Malik Khadim’s lips tremble, his voice chokes and his head dips as he raises a hand to his grief-stricken face. It’s a vain effort to stem the tears gushing down his gaunt and weatherbeaten cheeks.

Khadim is a farmer who lives on the Pakistani side of the de-facto border in the disputed Kashmir region known as the Line of Control, or LoC, between India and Pakistan. As so many civilians on both sides of this conflict have done, he is currently grieving the loss of a loved one. In this case, his brother.

Two weeks ago, gunmen stormed a mountain resort in the Indian controlled part of Kashmir killing 26 people, mostly Indian tourists. The killings sparked widespread public revulsion across India and this already heavily militarized remote border region has been on edge ever since.

Both Khadim and Farouk’s son deny that allegation, saying that he was, like them, an impoverished farmer, chasing cattle who strayed toward the unmarked and unfenced LoC in the nearby forest.

In response to the tourist massacre, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to chase the “terrorists” to “the ends of the earth.” India was quick to blame Pakistan, Pakistan denied involvement, and tensions have mounted since.

Both sides have expelled each other’s diplomats and civilians, as well as closed airspace to each other’s airlines. India has also withdrawn from the 1960 Indus Water Treaty that has tempered the tempestuous relations here for decades.

Officials on the Pakistani side of the border have said they expect India to attack and vow, as a matter of “military doctrine,” to respond.

The current language in Islamabad is tougher than this reporter remembers when here covering the Kargil War of 1999. That high-altitude, monthslong border battle, just one of several wars and skirmishes over Kashmir, killed more than a thousand troops, according to the most conservative calculations, the year after Pakistan joined India in becoming a nuclear armed nation.

In the words of a senior Pakistani security official, now is “the moment” to change the dynamic in relations with India, as political relations with New Delhi have at times improved but military attitudes have toughened in recent decades.

Boulder-strewn tracks at altitudes of more than 10,000 feet threaded through snowfields, around fresh rock falls and through forests of the towering native Deodar cedar tree. At times, their giant trunks appeared to offer the only potential salvation from one wrong move and a plunge over terrifyingly precipitous drops into raging rivers below.

Just a few hours of this bone-jarring journey are enough to understand why neither Pakistan nor India have ever claimed a decisive victory here. It is just too rugged for an easy win.

Yet both nations want this region, to control all the water that torrents down from its snowcapped peaks. And, despite the challenging terrain, several million people split across the LoC call this disputed land home.

Life is hard here: Elderly women and children haul huge bundles of sticks off the vertiginous slopes; rudimentary farms elbow for room among the mighty Deodar; and meager villages cling to the hillsides where skinny water buffalo, a prized procession here, scavenge for grass.

Another villager told us that his extended family has taken to living in one house, adding that: “(the) elderly, children and women are incredibly scared we want to take our livestock to pasture but the Indians shoot… it’s our only livelihood… and we have nowhere else to go.”

Khadim, who is 55 and was born in Sarjiwar, said the whole village is increasingly on edge, adding that residents want to take their few cattle to summer pastures – as they normally would at this time of year – but can’t because they fear being shot by Indian troops.

India has long accused Pakistan of harbouring militant groups who have conducted attacks inside its territory and not doing enough to crack down on them. And there is significant public pressure on Prime Minister Modi to respond to the latest massacre with force.

After a major insurgent attack on paramilitary personnel inside Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019, Modi did just that with India conducting airstrikes inside Pakistan for the first time in decades and both sides fighting a brief dogfight in the skies above Kashmir. After frantic international diplomacy, a full-scale war was ultimately averted.

Civilians here fear that today’s war of words between Islamabad and New Delhi will soon erupt into real conflict. On both sides of Kashmir’s line of control, people feel powerless as their politicians rehash old arguments, potentially reigniting decades of smoldering resentment.

The International Court of Justice has dismissed Sudan’s case alleging that the United Arab Emirates violated the Genocide Convention by supporting paramilitary forces in the Darfur region.

The court said Monday it did not have the jurisdiction to enact provision measures against the UAE, as Sudan had requested, and its judges voted to end the case.

The UAE was quick to celebrate the ruling. Reem Ketait, the Deputy Assistant Minister for Political Affairs, said in a statement that the decision is “a clear and decisive affirmation of the fact that this case was utterly baseless.”

“The Court’s finding that it is without jurisdiction confirms that this case should never have been brought,” Ketait said. “Quite simply, today’s decision represents a resounding rejection of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ attempt to instrumentalize the Court for its campaign of misinformation and to distract from its own responsibility.”

“The facts speak for themselves: the UAE bears no responsibility for the conflict in Sudan. On the contrary, the atrocities committed by the warring parties are well-documented,” Ketait said.

Sudan filed its case against the UAE in March, accusing it of arming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an accusation that the UAE had repeatedly denied. Sudan’s acting justice minister, Muawia Osman, told the court that “a genocide is being committed against the ethnic group of the Masalit in the west of our country,” with the “support and complicity of the United Arab Emirates.”

Since April 2023, two of Sudan’s most powerful generals – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and former ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary RSF – have engaged in a bloody feud over control of the country which is split between their strongholds.

The ongoing civil war has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes and diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to an end have failed.

Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICJ deals with disputes between states and violations of international treaties. Sudan and the UAE are both signatories of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Israel struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday night, an Israeli security source said, one day after a ballistic missile struck Tel Aviv’s international airport.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to retaliate at a time and place of Israel’s choosing and promised Sunday that a powerful response would be coming.

These attacks mark the first Israeli strikes in Yemen in months.

The Israeli military made several attempts to intercept the ballistic missile on Sunday, but failed to bring it down, resulting in a successful attack on the heavily defended facility. The strike appeared to be the first time Israel’s international airport has been successfully targeted by the group.

On Sunday night, the Iran-backed rebel group said it would “impose a comprehensive air blockade” on Israel by “repeatedly targeting airports,” especially Ben Gurion. It called on international airlines to plan accordingly and cancel all scheduled flights to Israeli airports.

Netanyahu convened Israel’s security cabinet Sunday afternoon to discuss the incident.

“We acted before, we will act in the future too,” said Netanyahu in a video posted on social media. “I can’t elaborate on all of that. The US, in coordination with us, is also operating against them. It’s not ‘one and done,’” he said.

Israel has launched several rounds of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, including the targeting of a power plant and maritime ports in January. The US military has carried out far more extensive strikes on targets in Yemen in recent months, aiming to weaken the group and disrupt Houthi attacks on US Navy ships and commercial vessels operating in the Middle East.

But the attacks have done little to stem the launch of Houthi projectiles at Israel or at US warships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb, two of the world’s most strategically important waterways. The Houthis launched ballistic missiles at Israel over three consecutive days, culminating in the strike that hit the airport. Last week, a US F/A-18 fighter jet fell off an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea after the ship made a hard turn to evade a Houthi attack.

“The whole world is being challenged by the Houthis,” Netanyahu told Cypriot President Nikos Christodoudiles on Sunday. “We will not tolerate it. We will take very strong action against them. And we always remember that they act with their patron Iran’s direction and support.”

The Houthis warned on Sunday night that they could strike again and would “impose a comprehensive air blockade” on Israel by “repeatedly targeting airports,” especially Ben Gurion. It called on international airlines to plan accordingly and cancel all scheduled flights to Israeli airports.

All mobile phone signals will be deactivated in the Vatican on Wednesday ahead of the highly secretive conclave to elect the next pope, Italian state media reported.

The Vatican also plans to use signal jammers around the Sistine Chapel to prevent electronic surveillance or communication outside the conclave that will see 133 cardinals vote on who will succeed Pope Francis and lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Phone signal will be cut off at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, an hour and a half before the cardinals are scheduled to proceed to the Sistine Chapel to begin the papal conclave, Italian state broadcaster RAI reported on Monday.

All 133 cardinals who will vote to elect Francis’ successor have already arrived in Rome, the Vatican confirmed on Monday.

For centuries, the leader of the Catholic Church has been chosen in a highly secretive gathering known as “conclave,” meaning “with key” in Latin – a nod to how cardinals used to be locked in until a new pope was selected. Cardinals tasked with picking the next pontiff follow an elaborate process with roots in the Middle Ages.

The cardinals will have to give up their phones and all electronic devices starting Tuesday and will only get their devices back once the conclave has ended, a Vatican spokesman said.

The cardinals will all be shut in the Sistine Chapel and locked away from the outside world from Wednesday. All of the cardinals taking part in the conclave will be in complete isolation and will take a vow to observe “absolute and perpetual secrecy”.

The signal deactivation will not affect St Peter’s Square, where the public often gather, according to the spokesman. But security has been ramped up throughout St Peter’s Square, with checkpoints at the entrances and the deployment of metal detectors and anti-drone systems at the public space, according to news outlet Corriere della Sera.

The Sistine Chapel is placed under total lockdown during conclave to guarantee complete secrecy. In 2013, during the conclave that elected Francis, signal blockers were also installed to prevent any calls, texts, or internet access.

Even the electricians, plumbers and elevator operators who will keep the Vatican running during the conclave will commit themselves to secrecy.

“They all take an oath and will be in full-time service, staying overnight in the Vatican, without having contact with their families,” according to a statement from the Vatican City State Governorate.

Multiple major airlines are avoiding flying over Pakistan as relations with neighbor India crater in the wake of a recent tourist massacre, the latest geopolitical flashpoint to disrupt global travel.

The airline is “adapting its flight schedule and flight plans to and from certain destinations,” the French flag carrier said, adding some routes will require longer flight times.

“Air France is constantly monitoring developments in the geopolitical situation of the territories served and overflown by its aircraft in order to ensure the highest level of flight safety and security,” Air France said.

Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa also confirmed to Reuters that it was “avoiding Pakistani airspace until further notice.”

The travel disruptions come two weeks after militants massacred 26 civilians, mostly tourists, in the mountainous town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, a rampage that has sparked widespread outrage.

India was quick to place blame for the assault on Pakistan, which it has long accused of harboring militant groups. Pakistan denied involvement, and tensions have mounted since with a series of escalatory tit-for-tat moves between the two neighbors.

Both sides had already closed their airspaces to each other’s aircraft since the attack, but the increased tensions are now impacting other international airlines and will likely cost them as they burn extra fuel taking longer routes.

Airlines have already had to be cautious about other key flashpoints in recent years, including the Middle East and areas close to the Ukraine-Russia front lines.

Flight-tracking data showed some flights of British Airways, Swiss International Air Lines and Emirates traveling over the Arabian Sea and then turning north toward Delhi in order to avoid Pakistani airspace, Reuters reported.

Kashmir, one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints, is controlled in part by India and Pakistan but both countries claim it in its entirety. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars over the mountainous territory that is now divided by a de-facto border called the Line of Control (LOC) since their independence from Britain nearly 80 years ago.

In the wake of the tourist massacre, India and Pakistan have been flexing their military muscle, putting both countries on edge.

Pakistan on Monday carried out a second missile test in three days, Reuters reported.

The Pakistani army said the missile tested was a Fatah series surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles), according to Reuters. It came two days after the successful launch of a surface-to-surface ballistic missile.

India has also ordered all its states and union territories to carry out mock security drills on Wednesday.

It comes days after India’s navy said it had carried out test missile strikes to “revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long range precision offensive strike.”

Tensions have ramped up despite the United States and China – two major global players – urging restraint.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on Monday also urged both India and Pakistan to “avoid a military confrontation that could easily spin out of control.”

“Make no mistake: A military solution is no solution,” he added.

Japan’s Emperor Emeritus Akihito will be admitted to hospital for heart tests on Tuesday, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Imperial Household Agency.

Akihito, 91, who is retired, is the father of Emperor Naruhito. He abdicated from the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019, seven years after he had heart bypass surgery.

The former emperor will undergo tests at the University of Tokyo Hospital after signs of myocardial ischemia were found during a regular checkup last month, NHK reported, citing the Imperial Household Agency. The condition reduces blood flow to the heart muscle.

Akihito, who ascended to the throne after his father, Hirohito, died in 1989, became the first Japanese monarch in 200 years to abdicate his post.

He cited health reasons for standing down, having undergone heart surgery and been treated for prostate cancer in the years preceding his abdication.

A man prepared to break with tradition, Akihito was the first Japanese emperor to marry a commoner, speak to his subjects live on television, and be hands-on in raising his children.

The emperor is a ceremonial but revered figure in Japan’s constitutional monarchy. It is the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world, dating back 14 centuries.

A desperate search for two children missing in a rural part of Canada’s Nova Scotia province has stretched into its fourth day, with dozens of rescuers combing the dense woods in search of the siblings.

Six-year-old Lily Sullivan and her brother Jack, 4, were last seen Friday morning at their home in Pictou County, about 70 miles from the province’s capital city of Halifax, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Police said on Saturday they believe the pair wandered away from their home.

In the days since, more than one hundred searchers as well as helicopters, drones and dogs have been scouring the heavily wooded area near their home for any clues about the siblings’ whereabouts.

The search continued overnight Monday despite challenging rainy conditions. Police said searchers spotted a footprint on Saturday and have expanded their search effort in that area, CBC reported.

Brooks-Murray told CTV Jack and Lily are not the type of kids to go outside alone.

“We always make sure that we’re out there with them, watching them, and they happen to just get out that sliding door, and we can’t hear it when it opens, and they were outside playing, but we weren’t aware of it at the time, and the next thing we knew it was quiet,” Brooks-Murray told CTV.

The children are members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation, according to chief Michelle Glasgow.

“Please help bring Lily and Jack back home,” Glasgow said on social media.

Daniel Martell, the children’s stepfather, told CBC Lily and Jack are “awesome kids.”

“Jack just absolutely loves bugs, dinosaurs,” Martell said. “Lily loves girly things but she also loves doing everything with Jack.”

“They’re like best friends, not just brother and sister,” he added.

Martell said he is pushing for police to monitor the borders and the airports to search for the children. The RCMP are not currently treating the case as a possible kidnapping, according to the CBC.

The RCMP said search and rescue volunteers and officers have “meticulously searched” the area around Jack and Lily’s home and asked the public to avoid the search area in a post to social media Monday.

“Searchers are diligently keeping track of which specific sections of the ground have been covered and are applying their specialized skills to allow the searchers on scene to stay safe,” the RCMP said.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said people “across Nova Scotia are praying for a positive outcome” for Jack and Lily in a post to social media Saturday.

Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow for the second consecutive night as the Russian capital prepares to host a major annual military parade expected to be attended by world leaders including China’s Xi Jinping.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in a Telegram post Tuesday that at least 19 Ukrainian drones were destroyed on their approach to the capital overnight, one night after Russian air defenses shot down four drones near the city.

There were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties following the overnight drone attack on Moscow, but debris from downed drones fell on a major highway, according to the city’s mayor on Tuesday. Flights were also suspended as a safety precaution at four of the capital’s airports, according to Russian aviation authorities.

The latest Ukrainian attack on Moscow comes ahead of Xi’s expected arrival in the Russian capital on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, in which the Chinese leader will take part in Friday’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations, according to a Kremlin statement Sunday.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Vietnam’s President To Lam and Belarussian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko are among other leaders expected to attend.

Victory Day is the most significant day in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calendar, as he has long used it to rally public support and demonstrate the country’s military prowess.

Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of Moscow’s Red Square on Friday in an exhibition of patriotism marking the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany and commemorating the more than 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians who died during World War II.

Putin last month declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with the May 9 celebrations based on what he called “humanitarian considerations.”

The Russian leader’s announcement was met with skepticism in Ukraine and renewed urging from the White House for a “permanent ceasefire” as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a deal to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the three-day ceasefire, saying he was only ready to sign up for a longer truce of at least 30 days.

And in a message to dignitaries traveling to Russia for the Victory Day celebrations, the Ukrainian leader warned that Kyiv “cannot be responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation,” due to the ongoing conflict.

Kyiv won’t be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May,” Zelensky said in his nightly address on Saturday.

In response, Russia’s foreign ministry said his comments amounted to a threat.

Zelensky has demanded answers from China in recent weeks, after he revealed that two Chinese fighters had been captured by Ukraine in early April and claimed there were “many more” in Russia’s ranks.

Beijing denied any involvement and repeated previous calls for Chinese citizens to “refrain from participating in military actions of any party.”

Kyiv has increasingly turned to drones to level the playing field with Russia, which boasts superior manpower and resources. On Saturday, Ukraine claimed it shot down a Russian Su-30 fighter jet in the Black Sea using a seaborne drone for the first time.