Pakistan and Afghanistan in “open war”
Pakistan has declared “open war” against Afghanistan, as the two sides engage in the fiercest clashes in years. On Thursday, Afghan’s Taliban-run forces launched six cross-border attacks on Pakistani military positions. Pakistan retaliated today with air attacks on Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, hitting Afghan military targets and claiming it killed close to 300 Taliban militants. In response, a number of countries including Russia, China and the UK have called for a cessation of hostilities, while India – Islamabad’s archrival — condemned Pakistan’s air raids. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have grown hostile as Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring a Pakistani branch of the Taliban and of inching closer to India. The two sides have exchanged fire over the past year, even after a ceasefire brokered by Qatar last fall, but none this lethal.
Trump pushes Zelensky for ASAP peace deal
In a 30-minute call on Thursday, President Donald Trump reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he wants to end the war with Russia as soon as possible — aiming for a deal by summer, but ideally within weeks. Trump reiterated his willingness to provide Ukraine with significant US security guarantees as negotiations continue. But Zelensky faces a delicate challenge of adapting to Trump’s transactional approach to peacemaking. Trump’s urgency is partly driven by a desire to reopen US-Russia commerce, which could help revive Russia’s economy and ultimately weaken the credibility of US security commitments to Ukraine. As former NATO ambassador Ivo Daalder warned during a recent GZERO World interview, a ceasefire could become a “trap” if it means the US opens up economic relationships with Russia — like weakened sanctions and pushing Europeans to release $300 billion in Russian frozen assets. As a result, post-war security commitments to Ukraine could lose their credibility.
US strikes billion dollar health partnership with Congo
Washington agreed on Thursday to provide $900 million to help the mineral-rich African nation combat HIV/AIDS, advance maternal and child health, and fight infectious diseases. In return, Congo will put up $300 million of its own money. The pact comes just weeks after the US and Kinshasa inked a controversial deal giving US companies access to Congo’s critical minerals. The Trump administration has struck more than a dozen bilateral health agreements with African nations since eliminating USAID, the US’s main foreign aid agency. Supporters of the “trade-not-aid”-style deals say they reduce recipient countries’ aid dependency and provide more tangible benefits for the US. Critics say they are opaque, and have raised concerns about provisions that may give US companies access to Africans’ personal health data.
