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.

Pakistani Prime Minister:

We express our gratitude for Türkiye's efforts to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace in South Asia.

Trump:

Big News Conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 A.M., The Oval Office, concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY. THE FIRST OF MANY!!!

North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea's military said on Thursday.

Source: Reuters

BIG: Pakistan-India fighter jet “dog fight” was one of largest and longest in recent aviation history, CNN reports.

A total of 125 fighter jets battled for over an hour, with neither side leaving its own airspace.

The missile exchanges were happening at distances sometimes greater than 160 kilometers.

NEW: Pakistan has reportedly identified and shot an Indian drone over Lahore.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz to Iran:

What we did to Hezbollah, Hamas, Assad, and the Houthis, we will do to you as well in Tehran.