Thursday Briefing

Will the India-Pakistan conflict escalate further?

A number of Indian aircraft went down in Pakistan after India conducted airstrikes on Pakistan and the Pakistani-held area of Kashmir — two or three, according to Indian officials, Western diplomats and local media, and five planes and at least one drone, according to Pakistan.

The question now is whether Pakistan will decide that it must answer India’s strikes with an attack of its own on Indian soil.

For now, Pakistan says it is keeping all its options open. But diplomats and analysts expressed some hope that an all-out war could be averted. Pakistan’s defense minister said he would welcome further U.S. efforts to help defuse his country’s crisis with India.

The Pakistani military said more than 20 people had been killed and dozens injured after India hit six places in Pakistani-held Kashmir and in Punjab Province. Residents of the Indian side of Kashmir said at least 10 people were killed by shelling from the Pakistani side.

Perspective: My colleague Mujib Mashal, our South Asia bureau chief, explained what led to the strikes in this Times video. “The history of these two countries has really been a history of managed hostilities,” Mujib said.

On the ground: These photos and videos capture scenes from India’s strikes on Pakistan and Kashmir.

Arms flow: When it comes to weapons, India vs. Pakistan is also China vs. the U.S., illustrating the new alignments in this corner of Asia.

No pope was elected on the first day of the conclave

Black smoke puffed from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel as the first round of voting for a new pope ended yesterday without a decision. The conclave of cardinals will meet today to try again.

The initial vote had not been expected to yield a new pontiff. The 133 cardinals, the most ever to gather in a papal conclave, will remain without phone or internet access and under oaths of total secrecy until a two-thirds majority agrees on a candidate. This is how a conclave works.

What’s next: There is no indication of how long the conclave will take, though decisions were reached in the last two within two days. Because the process takes place mostly in silence, one seasoned cardinal had some advice: “Bring a book.”

Quiz: Think you know the conclave? Test your knowledge.

Israeli airstrikes killed dozens in Gaza

Airstrikes pounded Gaza yesterday, killing at least 59 people, health officials said, as Israel’s defense minister gave some details about a plan to capture more of the enclave and force all two million Gaza residents to live in the south.

The single deadliest bombing hit near a popular cafe in Gaza City where young people had gathered to use the internet, killing 33, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The offensive comes amid a dire humanitarian situation: Hunger in Gaza has soared since Israel imposed a blockade on aid supplies in March.

Speaking to the military, Israel’s defense minister said the relocation of Gazans was part of an offensive that would begin after President Trump’s visit to the Middle East next week. Until then, he said, Hamas had “a window of opportunity” to agree to new cease-fire negotiations and release Israeli hostages.

West Bank: The Israeli military has been tightening control in the most sweeping crackdown on militancy there in a generation.

Middle East news:

• President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria arrived in France for his first trip to a European country since ascending to power.

• The Houthis, an Iran-backed group in Yemen, vowed to continue attacking Israel a day after Trump said the U.S. would stop bombing them.

MORE TOP NEWS

• V-E Day: On the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Europe is facing echoes of tyrannies past.

• Space: Kosmos-482, a half-ton Soviet spacecraft, has been adrift among the stars for 53 years. It will return to Earth this week, but nobody knows where.

• Covid: A study comparing the genome of Covid with that of SARS argues that both viruses jumped from bats to wild mammals in China, and eventually to humans.

• Business: Disney announced that it had reached an agreement to open a theme park in Abu Dhabi.

• Germany: Friedrich Merz, the new chancellor, is facing a stalled economy, fallout from Trump’s tariffs and a political challenge from the far right.

• Rwanda: The Trump administration is said to be in talks with Rwanda to take in deportees. We looked at Britain’s failed attempt to do the same.

• Crime: Smokey Robinson was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed by four women who worked as his housekeepers.

• Music: Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer who died last year, left an estate worth 24.3 million pounds, or $32.3 million — and no will.

• Media: President Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on foreign movies has sent a shiver through Britain’s film industry.

U.S. News

• Trade: President Trump is expected to announce today that the U.S. will strike a trade agreement with Britain.

• Migration: U.S. officials said that they planned to deport migrants to Libya. Both of that country’s rival governments denied that they agreed to a deal.

• U.S.-China relations: Beijing said that its top trade official, He Lifeng, would meet with his U.S. counterpart in Switzerland this week.

• Politics: “That’s not who we are.” Joe Biden criticized President Trump in his first interview since leaving office.

• Trump administration: Where is Melania? The first lady’s whereabouts is among the most sensitive of subjects in this White House.

War in Ukraine

• Fighting: Russia and Ukraine kept up attacks a day before a three-day Russian cease-fire was to take effect.

• POWs: Amid happy reunions and anguish, families and loved ones in Ukraine welcomed home prisoners repatriated from Russia.

• China: The country’s leader, Xi Jinping, will meet with President Vladimir Putin and be the “main guest” at a parade.

• Europe: With Putin having threatened aggression beyond Ukraine, Poland has taken a bigger role in the E.U. and trained ordinary citizens in civil defense.

SPORTS NEWS

• Soccer: We broke down Inter Milan’s defeat of Barcelona, which may have been the greatest Champions League semifinal ever.

• Formula 1: Alpine announced that Franco Colapinto would replace Jack Doohan for the next five races. This is why.

• Tennis: 50 U.S. players will descend on Rome for the Italian Open as the U.S. Tennis Association tries to learn from recent Italian success.

MORNING READ

When we think about the forces that shape us, our first thought might be of our parents. But our brothers and sisters can play just as big a role (if not bigger) in who we become, from school life to sports. Read more about these rivals and allies.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

The year’s best books, so far

We’re more than a third of the way through 2025 and our Book Review team has already written about hundreds of books. Some were good. Some were very good. And then there were the ones we couldn’t stop thinking about.

One of the favorites is “We Do Not Part,” a dreamlike novel that revisits a violent chapter in South Korean history. Another is “Careless People,” a darkly funny exposé of Facebook.