Wednesday briefing: Pakistan vows response to ‘act of war’ after India’s cross-border strikes

What you need to know about Indian strikes in response to terrorist attack in Kashmir last monthGood morning. Shortly after midnight local time, India said it had conducted strikes on nine sites in Pakistan, reportedly killing at least 26 people, in response to a recent militant attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir. Delhi claimed that it had hit sites of “terrorist infrastructure”, and said that its action was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory”. But Islamabad’s response suggests that its analysis is dangerously different.The strikes constituted the largest such Indian attack on Pakistan in more than half a century, and marked the worst confrontation between the two nuclear-armed powers since 2019. Pakistan responded with shelling of Indian Kashmir, and there were claims – not corroborated, and to be treated with caution – that it has shot down five Indian jets. The country’s military also claimed that a hydropower plant had been hit. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his country “has every right to give a befitting reply to this act of war”.Middle East | An Israeli government minister has vowed that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed” as a result of an Israeli military victory, and that its Palestinian population will “leave in great numbers to third countries”. The far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments have raised fears of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territory.Trade | The UK and India have agreed a ‘landmark’ trade deal that ministers say could add £4.8bn to the economy by 2040. The deal follows three years of negotiations and could help mitigate the impact of Trump tariffs.Germany | Friedrich Merz has been confirmed as the new German chancellor after a second round of election votes in the German parliament. Merz suffered a humiliating loss in the initial voting round.Religion | Catholic cardinals from all over the world will begin casting their votes for a new pope in the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday afternoon. The conclave is the largest and possibly the most unpredictable to ever take place.UK politics | Downing Street has insisted it will not consider reversing cuts to winter fuel payments despite last week’s poor results in England’s local elections.The unpopular policy, which will see many elderly and disabled people lose out, was needed to repair public finances, it said. Continue reading...

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