that we have, but also finding those areas of mutual cooperation so we can go forward.” Carney: Canada is ‘not for sale’ The two leaders’ conversation, however, quickly shifted to one of the most contentious issues facing their respective countries: Trump’s threats to make Canada part of the US. Since December, Trump has made regular remarks to the effect that Canada should be absorbed into the US as its 51st state, owing to an imbalance of trade across the two countries’ borders. According to the US government, Canada is the largest destination for US exports and one of its top three sources for imports. But Canada exports more to the US than it imports, creating a deficit of $63.3bn in Canada’s favour. Experts say trade deficits are not necessarily a bad thing: They can indicate a stronger consumer base or differences in currency value. But Trump has repeatedly framed the US’s trade deficit with Canada as a “subsidy” that keeps the country afloat economically. In the lead-up to Tuesday’s meeting, the US president pledged to broach the issue of statehood with Carney. “I’ll always talk about that,” he told the TV news programme Meet the Press on Saturday. But during the public portion of their meeting, Trump took a more subdued approach, saying that, while he believed statehood to be a boon
Conclave explained: How is the next pope chosen?
NewsFeed The papal conclave to elect Pope Francis’s successor begins Wednesday in Vatican City. 133 cardinals from around the world will vote in secret until one secures a two-thirds majority. Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull explains the process. Published On 6 May 20256 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Israel says Sanaa airport ‘fully disabled’ in strikes on Yemen’s capital
NewsFeed Israel’s military unleashed a second wave of attacks on Yemen, claiming to have “fully disabled” Sanaa’s airport in response to a Houthi missile that targeted Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Sunday. Published On 6 May 20256 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Pakistan blames India after seven soldiers killed in Balochistan blast
Pakistan says Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) armed group targeted vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Seven Pakistani army soldiers have been killed when their vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device in the southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan’s military says, blaming India for the attack amid rising tensions. Pakistan’s military said members of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) armed group targeted the vehicle carrying the soldiers in the province bordering Iran and Afghanistan on Tuesday. It described the group as an “Indian proxy”, but it did not provide any evidence to support its claim. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi or the BLA. An unnamed senior local government official told the AFP news agency the vehicle that was hit was part of a convoy on its way to a security operation. He said five people were wounded and taken by helicopter to a military hospital in the provincial capital, Quetta. More than 200 people, mostly members of the security forces, have been killed in 2025 by armed groups in Balochistan and neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to an AFP tally. Advertisement At least 31 people, many of them soldiers, were killed in March when the BLA hijacked a train carrying more than 400 passengers while travelling from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar. The bombing of the military convoy was carried out amid heightened tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India after a shooting attack in India-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam region on April 22 that killed 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese citizen. India blamed Pakistan for backing the “terrorist” group that carried out the attack, a charge Islamabad has denied. After the Pahalgam attack, India and Pakistan have taken a series of steps against each other with Pakistan warning that India may be preparing to launch military attacks. The two countries have suspended trade, shut down a land border crossing, closed off their airspace to one another, expelled citizens and diplomats, and India has suspended a key water treaty. On Tuesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif along with the deputy prime minister, foreign and defence ministers, and the military chiefs visited the headquarters of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, the country’s top spy agency, to attend a security briefing. Pakistan has conducted two missile tests in three days while India has announced plans for civil defence drills across several states on Wednesday that will include air raid sirens and evacuation plans. The two countries also aired their grievances during a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Monday. Advertisement UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasised the need to avoid a military confrontation that could “easily spin out of control”. “Now is the time for maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink,” he said on Monday. Pakistani soldiers stand outside a tunnel where a train was attacked by secessionist fighters in Bolan, Balochistan, on March 15, 2025 [File: Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)
Canada trade shifts away from US amid trade tensions
New data show both imports and exports with US fall as Canada expands trading relationships with other countries. Canada’s trade with the United States has tumbled in March, but a surge in exports to other countries have helped make up the downward shift. Exports to the US dropped by 6.6 percent during the month while imports from the US fell by 2.9 percent amid growing public discontent towards Canada’s longstanding ally and top trading partner, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday. Total exports fell by 0.2 percent in March mainly on lower prices whereas imports tumbled by 1.5 percent. Canada’s trade deficit shrank from 1 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.4bn) in February to 367 million Canadian dollars (US$506m) in March. Its trade surplus with the US fell to 6.1 billion Canadian dollars (US$8.4bn) . “This decline was almost entirely offset by a significant rise in exports to countries other than the United States,” the agency said, highlighting a 24.8 percent surge in overseas shipments. Canada increased exports of gold to the United Kingdom, crude oil to the Netherlands and various goods to Germany. Advertisement Exports of motor vehicles and parts also increased amid US tariffs targeting the auto sector. Exports of pharmaceuticals and uranium to the US as well as pork to Asian markets declined. Natural gas exports also fell. Steel exports dropped while aluminium exports rose for a fourth straight month. Imports of steel declined, but imports of aluminium grew as both products face 25 percent US tariffs. Analysts have warned that the full effects of the tariffs have yet to be seen. Canada should “brace for increasing headwinds to trade as the worst of the trade conflict is expected to take place over the coming quarters”, TD Economics analyst Marc Ercolao said in a research note. Carney and Trump meet The trade data was released the day Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, to discuss strained trade and security ties. Carney won last week’s elections on a pledge to stand up to Trump and his America First agenda. He said the strained relationship between the two countries can never be the same again. The US imposed broad tariffs on Canadian goods at the beginning of March before announcing several reductions and exemptions even as tariffs on cars, aluminium, steel and potash stayed in place. Canada has hit back with countermeasures. “Canada and the United States are strongest when we work together – and that work starts now,” Carney said on the social media platform X as he arrived in Washington, DC, on Monday night. Adblock test (Why?)
Palestine and the decline of the US empire
It has been 19 months now since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza. The International Court of Justice is investigating a “plausible genocide”, while the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. Scholars of genocide, major human rights organisations, and United Nations experts have identified what is going on in Gaza as genocide. People across the world have marched to call on their governments to act to stop it. There is a single power that stands in the way of putting an end to this genocide: the United States. One administration has handed over to another, and yet there has been no change in policy. Unconditional support for Israel seems to be a doctrine that the US political establishment is unwilling to touch. Various analyses have suggested that at the root of this “special relationship” are Judeo-Christian values and a shared democratic path; others have argued that it has to do with the two-party system and the donor class dominating US politics. Advertisement But the reality is far simpler. The US views Israel as a critical ally because it helps promote US global supremacy at a time when it is facing inevitable decline. Israel’s survival in its current settler-colonial form – the US elites believe – is closely tied to maintaining US supremacy. The supremacy of US empire Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the US has been leading a unipolar world as the sole superpower. As a continuation of Western imperial global dominance, the US empire holds much sway over global economic, political, and cultural matters, often with devastating consequences for the lives of millions of people around the world. Like all empires, the US solidifies and expands its position of supremacy and hegemony in the world through its overwhelming military force. Through the US infrastructure of organised imperial violence, it is able to secure access to and control of resources, trade routes, and markets. This, in turn, guarantees continuous economic growth and dominance. But in recent years, we have seen signs that US supremacy is being challenged. The momentum to do so built up in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 US financial crisis, which turned into a global one. It demonstrated the negative impact of US supremacy on the world economy and motivated powers such as China and India to take action to protect themselves from it. The BRICS coalition of economies emerged as their shared response on the economic front. In the following years, various US foreign policy mishaps, including the US failure in Afghanistan, its waning influence in Africa and its inability to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine, also demonstrated the limits of US global power. Advertisement The rise of US President Donald Trump and far-right populism in the United States reflected the fact that cracks were appearing in the very core of the US-led so-called liberal order. No empire has ever easily accepted its decline, and neither will the US. It intends to hold onto its status as the unquestionable superpower, and for that, it needs imperial outposts to stand loyally by its side. Israel – the most reliable imperial ally Throughout the Cold War, Western Europe and Israel stood as the US’s junior partners in its confrontation with the Soviet Union in Europe and the Middle East. Today, while the decades-old transatlantic alliance seems to somewhat falter, the US-Israeli relationship appears as strong as ever. Israel has demonstrated loyalty as an imperial outpost. It has played a key role in supporting US imperialism in two ways. First, Israel helps the US secure its access to and control over one of the most critical markets for any empire: the energy market. The Middle East is an important force in the global energy trade, and its oil and gas policies can have a tremendous impact on the world economy. What the US fears the most is losing its dominance in the global energy markets to a competing power, which is why it wants to secure its interests by establishing a regional order in the Middle East that overwhelmingly favours its imperial power. This new order is about giving the US a major advantage over any competitor seeking to make inroads into the region, namely China. Advertisement For the administration of former US President Joe Biden and its successor, the Trump administration, the Israeli genocide of Palestinians and aggression against neighbouring countries are about establishing this new security reality in the region by eliminating hostile groups and governments. That is why US support for them has not stopped. Second, Israel plays a critical role in advancing US military supremacy. The US provides Israel with billions of dollars in aid, which is in fact a form of self-investment in developing military capabilities and expanding sales. The Israeli state uses these funds to buy weapons from US arms manufacturers, which then use Israel’s deployment of that weaponry in the Middle East as testing and marketing tools. The US military-industrial complex is thus able to sell more weapons and continue to innovate and grow to ensure the US has a military edge over its rivals. In this sense, Israel is one of the most critical parts of the US imperial machinery. Without it, the US would find it challenging to maintain its imperial power in the Middle East. It is for this reason that Biden once famously proclaimed that if Israel did not exist, the US would have to invent it. Free Palestine and global decolonisation Over the past year, we have witnessed an unprecedented attack on the Palestine solidarity movement in the US, which has affected all public spheres, including education and healthcare. We have also seen an intensification of US threats against states, such as South Africa, for their support for Palestine. Advertisement Based on the magnitude of the resources and energy that the US empire expends on the elimination