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May 2, 2025

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When you’re lost in the woods, you reach for a compass to find true north. In the markets, it’s not so simple, as the landscape is always shifting. If there is a “true north” in this terrain, it might be better understood as a characteristic—strength and momentum over time, rather than a single stock or sector.

With sentiment muddled and signals mixed, how do you cut through near-term noise and find the “true north” in a shifting market landscape? This is where StockCharts’ MarketCarpets comes in. You can think of it as a visual compass that can help you reorient and recalibrate.

What MarketCarpets is Saying Now

All MarketCarpets readings use the five-day setting, since shorter time frames are particularly susceptible to noise in the current context.

FIGURE 1. MARKETCARPETS S&P VIEW. Lots of green, but I want to see a reduction.

On Thursday morning, there were more bullish greens than bearish reds. They represent S&P 500 stocks performing better relative to others—specifically from a ‘long only’ (bullish) perspective. But what do those greens have in common?

The answer is that most, if not all, are Information Technology sector funds.

Technology Sector Leads the Charge in S&P 500

If you select the S&P Sector ETFs group, Technology is the strongest among all 11 S&P sectors.

FIGURE 2. MARKETCARPETS SECTORS. Technology is far ahead of most other sectors, which read bullish.

If you follow financial news, you’re probably well aware of how certain tech companies are performing, especially in light of the current earnings season.

But not every investor wants to risk allocating capital toward individual stocks, given the volatility of today’s geopolitical environment, where news on a given day can cause markets to soar or slump. So, conservative investors, particularly those in or nearing retirement, might want to opt for a sector ETF instead, like the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK).

Why is technology outperforming?

Six Reasons Tech Stocks are Outperforming in 2025

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s going on:

  • AI and cloud boom. Enterprise-focused giants are thriving due to surging AI demand.
  • Earnings confidence. Big tech’s strong earnings are keeping investor sentiment positive despite market volatility.
  • Tariff mitigation. Tech companies are proactively shifting supply chains to soften tariff impact.
  • Tariff relief. Temporary exemptions on key tech products give hardware makers a short-term boost.
  • Long-term innovation appeal. Investors see AI, chips, and automation as long-term growth drivers.
  • Stable revenue streams. Tech firms with enterprise and software services offer more stability than consumer-driven sectors.

Technology Sector Overbought? Market Breadth Says Maybe

That’s a lot of fundamental talk, but what does the technical picture look like? Let’s start by analyzing market breadth with the S&P Technology Sector Bullish Percent Index ($BPINFO) chart.

FIGURE 3. TECH SECTOR BPI. Most tech stocks in the sector are ultra-bullish, but that can also signal overbought conditions.

The Bullish Percent Index (BPI) is at 85, meaning 85% of all stocks within the sector are triggering Point & Figure Buy Signals. Above 50% is bullish, but above 70%, let alone 85%, XLK is straddling ultra-bullish to overbought.

If you look at the magenta rectangle, you can see where XLK’s trend is situated—at the point of recovery following a two-month tumble. However, it’s still below its 200-day simple moving average (SMA), and, as the saying goes, nothing good happens below the 200.

XLK’s Price and Volume Action: A Closer Look

Let’s zoom in on a daily chart.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF XLK. It broke above resistance, but can it sustain upward momentum?

XLK’s recovery effort gained momentum with a notable gap up on Thursday. Positive momentum is reinforced by a rising Relative Strength Index (RSI) above the 50 level, suggesting XLK still has room to run.

From a volume perspective, the On Balance Volume (OBV) indicator is trending higher, signaling increased buying pressure. A 20-day SMA is overlaid to show how OBV is performing relative to its average. However, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), hovering flat near the zero line (see blue circle), indicates accumulation with hesitation.

Key Support Levels to Watch If You’re Bullish on XLK

If you’re considering a long position in XLK, keep an eye on these key technical levels:

  • Initial Support – $205. The breakout level around $205 (marked by the blue dotted line) should act as the first line of support on any pullback.
  • Secondary Support Zone – $185 to $187.50. If $205 fails, the yellow-shaded zone becomes the next support range. But note: if price falls here, the $205 breakout level may flip into resistance.
  • Critical Support – $172.50. A drop toward $172.50 could signal deeper technical weakness. That’s why the area is shaded red—to underscore its importance.

In each case, monitor the CMF for confirmation. A rising CMF, especially in the first two support zones, would suggest continued buying pressure—a bullish signal. Conversely, if CMF dips below the zero line, it would signal growing selling pressure, reinforcing a more bearish outlook.

At the Close

The tech sector is leading the charge, but you have to estimate whether momentum is real or just generating noise. MarketCarpets works like a compass, helping you visually navigate market conditions and spot patterns. Pair it with tools like RSI, OBV, CMF, or any other preferred tool in your analytical toolbox to create well-defined setups and exits. In a market environment driven by sentiment, headlines, fear, and FOMO, having a solid technical foundation is more important than ever.



Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

Discover the top 10 stock charts to watch this month with Grayson Roze and David Keller, CMT. They break down breakout strategies, moving average setups, and technical analysis strategies using relative strength, momentum, and trend-following indicators. This analysis covers key market trends that could impact your trading decisions. You don’t want to miss these insights into market dynamics and chart patterns that could impact your trading decisions.

This video originally premiered on May 1, 2025. Click on the above image to watch on our dedicated Grayson Roze page on StockCharts TV.

You can view previously recorded videos from Grayson at this link.

Uranium.io is a next-generation platform transforming access to physical uranium (U₃O₈) through the power of blockchain technology. It empowers both individual and institutional investors to directly own and trade uranium, eliminating many of the traditional barriers, such as high costs, limited transparency, and market inefficiencies. Each xU₃O₈ token is fully backed by physical uranium stored in a secure, regulated facility operated by Cameco. Custodianship is provided by Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset firm, ensuring robust transparency and trust in the asset’s backing.

The platform meets rising investor demand for uranium—a key driver of the global energy transition. As nations pursue net-zero targets, nuclear energy is gaining momentum as a reliable, low-carbon power source. Governments across North America, Europe, and Asia are expanding nuclear capacity by restarting reactors, building new ones, and advancing small modular reactor development.

Uranium.io combines blockchain, digital custody, and real-world uranium supply to deliver secure, transparent access to the uranium market. By bridging traditional commodity trading with Web3, the platform enables users to seamlessly acquire, hold, and trade physical uranium through xU₃O₈ tokens.

Company Highlights

  • Uranium.io is a pioneering platform for buying and selling uranium, providing direct ownership of physical uranium via a blockchain-powered token xU3O8.
  • Built on Etherlink, powered by Tezos technology, enabling transparency, low fees, energy efficiency and programmable compliance.
  • FCA-regulated digital asset custodian, Archax, holds physical uranium in trust on behalf of token holders.
  • Physical supply is brokered by Curzon Uranium, a trusted uranium trading and logistics partner with deep industry roots and over $1 billion in uranium trades.
  • The uranium bought on the platform is physically stored at a regulated depository owned and operated by Cameco, one of the world’s leading global uranium providers/converters.
  • Global 24/7 market access offering fractionalized and direct uranium exposure with real-time settlement and cross-border accessibility.
  • Capitalizing on nuclear energy’s role in clean energy transition and the financialization of critical minerals.

This Uranium.io profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*

Click here to connect with xU3O8 (uranium.io) to receive an Investor Presentation

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International Lithium Corp. (TSXV: ILC) (OTCQB: ILHMF) (FSE: IAH) (the ‘Company’ or ‘ILC’) is pleased to announce that it is increasing the size of its non-brokered private placement financing (the ‘Offering’) from $600,000 to $855,000 and extending the closing of the Offering to May 30, 2025. The Offering was originally announced on February 5, 2025. The upsized Offering is comprised of up to 57,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.015 per share for gross proceeds of up to $855,000.

On March 31, 2025, the Company closed the first tranche the Offering and issued 23,666,666 common shares at $0.015 per share for proceeds of $355,000. The proposed payments from the first tranche proceeds included $183,600 to pay the outstanding fees to non-arm’s length creditors.

Proceeds of the private placement will be used primarily for general working capital purposes. The payments to persons conducting Investor Relations Activities shall not exceed 10% of the proceeds.

Closing of the Offering is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws.

It is anticipated that some directors and insiders will participate in the future tranches of the Offering. The issue of shares (to the extent subscribed for by insiders) constitute ‘related party transactions’ pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (‘MI 61-101’), as the subscribers include directors of the Company. The Company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with the shares in reliance on the exemptions contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, as the fair market value of the shares does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.

About International Lithium Corp.

While the world’s politicians are currently divided on the future of the energy market’s historic dependence on oil and gas and on ‘Net Zero’, there seems a clear and unstoppable momentum towards electric vehicles and electric battery storage. We have also seen the clear and increasingly urgent wish by the USA and Canada and other major economies to safeguard their supplies of critical metals and to become more self-sufficient. Our Canadian projects, which contain lithium, rubidium and copper, are strategic in that respect.

Our key mission in the next decade is to make money for our shareholders from lithium and other battery metals and rare metals while at the same time playing our part in creating a greener, cleaner planet and less polluted cities. This includes optimizing the value of our existing projects in Canada as well as finding, exploring and developing projects that have the potential to become world class deposits. We have announced separately that we regard Zimbabwe as an important strategic target market for ILC, and that we have applied for and hope to receive EPOs there. We hope to be able to make announcements over the next few weeks and months.

The Company’s interests in various projects now consists of the following, and in addition the Company continues to seek other opportunities:

Name Metal Location Area (Hectares) Current Ownership Percentage Future Ownership percentage if options exercised or work carried out Operator or JV Partner
Raleigh Lake Lithium
Rubidium
Ontario 32,900 100% 100% ILC
Firesteel Copper
Cobalt
Ontario 6,600 90% 90% ILC
Wolf Ridge Lithium Ontario 5,700 0% 100% ILC
Mavis Lake Lithium Ontario 2,600 0% 0%
(carries an extra earn-in payment of CAD$ 0.7 million if resource targets met)
Critical Resources Ltd
( ASX: CRR)
Avalonia* Lithium Ireland 29,200 0% 2.0% Net Smelter Royalty Ganfeng Lithium
Forgan/
Lucky Lakes
Lithium Ontario 0% 1.5% Net Smelter Royalty Ultra Lithium Inc.
( TSXV: ULT)
*Sale not completed yet

 

The Company’s primary strategic focus at this point is on the Raleigh Lake lithium and rubidium project and the Firesteel copper project in Canada and on obtaining EPOs and mineral claims in Zimbabwe.

The Raleigh Lake Project now consists of 32,900 hectares (329 square kilometres) of mineral claims in Ontario and is ILC’s most significant project in Canada. Drilling has so far been on less than 1,000 hectares of our claims. A Preliminary Economic Assessment( PEA) was published for ILC’s lithium at Raleigh Lake in December 2023, with detailed economic analysis of ILC’s separate rubidium resource still to come. Raleigh Lake is 100% owned by ILC, is not subject to any encumbrances, and is royalty free. The project has excellent access to roads, rail and utilities.

A continuing goal has been to remain a well-funded company to turn our aspirations into reality, and following the disposal of the Mariana project in Argentina in 2021, the Mavis Lake project in Canada in January 2022, and the Avalonia project in 2024 (sale not completed yet), ILC has achieved sufficient inward cashflow to be able to make progress with its exploration projects.

With the increasing demand for high tech rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electrical storage as well as portable electronics, lithium has been designated ‘the new oil’ and is a key part of a green energy sustainable economy. By positioning itself with projects with significant resource potential and with solid strategic partners, ILC aims to be one of the lithium and rare metals resource developers of choice for investors and to continue to build value for its shareholders in the ’20s, the decade of battery metals.

On behalf of the Company,

John Wisbey
Chairman and CEO

www.internationallithium.ca

For further information concerning this news release please contact +1 604-449-6520

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release or other releases contain certain ‘forward-looking information’ within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this or other news releases may include: the timing of completion of the Offering and the amounts to be raised, effect of results of anticipated production rates, the timing and/or anticipated results of drilling on the Raleigh Lake or Firesteel or Wolf Ridge projects, the expectation of resource estimates, preliminary economic assessments, feasibility studies, lithium or rubidium or copper recoveries, modeling of capital and operating costs, results of studies utilizing various technologies at the company’s projects, budgeted expenditures and planned exploration work on the Company’s projects, increased value of shareholder investments, the potential from the company’s third party earn-out or royalty arrangements, and assumptions about ethical behaviour by our joint venture partners or third party operators of projects. Such forward-looking information is based on assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the sections entitled ‘Risks’ and ‘Forward-Looking Statements’ in the interim and annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis which are available at www.sedar.com. While management believes that the assumptions made are reasonable, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. Forward-looking information herein, and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on expectations, estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are subject to significant business, economic, legislative, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/250515

News Provided by Newsfile via QuoteMedia

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Manganese, a key ingredient for the steel market, is also seeing growth in demand from the electric vehicle battery sector, particularly when it comes to high-purity manganese chemical products.

Manganese investors are often interested to hear which countries produce the most of the metal. After all, if a nation is producing a lot of manganese, many companies are likely operating there, and investment opportunities may thus be available.

However, what investors sometimes fail to consider is manganese reserves, or how much economically mineable manganese a country holds, and which companies are working to bring those reserves into production.

Here’s an overview of the five countries with the highest manganese reserves. Data for this list of manganese reserves by country comes from the US Geological Survey’s 2025 report on manganese.

1. South Africa

Manganese reserves: 560 million metric tons

At 560 million metric tons, South Africa holds the highest manganese reserves in the world by a long shot. The nation is also the world’s top producer of the metal, with 2024 output of 7.4 million metric tons.

South32 (ASX:S32,LSE:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF) is a major presence in the South African manganese space. Its South Africa Manganese operation is located in the manganese-rich Kalahari Basin and consists of the open-pit Mamatwan mine, the underground Wessels mine and the Metalloys manganese alloy smelter.

Another ASX-listed manganese miner, Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS,OTC Pink:JMXXF) is also operating in the area at its Tshipi Borwa mine, considered the largest manganese mine in country and one of the largest in the world.

2. China

Manganese reserves: 280 million metric tons

The country with the next highest manganese reserves is China at 280 million metric tons of manganese. The Asian nation is also the sixth largest producer of manganese ore, the largest producer of refined manganese and the largest consumer of the metal. Unsurprisingly, China’s economy and government regulations have an outsized impact on the global manganese market.

There have been several significant manganese discoveries in China over the last decade. In late 2023, new manganese deposits were discovered in the southeast province of Jiangxi during government-led exploration work, and manganese deposits were discovered in the southwest province of Guizhou in 2017. More recently, in March 2025, Chinese government geologists confirmed an inferred resource estimate of 6.07 million tons of manganese ore in the Maowanli manganese project in the Sichuan province.

Looking further down the value added chain, Australian miner Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB,OTC Pink:FRBMF) has partnered with a subsidiary of China National Chemical Engineering Co. (SHA:601117) to build a high-purity manganese sulphate plant in China, which has entered pilot production. Firebird has an ore supply agreement in place with Eramet (EPA:ERA) for manganese ore to feed the plant, and it could potentially be supplied by Firebird’s Oakover manganese project in Australia in the future.

3. Brazil

Manganese reserves: 270 million metric tons

Brazil hosts a total of 270 million metric tons of manganese reserves as of 2024. The country produced 590,000 metric tons of the metal in 2024, making it the seventh-largest manganese-producing country.

Buritirama Mining, a subsidiary of Grupo Buritipar, is Brazil’s leading producer of the metal. The company invested US$200 million in 2023 to expand operations at its Para state mine.

Major miner Vale (NYSE:VALE), previously the largest manganese miner in the country, offloaded its Brazilian manganese and iron ore assets to J&F Investimentos in 2022. Going forward, J&F has said it plans to invest more than US$1 billion in increasing the iron ore and manganese output from the mines it purchased from Vale.

4. Australia

Manganese reserves: 110 million metric tons

At 110 million metric tons, Australia holds the fourth highest manganese reserves in the world. The nation is also the world’s third largest producer of the metal. In 2024, Australia’s manganese output came in at 2.8 million metric tons.

Australia’s largest manganese ore producer is Groote Eylandt, a 60/40 joint venture between South32 and Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF), in the nation’s Northern Territory. In mid-March 2024, operations at Groote Eylandt were negatively impacted by Tropical Cyclone Meghan — the second strongest cyclone to hit the area in the past two decades.

The storm damaged critical infrastructure at the site, including a haulage bridge between the mine and processing facilities, as well as the wharf from which manganese ore is shipped. South32 is currently conducting engineering studies to determine a schedule and capital costs to make the repairs needed to restore operations at Groote Eylandt.

As of mid-April 2025, South32 had completed construction at the wharf and expected to start export sales again in May.

5. Gabon

Manganese reserves: 61 million metric tons

Gabon hosts the fifth largest manganese reserves in the world at 61 million metric tons; however, the Central African nation is the second largest producer of the metal with an output of 4.6 million metric tons in 2024.

Gabon is also the largest source of US manganese imports at 63 percent in 2024 compared to 23 percent from South Africa.

Eramet’s Moanda mine is a centerstone of the country’s manganese mining sector and it is based on one of the world’s richest manganese deposits. Eramet is the world’s second largest miner of high-grade manganese ore and operates the mine through its subsidiary COMILOG. In response to an oversupplied market, Eramet temporarily paused production at Moanda in the fourth quarter of 2024, but it has since recommenced.

Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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The Trump administration has finalized a profit-sharing agreement with Ukraine that will give the US a 50 percent stake in future revenues from the war-torn country’s stores of critical minerals.

At the heart of the deal, announced on Wednesday (April 30), is a set of materials that are foundational to both economic growth and national security, including graphite, lithium, titanium, beryllium and uranium.

The deal also covers the 17 rare earth elements, which are key components in the manufacturing of clean energy technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and modern weapons systems.

According to US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, the deal is part of Washington’s broader vision for “a peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.”

“President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine,” Bessent added in a statement.

While emphasizing a commitment to peace in Ukraine, he also issued a warning: any entity ‘who financed or supplied the Russian war machine’ will be barred from taking part in Ukraine’s reconstruction, a thinly veiled reference to Russia’s state-backed energy and mining sectors, as well as Chinese firms with close ties to Moscow.

The US currently imports many key minerals. The US Geological Survey states that of the 50 minerals it classifies as “critical,” the country is 100 percent import-dependent on 12 of them, and more than 50 percent dependent on 16 others.

Meanwhile, China has established near-total dominance over global rare earths production and refining, raising alarms in western capitals about overreliance on a strategic rival.

Ukraine, in contrast, is sitting on a potential treasure trove. The Ukrainian government says it has deposits of 22 of the 50 critical minerals the US deems critical, including some of the world’s largest graphite and lithium reserves.

Many of these resources are located in the country’s eastern and southern regions, some of which remain under Russian occupation and are worth an estimated US$500 billion in untapped reserves.

A deal born of conflict and eventual compromise

The minerals deal has a fraught history, with Trump originally pitching it as a way for the US to be “repaid” for military assistance provided to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Trump claims the US has sent over US$350 billion in aid, a figure far higher than the official tally of US$183 billion listed on the US government’s own Ukraine Oversight webpage.

That early version of the agreement collapsed after a tense Oval Office meeting on February 28, during which Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for failing to prevent Russia’s invasion.

Negotiations were revived following a more conciliatory conversation between the two leaders during Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome. Since then, Trump has softened his public rhetoric toward Kyiv while sharpening criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has dismissed Trump’s ceasefire overtures.

Speaking at a White House cabinet meeting on the day the deal was signed, Trump defended the agreement as a necessary course correction after years of what he described as “throwing money out the window.”

“We had no security, we had no nothing — just pouring money there, unsecured money,” Trump said. “So I said, ‘Well, we want something for our efforts beyond what you would think to be acceptable.’”

The final version of the deal, confirmed by Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, establishes a joint development fund with equal 50/50 profit sharing. “It is important that the agreement will become a signal to other global players that it is reliable to cooperate with Ukraine in the long term — for decades,” she said in a post on X, also emphasizing that Kyiv will retain sovereign control over resource management.

Still, the negotiations came down to the wire. Bessent admitted that Ukrainian officials had proposed last-minute changes, delaying the signing until the afternoon.

The precise terms of the final accord remain under wraps, and the treasury department has declined to release a full copy, despite reporting from the Washington Post and the Kyiv Independent on key provisions.

Opportunities and risks moving forward

While Trump has portrayed the agreement as a personal victory and proof of his commitment to “peace through strength,” some analysts caution that the US-Ukraine minerals partnership could be vulnerable to future instability.

Ed Verona, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, has warned that “few serious US investors will put their shareholders’ money at risk based on such a clearly unbalanced ‘deal.’”

Verona cited Russia’s own resource history as a cautionary tale. “Production sharing agreements signed during the difficult transitional period of the 1990s were subsequently repudiated by Putin’s regime, with Western partners forced to surrender control and majority ownership in major projects,” he said.

Moreover, with no security guarantees attached to the deal, Ukraine’s ability to develop its resource sector could still be jeopardized by continued fighting, especially as some of the most mineral-rich regions remain under Russian control.

As the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, approaches, where Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Zelenskyy are expected to meet again, western unity on Ukraine’s reconstruction will be under scrutiny.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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A Gaza “freedom flotilla” says one of its vessels is on fire and has issued an SOS, after what it claimed was a drone attack off the coast of Malta in international waters.

Acar said the ship had “sent out SOS calls to the surrounding countries, including Malta” and that a “small boat” from Southern Cyprus had been sent. She added she had been able to contact crew members after the SOS signal was sent out.

Video the coalition posted on its X account appeared to show a fire burning on a ship, as well as smoke. The sound of two loud explosions can also be heard in a separate video clip.

“Our vessel is 17 kilometers off the shores of Malta right now in international waters, and they have been subjected to a drone attack twice,” said Acar, adding that the generators at the front of the vessel were the apparent target.

“This boat, however, is not providing electricity that is needed on the vessel right now,” she said, saying the coalition was not able to contact the burning vessel.

“We have 30 international human rights activists on that vessel at this very moment on a vessel that is sinking,” said Acar.

The flotilla did not accuse any party of being behind the claimed drone attack.

Marine traffic websites list the ship Conscience as flying under Palau flag and show it was located off the eastern coast of Malta on Friday morning.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition describes itself on its website as an international network of pro-Palestinian activists working to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave by taking direct, non-violent action.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

The hard-right party Reform UK led by Nigel Farage won a seat in Parliament by a handful of votes and looked set to make more gains in results Friday from local elections the party hopes will show it is a major player in British politics.

Reform’s Sarah Pochin was declared winner of the seat of Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by six votes after a recount, defeating Labour candidate Karen Shore.

Labour easily won the district in last year’s national election, but its lawmaker, Mike Amesbury, was forced to quit after he was convicted of punching a constituent in a drunken rage.

Although Reform’s victory was one of the narrowest in British history, Farage said “it’s a very, very big moment indeed” for politics.

The local elections Thursday in many areas of England were a test of feeling about Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour government, 10 months after it was elected in a landslide. Both Labour and the main opposition Conservative Party braced for losses in the midterm poll.

The Runcorn victory gives Reform, which got about 14% of the vote in last year’s national election, five of the 650 seats in the House of Commons. National polls now suggest its support equals or surpasses that of Labour and the Conservatives, and it hopes to displace the Conservatives as the country’s main party on the right before the next national election, due by 2029.

Farage’s party was on course, with partial results in, to win the newly created mayoralty of the Greater Lincolnshire region of east-central England. Labour retained three other mayoralties.

Reform hopes to scoop up hundreds of municipal seats in the elections that are deciding 1,600 seats on 23 local councils, six mayoralties and one seat in Parliament. Ballots in most of those contests are being counted Friday.

A majority of the local seats being contested were held by the Conservatives, whose leader Kemi Badenoch could face revolt if the party does very badly.

Badenoch acknowledged that the results could be “very difficult” for the Tories. The party did extremely well when these areas were last contested in 2021, a time when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government enjoyed a surge in popularity due to the Covid-19 vaccine program.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said the Conservatives and Reform are in “a fight for the soul of the right wing of UK politics.” He said Farage’s “populist radical right insurgency” also poses a threat to Labour, targeting working-class voters with pledges to curb immigration, create jobs and cut government waste.

The centrist Liberal Democrats also hope to build on their success in winning more affluent, socially liberal voters away from the Conservatives.

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The United States is stepping up pressure on India and Pakistan to avoid conflict in Kashmir after a tourist massacre in an Indian-administered area of the divided territory last week.

US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Washington hopes Pakistan will help hunt down the militants behind the attack, who are based in Pakistan-controlled territory.

And Vance urged India, which has accused Pakistan of being involved in the attack, to act with restraint so tensions do not explode into a war between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

“Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn’t lead to a broader regional conflict,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

“And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan, to the extent that they’re responsible, cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with.”

Vance’s comments echoed those of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on Wednesday spoke with top Pakistani and Indian officials and called on the two rivals to work with each other to “de-escalate tensions,” according to State Department readouts of the two calls.

Rubio “expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism,” in his call with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

In his call with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Rubio “spoke of the need to condemn the terror attack on April 22,” and urged Pakistani officials’ cooperation in the investigation.

“Both leaders reaffirmed their continued commitment to holding terrorists accountable for their heinous acts of violence,” the readout said.

Fears of a broader conflict increased earlier this week when Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said his country had “credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours.”

That timeframe has now passed.

Militants on April 22 massacred 26 civilians, the vast majority tourists, in the mountainous town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, a rampage that has sparked widespread outrage.

India and Pakistan have since engaged in tit-for-tat hostilities.

India closed its airspace to commercial flights from Pakistan on Tuesday, matching Islamabad’s ban on flights from India, which was imposed last week in response to New Delhi’s cancelation of visas for Pakistani nationals and suspension of a key water sharing treaty.

This week, New Delhi and Islamabad have both been flexing their military might.

Two days earlier, India’s navy said it had carried out test missile strikes to “revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long range precision offensive strike.”

Tensions have also been simmering along the de facto border, the Line of Control, in Kashmir, and gunfire was exchanged along the disputed border for seven straight nights.

A history of conflict

Kashmir, one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints, is controlled in part by India and Pakistan but both countries claim it in its entirety.

The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars over the mountainous territory that has been divided since their independence from Britain nearly 80 years ago.

India conducted airstrikes inside Pakistan in 2019 following a major insurgent attack on paramilitary personnel inside Indian-administered Kashmir. It was the first such incursion into Pakistan’s territory since a 1971 war between the two neighbors.

The latest attack on tourists in Kashmir has sparked fears that India might respond in a similar way.

Conditions may be ripe for greater conflict now than was seen in 2019, according to Steven Honig and Natalie Caloca, researchers at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Writing on the CFR website, the two said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “made the transformation and stabilization of Kashmir a central pillar of his legacy”

They said Modi was hurt politically by the 2019 attacks inside Indian-administer Kashmir and will likely feel pressure to be more assertive with New Delhi’s response this time.

Military numbers favor India

Both countries are heavily armed, though in any conventional conflict, India holds a large advantage.

The Indian defense budget is more than nine times Pakistan’s, according to the “Military Balance 2025” from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

That budget supports an active-duty Indian force of almost 1.5 million personnel, compared to just 660,000 for Pakistan.

On the ground, India’s 1.2 million force army has 3,750 main battle tanks and more than 10,000 artillery pieces, while Pakistan’s tank force is only two-thirds of India’s and Islamabad has fewer than half of the artillery pieces in New Delhi’s arsenal.

At sea, the Indian navy’s advantage is overwhelming. It has two aircraft carriers, 12 guided-missile destroyers, 11 guided-missile frigates and 16 attack submarines.

Pakistan has no carriers and no guided-missile destroyers, with 11 smaller guided-missile frigates being the backbone of its naval fleet. It also has only half the number of subs that India fields.

Both air forces rely heavily on older Soviet-era aircraft, including MiG-21s in India and the Chinese equivalent – the J-7 – in Pakistan.

While overall numbers of air-to-air fighter jets and ground-attack aircraft sway heavily in India’s favor, both militaries have been making recent efforts to update their air forces with modern fourth-generation aircraft.

India has been investing in multirole French-made Rafale jets, with 36 now in service, according to the Military Balance.

Pakistan has been adding Chinese J-10 multirole jets, with more than 20 now in its fleet.

Though Pakistan still has dozens of US-made F-16 fighters, the backbone of its fleet has become the JF-17, a joint project with China that came online in the early 2000s. About 150 are in service.

Despite acquiring the Rafales from France, Russian-made aircraft still play a significant role in India’s air fleet. More than 100 MiG-29 fighters are in service with the air force and navy combined. And more than 260 Su-30 ground attack jets bolster India’s force.

The rivals are closer in capabilities when it comes to nuclear forces – with around five dozen surface-to-surface launchers each – though India has longer range ballistic missiles than Pakistan.

India also has two nuclear-capable submarines while Pakistan has none.

This post appeared first on cnn.com