There can be no peace between the slaver and the enslaved, and the dreams of one are inevitably at the cost of the other. 'A house divided against itself cannot stand. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty We have a long history of lecturing each other, Indians and Americans, and an equally long history of taking umbrage. This is not that. Some of you are family, blood of my blood, and some of you are friends from university, from work, from just sharing the same values and fighting similar fights over the decades. I have only sympathy to give, and empathy too, since we too rushed headlong into the abyss that you now find yourself in. We, too, thought it would never happen to us, that our democracy was too deeply ingrained, born out of the blood and fire of colonialism, deepened by a hundred thousand smaller protests as it widened to include those that had been kept out of the promises of equal rights. Yes, there are profound differences between us, and while you gloried in calling yourself the oldest democracy, we gloried in calling ourselves the largest. Both of us knew the appellations were more aspiration than reality, a pledge redeemed “not wholly or in full measure,” as Nehru put it. Too many of our own had neither security or freedom, and our history was – if anything – the history of our own people rebelling to snatch the rights that we so mockingly promised them on paper, but withheld in practice. Still, even that story is a positive one, in which we are slowly marching towards freedom for all. What we forgot, glossed over, is that as some were freed from exploitation others were no longer free to exploit. For those who had made their wealth on exploitation, whose very identity was forged on the idea that they were free to exploit others, freedom for all was not a dream, it was a nightmare. And, in turn, they reached for the symbols of our nightmares: a thuggish male bullying, caste hierarchy, slavery, and Nazism – which itself drew inspiration from colonialism and Jim Crow segregation. They did not hide these things, even if we shied away from acknowledging them for what they were. We dismissed them as deadenders, holdovers from a past that was fast slipping away even in memory. We thought them deluded, in bad taste, called them a ‘radical fringe’ when they were the heart and soul of a worldview that demanded that some people be dominated by other people, or face extermination. We offered equality to people who wanted subjugation, forgetting that liberty and justice are not open to debate in a democracy, but are the very framework that makes democracy possible. To be sure, not all were so sanguine. Those that had suffered under the jackboot in our flawed democracies. Those who had seen that the man with the gun was the law, and rights were written on pieces of paper that could not deflect a racist’s bullet, they knew, they heard, and they did not fool themselves into believing that there was any middle ground, because there was not. The idea that there could be compromise across this divide was false. There is no détente between freedom and its enemies because freedom in one place, freedom for one set of people, inspires freedom among others. And when they screamed, “We will not be replaced!” and we dismissed it as a paranoid fantasy, it was we who were wrong, not them. Because, really, did we aspire to live among bigots, did we aspire to live among the exploiters, did we desire to find some common ground with the corrupt and the vicious? Did we wish to be at peace with the Nazis? No, we did not, and for those whose fortunes and identity rested on just this – on bigotry and exploitation, on the contempt of this person or that – our efforts to provide justice for all were intolerable. There can be no peace between the slaver and the enslaved, and the dreams of one are inevitably at the cost of the other, or as one of your great men said, quoting from the Bible, “a house divided against itself cannot stand .” We duped ourselves, told ourselves that the frontiers of freedom, of democracy, could be expanded without making enemies. We were complacent, and we were wrong. Of course, we knew of medieval men in faraway caves, of dictators who spoke with heavy accents. Our media and academia were good at showing them up and exposing them, it was just as they turned inward that they faltered and equivocated. What we knew to be fascism when it spoke in a foreign tongue somehow became ‘traditional values’ when spoken in our own. Those were our relatives and friends, colleagues, and classmates, and if we were to acknowledge what they were saying, actually listen to them instead of smoothening their rough edges, excusing their lapses, and passing off dehumanisation as just a joke gone wrong, then we would have had to admit that we needed to fight, and we needed to fight our own. That requires moral courage. Few have ever stood in the face of a lynching. Fewer still have had the courage to simply speak up against their buddies when they have dehumanised or harassed others for simply being others, for existing. The rage against politically correct speech was always the rage of those wishing to dehumanise and dismiss the existence of marginalised groups. In our country it was the rage against secularism, in your country it has taken many forms, from rage against affirmative action to rage against diversity, equity, and inclusion. In all countries and in all languages it is one and the same thing: the unwillingness to believe that all humans are created equal, and everybody deserves a fair chance. Without this belief there is no democracy, and yet we continued to debate these people as if democracy itself was up for debate, and because the terms of the debate were inevitably framed by those with the most money, democracy turned out to be for sale. Your ordeal has just begun, ours continues, and while I hope you are quicker to confront and oust your petty tyrant than we have been with ours, I have to warn you that the fight is a long one. The issue is not just of one government or another, or one political party in power, it is about the type of government itself. The good news is that freedom survives even the bleakest circumstances, and liberty is a dream that has endured despite countless regimes declaring their victory, only to be undone and become only object lessons about the hubris of would-be tyrants. The only thing that I would say, that I would request, is that in your fight for freedom please listen to those who were first attacked, who understood how clearly liberty was threatened because their liberty was threatened first, and it is only when they are made secure will you have a freedom and democracy that lasts. It is a lesson that one of our own tried to teach us, to consider every policy through the lens of how it impacts the weakest amongst us, and only then go forward. His name was Gandhi, and we forgot that lesson of his and are having to painfully relearn it. As a friend, all I can offer is the example of our own mistake, and the hope that you learn faster than us. Omair Ahmad is an author. His last novel,  Jimmy the Terrorist , was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, and won the Crossword Award. © The Wire

Health officials in Gaza say an Israeli airstrike has killed at least 29 Palestinians, including children, as aid remains blocked since the beginning of March, resulting in tens of thousands at risk of health complications and malnutrition By Nathan Morley A funeral ceremony is held in front of Nasser Hospital for the Palestinians who lost their lives in the Israeli army attack on the tents of displaced Palestinians in Al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Health officials in Gaza say an Israeli airstrike has killed at least 29 Palestinians, including children.  Medics reported dozens of injuries from the attack, which struck a residential building in the eastern suburb of Gaza City.  Many were still missing and believed to be trapped under the rubble. The strike also damaged several nearby houses. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a senior Hamas militant involved in planning attacks in northern Gaza but did not provide an identity. It stated that measures were taken to reduce civilian harm. Local health authorities reported nine additional Palestinian deaths in separate Israeli strikes across the enclave, bringing Wednesday’s toll to 38.  Since resuming its bombardment on March 18 after a two-month truce, the health ministry in Gaza reported nearly 1,500 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes. Earlier this week, the Palestinian Red Crescent called for an international investigation into the deaths of 15 ambulance workers shot by Israeli forces on March 23.  Initial claims from the Israeli military that ambulances lacked proper markings were contradicted by video evidence.  On Sunday, Israel admitted to receiving inaccurate information and launched an inquiry.  The Red Crescent, however, demanded an independent probe, calling the killings “intentional.” Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for urgent and unhindered humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip as Israel's month-long blockade intensifies the humanitarian crisis and exacerbates civilian suffering. “It has been more than a month with no aid entering Gaza—no food, no fuel, no medicine, no commercial supplies,” Guterres said during a press conference. “As aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened.” Guterres stressed that crossing points remain sealed, leaving critical supplies like food, medicine, and shelter stranded, along with essential equipment.  Copyright © 2017-2025 Dicasterium pro Communicatione - All rights reserved.

Haroon Janjua  in Islamabad The Taliban regime in Kabul is decrying Pakistan's drive to repatriate Afghan nationals, calling it a "forced deportation" which violates Islamic principles. The Torkham border crossing was reopened in January 2024 following a row between Pakistani authorities and the Taliban regime. Source: Shafiullah Kakar/AFP/Getty Images Pakistan has expelled over 8,000 Afghan citizens in a single week  as part of a new repatriation initiative , according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Islamabad had previously called on all Afghan  nationals without proper documentation to return home voluntarily by March 31 or face deportation. At the same time, the Pakistani authorities announced they will be canceling some 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards which they had issued and urged the Afghan card holders to leave as well. Authorities have established refugee centers in several cities to accommodate Afghan nationals before they are transported to the Torkham border crossing in northwestern Pakistan. "The situation has escalated, with police actively searching neighborhoods and streets in cities and villages for Afghan citizens, particularly in Sindh and Punjab provinces," Moniza Kakar, a lawyer working for refugees' advocacy in Pakistan, told DW. Kakar said that midnight raids were common, often leading to families being separated. Return to Afghanistan 'puts my life at serious risk' Human rights activist Ezatullah Bakhshi is currently hiding from the Pakistani authorities. He told DW that he had already been arrested twice since arriving in Pakistan and registering as a refugee in July 2023. "They have threatened to deport me back to Afghanistan, which puts my life at serious risk due to my human rights activities," Bakhshi told DW.  "The first time I was arrested, I spent three days in detention before being released after paying a bribe. The second arrest lasted five days. In both instances, the police were aware of my background and the risks I would face if deported," he said. Growing mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad For decades, Pakistan had served as refuge for Afghans fleeing from wars or oppressive regimes in their own country . The latest major wave of refugees came in following the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Official estimates put the total number of Afghans who fled into Pakistan since the 1980s at around 4 million. But Pakistan now faces security challenges on the border  and worsening ties with the Taliban regime in Kabul , which also fueled anti-Afghan sentiment in Pakistan.  Pakistani officials have mounted a series expulsion and deportation drives since 2023 , largely ignoring protests by the UN and human rights groups, as well as potential risks for anti-Taliban migrants returning to Afghanistan. Now, the UN refugee agency believes about three million Afghan nationals still reside in the country, with approximately 1.4 million holding proper documentation. Kabul:Deportations violate 'international, Islamic, and neighborly principles' At the same time, the Taliban regime also criticized Islamabad's stance, referring to the latest crackdown as "forced deportation." "There is no doubt that the forced deportation of Afghan migrants and this unilateral action is against all international, Islamic, and neighborly principles," Abdul Motalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Taliban-run Ministry of Migration and Repatriation, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Since this matter concerns two countries, it is essential to work on a mutually agreed mechanism to ensure the dignified return of Afghans to their homeland," he said. Fleeing in a nightdress The Afghans remaining in Pakistan face harassment and live in constant fear of arrests. "During the house-to-house raids in Islamabad last month, I discovered that the police were in our building just as my visa expired," Latifa Yaqoubi, a member of the Women's Freedom Light Movement of Afghanistan, told DW. "In a panic, I ran towards the fields, not even realizing what I was wearing. Once I felt safe from their sight, I found that I had escaped in slippers and a nightdress. The hardest part was sitting in the fields while people passing by laughed at our situation." Afghans who arrived in Pakistan following the Taliban's takeover in August 2021 have been relying on visa renewals to stay in the country, a procedure that is costly, uncertain, and often subject to significant delays. Afghan refugees complain of having to renew their visas every month in an expensive and opaque process. Source: Akhtar Soomro/REUTERS Maria Noori, an activist in hiding, said that the international community needed to act.  "The Pakistani government has reduced visa durations to just one month, creating a new layer of suffering. People are expected to renew their visas monthly, which is financially impossible for many. Imagine a family of eight — how can they afford repeated extension fees when they can barely feed themselves?" she told DW.  NATO helpers at risk Legal experts contacted by DW agree that Afghan activists in Pakistan need urgent help. "Things look bleak, not just for Afghans living in Pakistan but also for Pakistani activists who are supporting them as both are being harassed by authorities and it needs attention on a humanitarian basis," Osama Malik, a legal expert on refugee rights, told DW.  "Most of the Afghans in Pakistan are not supporters of the Taliban, and quite a few of them have previously worked with NATO forces, foreign NGOs etc. They are therefore at an increased risk of persecution at the hands of Afghanistan's de facto rulers," he added. Ezatullah Bakhshi, the head of the Institution of Civil Society and Human Rights in Afghanistan, knows what to expect if he is ever sent back across the border. Before the two arrests in Pakistan, he was jailed by the Taliban due to his efforts to support marginalized communities. He said the Taliban will "likely" execute him. "During my time in Taliban custody, I endured severe physical and psychological abuse. The Taliban have a personal vendetta against me because of my activities, and they are determined to silence me," Bakhshi said. Edited by: Darko Janjevic Haroon Janjua  Journalist based in Islamabad, focusing on Pakistani politics and society © 2025 Deutsche Welle

'No one recognised him, even as he said his name': Death of well-known Khartoum businessman Alwaleed Abdeen days after his release from an RSF camp prompts wave of mourning Alwaleed Abdeen, 35, died after months of detention and torture at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary. Photograph: Handout By Kaamil Ahmed In the last video of Alwaleed Abdeen, taken in the school turned prison in which he had been held for six months, he was so emaciated that friends could barely recognise him – even when he spoke his name to the camera held by his rescuers. Lying on a dirty floor as he spoke, the 35-year-old’s bones were visible through his skin after months of detention and torture at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, which controlled most of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum until late March. The video was taken by soldiers from the Sudanese government army, and was among many recorded as they drove the RSF out of the city and made grim discoveries of graves and prisons , revealing the conditions many residents endured under the RSF. “Honestly, I was shocked by what I saw on that video – I couldn’t believe my eyes, seeing his body so thin from the hunger, the sickness and torture he endured,” says Mohammed Awad, a neighbour of Abdeen’s. “Whoever can torture and kill a peaceful person like Alwaleed so brutally, they are a person of no faith, no morality, no humanity.” Like Abdeen, Awad had remained in the wealthy Arkaweet neighbourhood of Khartoum despite it becoming overrun by the RSF, whose senior commanders took over abandoned houses as their lodgings or used them to store weapons. Members of the RSF on the streets of Khartoum in January 2020. They controlled much of the city until March 2025. Photograph: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters Abdeen stayed because his elderly parents refused to leave. He had been briefly detained by RSF forces on several occasions since the war between the RSF and army began in April 2023 , before he finally disappeared in October 2024. Awad says he does not know how Abdeen was captured but that many in the area were taken prisoner while trying to reach markets to buy food. Last month, the Sudan Tribune reported that 50,000 people have been forcibly disappeared by the RSF during the war, based on data from the Sudanese Group for Defending Rights and Freedoms. Awad said citizens who remained in Khartoum struggled to access food, water, electricity and medical care after health facilities were taken over by the RSF; shortages which led to Abdeen’s mother dying from illness during his detention. “They brutally arrested citizens and tortured them without any care for their rights, especially in Arkaweet,” says Awad. “Our homes, women, were not safe. They threatened by gunpoint to steal, loot, beat and abuse.” The video of Abdeen in detention was taken in Jebel Awliya, on the road south out of Khartoum. In another video from the area, the same soldier recorded images of bodies and says they died of hunger and thirst. The news that Abdeen had died later in hospital prompted a wave of mourning on Sudanese social media because of his popularity in the city, where he was a well-known figure. Abdeen was considered a force in Sudan’s entrepreneur scene, helping co-found the Khartoum edition of Ted Talks and innovation hubs such as 249 Startups, which helped young entrepreneurs. He also won fellowships to study in the UK and US. As friends shared their memories, many wished that final video was not their lasting memory of him and posted images of him healthy and happy. “I want to have the image of the Alwaleed I remember,” says Dalia Yousif, who considered him a business mentor. She says he was a kind, generous man, who was always eager to help others and did so by championing Sudanese entrepreneurs, not only in the capital but in marginalised areas such as Darfur. “He was passionate about what he was doing but also about what other people were doing. So he was always trying to not just grow himself but also empower others to grow with him,” says Yousif. Reem Gaafar, a neighbour of Abdeen’s, who met him at an arts workshop, says his death brought home the reality and violence facing people in Sudan. She had hoped he had escaped the area, as many in Arkaweet had. She initially refused to watch the prison video, having avoided such imagery throughout the war. But then her sister told her the man pictured was one of their neighbours. “I screamed. I was in shock, my mum came running to my room. The shock of seeing him in that way, to know that all of this time he was in that situation,” she says. “All this time we were living our lives and he’s been in this awful situation, detained, starved. No one even recognised him from that video, even as he said his name. It was like you were looking an old, sick man.” “I am ashamed because I know this happened to thousands of people, some in worse situations, to women, but when you see it happen to someone you know, it is a whole different thing.” © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

USCIRF Releases 2025 Annual Report Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released its  2025 Annual Report . The report documents religious freedom conditions in 2024 and recommends policy to the White House, Congress, and State Department to advance freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) abroad. Congress mandated USCIRF’s Annual Report in the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. “As repressive governments and violent entities attack and drastically erode freedom of religion or belief, USCIRF’s independent reporting and bipartisan recommendations have never been more critical to U.S. foreign policy,”  said USCIRF Chair  Stephen Schneck . “ The U.S. government must continue to stand firm against these threats to the universal right of religious freedom.”“Despite the escalating threats to freedom of religion or belief, there is real opportunity to stave off any retreat of this fundamental freedom and, if pursued with energy and determination, to advance it,”  said USCIRF Vice Chair  Meir Soloveichik .  “Religious freedom is a clear priority of the United States. USCIRF’s 2025 Annual Report points the way forward for policy that advances religious freedom in a fast-changing world." Highlights from the 2025 Annual Report include: Sixteen countries recommended to the Secretary of State for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for particularly severe FoRB violations under IRFA. Twelve countries recommended to the Secretary of State for Special Watch List (SWL) designation for severe FoRB violations under IRFA. Seven entities recommended for designation as Entities of Particular Concern (EPC). Broad policy recommendations to the Legislative and Executive Branches. Overview of escalating FoRB challenges in 28 countries, dangers posed by violent entities, and global threats. Review of FoRB policy implemented by the U.S. government. The annual report, including all recommendations, can be accessed at  USCIRF.gov . Commissioners are available for interviews with the press. To schedule an interview, contact  media@uscirf.gov .   The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief.

Ishika Tanwar The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Burkina Faso authorities on Friday to immediately release three journalists detained last month. The call came after videos surfaced on social media showing the three in military uniforms. Guézouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba and Luc Pagbelguem were arrested amid escalating concerns over press freedom in the country. In a two-minute video posted by multiple Burkinabé Facebook accounts, the trio is seen wearing military attire in an undisclosed location with armed men in uniform positioned behind them. CPJ’s francophone Africa representative Moussa Ngom stated: “The video…reinforces fears about the fate of the seven journalists kidnapped since June, six of whom are now certain to have been forcibly conscripted into the army.” Sanogo and Ouoba, president and vice president respectively of L’Association des journalistes du Burkina (AJB), have been vocal critics of the junta’s growing control over the media. In what are believed to be statements made under duress, the video shows Pagbelguem Ouoba lamenting that “the real information on the ground” is being distorted and that “no one can report on the security situation while being in Ouagadougou.” The incident follows a series of detentions and kidnappings that have plagued Burkina Faso’s media landscape over the past year. Journalists, including Serge Atiana Oulon, Adama Bayala and Kalifara Séré, have been forcibly conscripted after they went missing in June. Another journalist, Alain Traoré, whose whereabouts remain unknown since his abduction in July, has further fueled concerns that the military junta is using coercion to stifle independent reporting. This incident underscores a broader crackdown on independent reporting under the current junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré Burkina Faso’s military junta has applied an emergency law to target those it views as opponents. In November 2023, security forces sent written notices and made telephone calls journalists, civil society activists and opposition members, informing them that they would be drafted to take part in government security operations nationwide. The transitional military authorities claim that these draft orders are allowed under the April 13 “ general mobilization ” plan, which grants the president broad powers to fight the Islamist insurgency, including the right to requisition people and goods and to limit civil liberties. The CPJ and other press freedom advocates argue that the forced conscription of journalists is part of a systematic effort to silence dissent and manipulate information about the country’s security situation and are calling for immediate action to secure the safe release of these journalists and to restore an environment in which reporters can work without fear of retribution. Copyright © 2025, JURIST Legal News & Research Services, Inc.

We must persuade Trump to do the right thing – securing peace in the Middle East – for the wrong reason March 26, 2025 ‘Israel’s aim may be to advance the project of expelling Palestinian civilians from Gaza, the longtime dream of the Israeli far right.’ Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters Donald Trump ’s instinctive deference to the Israeli government is at odds with his self-image as an expert dealmaker . Much as it may seem laughable that the president wants the Nobel peace prize, his quest may be the best chance we have for securing any US government regard for the rights and lives of Palestinians in Gaza . Trump currently seems to endorse the strategy of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , of trying to pummel Hamas into accepting defeat. To force Hamas to release its remaining hostages and to disband its diminished military force, Netanyahu has resumed Israel’s strategy of starving and bombing Palestinian civilians. In less than a week, about 600 Palestinians have already been killed. The second phase of the ceasefire was supposed to have led to the release of Hamas’s last hostages in return for the freeing of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and a permanent end to the fighting. Instead, the Israeli government has unilaterally changed the terms. It wants the hostages released and Hamas dismantled without committing to end the war. Hamas has rejected that one-sided ultimatum, evidently worried that Netanyahu would then resume attacking Palestinian civilians unimpeded. This is not an idle fear. The point of the renewed attacks may not be simply to wrest concessions from Hamas. The vast majority of the hostages freed so far have been released after negotiations rather than by military action, and most families of the hostages, prioritizing survival of their loved ones, want a negotiated solution. Rather, Israel’s aim may be to advance the project of expelling Palestinian civilians from Gaza, the longtime dream of the Israeli far right. Already the defense minister, Israel Katz, is threatening to seize and annex parts of Gaza, and Netanyahu is reportedly planning a new and larger ground invasion. Now that Trump has endorsed the forced permanent deportation of 2 million Palestinians from Gaza – a massive war crime and crime against humanity – Netanyahu may feel he has a green light to pursue that callous strategy. Tellingly, the far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir has rejoined Netanyahu’s governing coalition as police minister now that the temporary ceasefire, which he opposed, has ended. Head of the pro-settler, nationalist-religious Jewish Power party, Ben-Gvir has long been unabashed about his desire to “solve” the conflict in Gaza by getting rid of the Palestinians. And we should recognize that Gaza would most likely be just a prelude to the occupied West Bank. In these circumstances, a deal with Hamas seems unlikely. Why would Hamas capitulate if that would permanently separate the Palestinian people from their homeland? Netanyahu and Trump may calculate that overwhelming military force, if applied with sufficient brutality, would force Hamas’s hand. That has long been the Israeli strategy. Trump has even resumed delivery of the enormous 2,000lb bombs that Joe Biden had suspended because Israel was using them to indiscriminately decimate entire Palestinian neighborhoods. The international criminal court prosecutor has already hinted that this indiscriminate bombardment may be the next focus of his war-crime charges. Trump himself would be at risk of being charged for aiding and abetting these atrocities – an eventuality that would not lead to his immediate jailing but would severely limit his ability to travel to the 125 governments that as members of the ICC would have an obligation to arrest him. (Trump might ask Vladimir Putin about how it felt not to be able to attend the August 2023 Brics summit in South Africa for fear of arrest.) Hamas has so far shown no inclination to succumb to this war-crime strategy, and the surrounding Arab states have rejected becoming a party to another Nakba, the catastrophic forced displacement of Palestinians in 1948. The big question is whether Trump comes to recognize that a deal, not forced surrender, is the most likely way out of the current horrors in Gaza that he had vowed to end. For now, Trump’s deference to Israel seems firm, but one should never take anything for granted with Trump. If there is any constant to his rule, it is that his self-interest overcomes concern for others. That’s where the Nobel prize comes in. If Trump wants to be known as the master of the deal, it won’t be by underwriting more Israeli war crimes. Trump alone has the capacity to force Netanyahu to adopt a different approach. Despite Israel’s dependence on US military assistance, Netanyahu got away with ignoring Biden’s entreaties to curb the starvation and slaughter of Palestinian civilians because the Israeli leader knew that the Republican party had his back. But Trump has become the Republican party. If he pressures Israel, Netanyahu has nowhere to the right to turn. That is how Trump played a decisive role in securing the temporary ceasefire that began shortly before his 20 January inauguration. He could do the same thing now to force Netanyahu toward a more productive, less inhumane path. What might that look like? The best option remains a two-state solution – an Israeli and Palestinian state living in peace side-by-side. The main alternatives would be rejected by Israel (recognition of the “ one-state reality ” with equal rights for all) or most everyone else (the apartheid of endless occupation). The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has said that he will not normalize relations with Israel, which Trump craves, without a Palestinian state. Both the Saudis and the Emiratis have also insisted on a state as a condition for financing the rebuilding of Gaza. But wouldn’t a Nobel peace prize for Trump be preposterous? No more so than the one granted, however controversially, to Henry Kissinger. He had directed or approved war crimes or mass atrocities in Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor, Bangladesh and Chile, but the Nobel committee honored him nonetheless for concluding a peace deal with Vietnam and withdrawing US forces. A Trump pivot away from Netanyahu’s endless war would be no more surprising than Kissinger’s about-face. Admittedly, it would be foolhardy to bet on Trump becoming an advocate for a Palestinian state, but it is worth recognizing that his personal ambitions could lead him in that direction. It speaks to the topsy-turvy world of Trump that the Palestinians’ best hope in the face of an Israeli government that respects no legal bounds is to play up what it would take for Trump to secure his coveted Nobel. We must persuade Trump to do the right thing for the wrong reason. © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)

Reporters Without Borders In the war between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary that has rocked Sudan for the past two years, at least seven journalists have been killed, one is missing, some fifteen media professionals have been detained and two of them are still behind bars. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has documented the unpunished crimes committed by the warring parties and calls on the international community to urgently pressure both sides to protect journalists. “ There is a real dissonance between the humanitarian tragedy of two years of war in Sudan and the lack of media coverage. In North Darfur, access to the terrain is so difficult that the media are struggling to confirm the number of deaths after attacks on civilians. Both sides are equally guilty of abuses against media professionals that have been met with complete impunity. The regular army must immediately release reporter Hassan Hamed and the Rapid Support Forces must release media contributor Mamoun Hassan Hamid. Until peace is restored, the international community must pressure both warring parties and their allies to guarantee that journalists can work independently and securely throughout country . Martin Roux Head of RSF's Crisis desk Seven journalists killed due to their work According to RSF information, at least seven journalists were killed between July 2023 and November 2024:  Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation ( SNBC ) journalists  Issam Hassan Morjan and Sami Abd el-Hafidh ;  Halima Idris Salim   from the independent television channel  Sudan Bukra ;  Ahmed Youssef Arabi from  Blue Nile Channel television;  Khaled Balel , journalist and media director at the Sudanese Supreme Council for Media and Culture; investigative journalist  Muawiya Abdel Razek , a contributor to the Sudanese online newspapers  Al-Jarida ,  Akhir Lahza and  Al-Akhbar ; and cameraman  Hatem Maamoun , a contributor to  Sudania24 . Five of the murders took place near Khartoum, the capital, a sixth took place in El Fasher, a city in the state of North Darfur, and a seventh in Gebeit, a camp in the Red Sea State. Four of these crimes were attributed to the Rapid Support Forces, the other three to unidentified armed groups. Seventeen media professionals imprisoned, two still in custody Abdel Rahman Warab , a journalist with the Sudanese news agency  SUNA , remains missing. He was reportedly abducted from his home in Khartoum by fighters from the Rapid Support Forces in June 2023. “I was terrified that my jailers would find a copy of  Al-Midan ,” recalls  Haitham Dafallah , who was held for more than two months between January and March 2024 by the Rapid Support Forces in the Khartoum suburbs. Before the war, Dafallah wrote a column for this daily newspaper in which he was an outspoken critic of the paramilitary group. His colleague  Sidig Dalaï , who was imprisoned for a similar period in May 2024, also had experience with military intelligence cells in Ad-Damazin, a city in Blue Nile state, when he was “blindfolded and put into a van” while on his way to an administrative appointment. In all, 17 media professionals have been imprisoned and arbitrarily detained by the Rapid Support Forces or the regular army since 15 April 2023. They include freelance journalists and employees of the Sudanese public network  SNBC , the Qatari channel  Al-Jazeera , the Egyptian television station  Al-Ghad and the Lebanese news website  Tayyar . In most cases, the detention lasted several days, although the detention of  Ali Tarek Arash , a reporter from the daily  Al-Jarida who was arrested by regular army soldiers following an article on the abuses suffered by internally displaced persons, lasted almost ten months. Freelance journalist  Aladdin Abu Harba was captured for eight days by an armed group presumed to be close to the Rapid Support Forces, then released in exchange for a ransom delivered by his relatives. Two journalists remain behind bars to this day.  Hassan Hamed , a reporter for  Independent Arabia , the Arabic-language version of the British news website  Independent , was arrested by government forces on 9 October 2023 while reporting from Port Sudan, a stronghold of the regular army on the Red Sea. Media contributor  Mamoun Hassan Hamid , currently held at an unknown location, was arrested by the Rapid Support Forces in January 2024. Journalists injured, surveilled, threatened, and harassed online At least four media professionals have been injured either while they were reporting or due to their coverage of events, including photojournalist  Muhammad Nour el-Din ,  SNBC journalist  Walid Shahlabi , columnist  Ismat Ibrahim and freelance journalist  Aïcha Sammani .  Fath Al-Rahman Hamouda , a journalist with the Sudanese online media  Al-Taghyeer , was held at gunpoint by armed forces fighters in the town of El-Obeid in August 2023. Journalist  Fatima Ali Saeed , employed by the pro-Islamist newspaper  Al-Wifaq , told Reporters Without Borders that she had been sexually assaulted and harassed by the Rapid Support Forces because of her work. According to RSF information, some fifteen media professionals have also been victims of cyber-harassment campaigns because of their reporting. Several foreign journalists sent to report from Sudan have told RSF that their movements are constantly monitored by the regular army, which is the only administrative entity that can issue travel permits to the country. All quiet on the El-Fasher front as journalists flee North Darfur appears to be one of the worst areas in the country for media professionals, with both the Rapid Support Forces and the army committing massacres against civilians. “This war has forced El-Fasher's best journalists to flee for security and economic reasons,”  Mohamed Chouaib told RSF. Although the reporter for the local Facebook News page  Salateen News Network left the North Darfur capital himself in September 2024, he chose to stay as physically close to El-Fasher as possible. He continues providing the public with information from the nearby camp of Zamzam, which has been hit by famine and is frequently invaded by the Rapid Support Forces as the surrounding area is the last part of Darfur controlled by the regular army. RSF sources in North Darfur also report issues of censorship, constant surveillance, threats against journalists' sources and internet blackouts. Of the eight regional Arab news channels with correspondents inside the country ( Al-Qahera News ,  Al-Araby ,  Al-Ghad TV ,  Al-Hurra ,  Al-Ekhbariya ,  Al-Jazeera ,  Al-Sharq and  Al-Hadath ), only the Saudi channel  Al-Hadath works with a journalist based in North Darfur. The other local correspondents for these channels are based in Port Sudan and the Khartoum area. Yet, despite the danger, Mohamed Chouaib refuses to leave North Darfur. “It is our duty as professionals and humans to remain in El-Fasher to inform the world and give a voice to the victims under siege,” he asserts, before concluding that “this is the very essence of journalism.” RSF reached out to the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces but, at the time of this writing, neither had responded to the request for comment. @ Reporters Without Borders (RSF) - 2021

David Lammy criticised for convening foreign ministers, including allies of the RSF paramilitary A fighter loyal to Sudan's army patrols a market area in Khartoum on 24 March 2025 (AFP) By Rayhan Uddin Sudan ’s foreign minister has written a letter to his British counterpart criticising the UK  for hosting a Sudan conference without inviting the de-facto Khartoum government, and for extending invitations to allies of the paramilitary  Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ​​​​.  Ali Yousif wrote a letter to David Lammy on Sunday objecting to the conference set to take place on 15 April in London. The summit will bring together foreign ministers from around the world in an attempt to end the war and address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.  Middle East Eye first reported on Khartoum’s exclusion from the conference last month. The RSF, which has been at war with Sudan’s army since April 2023, is also excluded.  However, foreign ministers from the  UAE , Chad and Kenya, three countries that are alleged to support the paramilitary group, were handed invitations.  Khartoum’s foreign ministry said the move by the UK equated Sudan’s government with the RSF, which it described as “a terrorist militia committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and unprecedented atrocities against civilians”. It added that the summit was the latest in several developments in the UK which showed “leniency” towards the RSF, including alleged secret talks between the UK and the RSF last year.  “Many in Sudan are now asking: how many more atrocities and massacres must the Janjaweed militia commit against Sudanese civilians before Britain designates it as a terrorist group?” the ministry asked.  Yousif told Lammy that the UAE’s participation in the conference “allows it to whitewash its image and conceal its complicity in acts of genocide in Sudan”.  Last year, an independent inquiry carried out by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre found that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that the RSF and its allied militias “have committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit,” an ethnic African tribe in the country.  'Innocent lives could have been saved' Sudan’s government last month filed an application to open proceedings against the UAE at the International Court of Justice over alleged complicity in these acts of genocide.  It said that the Emirates was complicit through “its direction of and provision of extensive financial, political, and military support for the rebel RSF militia”.  MEE has reported on the network of supply lines that exist to funnel arms and other goods from the UAE to the RSF, via allied groups and governments in Libya , Chad and the Central African Republic. The UAE denies providing support to the RSF. “The previous British government blocked the UN Security Council from discussing the UAE’s involvement in the Sudanese war in April 2024,” Sudan’s foreign ministry said.  “Had the Security Council addressed the issue and taken a firm stance, countless innocent lives could have been saved and the war might have been ended.” In a statement sent to MEE, Lammy said: “The brutal war in Sudan has devastated the lives of millions. This conference will send a clear signal across the globe that urgent action is needed.  “The international community must act now to stop this humanitarian catastrophe getting even worse and prevent instability spreading further across the world. The UK will not let Sudan be forgotten.”  Kenya, which will also be represented in London, hosted a conference in February which saw the RSF launch a parallel government in the areas it controls.  Sudan subsequently  suspended all imports from Kenya in protest against its hosting of the RSF announcement, describing it as "tantamount to an act of hostility". Representatives of Qatar , Egypt , Turkey and Saudi Arabia will all be at the London summit, MEE understands. All four are known to favour the Sudanese army over the RSF. Copyright © 2014 - 2025 .  Middle East Eye. All rights reserved.

Apart from parliamentarians, Sikh intellectuals and religious leaders from Akal Takht, the apex body known as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee, Punjab’s Shahi Imam and various Sikh and Muslim organisations have been vocal. People hold a protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Kolkata Jalandhar: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025, which was passed by the parliament last week, has not only invited stiff opposition from Muslims but also led to apprehensions among the Sikh community, leaving them alarmed. Sikh intellectuals have termed the Waqf Bill as yet another attempt to target Muslims after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2020 and the Uniform Civil Code. Many said that the union government’s effort to weaken one religion in a bid to empower another was a dangerous proposition. Opposition leaders from the Sikh majority state of Punjab including Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Congress leader Amarinder Singh Raja Warring protested the Waqf Bill, expressing concerns that tomorrow the Modi government might bring amendments to The Gurdwara Act 1925, affecting Sikh religious affairs. The SAD MP also raised the issue of Article 25 (B), demanding separate identity for Sikhs. “We are Sikhs, we are not Hindus”, she stated in the parliament. Apart from parliamentarians, Sikh intellectuals, and religious leaders from Akal Takht, the highest seat of authority in Sikhism, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC), the apex body of the Sikhs, Punjab’s Shahi Imam and various Sikh and Muslim organisations have also been vocal. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 officially became a law on April 5, 2025 following the assent of President Droupadi Murmu. The President also gave her assent to the Mussalman Waqf (Repeal) Bill, 2025. The last time both the minorities – the Sikhs and the Muslims were active in dissent against the Union government was in December 2020, when the CAA protest picked pace. Later, when the Modi government introduced the three farm laws, people from Punjab, including Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims had led a joint fight. The Muslims from Malerkotla had set up a special langar stall of sweet rice and milk for the farmers, which had made the news. On April 4, a delegation of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind met the officiating Jathedar of Akal Takth Sahib Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj and discussed issues related to the Sikh-Muslim communities. In March last month, a joint delegation of Sikhs and Muslims had also held a conference in Delhi expressing the need for the two minority communities to join hands to save their religious and cultural identities. The Akal Takht head Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj said that this country belongs to every religion, culture and language, and equal respect must be given to everybody, irrespective of their identity. “When it comes to suppressing minority rights, Bills are passed but where are the Bills to protect the minority rights?” he asked. SAD, Congress MPs from Punjab fiercely oppose Waqf Bill, claim Sikhs rights under attack too While Harsimrat Kaur Badal in parliament accused the Union government of trying to break apart minorities, the SAD also passed a resolution against the Bill. In her speech in the Lok Sabha, Harsimrat asked how a party, which did not even have a single Muslim MP for the last three consecutive terms was remembering Muslims today. “A party whose politics revolves around the polarisation of Hindus and Muslims, a party whose entire politics depends on Pakistan, Muslim, and Khalistan, how come they are feeling pain for the Muslim women and fair utilisation of Muslims funds?”, she said. The SAD leader said the Union government was bringing the Waqf Bill for electoral gains in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. “I was wondering what the politics is behind all this. Then I got the Waqf Asset Management document and found that the highest share of Waqf property of 27% is in Uttar Pradesh alone. And Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in one-and-half years, so when they say that they want to give this (Waqf) land to women and manage it fairly, it is clear politics,” she added. Harsimrat also lashed out at the Modi government for the unjust demolition of some gurdwaras in the country and its interference in the Sikh religious affairs. She accused the government of breaking the Haryana SGPC. “You are doing the same with SGPC now. Just because you could not control the Muslims, you are dividing them – tukde tukde . You are the ‘ Tukde Tukde Gang’, sometimes you divide Muslims and then you divide the Sikhs. You are dividing every minority,” she said. Congress MP from Ludhiana, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, also vociferously protested against the Waqf Bill and cornered the Union government over its claim that the opposition was spreading misconceptions about the Bill. “The fact is that there are no Muslim MPs from BJP in the parliament. So when the Union government started talking about ‘ kabristan-shamshan ’, when Godhra, Muzaffarnagar, Delhi, Mewat [all areas that saw communal pogroms] took place, Muslims in the country got scared,” he said. Earlier in a video shared on X, Warring pointed out at the fear among the Sikhs and said, “I mentioned this in the parliament yesterday that tomorrow the Union government will bring an amendment in The Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, too. Then what will we do? We cannot let this happen.” The Congress leader said that it was totally wrong to make a person not of the community a member of a religious body. “Tomorrow, the government will justify such developments [for Sikhs] by claiming that they have already done the same with the Waqf Board,” he said. Warring stated that since Muslims do not support the Modi government, the latter wants to weaken them economically. “They think that by doing so, Muslims will surrender before them. They are doing the same with farmers in Punjab and trying to weaken them economically,” he added. Waqf Bill will affect the sense of belongingness of minorities: Sikh scholar Noted scholar and former head of political science department at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Jagrup Singh Sekhon, highlighted how Muslims are excluded from the country’s development model. “Whether political or in decision making, Muslims’ representation is extremely low and disproportionate as compared to others,” he said. “Whether it was Congress or BJP in power, the plight of a section of Muslims has largely remained the same. Further, in the last two terms of the Modi government, there has been no visible representation of Muslims. In such a scenario, the passing of Waqf (Amendment) Bill gives an impression that the Modi government was consolidating its vote bank, particularly for the upcoming assembly elections of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal,” he added. Sekhon also said that the Modi government’s claim of the Act allowing women to get a position at the table is misleading without concrete promises. The academic added that the Modi government was eyeing political mileage from the legislation and not thinking about the long-term consequences. “It can seriously affect the sense of belongingness of the minorities in the country,” he added. The government was giving a message that the country can work without the Muslims, he also said. “The idea is to divert people’s attention from pressing issues of the country like unemployment, price rise, falling value of Indian Rupee against the dollar among others,” he said. Talking about Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s speech in the parliament, Sekhon called it “political compulsion”. “When in power, the Badals’ appointed Jathedars (supreme head or one who commands Sikh affairs) of their choice in the SGPC and centralised power. But the people of Punjab have shown them their place. It is for this reason that the Sant Samaj (religious leaders) and different factions of the SAD were disillusioned with the Badal family,” he said. SGPC president, advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami said that it appears that the government’s intent is to curtail minority rights and administer matters according to its own agenda. “The Act is a direct interference by the Union government in minority-related matters,” he said. ‘Dangerous’ Balkar Singh, the former head of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Studies department at the Punjabi University Patiala equated the Waqf amendments to the time when Adolf Hitler rose to power by taking control of Germany’s economic turmoil and the nationalist sentiments of the people. “ It is an attempt to kill a religion to save another, which is dangerous”, he told The Wire. He also said that through this bill, the government aims to distract from the real issues of unemployment, inflation, and the falling Indian economy. Singh said that the Modi government’s Hindutva politics will always aim to show that the space claimed by minorities will be given to the majority community. ‘Unfortunate’ Leading a protest against the legislation, hundreds of Muslims gathered outside the historic Jama Masjid in Ludhiana. The protest was led by Jamiat Majlis Ahrar Islam, a Muslim body, which played a major role in the freedom struggle of the country. Addressing the gathering, Punjab’s Shahi Imam Maulana Mohammad Usman Rahmani Ludhianvi said that the government’s decision to appoint non-Muslims as the members of Waqf Board after every five years was unlawful. The Shahi Imam said, “Waqf Board is a religious body of the Muslims. It is meant to take care of the religious properties of the Muslims, hence those running this body should be Muslims, so that they have an idea of the code of conduct and Shariat of the religion.” He also said that a misconception was being spread by the Union government that there is no Waqf Board in the Islamic countries across the world, which is wrong. “The two main mosques in the world, Mecca and Medina, are the biggest Waqfs of the Muslims. It is written in Mecca and Medina that this is Waqf. While Allah is the owner of the Waqf properties, Waqf Board is its custodian. The Waqf Board was constituted to support the religion and the financially weaker Muslims through its earnings,” he added. He said that while the law claims to help in the upliftment of poor Muslims, how the government will do it and which welfare schemes will be launched or implemented has not been mentioned in the legislation. © The Wire

The nationals are accused of crimes including murder, extermination and attacking civilians Israeli soldiers walk behind a tank in the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank during a military operation on 24 February 2025 (AFP) A war crimes complaint against 10  British nationals accused of committing war crimes for the Israeli military in Gaza will be handed to the Metropolitan Police on Monday. A team of legal experts, including prominent human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield, will submit a 240-page report with the Met’s war crimes team on behalf of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC).  The full report and identities of the accused have not been made public for legal reasons but the 10 people accused include Israeli dual nationals. They are accused of crimes including murder, extermination, attacking civilians and the deportation or forcible transfer of a population. “In the last 18 months we have witnessed international crimes unfold. Our leaders have done little if anything to prevent the suffering of millions of innocent Palestinians,” Mansfield said. “We ask the War Crimes Team to take this report seriously, investigate and, if proven, arrest and try the individuals named. “British nationals are under a legal obligation not to collude with crimes committed in Palestine. No one is above the law.” 'Directly contributing to atrocities' The report, which has been prepared by a team of UK lawyers and researchers in the Hague and is based on six months of research, covers alleged offences committed from October 2023 to May last year. Testimony collected by PCHR includes one account from a Palestinian witness whose relatives were killed in an Israeli attack. “I could not bear what I saw: dead bodies scattered next to each other,” they said. “I could not recognise them as they were covered with a blanket… I took off the cover and saw the bodies of my uncle and his son, my nephews, and my brother-in-law along with other displaced people’s bodies.” Green Party MP Ellie Chowns , responding to news of the complaint, called on the British government to “set out how it will hold any UK nationals implicated in war crimes in Palestine to account”. PILC legal director Paul Heron said: “Shockingly, British citizens have actively served in Israel’s armed forces, directly contributing to atrocities. “As a law centre based in Britain, we have a duty to stand up. We’re filing our report to make clear these war crimes are not in our name.” The Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation  has sought to initiate nearly 100 cases against Israeli soldiers in 14 countries with universal jurisdiction: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Thailand. In January this year, the Israeli military  advised  dozens of soldiers against travelling abroad after reportedly tracking around 30 war crimes complaints and legal actions targeting its personnel for their roles in operations in Gaza. This latest development in Britain comes after the family of a  British  aid worker killed by an  Israeli  drone strike in Gaza slammed the British government last week for refusing to release information about the attack gathered by a Royal Air Force (RAF) spy plane. James Kirby, a 47-year-old former British Army rifleman, was working in Gaza for the World Central Kitchen when he was  killed  last April in an Israeli targeted attack on a three-car aid convoy. He died alongside several others, including two other British veterans. The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) told  the Times  it had footage from a RAF spy plane that was flying over Gaza trying to locate Israeli captives on the day of the strike. Officials at the MoD refused to disclose the footage, citing national security and defence exemptions. Copyright © 2014 - 2025. Middle East Eye. All rights reserved.

China says allegations that many of its citizens are fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine are ‘absolutely groundless’. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had evidence that 'many more Chinese citizens' are fighting alongside Russian forces [Alina Smutko/Reuters] Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukrainian soldiers had captured two Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces, adding that Kyiv demands an explanation from Beijing and a reaction from its allies. Moscow and Beijing have in recent years boasted of their “no limits” partnership and deepened political, military and economic cooperation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. “Our military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army. This happened on the territory of Ukraine – in the Donetsk region,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media on Tuesday. “We have the documents of these prisoners, bank cards, and personal data,” Zelenskyy said in a post that included a video of one of the alleged Chinese prisoners. China has dismissed allegations that many of its citizens are fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine as “absolutely groundless”. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China was “verifying relevant information with the Ukrainian side”. “The Chinese government has always asked its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict (and) avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form,” he added. There was no immediate reaction to the claims from Moscow. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media that China’s charge d’affaires had been summoned for an explanation. “Chinese citizens fighting as part of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine puts into question China’s declared stance for peace and undermines Beijing’s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council,” Sybiha said. China has said it is a neutral party in the conflict and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations. But it is a close political and economic ally of Russia, and NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s invasion, which it has never condemned. ‘A reaction’ from allies US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war since taking office in January. But his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough despite rounds of negotiations. Kyiv has repeatedly urged Beijing to pressure Moscow to end its invasion, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and yet has still so far failed to see the Kremlin achieve its core objectives. Zelenskyy said Kyiv had evidence that “many more Chinese citizens” are fighting alongside Russian forces and that he had instructed his foreign minister to find out how China intends to respond. He said the capture of the two men and the involvement of China in the conflict were “a clear signal that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is going to do anything but end the war”. Zelenskyy also demanded “a reaction from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who wants peace” in his online post. “I think the United States should pay more attention to what is happening today,” he said separately at a press conference in Kyiv. The war in Ukraine, now grinding through its fourth year, has attracted thousands of foreign fighters to both sides. Ukraine has been urging its Western partners to respond to the Russian deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to the western region of Kursk. The Ukrainian military has been struggling to hold ground after launching an offensive on the border region last year, although Zelenskyy said for the first time on Monday that Ukrainian troops had been operating in Russia’s Belgorod region. “The North Koreans fought against us in the Kursk region, the Chinese are fighting on the territory of Ukraine. And I think this is an important point that we need to discuss with our partners, I think urgently,” Zelenskyy added in the press conference. Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Kyiv, said: “You can see the map moving. From the east, Russia continues to push further and further, taking town and village one by one.” While Ukrainians will say that is indeed happening, they also say that “the fight is not over yet”, Basravi added. Kyiv, which dispatched its then-Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to China last year, has been seeking to deepen ties with Beijing, and Zelenskyy this week appointed a new ambassador to China. © 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network