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There is a long queue of people waiting to board the ferry from the coastal city of Xiamen in southeast China.

There are families with children, a number of older people and many others lugging huge suitcases laden with cheap goods.

They board quickly and take seats inside the small boat, there’s a sense many of them take this trip regularly.

Their journey is a short one, fewer than 10 miles lasting only about half an hour, but they are passing between two places with an increasingly tense and fractious relationship: China and Taiwan.

Indeed, this ferry links Chinese Xiamen with the Kinmen Islands, an outlying territory of Taiwan situated over 100 miles from the Taiwanese mainland, but just a few miles from China’s coast.

China-Taiwan map

They are so close that even on a misty day you can see one from the other, at low tide the very closest points are a mere two kilometres apart and there is a history of defectors successfully swimming between them.

But these islands and the short journey between them offer a vantage point of sorts, a perspective on the complex, intertwined relationship between China and Taiwan, the struggle over what their future should be and, crucially, the threat that one poses to the other.

Those issues are coming into sharp focus this week as Taiwan heads to the polls to pick a new president.

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The contest China calls a choice between war and peace

The skyscrapers of the Chinese city of Xiamen visible across the water from Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands.
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Xiamen is seen from the Kinmen Islands

‘A choice between war and peace’

As a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province, elections are always contentious, and this time promises to be no exception.

The current ruling party’s candidate, Lai Ching-te, is most likely to win, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) takes the hardest line against China, and with a history of making pro-independence statements, his election will be highly provoking to Beijing.

In the run-up China has maintained military pressure on Taiwan such as flying warplanes towards the island, while one official framed the vote as a choice between “war and peace”.

On Kinmen itself an awareness of its vulnerability is everywhere.

The beaches are lined with historic defensive spikes and bunkers, there are multiple imposing army bases and military trucks are a regular sight on the roads.

Experts say that while Kinmen would not be a key focus of any Chinese invasion, it would likely be a first port of call.

Historic defences on a beach on Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands just across the water from China
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Historic defences on a beach on Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands, just across the water from China

Shih Tsung Chen, 66, is a retired teacher who lives on the Kinmen Islands, he is critical of the ruling DPP for 'emphasising Taiwan's independence'
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An historic bunker on a beach on the Kinmen Islands, which could be re-used if China invaded

‘People are unhappy and angry’

This is what 36-year-old Wenchi Lan believes. He previously served in the army and is now a keen follower of military issues and an expert on Kinmen’s historic military sites.

He thinks that while war isn’t imminent, it is possible and shows us a bag he has prepared for that eventuality, including torches, medicine and a wallet stuffed with Chinese currency to “pay-off the invading troops”, he says.

As a young voter his support lies with Lai Ching-te, the DPP, he believes, is the party most likely stand up to the Chinese threat.

“Emotionally due to the constant state of intimidation, people are definitely unhappy and angry,” he says, “China’s continuous showing of military threat is counter-productive.

“The threat from China directly influences my families’ assessment of the candidates and their attitudes towards cross-strait relations.

“Older people tend to believe that the country should prioritise peace over the nation, consider peace first and then the nation second.”

He continues: “However my family and I believe the order should be reversed, we think the nation should come first and then we can discuss how to engage in equal exchanges.”

Watch: Moment Chinese warship nearly hits US destroyer in Taiwan Strait

Wenchi Lan, 36, who runs tours of military sites on the Kinmen Islands, has prepared an emergency kit for him and his wife for if China was to invade
Image:
Wenchi Lan has prepared an emergency kit for him and his wife for if China invades

Taiwan's current vice president and DPP candidate for president Lai Ching-te alongside his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim on a campaign poster on display in the Kinmen Islands
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Taiwan’s current vice president and DPP candidate for president Lai Ching-te alongside his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim on a campaign poster

‘Both Taiwan and the mainland belong to Chinese culture’

But the views of many on Kinmen are a little more nuanced, heavily influenced by the deep historical as well as cultural and linguistic ties with the mainland.

In fact many here continue to see themselves as culturally Chinese, “I am a Fujian person”, one woman proudly tells us.

And that closeness means that many here vote for the opposition KMT party which advocates more dialogue and a closer relationship with Beijing.

This is also a place where Chinese efforts to win the hearts and minds of Taiwanese people have made significant inroads.

State supported cultural exchanges are just one tactic.

Shih Tsung Chen’s choir has taken part in such exchanges, journeying to the mainland to perform.

At the small church in Kinmen where they gather to practice a mixture of Taiwanese and Chinese cultural songs, he tells us that most people here want a relationship with China, but one based on peace.

“Politically, we belong to Taiwan, but in terms of culture, I feel that we are quite close to the mainland. This closeness may even surpass Taiwan itself,” he says.

Shih Tsung Chen, 66, is a retired teacher who lives on the Kinmen Islands, he is critical of the ruling DPP for 'emphasising Taiwan's independence'
Image:
Shih Tsung Chen is critical of the ruling DPP for ’emphasising Taiwan’s independence’

In fact when it comes to rising tensions with China, he blames the DPP.

“Taiwan’s main issue now is because the ruling party has been emphasising Taiwan’s independence,” he says.

“I think that the division between the two sides, Taiwan and the mainland, is not correct. Both Taiwan and the mainland belong to Chinese culture. So, fundamentally, trying to separate them is not right. From my perspective, Taiwan’s ruling party bears a larger responsibility.”

A KMT victory might reduce tensions across the strait for a time, but it almost certainly won’t resolve the underlying disagreement.

It is unclear at the moment how China will respond to the vote, but any escalation of tensions may well be felt first by the people of Kinmen.

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Israeli pilots’ protest letter reveals deepening rift over ongoing war in Gaza

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Israeli pilots' protest letter reveals deepening rift over ongoing war in Gaza

The Israeli Air Force is regarded as one of the country’s most elite units.

So, when hundreds of current and former pilots call for an end to the war in Gaza to get the hostages out, Israelis take notice.

This month, 1,200 pilots caused a storm by signing an open letter arguing the war served mainly “political and personal interests and not security ones”.

The pilots' protest letter
Image:
The pilots’ protest letter

Part of the letter translated
Image:
Part of the letter translated

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the original letter was written by “bad apples”.

But Guy Paron, a former pilot and one of those behind the letter, said the Israeli government had failed to move to phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, brokered under US President Donald Trump.

That deal called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of all the remaining hostages. Mr Netanyahu continues to argue that the war must continue to put pressure on Hamas.

Mr Paron said the (Israeli) government “gave up or violated a signed agreement with Hamas” and “threw it to the trash”.

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“You have to finish the deal, release the hostages, even if it means stopping that war,” he argued.

It’s not the first time Israeli pilots have taken up a cause. Many of them also campaigned against Mr Netanyahu’s 2023 judicial reforms.

“In this country, 1,000 Israeli Air Force pilots carry a lot of weight,” Mr Paron added.

“The Air Force historically has been the major force and game-changer in all of Israel’s wars, including this current one. The strength of the Air Force is the public’s guarantee of security.”

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UN runs out of food aid in Gaza

Anti-government campaign spreads

Now, the open letter campaign has spread to other parts of the military.

More than 15,000 people have signed, including paratroopers, armoured corps, navy, special units, cyber and medics. The list goes on.

Dr Ofer Havakuk has served 200 days during this war as a combat doctor, mostly in Gaza, and believes the government is continuing the war to stay in power.

He has also signed an open letter supporting the pilots and accused the prime minister of putting politics first.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the annual ceremony at the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers (Yom HaZikaron) at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.  (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the authors of the original letter as ‘bad apples’. Pic: AP

He said Mr Netanyahu “wants to keep his coalition working and to keep the coalition together. For him, this is the main purpose of the war”.

A ceasefire could lead to the collapse of the prime minister’s fragile far-right coalition, which is opposed to ending the war.

Threat of dismissal

The Israeli military has threatened to dismiss those who have signed protest letters.

We met a former pilot who is still an active reservist. He didn’t want to be identified and is worried he could lose his job.

“This is a price that I’m willing to pay, although it is very big for me because I’m volunteering and, as a volunteer, I want to stay on duty for as long as I can,” he told us.

The controversy over the war and the hostages is gaining momentum inside Israel’s military.

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It is also exposing deep divisions in society at a time when there is no clear sign about how the government plans to end the war in Gaza, or when.

The renewed war in Gaza over the last year and a half followed deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 250 taken hostage.

More than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the Israeli military’s response, many of them civilians, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

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Drone attacks are intensifying in Sudan – hitting schools and camps homing the displaced

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Drone attacks are intensifying in Sudan - hitting schools and camps homing the displaced

The smell of explosives is still in the air when we arrive.

Hours before, a displacement camp in Atbara housing families who fled the war in Sudan’s capital Khartoum was hit by two drone strikes in a four-pronged attack.

The first bomb on 25 April burned donated tents and killed the children in them.

The second hit a school serving as a shelter for the spillover of homeless families.

Sudan

Chunks of cement and plaster had been blasted off the walls of the classrooms where they slept when the second explosive was dropped.

Blood marked the entrance of the temporary home closest to the crater.

Inside, shattered glass and broken window frames speak to the force of the explosion. We were told by their neighbours that four people in the family were instantly killed.

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“People were torn apart. This is inhumane,” says their neighbour Mahialdeen, whose brother and sister were injured. “We are praying that God lifts this catastrophe. We left Khartoum because of the fighting and found it here.”

Wiping a tear, he says: “It is chasing us.”

Sudan

The sanctuary city held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) about 200 miles northeast of Khartoum has been hit by six drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the start of the year.

These latest strikes are the most deadly.

The drones – known for targeting civilian infrastructure – hit the displacement camp twice, the nearby power station supplying the city with electricity and an empty field with four bombs in the dark, early hours of the morning. First responders have told Sky News that 12 people were killed, including at least two children.

Sudan

RSF increasingly using drones to carry out attacks

Data from the conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED shows the RSF has carried out increasing numbers of drone attacks across the country.

The most targeted states have been Khartoum and North Darfur, where fighting on the ground has been fierce, as well as Atbara’s River Nile State.

The data suggests that the increase in strikes has been driven by a change in tactics following the SAF’s recapture of Khartoum in late March, with the number of strikes carried out by the RSF spiking shortly after their withdrawal from the capital.

Satellite imagery shows the RSF’s airpower has allowed it to continue to attack targets in and around Khartoum.

Nearby Wadi Seidna Airbase was targeted after the attack on Atbara, with damage visible across a large area south of its airfield.

We were given access to the remains of latest suicide drones launched at Khartoum and could not find discernible signs of commercial origin.

Drone experts told Sky News that they are self-built devices made from generic parts with no identifiable manufacturers for the components.

Read more:
Sky reporter returns to family home left in ruins
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Two years of war in Sudan

Drones sighted in South Darfur are consistent with Chinese models

High-resolution satellite images confirm the presence of drones at the RSF-held Nyala Airport.

While the total number of drones kept at this location is unknown, imagery from Planet Labs shows six on 24 April.

This is the highest number of drones observed at the airport, suggesting an increase in the RSF’s available airpower.

The location and number of drones visible in satellite imagery at Nyala Airport has varied over time, suggesting they are in active use.

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Yousra Elbagir visits wartorn home in Sudan

While it is not possible to determine the exact model of drones sighted at Nyala Airport, a report published by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Lab has previously found them to be consistent with the Chinese-produced FH-95.

Analysis carried out by Sky News confirms these findings, with the measurements and visible features matching those of the CH-95 and FH-95. Both designs are produced in China.

The United Arab Emirates is widely accused of supplying Chinese drones to the RSF through South Sudan and Uganda, as well as weapons through Chad. The UAE vehemently denies these claims.

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Sudanese military in presidential palace

Evidence of new airfields

Satellite imagery viewed by Sky News suggests the RSF has worked to increase its air capabilities outside of South Darfur.

In late 2024, five new airstrips appeared in West Kordofan between the contested cities of North Darfur capital Al Fashir and Khartoum.

While the purpose of these airstrips is unknown, it is clear they carry some level of military significance, having been targeted by air in April.

In high-resolution images, no aircraft can be seen. Damage is visible next to a structure that appears to be an aircraft hangar.

The rapid escalation in drone strikes is being brutally suffered on the ground.

In Atbara’s Police Hospital, we find a ward full of the injured survivors.

One of them, a three-year-old girl called Manasiq, is staring up at the ceiling in wide-eyed shock with her head wrapped in a bandage and her feet covered in dried blood.

Her aunt tells us the explosion flung her small body across the classroom shelter but she miraculously survived.

She has shrapnel in her head and clings onto her aunt as her mother is treated for her own injuries in a ward on the first floor.

Sudan

In a dark room deeper in the ward, a mother sits on the edge of a hospital bed holding her young injured daughter. Her son, only slightly older, is on a smaller adjustable bed further away.

Fadwa looks forlorn and helpless. Her children were spending the night with relatives in the temporary tents when the first strike hit and killed her eight-year-old son.

His surviving sister and brother have been asking after him, but Fadwa can’t bring herself to break the news.

“What can I say? This is our fate. We fled the war in Khartoum but can’t escape the violence,” Fadwa says, staring off in the distance.

“We are condemned to this fate.”

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Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

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Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

A ship carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza has been bombed by drones while it was in international waters.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the NGO responsible for the ship, has pointed the finger at Israel.

Video shows fire raging onboard the vessel, which put out an SOS distress call after it was attacked off the coast of Malta.

It comes as the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice continued this week.

Gaza remains under blockade, with Israel having now refused to allow international aid into the devastated enclave for almost two months despite global outcry.

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The hospital Ghena went to for treatment has been destroyed

Following the drone attack, the Maltese government confirmed that after several hours all crew were safe and the fire was under control.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said: “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade (of Gaza) and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.”

More on Gaza

It asserted that the drone attack “appears to have specifically targeted the ship’s generator” and had left the vessel at risk of sinking.

Describing the attack, it said: “Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull.

Palestinian boy Osama Al-Reqep, 5, lies on a bed at Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Pic: Reuters
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A five-year-old boy lies on a bed at Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Pic: Reuters

“The last communication in the early morning of the 2nd of May, indicated the drones are still circling the ship.”

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It released video footage shot in the dark that showed lights in the sky in front of the ship and the sound of explosions. The footage also showed the vessel on fire.

The Israeli foreign ministry has not commented on what happened.

Yesterday, UN aid coordinator Tom Fletcher called on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, which has been in force for almost two months.

“Yes, the hostages must be released, now. They should never have been taken from their families,” he said.

“But international law is unequivocal: As the occupying power, Israel must allow humanitarian support in.”

Aid should never be a “bargaining chip”, he added.

‘Children going to bed starving’

Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA said: “The siege on Gaza is the silent killer of children, of older people.

“Families – whole families, seven or eight people – are resorting to sharing one can of beans or peas. Imagine not having anything to feed your children. Children in Gaza are going to bed starving.”

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