United States President Donald Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on most US imports, with even higher rates for China (34%), India (26%), Japan (24%) and the EU (20%), escalating a global trade war.
Several Indian states bordering Pakistan have implemented stringent security measures, including school closures, blackouts, and cancellation of leave for police and administrative personnel, in response to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. These measures were taken after India conducted airstrikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and West Bengal have all implemented these precautionary measures.
If Beijing succeeds in this multipronged effort to challenge the current dominant power, it will have not just economic but political and security consequences. There is no let-up in the South China Sea nor any de-escalation moves on the India-China border. This portends to ominous signalling from Beijing, observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
'Will this near-war, India's strongest military response so far, buy India another seven years of deterrence?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'It brings precarious peace because the red lines have shifted. 'The next Pahalgam attack would mean a full scale war.'
Canada's next prime minister Mark Carney slammed United States President Donald Trump for 'unjustified tariffs', saying Americans should make no mistake as Canada will win the trade war just as it wins in hockey.
Chinese import tariffs have unwittingly come to India's assistance to help boost imports of US liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at rates cheaper than what it pays for supplies from West Asia, according to industry sources and shipping data.
Stock markets will be driven by further developments on the US-China tariff war front along with quarterly earnings announcements from IT majors Wipro and Infosys in a holiday-shortened week, analysts said. Global market trends and trading activity of foreign investors would also dictate market movement this week, experts noted.
China supplied more than $20 billion worth of arms to Pakistan. These include 20 J-10CE and JF-17 Block III fighter aircraft, Wing Loong drones, frigates, submarines, Hongqi HQ-9P surface-to-air missiles, 240 PL-15E air-to-air missiles, LY-80 air defence systems, ZDK early warning aircraft and other weapons.
The latest spike in the Vix is a sign that investors are visibly rattled by global developments and fear a further drawdown in stock prices, experts said.
'You can be sure that the Pakistanis knew when the Indian Air Force aircraft took off, which type these were, and what their likely targets were.' 'The question was: How would they determine that the IAF wanted to fire, and when to bounce them?', notes Shekhar Gupta.
'...without massive amounts of force.'
The escalating military tension between the two nations, a deluge of information, and the inability to sift through fake and real news can significantly affect the psychological well-being of individuals, said mental health experts.
'India enjoys conventional superiority, but nuclear deterrence imposes clear boundaries.'
Immigration officials on Monday detained Mohsen Mahdawi, an organiser of pro-Palestinian protests last year at Columbia University, after he arrived at the Vermont immigration office, hoping to begin the final step to becoming a US citizen, CNN reported.
'Pakistan is no longer a front-burner issue for America.'
The Congress on Wednesday expressed sadness over 'pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated' while being deported from the United States and recalled that America had to express regret over the treatment meted out to India diplomat Devyani Khobragade in 2013 after the then United Progressive Alliance government retaliated sharply.
Opposition parties in India, including the Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), have unanimously hailed the armed forces' "Operation Sindoor", a retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation, which involved missile and drone strikes, was conducted in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Despite political differences, all parties expressed support for the government and the armed forces, stressing the importance of national unity and integrity in the face of terrorism. While emphasizing the need for diplomatic avenues to prevent further escalation, some parties also called for caution in attributing political credit for the strikes.
'The Pakistanis called the US state department and said we agree with India on peace.' 'It was then that US President Donald Trump jumped in and took credit for the ceasefire.'
'There is no independently verified imagery or battlefield evidence to support Pakistan's claim.'
India on Thursday night swiftly foiled Pakistan's attempts to hit various key Indian installations including military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles, the defence ministry said.
Executives from India's leading airlines are conducting internal meetings to devise alternative routes for their international flights that currently pass through Pakistani airspace.
'Pakistan's only concern has been while they were on the FATF watch list was to distance their State institutions and organs from any direct connection with the actual execution of militancy inside Kashmir.'
Meanwhile, a precautionary blackout has been enforfced in the multiple areas amid the esclating tensions between India and Pakistan.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods.
This is the first case involving India and the US at the WTO after both sides decided to withdraw all seven pending cases at the WTO during the Biden administration.
'He is intrigued by the intractability of Kashmir issue. With his interest in dealmaking and peacebrokering, he sees it as an exciting challenge to tackle.'
A massive anti-Naxal operation involving around 10,000 security personnel along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border entered its fifth day on Friday, with the Maoists reportedly issuing a statement calling for a halt to the exercise and initiating "peace talks." The statement, circulating on social media, claims that the government is resorting to repression and violence despite the possibility of resolving the issue through dialogue. The operation, considered one of the largest counter-insurgency actions in the Bastar region, involves personnel from various units including the Chhattisgarh police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and its elite CoBRA unit. The operation, launched on Monday in the densely forested hills of Karregutta and Durgamgutta along the inter-state border, is aimed at targeting PLGA battalion No. 1, the strongest military formation of the Maoists.
'India won't take anything from Pakistan lying down.'
Pakistan has warned the international community that any military moves by India shall be 'responded to assuredly and decisively... onus of any escalatory spiral and its consequences shall squarely lie with India.' Implicit in the statement is a veiled threat that even a nuclear threshold may be reached if push comes to shove, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a dramatic shift in Canada's foreign policy, Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday declared that the long-standing economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States has ended, responding to US President Donald Trump's announcement of new auto tariffs that could severely impact Canada's economy, Politico reported.
'This strike has certainly enhanced your image.' 'Otherwise, people would have called you a damp squib, capable of doing nothing except talking big.'
Officials said the BSF personnel manning the border outpost in Makwal came under fire from across the border, prompting a strong retaliation.
Action, romance, comedy, it's raining masala entertainment on OTT this week.
'If Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.'
The mayor of Darbhanga, Bihar, has sparked a controversy by suggesting a two-hour break in Holi celebrations to accommodate Friday prayers during Ramzan. Her proposal has drawn criticism from a BJP MLA, who accused her of calling for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind'. Meanwhile, other politicians have condemned the mayor's suggestion and emphasized the need for communal harmony.
The Supreme Court has sought the assistance of the solicitor general of India in a plea that seeks job security for members of internal complaint committees (ICC) for sexual harassment at workplaces. The court recognized the importance of the plea and expressed concern over the lack of response from the Central government, despite issuing notice. The petitioners, Janaki Chaudhry and Olga Tellis, argue that ICC members in the private sector face a serious conflict of interest as they can be terminated without reason if a decision goes against the senior management. The petition highlights the vulnerability of ICC members to retaliation and the lack of protection they have compared to their counterparts in the public sector.
'Innocent lives lost. Tourists, families, people who were just... living. Seeking beauty. Seeking peace. And now there's only grief.'
Thousands of protesters are out on the streets of Istanbul after the arrest of the city's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The Trump trade shock is a chance to push long-overdue reforms, rather than tinker with tariffs to appease the US, suggests M Govinda Rao.
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