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Suspected rebels killed at least 26 people on Tuesday in the picturesque tourist resort of Pahalgam in the deadliest such attack in a quarter century in Indian-administered Kashmir, raising fears of an escalation in India-Pakistan tensions.

The attack in Kashmir’s southern district of Anantnag prompted anger across India. It came amid the peak tourist season as hundreds of thousands of tourists were holidaying in the region, which has been racked by a three-decade armed rebellion.

Soon after the attack, teams of police and paramilitary troops rushed to the spot to evacuate the wounded tourists and launch a manhunt for the attackers. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, along with the country’s top security brass, rushed to Kashmir, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short a visit to Saudi Arabia to return to New Delhi, where he held a meeting on Wednesday morning to craft India’s response.

The attack also unfolded as India is hosting United States Vice President JD Vance, who arrived on Monday and is scheduled to leave on Thursday.

Here’s what we know about the attack, the victims, the attackers, the backdrop for the killings, what this means for Kashmir and the region, and how India might react.

Pahalgam, which means “valley of shepherds” in Kashmiri, is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the region, located about 50km [31 miles] from the main city of Srinagar.

On Tuesday, witnesses told Al Jazeera that the area was bustling with tourists. At about 2:45pm, a group of armed men in camouflage clothes emerged from a nearby forest, an official said, requesting anonymity to discuss details that security forces have not made public.

The attackers “opened indiscriminate fire at Baisaran meadow, a scenic uphill area accessible only by foot or pony rides,” the official said. Many tourists were caught off guard as the sudden volley of bullets rang out.

Simran Chandani, a tourist from Nagpur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, said she was not sure she would survive the attack.

“We were preparing to leave after having tea and Maggi [a popular prepackaged, ready-to-eat noodle snack]” when the attack started, she said, describing Pahalgam as “mini-Switzerland”.

Then it all changed. “I saw a rush of people coming down, we thought the balloon had burst, people were pushing each other, who told us an attack had happened,” she recalled, adding that mostly men were fired upon. She joined the others in trying to escape. “I was taking the name of God and running,” Chandani said.

At least 26 people have been killed in the attack, and more than a dozen others were injured.

The tourists killed were almost all civilians, and an Indian Navy officer from the northern state of Haryana on his honeymoon.

A 68-year-old former banker from Pandurangapuram in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, who was visiting the region with his wife, was also killed. The deceased also included a realtor from the southern state of Karnataka, an accountant from the eastern state of Odisha, a cement dealer from Uttar Pradesh in the north, and a Gulf-returnee from the southern state of Kerala.

One foreign national, from Nepal, was among those killed.

A statement issued in the name of The Resistance Front (TRF), which is believed to be an offshoot of the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The statement linked the attacks to the thousands of residency permits being handed over to Indian citizens, permitting them to live and work in Kashmir. However, Al Jazeera could not independently confirm the statement’s authenticity.

The Indian government had stripped Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in 2019, asserting more federal control and splitting the former state into two union territories. The move escalated political tensions in the region and paved the way for the Indian government to issue residence permits to non-Kashmiris, which had previously been banned.

Indian officials told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity that they suspected that four attackers took part in the killings – two of them from Pakistan, and two from Indian-administered Kashmir.

I thought I’d start posting weekly, maybe we’ll see results.

Last week I spent like 15 min trying to get a good pic so it probably looks better.

Actually weighed myself yesterday and I’m sitting right at 180 with a hoodie and shorts, will try and start doing serious cardio soon and maybe I can get rid of some of my recently acquired extra weight instead of just putting it on.

Had a chance to get my drugs this weekend while I was home for Easter but I said

Gunmen attacked a Chinese-owned hydroelectric plant under construction in Chile Sunday, setting fire to dozens of trucks and heavy earth-moving equipment, police said.

The Rucalhue power plant is being built by Rucalhue Energia Spa, a unit of China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE), and is projected to cost $350 million.

It is being built along the Biobio, one of Chile's main rivers, and is opposed by Indigenous people who say it will harm the environment.

Security guards at the job site said assailants with guns showed up and threatened them. They then "proceeded to burn all the equipment there was at the site," said police chief Renzo Miccono.

The attackers burned 45 trucks and five pieces of earth-moving equipment, he said. Two security guards were wounded in the attack on the site, which is 550 kilometres (340 miles) south of Santiago.

China's foreign ministry on Monday condemned the attack and said it had been in touch with Chilean officials on "concrete measures to protect the safety of Chinese companies' projects and personnel."

"The Chinese side... is willing to closely work with the Chilean side to carry out relevant investigations and follow-up actions," spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing.

Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero told local media that given where and how the attack was carried out it was "of a terrorist nature."

Rucalhue Energia Spa said the cost of the damage was being evaluated.

I’m sure they’ll come up with other reasons, but the kind of fundamental economic change he is trying to bring about takes a lot longer than 4 years. I think this will be one of their major selling points for Trump 2028.

If he lives that long, that is.

The Bahamas' government said on Tuesday it is suspending all SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landings in the country, pending a full post-launch investigation.

"No further clearances will be granted until a full environmental assessment is reviewed," Bahamian Director of Communications Latrae Rahming said in a post on X.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Bahamian government said in February after SpaceX's first landing in the country that it had approved 19 more throughout 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

The Bahamas' post-launch investigation comes after a SpaceX Starship spacecraft exploded in space last month, minutes after lifting off from Texas.

Social media videos showed fiery debris streaking through the skies near South Florida and the Bahamas after the spacecraft broke up in space shortly after it began to spin uncontrollably with its engines cut off.

Following the incident, the Bahamas said debris from the spacecraft fell into its airspace. The country said the debris contained no toxic materials and added it was not expected to have a significant impact on marine life or water quality.

Washington's anti-China campaign has been dealt a blow, after Huawei and ZTE won deals to supply 5G infrastructure to U Mobile.

Under the deal, these vendors will enable U Mobile – which was awarded the contract to build Malaysia's second wholesale 5G network last November – to cover 80% of the population within 12 months of commencing deployment, reaching 90% in the 12 months thereafter.

"We are honoured by the trust placed in us and we pledge to work hard to fulfil, as well as rise above and beyond, our obligations," said Huawei Malaysia CEO Simon Sun.

"Together with U Mobile, we aim to build a bespoke 5G-A ready network, providing differentiated 5G and 5G-A experiences to people, homes and industries."

Steven Ge, managing director of ZTE Malaysia, said "ZTE is pleased to be the technology partner of U Mobile and is honoured to play a crucial role in shaping Malaysia's 5G landscape. This partnership continues our journey of building the nation's telecommunications evolution – from 2G through 3G and 4G, and now into the 5G era."

The deal is likely to ruffle a few feathers in the US which – in unison with the EU – had warned its longstanding ally of negative consequences should it allow Chinese-made equipment to be used in its 5G networks.

In all fairness though, it sounds like U Mobile wasn't exactly spoilt for choice.

"We started this selection process last year with invitations to tender, sent out to network equipment and software provider companies from all regions. Ultimately, only two Chinese companies responded and we are delighted to work with Huawei and ZTE on this significant endeavour," said U Mobile CTO, Woon Ooi Yuen.

Ericsson was never going to get this gig. It was chosen as the sole vendor for Malaysia's first wholesale 5G network, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), and the selection process was slammed by the opposition party at the time for not being sufficiently transparent.

That party is now in power, and it spearheaded the establishment of the second wholesale network to compete with DNB. It would make no sense to entrench Ericsson's 5G monopoly, so other suppliers needed to step up instead.

Outside China, that leaves Nokia and Samsung. The latter has struggled to mount a meaningful challenge to Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and ZTE on the world stage – its 5G networking wins have tended to revolve around emerging tech like Open RAN.

As for Nokia, it looked like a viable candidate for the new network, having been chosen by U Mobile back in 2019 to deploy RAN equipment in greenfield locations across Malaysia, extending the telco's LTE footprint. The two also agreed to trial 5G.

In all likelihood, price probably had a big influence over U Mobile's decision, because we all know that Huawei and ZTE are very competitive on that front.

Chances are they were the only ones to respond because they were the only ones who could make the numbers add up to U Mobile's satisfaction, and no amount of diplomatic pressure from the US and Europe would persuade it otherwise.

U Mobile understandably says its decision came down to tech and getting the network up and running quickly.

"Apart from their global technology track record, they (Huawei and ZTE) have also [a] shared vision for an efficient and rapid rollout," said Woon. "U Mobile is looking forward to Huawei and ZTE playing a critical role in bringing a next-gen 5G network that is enterprise-grade to Malaysians rapidly."

As for a response from Washington or Brussels, chances are both sides of the pond are too preoccupied with the chaotic tariff situation to pay it any mind. It could come back to haunt them though if other regional allies opt to follow in Malaysia's footsteps.

Between 60,000 and 80,000 households - or up to 400,000 people, - have been displaced from Sudan's Zamzam camp in North Darfur after it was taken over by the Rapid Support Forces, according to data from the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.

The RSF seized control of the camp on Sunday after a four-day assault that the government and aid groups have said left hundreds dead or wounded.

The United Nations said on Monday that preliminary figures from local sources show more than 300 civilians were killed in fighting on Friday and Saturday around the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps and the town of al-Fashir in North Darfur.

This includes 10 humanitarian personnel from Relief International, who were killed while operating one of the last functioning health centres in Zamzam camp, said a U.N. spokesperson.

Rights groups have long warned of possible atrocities should the RSF succeed in its months-long siege of the famine-stricken camp, neighbour to the army's only remaining stronghold in the Darfur region, al-Fashir.

Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed burning buildings and smoke in Zamzam on Friday, echoing prior RSF attacks.

The RSF has dismissed such allegations, and says the Zamzam camp was being used as a base for army-aligned groups.

At the start of the war, the camp was home to about half a million people, a number that is thought to have doubled.

In a video shared by the paramilitary force, RSF second in command Abdelrahim Dagalo is seen speaking to a small group of displaced people, promising them food, water, medical care and a return to their homes.

The RSF accelerated its assault on the camp after the army regained control of the capital Khartoum, cementing its retaking of the center of the country

I cut back on the coke hard for like 4 months and my last use was Nov 6th.

I’m more proud of quitting stims, I know the muscle is nothing impressive but I’m now 175

Quite a bit of that is in the waist :( better than killing myself with stims though