Locals report explosions in Amritsar, Indian Punjab.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to meet with Trump to share his vision for a Marshall Plan-style reconstruction.

Ahmed al-Sharaa's vision for reconstruction places American and Western companies ahead of Chinese companies.

Source: WSJ

Trump:

I would much rather make a deal with Iran.

NEW: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa sent a message to the White House requesting a meeting during Trump's visit to the Gulf states, WSJ reports.

Washington presented the new Syrian government with a list of conditions that must be met before any sanctions relief could be considered, WSJ reports.

Germany’s new chancellor Merz says he plans to visit Ukraine soon.

NEW: Amritsar district administration has again started the blackout process.

Source: ANI

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visits the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman:

I strongly advise any country in the Western Hemisphere against getting closer to China.

After 24 hours:

"We are still working to verify the details regarding Pakistan’s claim of downing Indian aircraft."

Source: CNN, citing an Indian government source

Indian Army's physical fitness criteria for recruits: checking testicle size.

UPDATE: Reports of reported Pakistani attacks on Amritsar, Jalandhar, or any location in Indian Punjab by Pakistan turns out to be false.

Putin's promised "truce" in Ukraine begins.

The U.S. has approved a Qatari plan to fund Syria’s public sector, providing crucial financial support to the new Syrian government.

The U.S. Treasury is expected to issue a letter confirming the exemption, allowing for a 400% salary increase for over a million Syrian civil servants, excluding defense and interior ministries.

Source: Reuters

Azerbaijani MFA on India-Pakistan:

Azerbaijan condemns attacks that killed and injured civilians in Pakistan, and calls for restraint and diplomatic resolution.

Indian-origin journalist and defence expert Shashank Joshi quoted reports of downed Indian fighter jets from Reuters, NYT, and The Hindu.

The replies and quote tweets include calls for him to be banned from India, investigated, and there are now private death threats.

Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called Putin a "war criminal" and criticized Biden’s Russia sanctions as “egregiously weak,” arguing they let Russia keep funding its war machine, particularly in energy.

Bessent said the U.S. is ready for harsher sanctions against Russia and Iran to gain leverage in peace talks.

Former President Joe Biden on Trump’s talk of the “Gulf of America,” taking back Panama, acquiring Greenland, and making Canada the 51st state:

What the hell’s going on here? What president ever talks like that? That’s not who we are.

Malnutrition rises in Gaza as Israeli blockade enters third month.

Her mother Najwa, 23, says her five-month-old daughter Siwar weighs just over 2kg.

“There was no food when I gave birth to her,” she says.

“If I wanted to feed myself so I could breastfeed her, I had no nutrients… She now only drinks formula milk, and we don’t know how we’ll be able to provide it.”

Source: BBC

Trump praised Houthis’ “bravery” today:

“We hit them very hard. They had a great capacity to withstand punishment.

They took tremendous punishment. You can say there’s a lot of bravery there…

It was amazing what they took. But we honor their commitment and their word.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will not attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, citing national events for his late father Heydar Aliyev’s birthday on May 10.