Politics
India, Pakistan tensions escalate after tourist attack: What we know so far – National TenX News
India and Pakistan cancelled visas for their respective citizens to each other’s countries on Thursday, and Islamabad retaliated after New Delhi suspended a water-sharing treaty, the Indus Waters Treaty, between the two nations.
The downgrade in diplomacy between the two nations comes after a tourist attack in India, for which officials have blamed Pakistani militants.
On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire in the heavily disputed region of Kashmir, killing 26 people, most of whom were tourists, making it the deadliest attack on civilians in the area in recent times.
No group has formally taken responsibility for the attack.
The fallout
In response, India said it would revoke all visas issued to Pakistani nationals as of Sunday and ordered Pakistanis currently in the country to leave before then.
It also announced that it was cutting diplomatic staff, closing the only usable land border crossing between India and Pakistan and suspending a key water-sharing treaty.
In retaliation, Pakistan shut down its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third-party country.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pledged Wednesday to “not only trace those who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who conspired to commit this nefarious act on our soil,” and hinted at the possibility of military strikes, according to The Associated Press.
Pakistan’s National Security Committee condemned India’s “belligerent measures.” It said that while Pakistan remained committed to peace, it would never allow anyone to “transgress its sovereignty, security, dignity and inalienable rights.”
Government ministers on both sides have hinted that the dispute could escalate to military action. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told local Dunya News TV channel that “any kinetic step by India will see a tit-for-tat kinetic response.”
Indian army soldiers stand guard atop their vehicle following an attack on Indian tourists by gunmen on April 23, 2025, in Srinagar, India.
Yawar Nazir/Getty Images
New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a homegrown freedom struggle.
During a speech on Thursday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to find those responsible for the attack.
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“We will pursue them to the ends of the earth,” he vowed.
Why Kashmir matters
Kashmir, which is located in the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, is currently divided between India and Pakistan, each controlling about half of the territory with both claiming it in full. China also exercises jurisdiction in eastern Kashmir.
A map of Kashmir detailing its geographical lines of division.
BBC/ Kashmir Profile
The Himalayan region became an entrenched area of contention in 1947 when both countries gained independence from British rule, leaving Kashmir free to choose which country it would join, if any.
At the time, its leader, the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, wanted it to remain independent, though he signed an interim “standstill agreement” with Pakistan to maintain the status quo and uphold transport and other services.
Shortly thereafter, he chose to take military assistance from India when a Pakistani-led rebel invasion, spurred in part by the Maharaja’s lack of decision-making, caused widespread disruption.
Lord Louis Mountbatten, former governor general of India, stepped in and suggested as a temporary peace measure that Kashmir join India, followed by a vote to ratify its official status. Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession agreement shortly after, handing control of its foreign and defence policies over to India.
Indian troops proceeded to take two-thirds of the territory, with Pakistani forces exercising control over the remaining northern region.
Whether Indian forces entered Kashmir before or after Hari Singh signed the agreement remains in dispute between India and Pakistan.
India argues that Hari Singh signed first, legitimizing the presence of their troops, but Pakistan argued that the Maharaja did not sign before Indian troops entered Kashmir and that he and India had therefore bypassed the “standstill” agreement with Pakistan.
Neither country has veered from its position in decades, though some Kashmiris vie for independence, a solution that neither Pakistan nor India is willing to consider.
Numerous wars have been fought between Pakistan and India over Kashmir since 1947, including in 1947-1948, 1965, 1971, and 1999, according to National Geographic.
What is the Indus Waters Treaty?
The nuclear-armed neighbours disagree over use of the water from rivers that flow downstream from India into the Indus river basin in Pakistan.
The Indus Waters Treaty, mediated by the World Bank and signed by the neighbours in September 1960, split the Indus and its tributaries between the two countries and regulated water sharing. India was granted the use of water from three eastern rivers — Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — while Pakistan was granted most of the three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.
There is no provision in the treaty for either country to unilaterally suspend or terminate the pact, which has clear dispute resolution systems.
Pakistan is heavily dependent on water from this river system for its hydropower and irrigation needs. Pakistan says India unfairly diverts water with the upstream construction of barrages and dams, a charge India denies.
Pakistan is concerned that India’s dams will cut flows on the river, which feeds 80 per cent of its irrigated agriculture.
India has accused Pakistan of dragging out the complaints process, and says the construction of its Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects is allowed under the treaty. It has also sought modification of the pact to get around such delays.
The suspension of the accord is not expected to have an immediate impact on the flow of water to Pakistan as India does not have enough storage capacity, but India’s move could bring uncertainty for Pakistan’s agricultural system.
The suspension means India can stop sharing crucial information and data on release of water from barrages/dams or on flooding, Indian officials said, adding that New Delhi will also not be obliged to release minimum amounts of water during the lean season.
—
— With files from the Associated Press and Reuters
Politics
Wildfires raging across Chile kill at least 18, force thousands to flee – National TenX News
Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 18 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country’s central Biobio region and the neighboring Ñuble region, around 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago, the capital.
The emergency designation allows the suspension of constitutional rights and greater coordination with the military to rein in over two dozen active wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres), according to the national forestry agency.
In a press conference from the hard-hit city of Concepción in the Biobio region, Boric expressed his support and condolences to the victims and warned that the government’s initial reports of 18 people killed and 300 houses destroyed were expected to rise as the extent of the losses came into focus.
He estimated the total number of affected homes in the Biobio region alone to be “certainly more than a thousand, just so far.”
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“The first priority, as you know, in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire. But we cannot forget, at any time, that there are human tragedies here, families who are suffering,” he said. “These are difficult times.”
His address followed complaints from local authorities that for hours Sunday as fires ravaged the hillsides and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, destruction was everywhere and help was nowhere.
“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region, said on a local radio station earlier Sunday. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames, with the heat and strong winds hampering their efforts. Temperatures topped 38 C (100 F) on Sunday, and the scorching weather was expected to persist through Monday.
“Weather conditions for coming hours are not good and indicate extreme temperatures,” said Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde.
Residents said the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.
“Many people didn’t evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzmán, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it.”
“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52, also in Penco. The fire engulfed most of the city, burning cars, a school and a church.
Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.
“From what we can see, there are people who died … and we knew them well,” said Víctor Burboa, 54. “Everyone here knew them.”
Wildfires afflict central and southern Chile every summer, typically reaching a peak in February as temperatures surge and the country continues to reel from a yearslong drought. In 2024, massive fires ripping across Chile’s central coastline killed at least 130 people, becoming the nation’s deadliest natural disaster since a devastating 2010 earthquake.
Neighboring Argentina has also struggled to contain wildfires consuming thousands of acres of forest in recent weeks as the country’s southern Patagonia area experiences a spell of hot, dry weather.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Sunday he has agreed in principle to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial “Board of Peace,” meant to support the reconstruction of Gaza.
Carney told reporters in Doha that Trump asked him about joining this board “a few weeks ago.”
“There is a humanitarian tragedy in Gaza that is ongoing and Canada will make every effort possible to address this situation,“ he said at a news conference at an Islamic Art museum in the capital of the Gulf country.
He said the president put the question to him a few weeks ago and he said yes and that he and Canada will do everything it can to bring peace to the region.
Carney said there is still not unimpeded humanitarian aid flowing into help the people of Gaza and that is a “precondition for moving forward.”
The prime minister said details still need to be worked out on how exactly the board and the financing will work.
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The Board of Peace is part of the Trump-brokered peace plan that saw a ceasefire take hold between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The creation of new organization has raised concerns that it could deal a blow to the United Nations system of international cooperation that Trump has long argued is ineffective and dysfunctional, and place Trump in control of how the money is distributed.
The text of the charter, published by various international media outlets, states there is a “need for a more nimble and effective international peace-building body” than the UN.
The board will be chaired by Trump himself, and its executive makeup includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair.
Earlier in the month Trump withdrew from dozens of international organizations, many of which are related to the UN.
Carney said working through the peace board is “consistent” with Canadian goals to ensure “unimpeded” humanitarian aid can enter the territory and work toward a two-state solution.
“We will explore every avenue in order to do that,” he said.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Qatar has committed to “significant” investments for Canada’s major building projects, calling it a “new chapter” in bilateral relations.
Carney made the announcement Sunday following his meeting with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
The new measures will include the finalization of the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with Qatar, a deal that has seen years of stalled negotiations, Carney said.
“We are raising our relationship and our level of alignment by making friends with strategic partners,” Carney said. “To launch this new chapter in our relationship, I’m pleased to announce that Qatar has committed to make significant strategic investments in Canada’s nation-building projects.
“This capital will help the projects get built faster and supercharge our energy industries, while helping to create thousands of high-paying careers for Canadians.”
He also said the new agreement will help Canadian businesses to “more easily” expand operations in Qatar as well as attract investment from the country.
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According to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office, air services between Canada and Qatar will also be expanded and a defence attache from Canada will be posted in the country.
According to the PMO, the two countries have agreed to launch negotiations on a new framework focused on military, security and defence matters, and expand investment opportunities on areas such as AI.
The PMO said the two leaders agreed to stay in touch and Carney noted Sunday he had invited the Emir to visit Canada later this year and attend the World Cup match between their two countries with him.
The plans with Qatar are Carney’s latest in a slew of agreements and travel to other countries to discuss trade deals since his election last year.
Asked about his ongoing efforts to meet with countries interested in trade, Carney told reporters that multilateral relationships are “being eroded.”
“The consequence of that is there is a reduction in freer trade, much more trade is tariff-based or otherwise restricted and there is virtually no, with all due respect to those who are trying, virtually no multilateral progress,” Carney said.
“Where there is progress, and where Canada and like-minded countries are looking to make progress, is through pluriality deals… which is multiple countries but not all countries.”
On Friday, Canada announced that 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) would soon be imported each year with a lowered 6.1 per cent tariff after Carney struck a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Carney added on Sunday that Xi showed interest in expanding China’s trade relations with other countries, and that’s why Canada is establishing trade deals with other countries, such as Qatar.
“In this more uncertain and dangerous world, we’ve chosen to create greater stability, security and prosperity together,” Carney said.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Wildfires raging across Chile kill at least 18, force thousands to flee – National TenX News
Carney agrees ‘in principle’ to Trump’s Gaza peace board – National TenX News
Qatar to invest in Canada’s major building projects, Carney says – National TenX News
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