INDIA - There are certainties in life: death, taxes, and the ever-present risk of India and Pakistan going to war — and the latest spark could prove to be Tuesday's jihadi Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist attack that left at least 26 non-Muslims dead on the Indian side of the long-disputed Kashmir region. Visegrád 24 reported today that New Delhi announced "strong measures against Pakistan," including cancelling South Asia-regional SAARC visas for Pakistani visitors, closing the Wagah border crossing, and suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) governing the allocation of water from the region's major rivers.

USA - Global economic leaders are gathering in Washington this week for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They are arriving in a United States that is vastly different from the one they visited during the same forum last fall. Recent debates over industrial policy and whether the world economy could achieve a soft landing have been replaced by anxiety over President Trump’s trade war, revived inflation fears and new worries about the prospect of a global recession.

USA - Columbus, Ohio has been identified as the jumping off point for Somalis residing in the United States, including Somali Americans, to become radicalized and then head overseas to wage jihad. There isn’t a state without Mosques and Muslim communities, many controlled by Hamas-tied CAIR, and many are radicalized. Some are likely pushing Sharia and could be lying about it. The Islamic Center, one of 20 in Columbus, Ohio, is hardline and tied to six terrorist attacks. If we don’t do something about chain immigration and illegal immigration, it will be over for the United States. We must also ban Sharia throughout the nation. Hardline imams should be barred from entering and deported if they make it into the country.

UK - Experiments to dim the SUN in bid to curb global warming will be approved by the UK government within weeks. There's nothing quite like going for a walk on a bright, spring day. But basking in the sunshine could soon be a thing of the past. That's because it has emerged that experts are planning on dimming the sun in a bid to curb global warming. Experiments to reflect sunlight away from Earth will be given the green light by the Government within weeks, the Telegraph reports. Outdoor trials could include injecting aerosols into the atmosphere or brightening clouds to reflect sunshine.

USA - Elite universities have long been hot houses of leftist ideology and, more recently, pro-Palestinian protests that are intimidating Jewish students. US President Donald Trump is now taking them on and has withdrawn state funding from Harvard and other top American institutions in a campaign that we should ape in the UK. Furious at the failure to dismantle the aggressively pro-Palestinian encampments that have become a feature of campuses across the country – and the endemic Left-wing bias of further education in his country – Trump has withheld some $11 billion of state funding from at least seven top colleges. Some have accepted the criticism and withdrawn their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programmes, but Harvard University, threatened with losing $2 billion in funding is fighting back by suing the White House for interfering in their academic independence. If any British politicians had the courage to take on the academic establishment, they too would find institutions long captured by woke, leftist activists.

VATICAN - Pope Francis did not fear death, but instead welcomed the 'new beginning' of eternal life with God, he revealed in an essay written just two months ago. Francis had reflected on death on February 7 this year as he penned a preface for Cardinal Angelo Scola's new book, titled 'Awaiting a New Beginning. Reflections on Old Age'. 'Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something,' the pontiff wrote in the preface, which was released by the Vatican today. The Pope wrote that 'we must not be afraid of old age' and 'must not fear embracing becoming old', but instead strive to live life on earth with 'grace and not with resentment'. 'It is a new beginning,' Francis said of death. 'Because eternal life, which those who love already begin to experience on earth within the daily tasks of life - is beginning something that will never end. And it is precisely for this reason that it is a "new" beginning, because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity.'

UK - As Labour ministers are caught criticising the law as determined by the Supreme Court, why campaigners must not rest on their laurels or risk their hard-won efforts being overturned. Those of us who cracked open the Champagne last week after the rare outbreak of common sense from the Supreme Court over the definition of a woman may find that our celebrations were premature. In the aftermath trans rights activists took to the streets and Labour MPs began plotting to overturn the ruling.

UK - Seven statues, including those of Nelson Mandela and Millicent Fawcett, the suffragist, were defaced with graffiti during a pro-trans protest in central London on Saturday. Pro-trans protesters have vowed to take their demonstrations across the country, with a dozen rallies planned for next weekend. In Westminster on Saturday, seven statues, including those of Nelson Mandela and Millicent Fawcett, the suffragist, were defaced with graffiti when thousands of demonstrators protested against the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of a woman. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, described the vandalism as “disgraceful” and “unacceptable”, and Scotland Yard has launched a criminal investigation to identify those responsible. Police forces will now be braced for further potential flashpoints this weekend, with gatherings planned in towns and cities from Darlington to Southampton.

UK - Misinformation, vandalism and abuse after Supreme Court ruling have exposed misogyny wrapped in a rainbow flag. There are two ways of looking at the Supreme Court’s judgment in the For Women Scotland case. The first is actually to read it. If you do that, you’ll find a thorough and considered ruling that balances the rights of women and the rights of trans people under the Equality Act, while reaffirming throughout that both “sex” and “gender reassignment” are protected characteristics in law. The second is to look at the reaction from trans activists and their allies, which is almost entirely unhinged from anything in the judgment itself. On social media, posters paraphrased Martin Niemöller (“First they came for the trans people …”) as though this were a new Holocaust. The Good Law Project accused the Supreme Court of ignoring trans voices, while acknowledging that no trans activist organisation had applied to intervene.

UK - Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said a woman is an “adult female”, as he welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgment on the issue. In his first public comments since the justices’ decision on April 16, the Prime Minister said he is “really pleased” with the clarity that the court’s ruling offers. But it marked a contrast with his comments before the court ruling. Sir Keir, who has previously said “transwomen are women”, was asked to repeat that statement but instead said: “I think the Supreme Court has answered that question.” Asked if that means he does not believe a transwoman is a woman, he told ITV West Country: “A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear."

UK - Activists who oppose the Supreme Court’s judgment on the definition of a woman are guilty of “wishful thinking”, a senior member of the equalities watchdog has said. Protests in Parliament Square against the ruling over the weekend saw statues vandalised, while Labour MPs discussed how to “organise” against the decision. Akua Reindorf KC, one of eight commissioners for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), told The Times the Supreme Court’s ruling was a “model of clarity” and those seeking to undermine it were “fuelled by misunderstanding”. The Sunday Times reported that the campaigners who won the Supreme Court battle have been inundated with death threats and misogynistic abuse since the judgment.

USA - Harvard University is suing the Trump administration after it froze $2.2 billion of the school’s funding. The department for education accused the university of being unduly influenced by faculty, staff and students who are “more committed to activism than scholarship”. Donald Trump demanded the university must only hire faculty and admit students based on merit and “cease all preferences based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin” and have an external panel audit the faculty and students of each department to ensure “viewpoint diversity”. Funding was frozen last week after Harvard rejected the demands.

USA - The Trump administration is reviewing a series of proposals aimed at encouraging marriage and increasing birthrates in the United States, according to individuals involved in recent policy discussions, the New York Times reported on Monday. Among the ideas under consideration are a $5,000 "baby bonus" for new mothers, reserving 30% of Fulbright scholarships for applicants who are married or have children, and government-supported programs that educate women about fertility awareness methods, such as menstrual cycle tracking, according to NYT. The proposals have been shared in recent weeks by advocates of pronatalism, a movement that seeks to reverse declining birthrates through policy and cultural initiatives. Administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have shown interest in the issue. President Donald Trump has previously voiced support for a "baby boom" and has emphasized the role of families in the national agenda.

UK - Non-crime hate incidents are a waste of time at best, and a threat to free speech at worst. The UK is supposed to be the home of free speech – and a country where the police chase criminals, not law-abiding members of the public. So I was horrified, last November, when police officers called on Allison Pearson, a Telegraph journalist, who initially believed that they were there to investigate a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) based on a comment she posted on X. In my view the police should have one over-riding priority: catching criminals and protecting the public from crime.

VATICAN - The battle to succeed Pope Francis is one for the very soul of the Catholic Church and its over a billion followers around the world. Whoever becomes the 267th Pope will dictate the direction of the Church for the next decade or more on the most pressing, and contentious, issues facing society. Pope Francis broke with the conservative stance of his two predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and his papacy will be remembered for his liberalism on LGBTQ+ rights, his support for refugees, and his focus on climate change.