This week’s clashes between Pakistan and India are the most serious escalation in tensions between these two historic foes in decades with millions on both sides of their border now wondering what might come next.

Despite a vow to “avenge” India’s strikes on its territory, Pakistan has yet to retaliate in kind on India, and both sides appear to have already claimed victory. But hostilities continue.

Palpable panic rocked both nations Wednesday after New Delhi launched targeted military strikes on its neighbor, while Islamabad claimed it had shot down its rival’s fighter jets.

The fear is that each additional confrontational step by either side could quickly spiral into an all out conflict.

Indian media was euphoric after Wednesday’s strikes. “Strokes of justice,” ran an editorial from one of India’s leading English newspapers commending the country’s “sharp” and “resolute” response to the massacre of 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir, at the hands of militants. A headline from The Indian Express echoed a similar tune: “Justice Served” it said across the front page.

In Pakistan, the public response from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was similarly bellicose.

He has vowed to “avenge” the deaths of 31 people Pakistan says were killed in India’s strikes but still appeared to declare triumph for its apparent shooting of India’s airplanes.

“It only took a few hours for the enemy to fall on its knees,” he said in a late-night address to the nation.

India says it struck “terrorist infrastructure” belonging to two Islamist groups – Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed – who have been accused of being behind some the deadliest militant attacks on the country. Wednesday’s strikes did not target military infrastructure and didn’t kill civilians, New Delhi said, potentially giving India and Pakistan an opportunity to find a way to avoid an all-out war.

One location India struck was deep in Pakistan’s Punjab province, the deepest attack in Pakistan’s undisputed territory since both countries fought a major war in 1971. It also targeted multiple other locations in Punjab – the heartland of the powerful military and home of the Sharif government – and hit a mosque, according to Pakistani officials, angering millions in the Muslim-majority nation.

What happens now, analysts say, mostly depends on Islamabad’s next move.

“All eyes are on Pakistan,” said Washington-based South Asia analyst, Michael Kugelman. “If it decides to save face and claim victory — perhaps by pointing to the downing of Indian jets (which New Delhi has not confirmed) — and call it a day, an off ramp could be in sight.”

But he warned “all bets would be off” should Pakistan decide to strike back.

‘Something to lose’

Most analysts agree the nuclear-armed neighbors cannot afford another battle.

India and Pakistan have already fought three wars over Kashmir, a contested region they both claim in its entirety and each control a part of. Another conflict could have catastrophic consequences.

Since its birth seven decades ago in the partition of what was British India, Pakistan – now home to 230 million people – has faced mounting challenges, from political instability to an alarming militant insurgency, climate catastrophes and economic disarray.

India is seemingly in a stronger position; its military is seen as superior in any conventional conflict based on number alone and it boasts an economy more than 10 times the size of Pakistan’s. But it too would have something to lose should the conflict escalate, according to Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution.

“Largely on the basis of what we’ve seen in previous times, these are two rational actors who don’t want a broader war,” Madan said.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to elevate India’s status on the global stage, bidding to host the Olympics and seeking to overtake China as the world’s manufacturing hub.

Not to mention, India already faces security threats on multiple fronts — particularly along contested borders with China.

De-escalation or more to come?

India was quick to project that its response to the April 22 massacre was “focused, measured and non-escalatory” and make clear that they were in response to the tourist’s massacre.

Top officials in New Delhi reached out to key counterparts in the United States, Middle East and Russia, among others, “presumably to encourage international pressure for Pakistan to avoid escalation,” said Nisha Biswal, Senior Advisor at The Asia Group.

Pakistan’s leaders touted a victory by the country’s air force, saying five Indian fighter jets were shot down during an hour-long battle fought at ranges over 160 kilometers (100 miles).

India’s leaders have said little in response to those claims and have not acknowledged any aircraft losses. The Pakistanis have yet to show any evidence proving they downed fighter jets, but a French Defense Ministry source said at least one of India’s newest and most-advanced warplanes – a French-made Rafale fighter jet – was lost in the battle.

If there have indeed been losses for India, Pakistan could claim victory “even if the circumstances are murky,” said Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“This would allow Pakistan to claim it has imposed costs on Indian military targets.”

Yet, amid the fog of war, Pakistan’s powerful army general Asim Munir had already vowed to match any aggression from India.

And Munir, who is known for his hardline stance on Hindu-nationalist Modi, has a reputation of being more assertive than his predecessor Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Meanwhile there have been many voices within Modi’s Hindu nationalist party pushing for a decisive blow against Pakistan for years.

Kugelman, the South Asia analyst, said the US, which has historically interceded in these crises, could try to defuse the tension, but it’s unclear how much bandwidth the Trump administration is willing to allocate.

“China has called for de-escalation, but its fraught ties with India rule it out as a viable intermediary. The top mediator candidates are the Arab Gulf states, especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates,” he said, given their strong ties with both nations.

Qatar was quick to urge diplomacy in the hours after Wednesday’s strikes.

While most analysts think there is an off-ramp for both nations, they all agree the situation remains fluid and tense.

“This crisis is as unpredictable as it is dangerous—an unsettling combination,” Kugelman added.

Britain’s King Charles and heir to the throne Prince William laid wreaths in Westminster Abbey on Thursday at the culmination of the country’s four days of commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

The thanksgiving service in the Abbey began with a two-minute silence, which was also observed across the country, to remember Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, which took effect on May 8, 1945.

Charles and William, military medals pinned on their chest and standing beside elderly veterans in wheelchairs, laid wreaths at the the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, in a show of respect for those who gave their lives in World War Two.

The anniversary, which comes at a time of ongoing conflict in Europe with Russia’s war in Ukraine, was also marked with events in France and Germany, while Moscow will hold a major military parade on Friday.

Speaking at a defense conference in London on Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the day a celebration of defiance, sacrifice and courage.

“A victory not just for Britain but for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil,” he said.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of the “sacred” victory over Adolf Hitler, and said his country was standing against “neo-Nazism,” a characterisation of the current conflict in Ukraine that is strongly rejected by Kyiv.

Putin was holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is joining Russia’s celebrations.

French President Emmanuel Macron was due to lay a wreath at the statue of French wartime hero Charles de Gaulle in Paris and inspect a troop parade at the Arc de Triomphe. Dozens of World War Two-era vehicles will also parade down the Champs-Elysees avenue.

In Berlin, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will address the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany’s parliament,during a special remembrance session.

VE Day’s 80th anniversary will be one of the last major celebrations with living veterans attending events, as most are now in their 90s or older.

British veterans were among the congregation at Westminster Abbey in London. They will be greeted by Charles and his wife Queen Camilla after the service, before senior royals also lay flowers at a memorial nearby.

Veterans also attended a grand military parade and flypast close to Buckingham Palace on Monday, one of a series of anniversary events, in what has been a busy few days for Charles.

The monarch, 76, was last year diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer and is still undergoing treatment.

Later on Thursday there will be a concert at Horse Guards Parade for 10,000 people. Charles and Camilla will be in the audience to hear music and the stories of veterans.

The Israeli military acknowledged Thursday that it does not have “sufficient evidence” to substantiate terrorism funding allegations it leveled against a prominent Palestinian journalist, even as an Israeli general ordered he be detained for another six months.

The Israeli military’s top general in the occupied West Bank ordered the journalist, Ali Samoudi, 58, to be held under administrative detention, which allows the military to hold individuals without trial for up to six months at a time. Administrative detention orders can be renewed indefinitely.

The commander issued the order on Wednesday following a military court hearing last week during which prosecutors sought to extend his detention.

Palestinians living in the West Bank are subject to Israeli military law and are typically tried in military courts, not Israeli civilian courts.

At the time, the Israeli military accused him of transferring funds to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group in the West Bank and Gaza which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The Israeli military provided no evidence to back up its claim.

Israeli military prosecutors never leveled that accusation in court, Samoudi’s lawyer Jamil al-Khatib said, instead vaguely accusing Samoudi of harming the activity of Israeli forces in the West Bank.

The military’s administrative detention order cites Samoudi’s “presence posing a danger to the security of the region” as justification for his detention.

He is one of 20 journalists detained and held under administrative detention since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS).

“Samoudi’s arrest and administrative detention is part of the occupation’s escalating campaign of targeting journalists, particularly through the systematic use of administrative detention,” the PPS said in a statement.

Samoudi is now being held in Megiddo prison in central Israel, according to his lawyer, where he is still waiting to receive his eyeglasses and medications for several chronic conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes.

One of the most well-known Palestinian journalists in the West Bank, Samoudi has worked with international news organizations for decades as a local producer and fixer.

He was also a witness to the high-profile killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, by Israeli forces in 2022, during which he was also shot.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “defend ourselves alone” against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after US President Donald Trump struck a deal with the Iran-backed group.

According to Trump, the US would halt an ongoing military campaign against the Houthis in exchange for the group stopping its attacks on US interests in the region.

The Houthis acknowledged the agreement but made it clear their attacks on Israel would continue. Senior Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said after the announcement that the agreement was “a victory that separates US support for the temporary entity (Israel) and a failure for Netanyahu.”

On Wednesday, Netanyahu said, “Israel will defend itself by itself.” In the past, Israel has carried out joint strikes with the US against the Houthis, but two consecutive days of Israeli attacks on Yemen earlier this week were done alone. “If others join us—our American friends—all the better. If they don’t, we will still defend ourselves on our own,” he said in a video posted on social media.

Trump referred to the deal as capitulation from the Houthis on Tuesday but on Wednesday he said they had a “good outcome with the Houthis,” adding they had a “great capacity to withstand punishment” from repeated US strikes.

“You could say there’s a lot of bravery there,” Trump said at a swearing-in of his ambassador to China at the White House. “It was amazing what they took.”

He added that the US would “honor their (Houthis’) commitment” not to attack US warships or commercial vessels in the region.

Trump ‘thinks about America’s interests’

The US-Houthi truce sidelined the Israeli government, according to former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross.

He noted that Netanyahu was left in the dark when the US began talks with Hamas in March and only found out about US nuclear talks with Iran when Trump made the announcement seated next to the prime minister in the Oval Office last month. The US-Houthi ceasefire is one more instance where Israel’s concerns were a tertiary consideration for the White House, if at all, he said.

“The Trump Administration thinks about America’s interests,” said Ross.

There has been no public criticism of the White House decision from Israeli officials. Netanyahu, who once openly criticized the Biden administration’s requests and policies, is one of Trump’s most vocal international supporters. Other members of the government have reserved their judgement as well, instead focusing on Israel’s resolve against the Houthis.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Thursday that “Israel must be able to defend itself by itself against any threat and any enemy. This has been true in the face of many past challenges, and it will remain true in the future.”

Trump designated the Houthi group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in the final days of his first term as president. President Joe Biden revoked that designation early in his presidency in 2021, and Trump designated it again in January.

If Skin Gourmet’s skincare products look good enough to eat, that’s because they are: all are made from locally sourced materials that are edible.

The Ghanaian company was founded in 2014 by Violet Amoabeng, and makes cleansers, scrubs, oils and butters. “No gimmicks, no toxins, no waste — just raw, edible Ghanaian goodness that helps people feel seen, valued, and connected to something meaningful,” she says.

For Amoabeng, “If you can’t eat it, why put it on your skin?” because “anything put on your skin, is absorbed into your body.”

The company’s palm kernel butter, made from locally sourced palm kernels, blended with cocoa and vanilla, is a skin and hair balm, won the Best Eco-Friendly Product category at the 2024 Ghana Beauty Awards.

However, its naturally smoky, chocolatey aroma, also makes it a popular cookery ingredient for local customers like Sorella Bakery, in Accra. Skin Gourmet even used it in a cake they gave to customers who bought their products.

“We created a palm kernel butter cake with passion fruit curd and lime buttercream,” says Amoabeng. “The smoky richness of the palm kernel paired perfectly with the bright citrus and tropical curd.”

Skin Gourmet’s hibiscus & tea sugar scrub is a colorful, sweet and tangy anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and acne treatment. Containing cane sugar, raw hibiscus powder, raw coconut oil, Ghanaian sea salt, tea tree essential oil and wild northern honey, it can also be added to drinks and food. Renowned chef and 2025 Time Earth Award recipient Selassie Atadika has been known to cook with the hibiscus powder and coconut oil, according to Amoabeng.

Tapping into Ghana’s resources

Amoabeng, who has an MBA in Business Administration from Shenandoah University, in the United States, came up with the concept for the company while looking for business ideas that could create jobs and boost economic growth in Ghana by using the country’s abundant natural resources.

After suffering from a sore lip and successfully treating it with shea butter, she tried to source more and was told by a local community that they eat shea butter. Inspired, she started Skin Gourmet in 2014, with only $45.

She now works with smallholder farmers and communities in Ghana to source raw materials for pre-processing. The products are then packaged in Accra, marketed, distributed, and sold in over 30 countries worldwide including Switzerland, Japan, Qatar, Turkey, Germany and France.

The global edible cosmetics market was estimated to be worth $266 million in 2023, according to Grand View Research — attracting shoppers who are “increasingly concerned about the ingredients they apply to their bodies and overall health.”

Global research firm Technavio projects that an expanding consumer base in Africa, particularly demanding natural ingredients and anti-aging products, will grow the continent’s beauty and personal care market by $8.18 billion between 2023 and 2028.

A growing number of African companies are producing skin care products specifically for African consumers, including Uncover, founded in 2020 in Kenya, which uses African ingredients such as baobab and rooibos leaf extract in its products.

Amoabeng now plans to expand her business and reach consumers around the world. She is guided by her faith in God and says that “everything we make starts with prayer and reflection because true innovation flows from Him. It’s not just about creating skincare — it’s about stewardship.”