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Halfway into the journey from In…

• India and Pakistan exchange major cross-border strikes, with both sides targeting military bases after Pakistan launched a new military operation, Bunyan-un-Marsoos.
• More than a dozen civilians killed in Kashmir, as artillery and missile fire continue overnight.
• Both nations signal conditional willingness to deescalate.
• Global powers urge restraint between the nuclear-armed rivals.

India and Pakistan – two nuclear-armed neighbours – are teetering on the brink of an all-out war after a dramatic escalation of strikes today.

Medium-range Fateh missiles were unleashed towards at least 25 military sites in India, including airbases and weapons depots in the Indian states of Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and India-administered Kashmir.

The strikes – part of the newly-launched military operation, named Bunyan-un-Marsoos, meaning ‘solid wall of steel’ – were in response to attacks on Pakistani territory this week.

Shortly afterwards, India targeted multiple military bases in Pakistan, citing ‘blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions’ along the western borders.

Overnight, Indian and Pakistani troops also exchanged artillery and gunfire along the Line of Control that divides the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan’s disaster authority confirmed that 13 civilians have been killed and more than 50 injured in Kashmir in past 12 hours.

The heavy cross-border violence escalate the volatile standoff sparked by last month’s attack on tourists by five armed militants near Pahalgam in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were killed. 

Both nations have signalled a willingness to de-escalate if the other halts further aggression.

Yet, military mobilisations on the border and a retaliatory rhetoric suggest a deepening crisis with no clear cut-off.

Former Pakistan national security adviser, Moeed Yusuf, warned that ‘we are on the brink of an all-out war’.

He told SkyNews: ‘This is not a good situation, the world must wake up to the reality that two nuclear powers are on the brink of an all-out war.’

Yusuf claimed Pakistan ‘never wanted to escalate’ tensions and said now is the time for the two sides to ‘sit down and talk’.

He added: ‘I think the view in Pakistan is that enough is enough. We are not sacrificial lambs, we will stand up. If India does not respond now, I am sure Pakistan will say thank you, that is it.’

Hours after carrying out strikes on India, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said his country would consider de-escalation if India stopped further attacks.

Earlier, he told Pakistan’s Geo News: ‘We responded because our patience had reached its limit. If they stop here, we will also consider stopping.’

Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif also told his country’s political leaders ‘we have given India a befitting response’.

India has also said it is committed to ‘non-escalation’, providing that rival forces reciprocated.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh warned: ‘Indian armed forces remain in a high state of operational readiness.’

US secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke to Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir on Friday to offer American assistance ‘in starting constructive talks in order to avoid future conflicts’.

He spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, stressing that ‘both sides need to identify methods to de-escalate and re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation,’ State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Saturday.

The Group of Seven (G7) major economies had earlier called for maximum restraint from India and Pakistan, urging the neighbours to engage in direct dialogue.

‘Further military escalation poses a serious threat to regional stability. We are deeply concerned for the safety of civilians on both sides,’ according to the statement, which was posted in the official website of the government of Canada, a member of the G7.

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The decision comes amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by both countries, and has been the site of several wars, insurgency and diplomatic standoffs.

Brits have been warned against travel

India has targeted Pakistani-controlled territory, killing at least 26 people including a child, in what Pakistan called an act of war.

India says it has targeted ‘terrorist infrastructure’.

A massive new trade deal between the UK and India could bring an end to irritating spam texts from Indian senders, the government has said.

Prices on items like clothes, shoes and frozen prawns could also drop for British shoppers as a result of the new agreement.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed it as a ‘landmark deal’ which will ‘grow the economy and deliver for British people and business’.

It represents the ‘biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal’ for the UK since Brexit, according to the Department of Business and Trade.

The department said the agreement included ‘new commitments’ to ‘help protect consumers from spam texts from India’, which could mean recipients are able to opt out or give prior consent.

India is the world’s most populous country, and among the world’s fastest-growing economies.

The country’s tariffs on whisky and gin from the UK will be slashed from 150% to 75% while the tariffs on cars will fall from more than 100% to 10%.

Cosmetics, aerospace, lamb, medical devices, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate, and biscuits are among the other British products that will have their Indian tariffs cut.

The announcement comes after years of negotiations, which took on a new urgency when Donald Trump introduced broad tariffs on imports to the US from every country in the world in April.

The US President also brought in 25% tariffs on car imports, putting significant pressure on the UK’s automotive industry which deals heavily across the Atlantic.

While the lowering of vehicle tariffs in the India agreement may be welcomed by the sector, it is subject to a quota.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: ‘This government’s number one mission is growing the economy as part of our Plan for Change so we can put more money in people’s pockets.

‘By striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the world, we are delivering billions for the UK economy and wages every year and unlocking growth in every corner of the country, from advanced manufacturing in the North East to whisky distilleries in Scotland.

‘In times of global uncertainty, a pragmatic approach to global trade that provides businesses and consumers with stability is more important than ever.’

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A massive new trade deal between the UK and India could bring an end to irritating spam texts from Indian senders, the government has said.

Prices on items like clothes, shoes and frozen prawns could also drop for British shoppers as a result of the new agreement.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed it as a ‘landmark deal’ which will ‘grow the economy and deliver for British people and business’.

It represents the ‘biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal’ for the UK since Brexit, according to the Department of Business and Trade.

The department said the agreement included ‘new commitments’ to ‘help protect consumers from spam texts from India’, which could mean recipients are able to opt out or give prior consent.

India is the world’s most populous country, and among the world’s fastest-growing economies.

The country’s tariffs on whisky and gin from the UK will be slashed from 150% to 75% while the tariffs on cars will fall from more than 100% to 10%.

Cosmetics, aerospace, lamb, medical devices, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate, and biscuits are among the other British products that will have their Indian tariffs cut.

The announcement comes after years of negotiations, which took on a new urgency when Donald Trump introduced broad tariffs on imports to the US from every country in the world in April.

The US President also brought in 25% tariffs on car imports, putting significant pressure on the UK’s automotive industry which deals heavily across the Atlantic.

While the lowering of vehicle tariffs in the India agreement may be welcomed by the sector, it is subject to a quota.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: ‘This government’s number one mission is growing the economy as part of our Plan for Change so we can put more money in people’s pockets.

‘By striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the world, we are delivering billions for the UK economy and wages every year and unlocking growth in every corner of the country, from advanced manufacturing in the North East to whisky distilleries in Scotland.

‘In times of global uncertainty, a pragmatic approach to global trade that provides businesses and consumers with stability is more important than ever.’

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

It is not the kind of ingredient that would win you MasterChef.

This is the moment a man is seen smiling on a zipline while 26 people are shot dead below him in a terror attack.

Footage shows the tourist being launched by the Zipline operator, who says ‘Allahu Akbar’ three times as a militant group opened fire on visitors at a popular tourist spot in Indian-controlled Kashmir last week.

But the tourist does not appear to be aware of what is going on and smiles and films the scenery around him as he takes off along the Zipline.

Additional gunfire can be heard in the background as people are seen falling to the ground after being struck by bullets while trying to flee.

The man filming does not appear to realise what is happening as later footage shows him crossing the area where the terror attack took place.

One witness said: ‘My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack.’

Tourist Asavari Jagdale revealed how a gunman came into the tent which her family were hiding in and shooting all of her male relatives.

Due to the area only being accessible by horseback, locals rushed to help with emergency efforts and transport the injured on ponies.

He said: ‘I saw people crying, screaming, just lying in the aftermath of the attack. There were children, women, men, everyone.

‘It was a massive trauma. I did not sleep all night.’

One witness said: ‘I cannot say how many, but the militants came out of the forest near an open small meadow and started firing.’

He added the gunfire was ‘like a storm’ and the gunmen ‘very clearly spared women and kept shooting at men’.

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On Tuesday, gunmen shot 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, in an attack near the picturesque town of Pahalgam.

A deadly attack which left 26 tourists dead in Kashmir has heightened tensions between India and Pakistan again.

‘I screamed, grabbed my children, and ran into the forest. My kids and I are still in shock. We can’t understand what happened to us.

Police have described the incident as a ‘terror attack’ and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule.

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