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Pakistan’s foreign minister will make a three-day official visit to China, his office said on Sunday, a little over a week after Islamabad reached a ceasefire with India to end their most serious conflict in decades.Ishaq Dar, who also holds the portfolio of deputy prime minister, will start his visit on Monday in Beijing where he will hold “in-depth discussions” with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi “on the evolving regional situation in South Asia and its implications for peace and stability”, his office said in a statement.”The two sides will also review the entire spectrum of Pakistan-China bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,” it said.Dar’s visit to Beijing comes on the heels of a tumultuous couple of weeks, following an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 people were killed. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack — the deadliest on civilians in Muslim-majority Kashmir in decades. Pakistan denies the charge.The territory is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, which have fought several wars over Kashmir since their 1947 independence from British rule.On May 7, India launched strikes against what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan, kicking off four days of intense tit-for-tat drone, missile and artillery exchanges with Islamabad.The conflict left more than 70 people, including dozens of civilians, dead on both sides.Fearing further escalation, global leaders had urged restraint from both sides early on in the conflict, including China which promised to play a “constructive role” — though experts say Beijing had clearly picked a side.China has been one of Pakistan’s most reliable foreign partners, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often struggling neighbour.Dar told parliament on May 7, hours after aerial combat between the two sides, that Islamabad used Chinese jets against India, with Beijing’s ambassador called to his office over the deployment.”At 4 am in the morning, the whole Chinese team, led by their ambassador, was present at the foreign office,” Dar told the parliament.”We apprised them about all the developments taken place until that time, and they were very happy,” he said.US President Donald Trump announced a surprise truce on May 10, which appears to be holding over a week later. While Islamabad stated earlier in the week that the ceasefire would last until Sunday, the Indian army said there was no expiry date to the agreement.

US President Donald Trump’s claim to have helped end fighting between arch-rivals India and Pakistan has driven a wedge between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, analysts say.A week since Trump announced a surprise truce between India and Pakistan to end a brief but intense conflict, New Delhi and Washington differ about the way it was achieved.The US administration thought “an intervention at this stage might give them some basic benefit in terms of highlighting Trump’s role,” Indian foreign policy expert Harsh V. Pant told AFP.”That… became the driver and in a sense the hurry which with Trump announced the ceasefire,” said Pant from the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think tank.Fighting began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following an April militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people.New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack, which Pakistan denies.Trump announced the truce after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks from both sides, killing about 70 people, including dozens of civilians, and sent thousands fleeing.He later boasted about bringing India and Pakistan “back from the brink”, telling Fox News on Friday it was “a bigger success than I’ll ever be given credit for”.New Delhi however shrugs off these claims, which go against decades-long Indian policy that opposes foreign mediation in conflicts with Islamabad.India and Pakistan claim the currently divided Kashmir in full. New Delhi considers the Himalayan region an internal matter, with politicians long viewing external mediation as a sign of weakness.Modi’s first speech since the ceasefire did not mention US involvement and his government has since insisted that talks with Pakistan are “strictly bilateral”.India was also quick to dismiss Trump’s suggestion that trade pressures hastened a truce.”The issue of trade did not come up” in discussions with US officials, the Indian foreign ministry said this week.- ‘Upstaged’ -According to ORF fellow Manoj Joshi, Trump’s rhetoric is “irritating” for India — whose strategic location and massive market size have made the country an important ally for the United States.But India is being “very cautious” because it is in negotiations for a trade deal with Washington to avoid steep tarriffs, he said.”We (India) would like the agenda to go in a different direction,” said Joshi.It is also a thorny matter domestically. Main opposition Congress party said Trump’s announcement had “upstaged” the Hindu nationalist leader’s “much-delayed address”.It also demanded an all-party meeting to ask whether India is changing its policy on “third-party mediation” for Kashmir, disputed between Pakistan and India. The two South Asian rivals had in the 1970s agreed to settle “differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations”.- ‘Irritating’ -Modi has previously poked fun at former Congress governments for “weak” responses against Pakistan in various skirmishes. “So India would obviously respond to that and deny that… about as politely as they feel they can get away with,” said South Asia researcher Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of political consultancy Eurasia Group.Trump’s claimed mediation was welcomed by Islamabad, which “needed an American intervention to give them the off-ramp they needed to get out of a conflict”, Chaudhuri added.On Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reaffirmed that “where Pakistan is concerned, our relations, our dealings with them will be bilateral, and strictly bilateral.”But the same day, speaking from Qatar, Trump repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire and using trade as a tool.”(I said) let’s do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that,” Trump said in his speech.It has been a decade since Modi last met a Pakistani leader. Since then, relations have deteriorated, coming to a head when India unilaterally revoked Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.According to Joshi, “the hyphenation of India and Pakistan” is also “irritating” for New Delhi, which has tried to carve out a separate identity on the global stage.”The optics of Trump hammering it day after day… is politically damaging for Modi,” Sushant Singh, a former Indian soldier and South Asian studies lecturer at Yale University, wrote on X.”(Modi) can’t personally counter Trump, and despite attempts by India’s big media to play it down, social media amplifies Trump,” Singh said.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Friday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should reconsider a one billion dollar loan to Pakistan alleging it was “funding terror”, a move denounced by Islamabad as proof of New Delhi’s desperation.India and Pakistan last week clashed in the worst military violence in decades, killing around 70 people before agreeing a ceasefire that began Saturday.The confrontations were sparked by an attack on tourists by gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing — a charge it denies.”I believe a big portion of the $1 billion coming from IMF will be used for funding terror infrastructure,” Singh told troops at an air force base in western India.”I believe any economic assistance to Pakistan is nothing less than funding terror.”Despite India’s objections, the IMF last week approved a loan programme review for Pakistan, unlocking a $1 billion payment which the state bank said has already been received.A fresh $1.4 billion loan was also approved under the IMF’s climate resilience fund.India — which also represents Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh on the IMF board — abstained from the review vote with a statement from its finance ministry stating, “concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes in case of Pakistan given its poor track record”.”India was the lone country which tried to stop it and it failed. It again reflects Indian frustration. Trying to criticise an institution like IMF speaks about this desperation,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan told reporters.Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023, as a political crisis compounded an economic downturn and drove the nation’s debt burden to terminal levels before being saved by a $7 billion bailout from the IMF which sparked further crucial loans from friendly nations.- Removed from watchlist -Pakistan, which has long battled militancy within its borders, has faced scrutiny over its ability to combat illicit financing, including to militant organisations and in 2022 was put on an international money-laundering watchlist.However, the Financial Action Task Force removed Pakistan from it so-called grey-list in 2022 after “significant progress” which included charges being filed against suspected militants accused of being involved in the 2008 attacks in India’s Mumbai.Singh claimed it was “clear that in Pakistan, terrorism and their government are hand in glove with each other. “In this situation there is a possibility that their nuclear weapons could get their way into the hands of terrorists. This is a danger not just for Pakistan but the entire world,” he said.Singh on Thursday called for Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal to be put under the surveillance of the UN’s atomic energy agency, with Islamabad firing back that the international community should investigate a nuclear “black market” in India.Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Friday, where the two discussed the ceasefire, according to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry.Lammy also contacted his Indian counterpart on Thursday, the UK foreign office said, adding he “will look to travel to New Delhi soon.”Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has warned that Pakistan’s armed forces are ready to counter any Indian aggression, called Friday evening for diplomatic solutions. “We have to sit down at the table like peaceful neighbours and settle our outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir,” Sharif said. The disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been at the heart of several wars between the two neighbours, who administer separate portions of the divided territory.Militants stepped up operations on the Indian side of Kashmir from 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and imposed direct rule from New Delhi.

Every week, Bibi Jan scrapes together some of her husband’s meagre daily wage to buy precious water from rickshaw-drawn tankers that supply residents of Afghanistan’s increasingly parched capital.Kabul faces a looming water crisis, driven by unruly and rapid urbanisation, mismanagement over years of conflict, and climate change, meaning people like Bibi Jan are sometimes forced to choose between food and water.”When my children have only tea for a few days, they say, ‘You bought water and nothing for us’,” the 45-year-old housewife told AFP, describing reusing her supplies for bathing, dishes and laundry.Experts have long sounded the alarm over Kabul’s water problems, which are worsening even as many international players have backed off big infrastructure projects and slashed funding to Afghanistan since the Taliban government took power in 2021. “There could be no ground water in Kabul by 2030” without urgent action, the UN children’s agency UNICEF warned last year.  Other experts are more cautious, citing limited consistent and reliable data, but say the situation is clearly deteriorating. A 2030 cliff is a “worst-case scenario”, said water resources management expert Assem Mayar. But even if slated development projects are completed in a few years, it “doesn’t mean the situation would become better than now”, Mayar said.”As time goes on, the problems are only increasing,” he added, as population growth outstrips urban planning and climate change drives below-average precipitation.   – ‘Decreasing day by day’ -The Taliban authorities have launched projects ranging from recycling water to building hundreds of small dams across the country, but larger interventions remain hampered by financing and technical capacity. They remain unrecognised by any country since they ousted the Western-backed government and imposed their severe interpretation of Islamic law, with restrictions on women a major sticking point. They have repeatedly called for non-governmental groups to reboot stalled projects on water and climate change, as Afghanistan faces “some of the harshest effects” in the region, according to the United Nations. The water and energy ministry wants to divert water from the Panjshir river to the capital, but needs $300 million to $400 million. A dam project near Kabul would ease pressures but was delayed after the Taliban takeover.For now, Kabul’s primary drinking water source is groundwater, as much as 80 percent of which is contaminated, according to a May report by Mercy Corps.It is tapped by more than 100,000 unregulated wells across the city that are regularly deepened or run dry, the NGO said. Groundwater can be recharged, but more is drawn each year than is replenished in Kabul, with an estimated annual 76-million-cubic-metre (20-billion-gallon) deficit, experts say.”It’s a very serious problem… Water is decreasing day by day in the city,” said Shafiullah Zahidi, who heads central Kabul operations for the state-owned water company UWASS. Water systems designed decades ago serve just 20 percent of the city’s population, which has exploded to around six million over the past 20 years, said Zahidi. – ‘Use less water’ -At one of Kabul’s 15 pumping stations, maintenance manager Mohammad Ehsan said the seven-year-old well is already producing less water. Two others nearby sit dry. “The places with shallower water levels are dried out now,” said 53-year-old Ehsan, who has worked in water management for two decades, as he stood over an old well.It once produced water from a depth of 70 metres (230 feet), but a newer well had to be bored more than twice as deep to reach groundwater.    At one of the two large stations in the city, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently procured four new pumps where only one had been functioning. “If that pump collapsed for any reason, that means stopping the service for 25,000 beneficiary households,” which now have uninterrupted water, said Baraa Afeh, ICRC’s deputy water and habitat coordinator. Everyone in Kabul “should have 24-hour service”, said Zahidi, from the state water company.But in reality, Bibi Jan and many other Kabulis are forced to lug water in heavy jugs from wells or buy it from tankers.These suppliers charge at least twice as much as the state-owned utility, with potable water even more pricy in a country where 85 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.Bibi Jan said she has to police her family’s water use carefully. “I tell them, ‘I’m not a miser but use less water.’ Because if the water runs out then what would we do?”

India and Pakistan accused each other Thursday of failing to control their nuclear weapons, calling on the world to monitor their neighbour’s arsenal just days after their most serious military confrontation in two decades.Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal should be under the surveillance of the UN’s atomic energy agency, while Islamabad said the international community should investigate a “black market” in India. The latest conflict between India and Pakistan had sparked global concerns that it could spiral into a full-blown war before a ceasefire was brokered on Saturday.”I wanted to raise this question for the world: are nuclear weapons safe in the hands of a rogue and irresponsible nation?” Singh told troops at a base in Indian-administered Kashmir.”I believe that Pakistan’s atomic weapons should be brought under the surveillance of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Singh added.Hours later, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the IAEA should instead probe “the repeated theft and illicit trafficking incidents involving nuclear and radioactive material in India”.”These incidents also suggest the existence of a black market for sensitive, dual-use materials inside India,” its statement added.But on Thursday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced there had been “military to military communications” and both sides had agreed to extend a ceasefire until Sunday, May 18. – Ceasefire -Fighting began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 people.New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack — the deadliest on civilians in Kashmir in decades. Pakistan denies the charge.Four days of intense drone, missile and artillery exchanges ensued, leaving nearly 70 people, including dozens of civilians, dead on both sides.Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and members of the IAEA, which regulates the use of nuclear weapons.Pakistani ministers have repeatedly said the nuclear option was not on the table and that the country’s nuclear governmental body was not summoned at any point during the recent conflict.Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told reporters on Sunday that escalating conflict between the nuclear rivals was “inconceivable and sheer stupidity”.”That conflict can lead to the peril of 1.6 billion people, so in reality there is no space for war between India and Pakistan,” Chaudhry said.- Restraint calls -Fearing further escalation, global leaders had urged restraint from the arch-enemies with US President Donald Trump announcing the surprise truce.The ceasefire has held since the weekend, following initial claims of violations from both sides.But Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a call with UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, expressed “concerns over the continued provocative and inflammatory remarks by Indian leadership, as a threat to the fragile regional peace”.India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Thursday that a key water treaty, which governs river water critical to parched Pakistan for consumption and agriculture, would remain suspended until “cross-border terrorism by Pakistan is credibly and irrevocably stopped”.His counterpart in Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, responded calling the treaty “a no-go area”.”The treaty can’t be amended, nor can it be terminated by any party unless both agree,” he told parliament.Militants have stepped up operations on the Indian side of Kashmir since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and imposed direct rule from New Delhi.Police in Indian-administered Kashmir meanwhile said they killed three suspected militants on Thursday in the town of Tral, in Pulwama district south of Srinagar, the region’s main city. Police also said three other suspected militants died in a gun battle with soldiers on Tuesday in the southern Kashmir valley.Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, which have fought several wars over the territory since their 1947 independence from British rule.burs-ecl/tc/dhw/bys

Shruti Sharma tearfully hugged her family goodbye and fled her home near the contested border in Kashmir with her three children on the first night of India and Pakistan’s worst conflict in decades.She returned home on Wednesday to a rapturous welcome from her mother-in-law and husband after fearing they would be killed by Pakistani strikes and that her house would be destroyed.”I never thought I would return to a home that was still intact,” the 37-year-old school teacher from Poonch said.The house is a patchwork of brightly painted rooms, built gradually as the family expanded. A second floor is underway but far from complete.Tens of thousands of people living near India’s contested frontier with Pakistan were forced to flee as both countries launched deadly attacks and counter-attacks over four days, starting May 7. But many are returning after the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday.Poonch, a frontier town in Indian-administered Kashmir that was one of the worst-hit in the attacks.Sharma’s home, in a narrow lane hemmed by tightly packed houses, survived the deadly strikes, but several of her neighbours were not so lucky.Her mother-in-law, Champa Devi, who refused to leave, said it was a “miracle” their house was intact and that she and her son survived. “I had resigned to the possibility of not seeing my grandchildren ever again,” she said, as her youngest grandson, two-year-old Daksh, zoomed past in a toy car.- ‘Night of terror’ -“It was a night of terror,” Sharma said, recalling the first night of fighting before she fled in a taxi to her sister’s house, nearly 300 kilometres (190 miles) away.She said her decision to leave was “for the sake of my children”. Sharma’s mother, who lives alone a few blocks away, joined them.The 12-hour journey down the mountains saw them being bombarded with phone calls and text messages bringing a spate of bad news. “I got a call from a relative saying that an explosion in a petrol station had killed my nephew,” she recalled. “Our cab had stopped there for refuelling barely 10 minutes earlier.”At least 15 Indian civilians died in the fighting — the deadliest between the two South Asian rivals since 1999.It followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.India accused Pakistan of backing the “terrorists” it said were responsible for the Pahalgam attack — a charge Islamabad denied — and last week launched missiles at sites in Pakistan it said were hosting the militants.- ‘The trauma followed us’ -Sharma said she was constantly fretting about her husband and in-laws’ safety during the week she was away.”We may have been physically far, but the trauma followed us,” she said. “I would often wake up in the middle of the night with a feeling of dread.”An AFP team joined them for their return journey, a far more relaxed and happy affair.After an early start, the family stopped for breakfast at a small eatery on the highway, where they chatted with other families returning home.  The conversations were grim, with many of the exchanges discussing dead relatives or friends.”They have changed Poonch forever,” said Sharma’s mother Purnima. “You will never know what we have gone through.”A packed lunch, chicken curry and rice, was eaten on paper plates in the car.  As the sun dipped, the scenery changed from semi-urban plains to more rural and picturesque, pine-dotted valleys, signalling that home was near. “It feels good to be back but there is this lingering apprehension that something will go wrong again,” said Sharma. In some areas along the contested frontier that fear pervades, with reports of fresh drone sightings and renewed shelling, forcing some families to flee again.That fear pervades in some parts of the contested frontier where there have been reports of fresh drone sightings and renewed shelling, forcing some people to flee again. The sun was setting when the taxi finally reached Sharma’s neighbourhood. Her husband Sanjeev stood outside the narrow lane leading to their home to greet them. His son Daksh immediately jumped into his father’s arms.Sharma lugged her suitcase up the alleys, arriving home just in time for evening tea — their first together in over a week.”I feel alive again,” her mother-in-law Champa Devi said. “What is a home anyway without the kids?”

Pakistan returned a captured border guard to India on Wednesday, in a fresh sign of detente after a ceasefire ended four days of conflict between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.The guard was captured a day after an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people and sparked tit-for-tat missile, drone and fighter jet attacks.No group claimed responsibility for the April 22 attack but India blamed Pakistan for backing it. Islamabad rejects the accusations and has called for an independent probe.”Purnam Kumar Shaw, who had been in the custody of Pakistan Rangers since 23 April 2025, was handed over to India,” India’s Border Security Force said in a statement.The handover was “conducted peacefully and in accordance with established protocols,” it added.”I am very happy today,” Shaw’s wife Rajani, who is pregnant, told reporters following the announcement. She had earlier told the Indian Express newspaper that before the ceasefire she had “lost all hope”.- Ceasefire holding -Pakistan’s army announced on Wednesday a new death toll from the fighting, saying India’s “unprovoked and reprehensible dastardly attacks” killed 40 civilians, half of them women and children.It also said 13 military service members had been killed during operations.India has said that 15 civilians and five soldiers died on its side.Addressing troops on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad had taken revenge for its last war with India, which led to the creation of Bangladesh from Pakistan’s then eastern wing.”In this war, you have taken revenge for the 1971 war with India,” he told his troops.Despite mutual claims of initial violations, the ceasefire still appeared to be holding on Wednesday.The flare-up in violence was the worst since the rivals’ last open conflict in 1999 and sparked global shudders that it could spiral into a full-blown war.The Pakistani military has said it downed five Indian jets without any losses of its own.India has not disclosed losing any aircraft, although a security source told AFP at least three fighter jets had crashed on Indian territory.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a televised address to the nation Monday that Pakistan had chosen to attack rather than help it fight “terrorism”.”If another terrorist attack against India is carried out, a strong response will be given,” he said.Modi wrote on X Tuesday that he had met with service members involved in the conflict.”India is eternally grateful to our armed forces for everything they do for our nation,” he said.Sharif held a call with UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday in which “he expressed concerns over the continued provocative and inflammatory remarks by Indian leadership, as a threat to the fragile regional peace”, his office said in a statement. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said that it rejected Modi’s “provocative and inflammatory assertions” and his “propensity to fabricate misleading narratives to justify aggression”.”Make no mistake, we will closely monitor India’s actions and behaviour in this regard in the coming days. We also urge the international community to do the same,” it added in a statement.Sharif also warned India about suspending a key water supply treaty, calling it his country’s “red line”.”Don’t even think of touching the water treaty,” Sharif said after India suspended it in the wake of the attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that sparked the latest conflict.- ‘Terror activities’ -Militants have stepped up operations on the Indian side of Kashmir since 2019, when Modi’s Hindu nationalist government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and imposed direct rule from New Delhi.A gun battle at a forest around 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Pahalgam, the site of the April 22 attack on tourists, killed three men alleged to be members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based armed group, the Indian army said Wednesday.”The three were actively involved in recent terror activities in the region,” it said in a post on X.”Recoveries from the operation include AK series rifles, large quantity of ammunition, grenades and other” military materials, it said.Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both countries, which have fought two full-scale wars over the territory since their 1947 independence from British rule.

Indonesia’s top movie-makers are aiming to make a splash at this year’s Cannes film festival, backed by one of the country’s most famous cinema veterans, Christine Hakim.More than two decades ago, Hakim produced and played a starring role in the landmark Indonesian drama “Leaf on a Pillow”, which was screened to acclaim in Cannes at the time.The silver screen star is now leading a group of around 60 filmmakers and officials to the glitzy French resort town, hoping to put the Southeast Asian nation’s burgeoning film industry on the map.Days ahead of Cannes’ opening, Hakim told AFP she was heading back to the festival to help Indonesian filmmakers sell their movies and talk to possible new partners for future films.”We are bringing young, talented filmmakers to showcase this new wave,” she said.”It’s important for the future of Indonesian cinema and I believe the impact will be significant,” added Hakim, who appeared alongside Julia Roberts in the 2010 hit “Eat, Pray, Love”.Among her delegation to Cannes are some big players in Indonesian film, including director of 1998’s “Leaf on a Pillow”, Garin Nugroho, actors Chelsea Islan and Reza Rahadian, and directors Robby Ertanto and Yosep Anggi Noen.Producer Yulia Evina Bhara will be a Cannes Critics’ Week jury member, scouting for emerging filmmaking talent.She co-produced Japanese director Chie Hayakawa’s “Renoir” which is in the running for this year’s most prestigious Palme d’Or prize.Indonesia, a country with 280 million people, has a dynamic film market with about 126 million cinema-goers last year.The country also produced 285 movies in 2024 — the same number as France. Half of them were horror flicks.But 33-year-old actor Asmara Abigail, another talent in whom Hakim has high hopes, says Indonesia is producing “a lot of different genres” these days.”Following the example of South Korean cinema, I think that this is a fruitful moment for the development of Indonesian cinema,” said Abigail, who made her name in horror movies including “Satan’s Slaves” and “Impetigore”, the latter of which also featured Hakim. – ‘Happy to return’ -Now 68, the actor and producer says her return to Cannes carried bitter-sweet memories. She paid an emotional tribute to the late French film powerhouse Pierre Rissient, who died in 2018.Thanks to her “brother” Rissient, she said Cannes discovered Indonesian director Eros Djarot’s “Tjoet Nja’ Dhien”. The colonial war drama, which also starred Hakim, was selected for Critics’ Week in 1989, the first Indonesian film to be screened on the Croisette, signifying that it had been recognised for its artistic excellence, originality or innovation.”I must be there to do the same for Indonesian and Asian film that Pierre did,” Hakim told AFP.  “I am happy to return to Cannes for young Indonesian filmmakers because I must give back to the younger generation what cinema has given me.”

The IPL resumes Saturday after its suspension because of the India-Pakistan conflict, but there are doubts over foreign players and the extended schedule has sparked a showdown with international cricket.The IPL will now end on June 3, nine days later than planned, putting it on a collision course with the English summer of cricket and preparations for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s on June 11.An England ODI series against the West Indies starts on May 29 while the South Africa and Australia squads are due to begin build-up for their WTC final before the end of May.South Africa says its Test players must leave India by an originally agreed date of May 26.”Our initial agreement with the IPL and the Indian board was that our players would return (for national duty) on the 26th,” said South Africa coach Shukri Conrad, who has eight members of his Test squad contracted to IPL teams.”As it stands, we’re not budging on this.”The IPL was scheduled to finish May 25, but then the deadly conflict between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan erupted, causing the competition to be suspended last week. Many overseas players went home and it remains to be seen if all will come back for the decisive stages of the world’s richest cricket tournament.- Uncertainty -Australia’s WTC final squad is due to depart for a training camp on May 29. The country’s cricket authorities have taken a less rigid stance, with captain Pat Cummins among those expected to return to India.However his Sunrisers Hyderabad side, who also have Travis Head, cannot make the IPL playoffs and will play their final game on May 25.”Team management will work through preparation implications for the World Test Championship final for those players who choose to play,” Cricket Australia said Tuesday.Australia’s squad also includes Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals) and Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), who can both make the playoffs, which begin on May 29.England have five players from their one-day squad in the IPL and are still deciding how to respond to the hastily revamped schedule.Former captain Jos Buttler plays for table-topping Gujarat Titans, who look certain to advance, while Will Jacks (Mumbai Indians) and Jacob Bethell (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) could also be needed for the play-offs.England cricket chiefs are keen to show support for the IPL and the Indian cricket board (BCCI) but also want to put out a full-strength team.South Africa pace bowler Kagiso Rabada, who has just returned from a drugs ban, also plays for Gujarat.Fellow Proteas Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs may all have to leave before the playoffs because South Africa have a four-day warm-up match against Zimbabwe beginning on June 3.The players are stuck between their well-paying IPL franchise and their country.Bengaluru will host Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday in the first of 13 regular-season matches remaining. Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Hyderabad are already out of the playoff race.

The brief conflict between India and Pakistan last week may have left no clear victor, but Islamabad’s generals are taking a win, riding a wave of approval on social media to burnish their recently tarnished image.Much of the praise for the military, which had faced increasing criticism over its involvement in politics, has been driven by young people online, with nearly two-thirds of Pakistan’s 240 million people younger than 30.The last major conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals was in 1999 and confined to the disputed region of Kashmir, so young Pakistanis have been more accustomed to seeing the neighbouring countries clash on the cricket pitch, said digital rights activist Nighat Dad.But from the start of Indian strikes on Wednesday, “for the first time, they were able to listen to the shots, the blasts, the drone strikes and they witnessed drones flying over their very own houses” in major cities, including the capital, she told AFP. She said it sparked “an emotionally charged sentiment that someone who is our neighbour, who has been blaming us for terrorist attacks in their country for decades attacks us”. New Delhi launched strikes after accusing Pakistan of backing a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April, a charge repeatedly denied by Islamabad.- ‘Cooked Bollywood’ -By retaliating, Pakistan’s “army cooked Bollywood in front of the whole world”, joked one social media user, claiming the military exploits outshone Indian blockbusters.”Even Indians would fall for (our) generals,” another said, as social media has been flooded with images of romanticised soldiers and pilots surrounded by hearts. The social network X had been blocked in Pakistan for over a year before coming back online just as hostilities flared, with the army praising the efforts of young “cyber and information warriors”.The platform went down in Pakistan during the 2024 general elections as anti-military sentiment had begun to spread in the country where analysts say the armed forces have long been considered untouchable and the institution pulling the strings.Former prime minister Imran Khan and hundreds of his supporters were jailed after riots against the army on May 9, 2023.This year, on May 10, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire, and it will now be commemorated in Pakistan as the day of “the battle for justice”. “We are all behind our army,” proclaim posters put up on streets across the country by both the state and private citizens.But the honeymoon with the army may not last.Already, Khan’s party, which, along with all the others, has voted for anti-India resolutions in the Senate, is calling for a return to “the real fight”.That battle is for the release of their champion, who sees the criminal accusations against him as means by those in power to sideline him.For more than half of its 78-year history, Pakistan has been directly ruled by the military.Today, the army is still seen as a kingmaker, even though it claims to have stepped away from politics.Army chief General Asim Munir, who had long drawn criticism from the opposition, stayed out of the spotlight during the conflict with India, with only the army and government spokespeople speaking publicly.One high-ranking officer in particular seems to have won the hearts of Pakistanis online: Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed, spokesperson for the Air Force, who revelled in the victories of his pilots, with Pakistan having claimed to have downed three French Rafale jets belonging to India.A European military source considered it “highly unlikely” that three Rafales were destroyed, but said it is “credible” that one may have been.- ‘David v Goliath’ -The “Rafale is a very potent aircraft… if employed well”, quipped Ahmed during a press conference.The clip quickly spread on social media, with users hailing a “David versus Goliath victory” of their military, which has far less funding, manpower and equipment than the armed forces of India. “Young Pakistanis used the memes culture, using Indian misinformation as a joke and humour,” with India in response blocking dozens of accounts belonging to Pakistani public figures on X and YouTube, said Dad.Under the guise of humour, these memes became a way to spread opinions, information and support, she added. These same people might have reacted strongly online to a Supreme Court decision to allow Pakistani military courts to try civilians — but announced the same day as the start of the confrontation between Islamabad and New Delhi, it went relatively unnoticed.”The crisis bolstered the army,” said researcher Michael Kugelman.”It was able to rally the country around it in the face of Indian attacks and to play the role of protector that is such an important part of the military’s identity and legitimacy.”