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Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the Ukraine war and trade rows with US President Donald Trump on Thursday and said the United States remained Berlin’s “indispensable” partner, using their first phone call to attempt to heal frayed ties.Since Trump returned to the White House, he has rattled Europe with head-pinning changes in security and trade policy, while his top administration officials have strongly supported Germany’s far-right AfD party.Merz, despite being an avowed transatlanticist, has called for Europe to become more independent of its traditional NATO ally and said after his February election win that he had “no illusions” about the new tone from Washington.But in their talk on Thursday, the conservative Merz “assured the American President that, 80 years after the end of the Second World War, the USA remains an indispensable friend and partner of Germany,” said a statement from Berlin.”Both agreed to a close exchange and announced mutual visits to the USA and Germany,” it added without giving dates.Merz’s spokesman Stefan Kornelius highlighted broad agreement to jointly resolve major crises, from the Ukraine war to the escalating US-EU trade row sparked by Trump’s blizzard of tariffs.The new chancellor “shared the President’s call for a swift end to the killing in Ukraine” and said that “Russia must now agree to a ceasefire to create space for negotiations”.The statement added that “Trump said he would strongly support Germany’s efforts, together with France, Great Britain, Poland and other European partners, to achieve lasting peace.”The call came after Merz took power on Tuesday in a bumpy first day during which he was only elected in a second-round vote my MPs, having lost the first one in a surprise upset.His inauguration ended half a year of political paralysis in Europe’s top economy since centre-left ex-chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government collapsed last November 6, the day Trump was re-elected to the White House.- ‘No illusions’ -Trump’s inauguration came about a month before the German election on February 23 and heavily impacted the final stretch of the campaign.The new US president reached out directly to Russia to end the Ukraine war and fuelled doubts about the future strength of NATO, while threatening a trade war that would harm especially export power Germany.Merz, straight after winning the election, urged the speedy formation of a new coalition government, warning that “the world isn’t waiting for us”.He said his “absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA” in security matters.During the campaign, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) won strong backing from Trump ally Elon Musk, the technology billionaire, who called it the “best hope” for Germany.Last week, after Germany’s domestic intelligence agency designated the AfD a “right-wing extremist” party, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move “tyranny in disguise”.Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that “the West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt — not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment”.Merz on Tuesday condemned what he labelled the recent “absurd observations” from the United States and said he “would like to encourage the American government… to largely stay out of” German domestic politics.A politician with longstanding US ties, Merz said he had always felt “from America that they can clearly distinguish between extremist parties and parties of the political centre”.Merz also noted on Tuesday that “I did not interfere in the American election campaign” that elected Trump.The Berlin statement after the first Trump-Merz phone call made no mention of the row over the AfD.

A Polish former model testifying through tears Thursday at the trial of Harvey Weinstein said the disgraced movie mogul sexually assaulted her when she was a minor at age 16.Kaja Sokola, 39, alleged in a New York criminal court circumstances surrounding an alleged assault in 2002 when she met with Weinstein in a Manhattan apartment.”I was scared, I never had been in an intimate situation before that,” Sokola said in graphic testimony Thursday, adding that as he molested her she noticed Weinstein “staring at me in the reflection” of a bathroom mirror.”I’ll never forget this,” she said.Sokola is being heard this week in criminal court for the first time, one of three accusers in a 2020 New York case alleging Weinstein committed multiple sexual assaults. Weinstein does not face charges in the alleged 2002 incident with Sokola because its timing is outside the statute of limitations.The previous day Sokola testified that Weinstein also sexually assaulted her in spring 2006, in a Manhattan hotel when she was 19, claims that the former Miramax co-founder denies.The other two accusers — onetime production assistant Miriam Haley and then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann — testified at Weinstein’s original trial.Their two accounts helped galvanize the #MeToo movement nearly a decade ago, but the case is being re-prosecuted as Weinstein faces a new trial in New York. His 2020 convictions on charges relating to Haley and Mann were overturned last year by the New York Court of Appeals, which ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original trial was unlawful.Sokola said that as an aspiring actress she met Weinstein at a restaurant dinner with other models in 2002 when she was 16. The film producer who is nearly 40 years her senior called her a few days later to propose a lunch meeting, she testified, but instead they arrived at an apartment and he told her to take off her clothes.”He forced me to the bathroom. I told him I didn’t want to do it, and he said I had to work on my stubbornness,” she told the court, testifying that Weinstein touched her and forced her to touch him until he ejaculated.Sokola “felt stupid, ashamed,” she said, as the 73-year-old Weinstein, seated in a wheelchair, looked at the jury or rested his hands on his forehead.When she told Weinstein she wanted to leave, “he got upset” and said that “I had to listen to him if I wanted to pursue my career in Hollywood,” added Sokola, who is now a psychotherapist.Sokola acknowledged that a year later she began losing weight and suffered from conditions including anorexia and bulimia.Asked by prosecutor Shannon Lucey why she never reported what happened, she said “I thought it was my fault.””I was a happy teenager before that,” she said. “I had boundaries, but this happened so rapidly without my permission.”Weinstein, the producer of box-office hits “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” has never acknowledged wrongdoing.He is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted in California of raping and assaulting a European actress more than a decade ago.

US President Donald Trump’s administration will stop updating a long-running database of costly climate and weather disasters as part of its deep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to a Thursday announcement.The database, which spans the years 1980-2024, has allowed researchers, the media and the public to keep a tally of events ranging from wildfires to hurricanes that caused losses exceeding $1 billion, adjusted for inflation. “In alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information will no longer be updating the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters product,” a banner on the landing page said. Past years will remain archived.From 1980 to 2024, the United States experienced 403 weather and climate disasters with damages exceeding $1 billion each, adjusted to 2024 dollars. The cumulative cost of these events surpassed $2.9 trillion.A time-series chart shows that while there is year-to-year variation, the overall number of billion-dollar disasters is rising sharply, driven by climate destabilization linked to fossil fuel emissions.”Hiding many billions in costs is Trump’s latest move to leave Americans in the dark about climate disasters,” said Maya Golden-Krasner of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute.”Trump’s climate agenda is to leave people unsafe and unprepared while oil companies pocket record profits,” Golden-Krasner added. “The pressure is on for leaders with integrity to keep counting the costs of climate disasters and hold polluters accountable for the damage.”Trump, who withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement on day one of his second term, has pursued aggressive rollbacks of climate-focused institutions. His administration appears to be following “Project 2025,” a blueprint authored by right-wing think tanks that labels NOAA a key source of “climate alarmism.”NOAA has since undergone mass layoffs affecting roughly 20 percent of its workforce, and the White House is seeking to slash the agency’s annual budget by $1.5 billion — nearly a quarter of its total funding.The move follows another major blow to federal climate science: the dismissal of more than 400 authors behind the National Climate Assessment, a report mandated by Congress and considered the government’s foremost climate evaluation.

The United States said Thursday that a new foundation will soon announce plans for aid to Gaza, sidelining the United Nations as Israel’s two-month blockade brings severe shortages to the war-battered territory.State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the foundation was non-governmental and would make an announcement “shortly,” without offering further details.”We welcome moves to quickly get urgent food aid into Gaza… in a way that the food aid actually gets to those to whom it’s intended,” Bruce told reporters.”It cannot fall into the hands of terrorists such as Hamas.”Israel has imposed a blockade for two months on Gaza, leading UN agencies and other humanitarian groups to warn of dwindling supplies of everything from fuel to medicine to the territory of 2.4 million Palestinians.Israel denies a humanitarian crisis is unfolding and has vowed to ramp up pressure further on Hamas. The Israeli military has already leveled most of the territory’s buildings following militants’ unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.Israel has long criticized involvement of the United Nations, seeing it as biased, and has banned work of the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees.Asked about the lack of a role for the United Nations, whose efforts have been impeded by Israel, Bruce said: “Endless press releases and Hamas appeasement have not delivered food, medicine or shelter to those who need it.”US President Donald Trump has teased a major announcement before he heads on a tour next week of Gulf Arab monarchies.Little is known for certain about the foundation, but a listing in Switzerland showed the establishment in February of the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.”Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported that the foundation was looking to hire “mercenaries” to work in the distribution of aid.Amnesty International’s Swiss chapter voiced alarm, saying in a statement: “A foundation contributing to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory would be in violation of international law and fail to meet its responsibility to respect human rights.”Israeli officials in recent days have spoken of a broader assault in Gaza, whose population has been almost entirely displaced by the military offensive.Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the territory will be “entirely destroyed.”European governments, UN experts and China have voiced alarm over the Israeli plans. The Trump administration has held back on criticism and blamed Hamas for the situation.Trump since taking office has stopped the vast majority of US international assistance.

Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV on Thursday after cardinals from around the globe chose him to be the first leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to hail from the United States.Tens of thousands of well-wishers cheered as Leo, successor to the late Pope Francis, appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to deliver the first address of his ministry.”To all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to the whole Earth, peace be with you,” a smiling Leo told the crowd.”Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace.”Leo’s speech drew warm applause, especially a section where the prelate — who spent many years in Peru — broke into Spanish, and also when he paid tribute to his popular predecessor Francis, who died last month.”We still keep in our ears that weak, but always courageous, voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome,” he said, referring to the ailing Argentine’s Easter Sunday address, a day before his death.”We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, which hold dialogues, which is always open,” he said.- ‘Great honour’ -The 69-year-old Prevost had been talked about as among the “papabili” — cardinals thought qualified for the papacy — and as someone who could defend and further Francis’s legacy.But he was not a globally-recognised figure among the Catholic rank and file.World leaders raced to welcome his election as the 267th pope and promise to work with the Church on global issues at a time of great geopolitical uncertainty.Leo, who spent years as a missionary in Peru, now faces a momentous task. As well as asserting his moral voice on a conflict-torn world stage, he must try to unite a divided Church and tackle burning issues such as the continued fall-out from the sexual abuse scandal.As Cardinal Prevost, the new pope had defended the poor and underprivileged and had reposted articles online critical of US President Donald Trump’s anti-migrant policies, but the White House chief nevertheless welcomed the election.”Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named pope,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform.”It is such an honour to realise that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country.”It was not known how many ballots it took to elect Leo XIV, but the conclave followed recent history in wrapping up in less than two days.While the details of the election will forever remain secret, the new pope had to secure at least two-thirds of votes to be elected.- ‘Amazing’ -The crowds had swelled with emotion when white smoke billowed into the sky from the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday, signalling an election on the cardinals’ second day of voting.The bells of St Peter’s Basilica and churches across Rome rang out and crowds rushed towards the square to watch the balcony of the basilica, fitted out with red curtains for the first address from the new pope, who was introduced in Latin.”It’s an amazing feeling,” said an elated Joseph Brian, a 39-year-old chef from Belfast in Northern Ireland, who came with his mother to Rome for the spectacle. “I’m not an overly religious person but, being here with all these people just blew me away,” he told AFP as people around him jumped up and down in excitement.There were euphoric scenes as one priest sat on someone’s shoulders waving a Brazilian flag and another lifted a heavy crucifix into the air in jubilation.- ‘Habemus Papam’ -“Habemus Papam, woooo!” howled Bruna Hodara, 41, from Brazil, echoing the words to be spoken on the balcony as the new pope is introduced.She, like others, recorded the historic moment on her phone, as others waved flags and cried out “Viva Il Papa!” — “Long live the pope!” in Italian.”It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be here to see the pope. It’s really special… I’m excited!” said Florian Fried, a 15-year-old from Munich, Germany.The papal inauguration usually takes place less than a week after the election with a mass celebrated before political and religious leaders from around the world.Ahead of that, Leo will lead a mass Friday for cardinals in the Sistine Chapel and recite the Regina Caeli prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.He will also hold an audience for the world’s media on Monday.Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists Prevost’s choice of papal name was “a clear reference to the social doctrine of the Church”.The previous Leo — Leo XIII, who was pope at the end of the 19th century — was a determined defender of the rights of workers.Francis died aged 88 after a 12-year papacy during which he sought to forge a more compassionate Church.While he provoked anger from conservatives with his progressive approach, there had been many Catholics calling for a successor in his vein.Some 80 percent of the cardinals who voted for Prevost were appointed by Francis.With electors hailing from 70 countries around the world, it was the most international conclave ever.

Many of the thousands who surged into St Peter’s Square, their eyes fixed on the balcony of the famous basilica as they clutched rosaries or waved flags, were not expecting this: the first US pope.The Chicago-born Robert Prevost who appeared at the balcony as Leo XIV seemed shy, modest and conciliatory, a tone that appeared to quickly endear him to the crowd awaiting his words.Among them was Gabrielle Estrada from Texas, who admitted she was floored. “This is history, I have no words. When I heard he is from Chicago… No words,” Estrada told AFP.The tone in the sprawling Baroque square was festive ahead of the new pontiff’s entrance, after white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel riled up the crowd into a frenzy of waving flags and clapping.As the Vatican’s band played the Italian national anthem, excited priests pressed against a barricade waved at television cameras as others stared, riveted, at the balcony, as if to summon forth the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.   Then the Swiss Guards began a solemn march across the square ahead of the new pontiff’s appearance, a sign that it was imminent. The crowd erupted in a loud cheer after a senior cardinal announced a pope had been elected with the Latin words “habmus papam”. But when the name of the new pontiff was announced, the reaction was more restrained.Many in the crowd had never heard of the man. Some asked their friends who he was, or checked their mobile phones for information. “An American?” one asked, dubiously. When the bespeckled 69-year-old Augustinian appeared, a white skullcap on his head and a fuchsia silk cape covering his ivory cassock, a hush fell over the waiting masses. He spoke of building bridges, walking together, being part of a missionary Church, while citing God’s work as a “disarming peace, humble and persevering”. He spoke in Italian — and also Spanish, the language he learned during his many years as a missionary in Peru, grinning shyly from the balcony while sniffing occasionally in what looked like an attempt to control his emotion. – ‘We’re in good hands’ -Madeline Lambing from Kansas said she was “shocked” but was praying for the new pope. “He looked like he was very nervous about the job, right? It’s a huge job. You should be nervous. I’d be nervous,” said the woman in her 30s.  As for Kathy Hewitt from Philadelphia, she could hardly contain her excitement. “That all these cardinals thought that much of someone from America, to represent the whole world… I have no words, it’s just amazing,” said the 58-year-old, waving a small American flag alongside her teenage son.”I’m thrilled that he is American. We did not expect that — it’s a complete surprise and a wonderful surprise.”But the new pope’s first words also encouraged others. “We are in good hands,” said Filipino priest Michael Angelo Dacalos, 35, saying the name Leo XIV was a good sign given that Leo XIII was “very active when it comes to social justice”.Dacalos praised the pontiff’s first address thanking Pope Francis while reminding the faithful of his predecessor’s focus on dialogue and inclusion. “I’m very happy. I’m very much at peace. The Holy Spirit has given us a beautiful gift,” he said.Many faithful from Peru were overjoyed. “I’m blessed,” said Tania Ore, 55. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I saw it. We are part of history.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born head of the Catholic Church, as a “great honor” for the United States.”Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.”I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a conservative Catholic, said in a statement that the United States “looks forward to deepening our enduring relationship” with the new pope.Trump later spoke to reporters outside the West Wing about the new pope, who hails from Chicago.”To have the pope from America, that’s a great honor,” Trump said in brief remarks. “What greater honor could there be. We’re a little bit surprised but very happy.”The president said Vatican officials had reached out about a meeting, adding “we’ll see what happens.”The new pope, as a cardinal, has spoken out critically on the Trump administration’s key policy of mass deportations of migrants, as did Francis.In February, the future pope reposted on X an essay with the headline that Vice President JD Vance “is wrong” in arguing that Christians should love their family first before prioritizing the rest of the world.Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism, met Francis briefly on Easter Sunday hours before the pontiff died.Vance on X offered congratulations to the new pope. “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!” Vance wrote.Trump attended pope Francis’s funeral in April with First Lady Melania Trump. He held ice-breaking talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican on the sidelines of the ceremony.But Trump also joked last week that he would like to succeed Francis, saying: “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice.”Asked Thursday if he regretted recently posting an AI-generated image of himself dressed in papal garb, Trump ignored the question and said: “What’s next?” Trump earlier said that he did not have a preference on pope but that there was a cardinal in New York who was “very good” — an apparent reference to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, known for his conservatism.

US President Donald Trump unveiled a “breakthrough” trade agreement with Britain on Thursday, the first deal with any country since he launched his global tariffs blitz.The deal reduces tariffs on British cars and lifts them on steel and aluminum, while in return Britain will open up markets to US beef and other farm products.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also hailed it as a “historic day”, although the agreement is thin on details and both sides said there would be more negotiations.A 10 percent baseline tariff on Britain imposed by Trump as part of the sweeping worldwide “Liberation Day” levies he announced in April also remains in place.Trump said the British deal would be the first of many, and that he hoped difficult talks with China and the European Union could soon produce results too.”I’m thrilled to announce that we have reached a breakthrough trade deal with the United Kingdom,” Trump said as he spoke with Starmer by phone from the Oval Office.”The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture.”- ‘Historic day’ -The deal came through at the last minute, with Starmer saying he learnt that Trump had given it his approval when he called him on Wednesday night as he watched a football match.”This is a really fantastic, historic day,” Starmer said during the call with Trump.He noted that it coincided with the 80th anniversary of “Victory Day” for allied forces — including Britain and the United States — over Nazi Germany in World War II.The trade deal slashes export tariffs for British cars from 27.5 percent to 10 percent, Britain said. The move will apply to 100,000 vehicles from luxury makers like Rolls Royce and Jaguar, billionaire Trump added.”That is a huge and important reduction,” PM Starmer said during a visit to a Jaguar Land Rover factory in the central Midlands area of England.The British government also insisted that the deal to allow in more US agricultural products would not dilute British food standards, amid concerns over chlorinated US chicken and hormones in US beef.Both sides said there would be further negotiations on a fuller deal, but Trump denied overselling the agreement.”This is a maxed-out deal — not like you said it really incorrectly,” he added, answering a reporter’s question on whether he was overstating the breadth of the deal.The British ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, jokingly thanked Trump in the Oval Office for a “very typical 11th hour intervention… demanding even more out of this deal than many of us expected.”- Charm offensive -The deal follows a charm offensive by Starmer, who came to the White House in February armed with an invitation from King Charles III for a historic second state visit for Trump.It is also a fresh win for the Labour leader after Britain this week struck a free-trade agreement with India, its biggest such deal since it voted to leave the European Union in 2016.Torturous negotiations between London and Washington in the years since the Brexit vote failed to produce a deal until now.London had also been keen for some kind of deal ahead of an EU-UK summit on May 19 due to reset ties with the 27-nation bloc.Trump described the British leader, who like the US president won power last year, as a tough negotiator following the latter’s visit to Washington in February.The president slapped 10 percent tariffs on imports from around the world in April, including Britain, but he temporarily froze higher duties on dozens of nations to allow for negotiations.But Trump has also been in need of a win after weeks of insisting that countries were lining up to make deals with the United States.Trump told reporters at the White House he was “working on three of them” and that the British deal could act as a template.Top US and Chinese officials are due to meet in Switzerland over the weekend to kickstart trade officials, the first official meeting since Trump’s tariffs plunged the world’s two largest economies into a trade war.burs-dk/jbr

India and Pakistan accused each other Thursday of carrying out waves of drone attacks, as deadly confrontations between the nuclear-armed foes drew global calls for calm.The fighting comes two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which Pakistan denied.On Thursday, Pakistan’s army said it shot down 28 Indian drones, while New Delhi accused Islamabad of launching raids with “drones and missiles”, and claimed it destroyed an air defence system in Lahore.At least 48 people have been killed on both sides of the border since India launched air strikes on Wednesday that it said targeted “terrorist camps”, sparking the worst violence in decades between the South Asian neighbours.The majority of the casualties have been in Pakistan, where authorities said at least 32 were killed, including 12 children.The countries have fought two of their three full-scale wars over Kashmir, a disputed territory that both claim in full but administer separate portions of since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.- Drone strikes -“Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets… using drones and missiles,” India’s defence ministry said in a statement Thursday, adding that “these were neutralised”.The defence ministry said earlier its military had “targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan”, adding it had destroyed an air defence system in Lahore, Pakistan’s second city.On Thursday evening, explosions were reported at the airport of Jammu, a key city in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, a security source who was not authorised to speak to the media told AFP, without giving further details.Pakistan denied that it had launched any strikes on India on Thursday, with the top military spokesman terming India’s drone strikes a “phantom defence”.- Blasts in Lahore -Pakistan termed India’s drone attacks “another act of aggression”, and said it had neutralised 28 out of 29 Israeli-made Harop drones that crossed into the country on Thursday.Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the drones “made attempts to attack military installations” and “targeted civilians”, killing one and injuring four, with four army personnel also wounded.Among the cities targeted was Rawalpindi, where the military is headquartered and the cricket stadium is hosting the Pakistan Super League. Residents in Lahore reported hearing the sound of blasts, and aviation authorities briefly shut down operations at the main airport there and in the capital Islamabad.- ‘Shrapnel pierced her chest’ -India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said New Delhi had a “right to respond” following the attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir last month, when gunmen killed 26 people, mainly Hindu men.New Delhi blamed the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba — a UN-designated terrorist organisation for the Pahalgam shooting, and the nations traded days of threats and diplomatic measures.Pakistan has denied any involvement and called for an independent investigation into the April 22 attack.Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday that five Indian jets had been downed across the border, but New Delhi has not responded to the claims.An Indian senior security source, who asked not to be named, said three of its fighter jets had crashed on home territory.There was trauma on both sides of the disputed border after the exchange of heavy artillery in darkness on Wednesday.”A missile struck the mosque nearby, and a piece of shrapnel from the blast pierced my daughter’s chest,” 50-year-old Safeer Ahmad Awan told AFP in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir that was hit by Wednesday’s Indian strikes.”It was only when her clothes were soaked in blood that we discovered the injury,” he added of the 15-year-old girl, who still had the metal lodged in her body.On the other side of the border in Poonch, a town in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that was bombarded by Pakistan on Wednesday, Madasar Choudhary said his sister saw two children killed.”She saw two children running out of her neighbour’s house and screamed for them to get back inside,” said Choudhary, 29.”But shrapnel hit the children — and they eventually died.”- Global pressure -Diplomats and world leaders have pressured both countries to step back from the brink.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with leaders of both countries Thursday and urged “immediate de-escalation,” his spokeswoman said.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meanwhile met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi, days after visiting Pakistan, as Tehran seeks to mediate.Pakistani authorities insist they have the right to retaliate to India’s initial strikes. In a late Wednesday TV address to the nation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned they would “avenge” those killed by Indian air strikes.”We make this pledge, that we will avenge each drop of the blood of these martyrs,” he said.burs-ecl-aha/des