SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Friday, April 4, 2025 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Millions of Afghans lose access to healthcare services as USAID cuts shut clinics (The Guardian)
The Guardian [4/3/2025 8:00 AM, Ruchi Kumar and Zahra Ahad, 78938K]
More than 200 health facilities run by the World Health Organization in Afghanistan, providing medical care for 1.84 million people, have closed or ceased operating after the US aid cuts announced by the Trump administration shut off life-saving medical care, including vaccinations, maternal and child health services.
On his first day in office in January, President Donald Trump announced an immediate freeze on all US foreign assistance, including more than $40bn (£32bn) for international projects coming from USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. It was later confirmed that more than 80% of USAID programmes had been cancelled.
In Afghanistan, where health clinics have closed in 28 out of 34 provinces, this is leading to an "escalating humanitarian crisis", according to the WHO, with the country already grappling with poverty and outbreaks of diseases such as measles, malaria and polio.
Afghanistan has already seen a rise in polio cases due to restrictions imposed by the Taliban on its vaccination programme.
Ajyal Sultany, head of communications at WHO in Afghanistan, said: "The closure of health facilities is compounding these crises, with displaced and marginalised communities facing heightened risks of disease, malnutrition, and inadequate medical care.".
In the worst-affected regions – north, west and north-east Afghanistan – more than a third of health clinics have now shut down, according to the WHO, with another 220 health facilities expected to close by June due to a lack of funding.In some rural areas, the clinics were the only access the local population had to health services. The problem is compounded by the Taliban’s restrictions on women travelling without a male relative as a "guardian".
Other humanitarian organisations are also feeling the strain of US funding cuts across their global programmes. Save the Children reported that it had to close down 18 of its 32 clinics due to funding shortfalls. "The remaining 14 only have enough funding to remain open for another month," a spokesperson told the Guardian. "These 32 clinics supported over 134,000 children in January alone.".
Abdul*, a coordinator for health projects in Herat, western Afghanistan, told the Guardian that his organisation had been forced to close 23 of its facilities, including mobile health teams, after it lost funding in January. It had relied on support from international organisations.
"These clinics were located in remote areas of Herat province in nine districts where people did not have access to health services. We covered a population of nearly 120,000, including many women and children, and at least 20,000 new and expecting mothers.
"We were able to secure some funding from a different source and temporarily resume four of the clinics," he said, but most of the people they help remain without any healthcare services.
Abdul said local populations had appealed to doctors and healthcare workers to keep the clinics open. "Since the closure, people from these communities have been reaching out to us through religious leaders and shuras [gatherings of tribal elders] asking us to reopen clinics.
"Unfortunately, we have tell them, with all transparency, that there is little we can do now," he said.
The WHO said the availability of healthcare for Afghans may now worsen even further. "The termination of US funding may lead other donors to scale back or withdraw their humanitarian assistance," Sultany said. "This would further exacerbate operational challenges and reduce the capacity to deliver life-saving services.".
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) confirmed it had been forced to close two community resource centres that had been providing housing, food and other support to internally displaced Afghans, with a further two at risk of closure.
"I want to emphasise that NRC Afghanistan is not shutting down its operations," said Suze van Meegen, NRC’s interim director in Afghanistan, but she added: "Due to United States funding suspensions and cuts, NRC has been forced to end some of its programming in Afghanistan.". Pakistan
Pakistan to cut power prices in a sign economy stabilising (Reuters)
Reuters [4/3/2025 7:15 AM, Asif Shahzad, 41523K]
Pakistan will cut power prices for domestic and industrial users, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday, in a sign of the economy’s recovery from the brink of default.The International Monetary Fund stepped in to stabilise the Asian country’s finances with a standby arrangement in 2023 and then a $7 billion bailout last year.Sharif said it was hard work to persuade the IMF to agree to a cut in power tariffs in the midst of the fiscal consolidation required by the bailout."I can’t explain what sort of efforts it took," he told an event in Islamabad, adding that the cuts were only possible because of the power sector reforms that the government had introduced, which he said would continue.He said Pakistan would also use the money saved from lower global oil prices to pass on to the power sector. Lower power prices will be a relief to Pakistanis after several increases in the past couple of years.
The tariff will be cut by an average 7.41 rupees ($0.0264) per kilowatt-hour to 34.47 rupees for domestic users, and by an average 7.59 rupees per kilowatt-hour to 40.60 rupees for industrial users, Sharif said.
Pakistan’s $350 billion economy has been struggling since inflation rose to record high of 38.50% in May 2023, with growth turning negative, reserves shrinking to barely a couple of weeks of controlled imports, and interest rates jumping to 22%.
"We have successfully brought the inflation down to single digit," Sharif said, adding that the nearly 10-percentage-point reduction in the country’s main interest rate in the last year would help businesses grow.
Pakistan: Militants make March deadliest month in a decade (Deutsche Welle)
Deutsche Welle [4/3/2025 10:33 AM, Chiara Bachels, 13.3M]
More than 100 deadly attacks in Pakistan by Islamist militants and separatist rebels made March the deadliest month over a decade with 335 people killed, a think tank reported Thursday.
Of the deaths, 228 were caused by militant groups, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) think tank. They included 73 members of security services, including soldiers and police officers, 67 civilians and 88 militants.
Who are the militant groups?
The Islamist-militant Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the separatist rebel Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were the main militant groups responsible for the attacks.
The BLA was responsible for a 28-hour hijackingof the train Jaffar Express in the southwestern region Balochistan. Some 450 people were held hostage and more than two dozen were killed.
Which are the most affected regions?Balochistan was the most affected province, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest of Pakistan.
They have both also been targets of suicide bombings, a form of attacks that surged in March.
In Punjab, the eastern province bordering India, the think tank observed a strong increase in militant activity.
At least seven attacks were recorded, and most were attributed to the TTP.
In response to the growing threat, Pakistan’s security forces have intensified their operations in the region. Many people have been arrested with connections to militant groups, including the TTP.
What are the consequences of the rising violence?
Islamabad claims that most attacks, both by militants and rebels, are planned and executed from Afghanistan. It accuses the neighboring country of granting Pakistani militants space to plan and organize attacks.
A recent report by the United Nations supported this claim. It said that the Taliban provided support to the TTP and that some attacks were launched from Afghan territory.
As a consequence, the Pakistani government has urged the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan to act against the allegedly responsible criminals. Kabul, on the other hand, denies that the militants are in Afghanistan. India
Trump’s tariffs put India and its struggling economy at a crossroads (Washington Post)
Washington Post [4/4/2025 2:00 AM, Karishma Mehrotra, 6.9M]
As President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term, Indian officials put a plan in motion to sidestep his promised trade war — launching high-level trade talks with their American counterparts, pledging new investments in U.S. energy and defense, and unilaterally slashing tariffs on key goods.
In the end, it made no difference.
India will be hit with a 26 percent tariff, Trump announced Wednesday, delivering a sharp blow to a country that relies heavily on U.S. export markets and is already gripped by economic stagnation. As other nations consider retaliatory measures, India has opted for restraint, still hoping to seal a broader trade agreement that might eventually deliver relief.
In a statement Thursday, India’s Commerce Ministry said it was “carefully examining the implications,” while emphasizing ongoing discussions over a “mutually beneficial” deal. Others in the country tried to find a silver lining, noting that some Asian competitors will face even higher rates.
But “there is no denying it — there will be a significant impact,” said Ajay Shah, an Indian economist who previously consulted for the Finance Ministry.
The pressure from Washington has reignited a long-standing debate in India over whether to open up its heavily protectionist economy. Some economists see the tariff squeeze as an opportunity to push through politically fraught trade liberalization. Others warn that India’s midsize and labor-intensive industries can’t afford the shock.
With no immediate respite in sight, exporters here are bracing for the fallout.
Bad timing
The effects may be most acute in the emerging smartphone market in India, which is home to 15 percent of Apple’s global production. The United States is also a vital market for Indian jewelry and agricultural exports, including shrimp, basmati rice and honey.
Exemptions given to pharmaceuticals offered relief to one of India’s most U.S.-dependent industries, and analysts said higher tariffs on regional rivals including China, Vietnam and Bangladesh could give India new export opportunities.
But the relative advantage will only matter if India institutes structural reforms, economists said. India has struggled to attract manufacturers looking to pivot away from China, partly because of high tariffs on required components. And other peer nations, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Brazil, could cut into any potential competitive edge.
India’s economy is struggling. Private investment and consumer spending are flat, and gross domestic product is predicted to grow at its slowest pace in years. “The timing is bad,” said Rajat Kathuria, an economics professor and dean at Shiv Nadar University. “Really bad.”‘Time to do something big’
Until the last moment, India remained hopeful it could stave off the tariff hikes. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal made multiple visits to Washington to engage with American officials, while assistant U.S. trade representative Brendan Lynch spent several days negotiating in New Delhi.
India unveiled a series of preemptive goodwill measures, reducing tariffs on some cars, motorcycles, electronics, solar components, chemicals and alcohol. It also proposed eliminating what is referred to as the “Google tax” on online advertisements, which Shah called a clear “olive branch.”“India’s response is the most feeble because it is the weakest economy in the [Group of 20] and has the most to lose,” Kathuria said.
The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for almost a fifth of its exports, resulting in a trade surplus of almost $46 billion in 2024.India has long been one of the world’s most protectionist countries, only opening up its economy in the 1990s to avert a financial crisis. In 2023, India’s average tariff (not accounting for trade deals) stood at 17 percent, nearly six times the average U.S. rate, according to the World Trade Organization.
In 2019, Trump revoked India’s preferential trade status, prompting retaliatory tariffs from New Delhi. Subsequent trade talks faltered, with concessions offered by New Delhi viewed as insufficient by the first Trump administration, according to Mark Linscott, an early U.S. negotiator.
Trump has repeatedly singled out India for its high tariffs, including during a recent news conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi — underscoring the limits of the nationalist leaders’ ideological alignment.“Now we have a situation where the leverage being deployed is even more serious,” Linscott said. “A successful bilateral is long overdue.”
Both sides have set a fall deadline for a trade deal. Two people familiar with the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details, said Trump’s planned visit to India is contingent on its success.
Washington has made it clear that it expects India to implement sweeping trade liberalization, according to the two people, especially in agriculture.“It’s time to do something big, something grand,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month, speaking virtually at an event in New Delhi. “Not product by product, but rather the whole thing.”
Reform or retaliate?
For some economists, the U.S. pressure represents a welcome and overdue catalyst for domestic reform.“We have to reduce tariffs,” Kathuria said. “This is an opportunity for India to do something that it always wants to do, and has wanted to do, but is politically difficult to do. “
The Modi government has signaled it is inching in this direction. In March, the Commerce Ministry urged Indian businesses to shed their “protectionist mindset.”
The challenge, Kathuria said, is that “the entire government seems to be captured by industry,” and Modi will probably be wary of alienating business leaders.
Shah is more optimistic, saying Modi has a rare opportunity to cast difficult changes as an essential jump-start. “We can’t change the U.S.; it is deeply messed up,” he said. “But a huge pro-globalization economic initiative? There is no better policy package to revitalize an economy that has frankly struggled ever since 2011.”
India is already looking beyond the U.S. as well, advancing trade negotiations with the European Union, Australia and Britain.
Other economists warn that fast, far-reaching policy changes could ultimately backfire, exposing India’s most protected sectors, particularly agriculture, to foreign competitors.“If you open up the market, most domestic small enterprises will be pushed out,” said Amitendu Palit, an economist at the National University of Singapore. “The benefits will go to U.S. businesses.”
Ajay Srivastava, a former trade official, harked back to 2018, when India lowered trade barriers in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum and opened the floodgates to Chinese goods.
His advice now is blunt: “Do not look weak.” If Washington rejects India’s trade proposals, Srivastava argues, New Delhi should retaliate, following the lead of China, Canada and the E.U.
Raghav Chadha, a leader of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party, expressed consternation Thursday in Parliament that Trump had gone ahead with the tariffs despite India’s “unflinching loyalty and undying friendship to the U.S.” He suggested the government could withhold approvals for Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite communications company, as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations.
However India responds, Linscott said, Trump is unlikely to budge on his demands. “The bottom line is that expectations on the U.S. side are not going to change,” he said. India says studying impact of 27% US tariff, vows to push trade deal (Reuters)
Reuters [4/3/2025 10:07 AM, Aftab Ahmed, Manoj Kumar, and Shubham Batra, 777K]
India said on Thursday it was studying the impact of the 27% tariff slapped by the U.S. on its imports and vowed to push for a trade deal this year, signalling a conciliatory tone despite failing to get relief from President Donald Trump’s trade policy.New Delhi’s response came hours after Trump announced the drastic tariffs that piled more stress on an ailing global economy and sent world stock markets and oil prices tumbling.The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.While Trump said Indian goods will face a 26% tariff, the White House executive order put the rate at 27%. India’s trade ministry too put the rate at 27%, citing the executive order.A 10% baseline tariff starts on Saturday before the remaining, higher reciprocal tariff takes effect from April 9.India’s trade department is "carefully examining the implications" of the U.S. announcement and also holding talks with Indian industry and exporters on their assessment of the tariffs, a trade ministry statement said."The department is also studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in U.S. trade policy," it said, and referred to the agreement between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February to work on the first phase of a trade deal by autumn 2025."The ongoing talks are focused on enabling both nations to grow trade, investments and technology transfers," it said, referring to negotiations between the two sides. "We remain in touch with the Trump administration on these issues and expect to take them forward in the coming days."New Delhi is also considering helping export sectors hurt by the new tariffs, an Indian trade ministry source said.Indian officials would hold virtual meetings this month with their U.S. peers to discuss a trade deal, the source said.Trump has slapped higher duties on other countries, including 34% on China on top of a 20% tax announced earlier, and 46% on Vietnam.The relatively lower tariffs imposed on India calmed equity markets.The Nifty 50 (.NSEI) fell 0.35% and the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) lost 0.42%, but fared better than most Asian peers, as analysts said India’s relatively lower reciprocal tariffs compared to China, Vietnam, and Thailand could offer a competitive edge.The Indian rupee rose 0.08% to the U.S. dollar, holding up reasonably well amid a dip in most Asian currencies.India gains a natural competitive advantage in several key sectors due to the relatively lower tariffs imposed, research firm Global Trade Research Institute said in a note.Nearly $14 billion worth of electronics products and over $9 billion worth of gems and jewellery are among the top sectors to be hit by the U.S. tariffs.The Trump administration, however, exempted pharmaceutical exports from the tariff bringing cheer to India’s pharma industry. The U.S. accounted for nearly a third of India’s pharmaceutical exports - mainly cheaper versions of popular drugs - with sales of about $9 billion last fiscal year.HUGE TRADE DEFICITShares of Indian drugmakers rose nearly 5% in early trade on Thursday in contrast to the drop in the broader stock market.India’s export competitiveness would be less impacted than key rivals due to its position in the middle of the tariff rates, said the country’s industry bodies, Assocham and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.The duty of 27% was based on tariff and non-tariff barriers including currency manipulation, the Trump administration said.The tariffs would remain in effect until Trump determined that the "threat posed by the trade deficit and underlying non-reciprocal treatment is satisfied, resolved, or mitigated," the White House statement said.The U.S. has a trade deficit of $46 billion with India.The reciprocal tariff will add pressure on Modi, who counts himself among Trump’s friends, to find ways to get India off the hook.Last week Reuters reported that New Delhi is open to cutting tariffs on U.S. imports worth $23 billion to mitigate the impact on its exports in sectors like gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals and auto parts.Modi’s administration has taken a number of steps to win over Trump by lowering tariffs on high-end bikes, bourbon and dropping a tax on digital services that affected U.S. tech giants.Before the reciprocal announcement, the simple average U.S. tariff rates were at 3.3%, compared with India’s 17%, the White House said.Ajay Sahai, director general at the Federation of India Export Organisations, said the reciprocal tariff on India was lower than key competitors like Vietnam and Bangladesh, which could help Indian apparel and footwear sectors. US tariffs to hit India’s GDP growth, prompt more rate cuts (Reuters)
Reuters [4/4/2025 3:25 AM, Ira Dugal, 5.2M]
India’s economic growth could slow by 20-40 basis points in the ongoing financial year due to the latest U.S. tariffs, which would prompt deeper interest rate cuts by the central bank, analysts said.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday slapped a 26% reciprocal tariff on India, threatening the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) estimate of 6.7% economic growth in 2025-26 and the government’s economic survey forecast of 6.3%-6.8%.
After the tariffs, Goldman Sachs lowered its growth estimate to 6.1% from 6.3%. Citi forecast a 40 bps drag on growth directly and indirectly, while Mumbai-based QuantEco Research estimated a 30 bps hit.
Moreover, with inflation expected to average 4.2% this financial year, close to the RBI’s target, the central bank cut interest rates for the first time in five years in February. It is expected to follow that with another 25 bps cut to 6.00% at the conclusion of its April 7-9 meeting, per a Reuters poll.
However, while the poll showed that economists had expected just one more cut after that -- to a policy repo rate of 5.75% in August -- before a prolonged pause, the U.S. tariffs have prompted a rethink to those estimates.
Goldman, Citi and QuantEco Research had also predicted just one to two more cuts this year, but now expect 75 bps of cuts this financial year, taking the policy rate to 5.5%, which would be the lowest since August 2022.
"This would be an appropriate risk minimization strategy on the face of larger downside risks to growth compared to much lower upside risk to inflation," Citi’s India chief economist Samiran Chakraborty said in a note late on Thursday.
The growth-inflation dynamics "open up policy space for the MPC (monetary policy committee) to support growth, while remaining focussed on aligning inflation with the target," the MPC said in February.
The Indian economy’s growth is expected to have slowed to a four-year low of 6.5% in the financial year ended March 31, as urban demand weakened due to high inflation, tight liquidity and tougher RBI rules slowing loan growth across personal loans and credit cards.
The central bank has, however, significantly eased liquidity conditions since new Governor Sanjay Malhotra took over in December. Plans to further tighten banking regulations have also been pushed back.
Alongside this, the government announced a tax relief for all Indians earning up to 1.2 million rupees a year in its annual budget in February.
The tax cuts and monetary policy easing will help domestic demand, said a government source who asked not to be identified.
These should act as buffers for the economy, the source said, adding that India sees no need for an economy-wide stimulus at this stage but sector-specific stress could be addressed through targeted measures.
"Rewriting of trade rules would prompt policymakers globally to take a hard look at reviving domestic consumption and demand," said Vivek Kumar, economist at QuantEco Research.
For India, this could be through interest rate cuts and a weaker currency, he said. India on Tariffs: Era ‘When a Few Powers Underwrote the International System’ Is Over (Breitbart)
Breitbart [4/3/2025 11:05 AM, Frances Martel, 2923K]
The external affairs minister of India, S. Jaishankar, told attendees at an economic summit on Thursday that "the world is moving to an era of self-help" featuring "shortly supply chains and immediate neighbors," responding to the imposition of sweeping global tariffs by America the day before.
President Donald Trump declared Wednesday "Liberation Day," marking a new tariff policy that establishes a ten-percent "floor" reciprocal tariff on trade partners that impose tariffs on American goods.
Countries that impose large tariffs on American imports, effectively impeding success for American businesses in their markets, will now face much largest tariff barriers for their own goods in America.In a chart published on Wednesday, the White House detailed the tariffs various countries impose on American products and what tariffs they would now face to enter the U.S. market. India, whose government has established significant interventionist policies to protect domestic industry, imposes a 52-percent tariff on American goods, according to the White House. In return, Indian goods will now have to pay a 26-percent tariff (Indian media, citing the Indian government, reported that the tariff is 27 percent).
While the 26-percent tariff is much higher than the previously non-existent tariff on Indian goods, it is much lower than what some other countries face. Among those most intensely affected are Vietnam, which imposes a 90-percent tariff and will now pay a 46-percent tariff; Cambodia, which imposes a 97-percent tariff and will pay a 49-percent tariff, and Madagascar, which will pay a 47-percent tariff and charges America a 93-percent tariff to enter its market.
The tariffs are expected to take effect on April 9.
"Times have indeed changed," remarked Jaishankar on Thursday in remarks at a ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
"The reality is that the world is moving to an era of self-help. Every region needs to look out for itself, whether it is in food, fuel and fertilizer supply, vaccines or speedy disaster response," he continued. "We are seeing that unfold before our very eyes. Times have indeed changed. Shorter supply chains and immediate neighbours have a salience much more than before.".
"The era when a few powers underwrote the international system is now behind us," Jaishankar declared. "What we make of our prospects is very much dependent on ourselves. As developing nations who face a multitude of challenges, that is better done in concert with each other than individually.".
Jaishankar lamented that BIMSTEC countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, and Sri Lanka – were "performing below [their] real potential" and encouraged them to be "more ambitious.".
"The new order, whose outlines have only now started to become visible, is intrinsically more regional and agenda-specific," he asserted.
Jaishankar’s comments were separate from the official Indian government statement on the imposition of new tariffs on Indian imports to America. India’s Ministry of Commerce issued cautious remarks on Thursday in response to the tariff, assuring Indians that it was "carefully examining the implications" of the tariffs.
"The Department is engaged with all stakeholders, including Indian industry and exporters, taking feedback of their assessment of the tariffs and assessing the situation," the ministry stated.
The Ministry of Commerce did not condemn the tariffs. Instead, it stated that its officials were "studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in the U.S. trade policy.".
President Trump has repeatedly identified India as one of several nations that has been "unfairly tariffing the United States for years." Speaking on Tuesday in anticipation of "Liberation Day," Trump predicting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he has in the past referred to as a friend, would reduce India’s tariffs on America in the near future.
"I think I heard that India just a little while ago is going to be dropping its tariffs very substantially, and I said, ‘why didn’t somebody do this a long time ago?’" Trump said at a press conference. Trump made the remarks shortly after talks between American and Indian diplomats on trade in late March.
The Indian Ministry of Commerce announced after those talks that New Delhi and Washington were making progress to "broadly come to an understanding on the next steps towards a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with the goal to finalize its first tranche by fall 2025." The ministry indicated that the Trump administration was interested in "increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers and deepening supply chain integration.".
Modi launched an economic program known as "Make in India" in 2014 intended to transform the world’s most populous state into a premier manufacturing hub by attracting multinational corporations to its factories. Doing so placed India in direct competition with its neighbor and rival China, whose economy has suffered tremendously following the brutal lockdowns imposed during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
India has successfully attracted some tech manufacturing from China, including deals with companies such as Apple and Foxconn, but has struggled to offer state-of-the-art factories, a competent workforce, and a peaceful industrial environment.
India has not shied away from challenging China by name, however.
"India’s relationship with major powers is good. China is an exception," Jaishankar pointedly admitted in a 2023 interview. The foreign minister attributed the poor relationship not to trade, however, but to China’s repeated invasions of Indian territory across their mutual border. Modi Meets Myanmar Junta Chief for First Time in Four Years (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [4/4/2025 5:27 AM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 16228K]
Myanmar’s military government leader met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time in four years, as the isolated regime grapples with last week’s devastating earthquake.The leaders met Friday on the sidelines of a regional economic summit in Bangkok that the junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended in a rare trip to a neighboring Southeast Asian country since seizing power in 2021. The interaction gives the regime a much-needed air of legitimacy at a time Western nations are largely shunning it.“India is ready to deploy more material assistance” to facilitate quake relief efforts, India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri told reporters in Bangkok after the bilateral meeting.Just days earlier, Myanmar was hit by a 7.7 magnitude quake that left thousands dead or injured. The military government on Wednesday announced a ceasefire in fighting against armed opposition groups to aid recovery efforts. However, according to local media reports, the junta conducted air strikes on Thursday as well.India has airlifted a mobile army hospital to the city of Mandalay — the epicenter of the earthquake — along with a team of medics and tons of relief supplies. China and Russia are also providing major assistance.“Prime Minister Modi also underlined the importance of early restoration of democratic process in Myanmar including through credible and inclusive elections,” Misri said on Friday. Thailand, India to Elevate Ties as Modi Attends Regional Summit (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [4/3/2025 7:23 AM, Patpicha Tanakasempipat, 16228K]
Thailand and India signed a strategic partnership, vowing to cooperate on defense and accelerate a key infrastructure project that’s set to link the world’s most-populous nation with neighboring Southeast Asia.The two countries agreed to play vital roles in promoting connectivity between South Asia and Southeast Asia, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters after a meeting with her counterpart Narendra Modi in Bangkok on Thursday. The two nations will aim to speed up the 1,300-kilometer highway project that will begin from northeastern India and traverse through Myanmar before reaching northern Thailand.Thailand also pitched its flagship Landbridge project, which is touted to link the Pacific and Indian oceans, as a new logistics route, Paetongtarn said. Her administration also proposed talks to amend India’s free trade agreements with Thailand and Asean — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — to promote more trade and bilateral investments, she added. Modi’s trip to Bangkok marks the first official visit by an Indian leader in 12 years to Thailand. He will also attend a summit of regional leaders on Friday.The Bimstec summit — short for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation — and related meetings are being held in Bangkok this week. Apart from Modi, leaders from Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be attending the summit.The bloc is expected to adopt a joint summit declaration and an agreement called Bimstec Bangkok Vision 2030, which will outline long-term goals for economic cooperation and regional security. An agreement on maritime transport cooperation is also set to be inked.Bimstec member states have also been working on a free trade deal, which has not yet been concluded.Paetongtarn is set to meet with Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya on Friday, according to the Thai government.She will also meet with Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing, a rare trip for the junta leader to another Southeast Asian country since the military took power in the 2021 coup. The two will likely discuss the impact of a devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar last week and humanitarian assistance Thailand could provide, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said. US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe (CNN)
CNN [4/4/2025 3:44 AM, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, 22.1M]
An American tourist has been arrested after allegedly traveling to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal and attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated tribes.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made the illegal voyage to North Sentinel Island, home to the enigmatic Sentinelese tribe, on March 29, Indian police told CNN.
North Sentinel Island is a land mass roughly the size of Manhattan in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, about 750 miles from the Indian mainland. Visiting the island is prohibited by Indian law to maintain the Sentinelese way of life and protect them from modern illnesses, from which they lack immunity.
While Polyakov successfully reached the island, he does not appear to have made contact with the Sentinelese tribe, Jitendra Kumar Meena, head of the Andaman and Nicobar Police’s Criminal Investigations Department told CNN. He was spotted by a local fisherman on his way back and arrested two days later, Meena said. Police seized an inflatable boat and motor from Polyakov. He has not yet been charged with any offenses.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said “we are aware of reports of the detention of a US citizen in India” in a statement to CNN but could not comment further on the case. It is not clear if Polyakov has retained a lawyer.
The Sentinelese have only made contact with the modern world a handful of times and have been known to vigorously reject outsiders. Because the Sentinelese are so reclusive, it is difficult to know how many there are – estimates range from dozens to hundreds.
Previous encounters with the tribe have proved fatal. In 2018, American missionary John Allen Chau was reportedly killed by tribespeople after he arrived on North Sentinel Island, hoping to convert the local people to Christianity.
Polyakov is “lucky he did not make contact otherwise he would have met the same fate,” Meena said.
Caroline Pearce, Director of Survival International, a nonprofit dedicated to the protection of isolated tribal groups, called Polyakov’s alleged actions “reckless and idiotic.”“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk,” Pearce said in a statement.“It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out,” she added.
Polyakov planned his trip well in advance, visiting the Andaman islands twice before traveling to North Sentinel on his third visit, allegedly setting off from a beach about 25 miles away in South Andaman, Meena said.“As per what he has revealed in the investigation so far, he said he is keen on adventures. He said he had left some soft drink bottles there for the tribe but we haven’t found anything so far,” Meena said. Police have seized Polyakov’s phone and GoPro, as well as a bottle of sand he allegedly collected from the island.
A special investigation team is carrying out a search of the island from afar, on boats using binoculars, despite choppy waters the last couple of days, Meena said.
World’s ‘most isolated’ tribe
There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes around the world, mainly in the Amazon rainforest, but the Sentinelese are “the most isolated Indigenous people in the world,” according to Survival International. Most of what is known about them comes from boats moored more than an arrow’s distance from the shore and from rare past encounters with authorities.
The Sentinelese hunt in the rainforest and fish in the coastal waters using spears, bows and arrows, as well as homemade narrow outrigger canoes, according to Survival International. They are thought to live in three groups in both large communal huts and more informal shelters on the beach.
First contact with the Sentinelese tribe was made by the British in the late 1800s, when, despite their attempts to hide, six individuals from the tribe were captured and taken to the main island of the Andaman Island archipelago.
An Indian law from 1956 bans outsiders from traveling to North Sentinel and other islands in the archipelago home to Indigenous groups.
Except for a brief, friendly interaction in the early 1990s, the Sentinelese have fiercely resisted contact with outsiders, even after disaster.
In 2004, following the Asian tsunami that devastated the Andaman chain, a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach on the island, firing arrows at a helicopter sent to check on their welfare.
Two years later, members of the tribe killed two poachers who had been illegally fishing in the waters surrounding North Sentinel Island after their boat drifted ashore, according to Survival International.
Pearce, of Survival International, said India – which has built up military infrastructure on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in recent years in case of a confrontation with China – has a “legal responsibility” to protect the Sentinelese people from missionaries, social media influencers, illegal fishers or anyone else.
There have been other encounters with uncontacted tribes in recent years.In February, a young man from an isolated Indigenous tribe in Brazil made brief contact with the outside world before returning to the Amazon rainforest.
In 2024, Survival International published rare images of the uncontacted Mashco Piro tribe in the remote Peruvian Amazon, reporting that the tribe was trying to evade loggers. American Man Arrested for Trying to Give Coca-Cola to Isolated Tribe (Newsweek)
Newsweek [4/3/2025 6:04 PM, Shane Croucher, 3973K]
A 24-year-old American citizen has been arrested in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, around 400 miles west of Myanmar in the Andaman Sea, for allegedly breaching strict laws that protect North Sentinel Island, home to one of the world’s last uncontacted and highly isolated indigenous tribes.Why It MattersNorth Sentinel Island is off-limits to all outsiders under Indian law, with the intent of preserving the autonomy and health of the Sentinelese, who are believed to have lived in isolation for thousands of years.The tribe is known for its hostility toward outsiders and has been largely uncontacted, despite modern technology and global interest.India enforces strict no-contact policies under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, and violations are treated as criminal offenses under both national and local laws. The territory lies approximately 1,500 miles east of the Indian mainland.‘Blowing a Whistle’ to Alert TribeThe man, identified as Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, was detained by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) on March 31 following his unauthorized visit to the restricted area, according to an initial report by the Press Trust of India (PTI).Police said Polyakov was trying to bring "offerings for the Sentinelese" that included a coconut and a can of cola.Polyakov’s actions have drawn criticism and warnings that such intrusions could pose a grave threat to the Sentinelese people, who have no immunity to common infectious diseases.Polyakov arrived in the islands’ capital Port Blair on March 26 and traveled by a makeshift craft from Kurma Dera beach to the island, which is located about 25 miles away.According to the MailOnline, he launched his trip around 1 a.m. on March 29, using GPS navigation to reach the northeastern shore of the island by 10 a.m.He spent about an hour using binoculars and blowing a whistle in hopes of drawing attention from the Sentinelese. When no one emerged, he briefly landed, collected sand samples, and left his offerings behind.Authorities recovered a GoPro camera containing video of his landing. His boat, outboard motor, and other equipment were seized.Polyakov remains in custody and is being interrogated by local authorities, who have also notified the U.S. Embassy, India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and the Home Department, according to the PTI.Police believe the journey was carefully planned. The Economic Times reported that this was not Polyakov’s first attempt.He had visited the region at least twice before, in October and January, allegedly attempting to reach the island using an inflatable kayak and later trying to obtain a motor for his boatAuthorities also claim he illegally filmed the Jarawa tribe, another protected group in the archipelago.In 2018, American missionary John Chau was killed by members of the tribe armed with bows and arrows while attempting to preach Christianity.What People Are Saying"We are getting more details about him and his intention to visit the reserved tribal area," the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ director general of police told the Press Trust of India."We are also trying to find where else he went during his stay in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We are questioning the hotel staff where he was staying in Port Blair."Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International, told the MailOnline that Polyakov’s actions "not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.""It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out," Pearce said.She added: "The Sentinelese have made their wish to avoid outsiders incredibly clear over the years."What’s NextPolyakov has been charged under the Foreigners Act of 1946 and relevant provisions of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands tribal protection regulations.Indian police are continuing to investigate his motivations and movements during his stay in the region. Hotel staff in Port Blair are also being questioned.Indian authorities say they remain committed to preventing any future intrusions on the island. India Parliament Passes Controversial Muslim Property Law (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [4/4/2025 12:22 AM, Swati Gupta, 5.5M]
The Indian Parliament passed amendments to a controversial decades-old law governing Muslim-owned properties donated for religious and charitable purposes, after lengthy debates in both houses.
On Thursday, the bill was tabled in the upper house after the government had cleared it through the lower house a day earlier. It seeks to give the federal government more control over the management of Waqf properties. The term refers to land or real estate gifted to Muslims for religious, educational or other philanthropic purposes.
Islamic law prohibits any other use or sale of such properties, which are managed by regional Waqf boards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants non-Muslims members to take key positions in the boards, a contentious amendment which was strongly opposed. The final passage of the bill led to resignations within an allied party.“We will now enter an era where the framework will be more modern and sensitive to social justice,” posted Modi on social platform X on Friday.
Waqf properties are often used as mosques, schools or community spaces across the country, and many were verbally donated to the local boards. As per the bill, the boards will have to present legitimate paperwork during surveys to establish control or risk it being passed to the government.
The bill needs to be formally signed by the President of India for it to become law.
Opposition parties collectively opposed the passage of the bill during the two-day discussion, with most calling it “unconstitutional”. “This bill is not good for Muslims or for our constitution,” Indian National Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said in the upper house of the parliament on Thursday.
The bill allows reclamation of any state-owned land previously allocated as Waqf and provides the federal government sweeping powers over registration and audits of such properties. India’s Maoist Rebels Say Ready To Talk If Crackdown Paused (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/3/2025 9:13 AM, Staff, 931K]
India’s Maoist insurgents, cornered by an all-out military offensive, have offered to engage in peace talks but insist security operations must stop first, a condition authorities have rejected.
A crackdown by Indian troops has killed more than 400 rebels since last year, according to government data, with Home Minister Amit Shah vowing to crush the decades-long insurgency by 2026.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long "Naxalite" rebellion, whose participants say they are fighting for the rights of marginalised people in India’s resource-rich central regions.
The Maoists’ top body said it was ready for dialogue if the government withdrew security forces and halted the ongoing offensive.
"In the interests of the people, our party is always ready for peace talks," said the statement.
It urged rights activists to "pressure the government to create an environment for peace talks".
The statement from the forest fighters, issued in Telugu language and dated March 28, only prompted an official response on Wednesday.
Officials in the state of Chhattisgarh, the heartland of the rebellion, said the government was open to talks but would not accept any conditions from the insurgents.
"We will not negotiate under pressure, and operations will continue," the state’s interior minister Vijay Sharma told reporters.
Sharma said that there was already a rehabilitation policy in place for Maoists who surrendered.
"The state and central governments want a peaceful resolution, but the Maoists should take the initiative," Sharma said.
"If they truly want peace, they should make use of the policy and return to the mainstream," he added.
The Maoists demand land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources.
They made inroads in a number of remote communities across India’s east and south, and the movement gained in strength and numbers in the 2000s.
At its peak, the rebels had an estimated strength of 15,000-20,000 fighters.
New Delhi then deployed tens of thousands of troops in a stretch of territory known as the "Red Corridor".
The insurgency is a shadow of its former self after years of counterinsurgency operations. NSB
Trump’s Tariffs Hit Garment Makers in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Hard (New York Times)
New York Times [4/3/2025 7:23 PM, Mujib Mashal, Pamodi Waravita, and Saif Hasnat, 126906K]
Through Covid, political chaos, and economic disarray, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh kept one industry central to their hopes of prosperity afloat: the manufacturing of ready-made garments, with the United States as their main market.Then came President Trump’s tariffs.The two countries are reeling after Sri Lanka was hit with 44 percent tariffs and Bangladesh subjected to 37 percent levies. Officials in both countries scrambled to contain panic among business leaders, who worried that they may no longer be able to compete with bigger manufacturing powers, and that their orders could shift to places with lower tariffs and greater industrial muscle.“We will have to write our obituary notice,” said Tuli Cooray, a consultant at the Joint Apparel Association Forum of Sri Lanka, an industry association. “Forty-four percent is no joke.”The Trump administration’s tariffs have hit countries at the heart of the global apparel industry especially hard. An analysis by William Blair, an equity research firm, showed that the countries that produce 85 percent of U.S. apparel imports faced an average tariff of 32 percent.Targeting the manufacturers not only upends the economies of these nations, but also adds to the burden of U.S. companies, analysts warned. William Blair said merchandise costs could go up by about 30 percent and American consumers may ultimately feel the pinch.Bangladesh sends more than $7bn of clothing to the U.S. every year. The country’s garment manufacturing industry makes up 80 percent of its total exports and employs more than four million people, mostly women. Bangladesh has one of the highest female work force participation rates in the region, which has helped lift a large section of the population out of poverty.The garment industry is crucial, as the country tries to stabilize its economy after widespread protests and violence last year toppled its autocratic leader.“Just as the world economy was starting to recover and we were seeing our sales in the U.S. increase, this kind of decision — a trade war, or a tariff war — has now posed a new challenge and uncertainty,” said Mohiuddin Rubel, a former director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.“There are many garment factories in Bangladesh that work solely for the U.S. market — some with 80 percent, some even 100 percent. These factories have made large investments just for US orders,” he added. “This decision will put such businesses in danger.”In Sri Lanka, the garment industry employs more than 350,000 people, producing apparel for companies such as Nike and Victoria’s Secret. Garments make up about half of the country’s total exports, and the vast majority go to the U.S.After the country’s economy crashed in 2022, it has been slowly stabilizing with the help of aid from neighbors like India and a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.“We are trying to see if there is space for reduction before implementation on April 9 through discussions, especially considering the difficult situation we are in,” said Anil Jayantha Fernando, Sri Lanka’s deputy minister for economic development. Trump tariff shock stings Bangladesh, Sri Lanka garment giants, may help India (Reuters)
Reuters [4/3/2025 8:01 AM, Ruma Paul, Uditha Jayasinghe and Dhwani Pandya, 41523K]
Bangladeshi garment exporter Shahidullah Azim woke up on Thursday to the shock of U.S. President Donald Trump slapping a 37% tariff on his country’s exports, endangering an apparel hub already reeling from domestic political upheaval.
"We knew something was coming, but we never expected it to be this drastic ... This is terrible for our business and for thousands of workers," said Azim, whose clients include North American and European retailers.
Suppliers in Bangladesh’s garment industry, which counts Gap Inc (GAP.N) and Vans parent VF Corp (VFC.N), as clients, told Reuters they began seeking government support hours after Trump’s lightning bolt.
Some companies in the impoverished South Asian country are pressing government officials to negotiate further on tariffs with the U.S. to prevent foreign buyers bolting to save costs.
The readymade garments industry is of existential importance to Bangladesh’s economy, accounting for more than 80% of total export earnings, employing 4 million people and contributing roughly 10% to its annual GDP.
Trump’s global tariff barrage deals the latest and heaviest blow to the industry.
Last year, garment production was disrupted by violent protests that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, casting doubt on the long-term potential of a market much sought after by Western fashion brands.
Azim said his company, which employs 3,200 factory workers, was bracing for order cancellations as rising costs for buyers could spell the end of Bangladesh’s competitive edge.
A representative of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which supports more than 2,500 factories, told Reuters that it approached the government on Thursday seeking support against the tariff blow, and officials said the issue was being considered seriously.
Shafiqul Alam, the interim government’s press secretary, said in a statement that the United States was a "close friend" and Bangladesh’s largest export destination. He said Dhaka has been working with Washington on trade matters, and expects those discussions will "help address the tariff issue".
ADVANTAGE FOR INDIA?
Bangladesh’s loss is neighbour India’s gain in some ways.
Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury of garment maker Evince fears India, which had been getting more queries from U.S. suppliers since last year’s political crisis in Bangladesh, will now benefit even more as it faces a lower Trump tariff of 27%.
The Evince Group website says it has Tommy Hilfiger and Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI.N) as clients, and deals in woven shirts, denim and yarns."Bangladesh will be among the hardest hit," said Chowdhury.
While India contributes only 6-7% of U.S. garment imports, far behind Bangladesh and Vietnam, the top 30 U.S. apparel brands indicated a shift in preference towards India from Bangladesh due to the latter’s political crisis last year, a survey by the United States Fashion Industry Association showed.
Another major South Asian casualty of Trump’s "reciprocal tariff" move is Sri Lanka, which now faces a 44% tariff.
Around 40% of Sri Lanka’s apparel exports are to the United States, which helped the island nation earn $1.9 billion last year. Apparel is also Sri Lanka’s second largest foreign exchange earner; the sector employs 300,000 people.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s office said in a statement that a panel of government officials and apparel companies has been formed to study "potential issues" that could arise from the new tariffs.
"Sri Lanka could very quickly see its share of U.S. business move to countries with lower tariffs," said Yohan Lawrence, Secretary General of Sri Lanka’s Joint Apparel Association Forum. "This situation is serious, and it must be addressed as a matter of national urgency.". Bangladesh Seeks US Talks as $40 Billion Export Sector at Risk (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [4/4/2025 1:58 AM, Arun Devnath, 5.5M]
Bangladesh is looking to hold talks with the Trump administration in a bid to lessen the blow from a US decision to impose a 37% tariffs on goods that could devastate the country’s $40 billion garment export industry.
Bangladesh is seeking ways to reduce its trade surplus with the US to help decrease the duty the nation will now have to pay for its exports to America, officials said. The rate on Bangladesh is among the highest Trump imposed on any country, and could cause a shock to one of the world’s poorest nations, which relies heavily on textile exports to support its economy.“We’re actively exploring opportunities to reduce the gaps,” Sk. Bashir Uddin, Bangladesh’s de-facto trade minister, said in a telephone interview Thursday.
With garments accounting for nearly 90% of Bangladesh’s total exports to the US, its largest clothing buyer, the stakes are high for the economy. The country is still recovering from a political crisis last year following the ouster of the former leader Sheikh Hasina and is reliant on foreign aid, including from the International Monetary Fund.
The new tariffs are based on US bilateral trade deficits rather than product-specific criteria, a formula that some analysts said was unfair to many small economies with significant trade surpluses like Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s government held talks with key stakeholders, including the Export Promotion Bureau, to assess the tariffs. Among the options to narrow the trade imbalance with the US is to increase imports of American goods like raw cotton, officials said.“We can increase our imports of cotton from the US market, but we need to establish a reliable supply chain for American cotton,” said Anwar Hossain, administrator of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
IMF Bailout
Major US retailers such as Walmart Inc. and Gap Inc. source billions of dollars’ worth of clothing from Bangladesh annually. A tariff hike could prompt them to reassess sourcing strategies, according to Hossain.
Bangladesh’s exports to the US rose 1.1% to $8.4 billion in 2024 from a year earlier, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. US exports to Bangladesh declined 1.5% to $2.2 billion, it said.
The tariffs will make it harder for nations like Bangladesh to achieve their respective bail-out program targets set by the IMF, according to Ankur Shukla, a South Asia economist for Bloomberg Economics in Mumbai.“This could put the fund’s loans to these countries at risk — compounding the downside risk to growth,” he wrote. There is some upside for Bangladesh because its tariffs were set at rates lower than competitors in the garment sector such as Sri Lanka at 44% and Vietnam at 46%, which “could provide a comparative advantage to Bangladesh and help it grab some market share.”
Officials say there may be scope to adjust tariffs as part of reciprocal trade talks. Still, there are “clouds surrounding the US decision,” according to Bashir Uddin, who holds a ministerial rank in the interim cabinet led by Nobel Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.“This is not a bilateral issue anymore — it has become a global economic tsunami,” Uddin said. Sri Lanka Warns US Tariffs Threaten ‘Thousands’ Of Jobs (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/3/2025 6:23 AM, Staff, 931K]
Sri Lanka’s apparel manufacturing industry warned on Thursday that sweeping US tariffs will disrupt the island’s largest export sector and place thousands of jobs at risk.
"The tariff level is extremely high relative to our regional competitors," said Yohan Lawrence, head of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), referring to a 44 percent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Sri Lankan goods.
In comparison, neighbouring India was hit with a lower 27 percent and Bangladesh 37 percent. Both are Sri Lanka’s competitors in the garment industry.
JAAF said in a statement the tariff hike could "significantly disrupt" the garment industry and threatened "thousands of jobs".
"Our focus now is on engagement, agility, and ensuring Sri Lanka remains a trusted sourcing destination," Lawrence said, adding that the government had appointed a committee to study the impact of the new tariffs.
Sri Lanka exported $3.0 billion worth of goods to the United States last year, while importing goods and services valued at $368 million, creating a huge trade surplus in favour of Colombo.
About two-thirds of Sri Lanka’s exports to the United States are clothing. Nepal capital chokes as wildfires rage (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/3/2025 8:55 AM, Staff, 62527K]
Nepal’s capital was blanketed in acrid smog Thursday as wildfires across the country pushed air pollution levels to among the worst in the world.
Experts say that widespread wildfires, fuelled by an exceptionally dry winter and stagnant atmospheric conditions, have caused the thick and throat-burning smog to cover the Kathmandu valley.
Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- registered above 178 micrograms per cubic metre on Thursday, according to Swiss monitoring firm IQAir.
A reading above 15 in a 24-hour period is considered unhealthy by the World Health Organization (WHO), and IQAir ranked Kathmandu the world’s most polluted city.
The Himalayan nation sees a spate of wildfires annually, usually beginning in March, but their number and intensity have worsened in recent years, with climate change leading to drier winters.
"The prevailing dry conditions have significantly increased the frequency of forest fires across the country, further worsening air pollution," Khushboo Sharma, an air pollution analyst at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development(ICIMOD) told AFP.
"This year, precipitation was exceptionally low, with hardly any rainfall, leaving forests dry and more susceptible to fire," she added.
Sharma said that stagnant meteorological conditions are also causing pollution to accumulate over the valley.
On social media, people complained of stinging eyes and itchiness because of the pollution.
Low visibility caused by the smog also disrupted flights at Kathmandu airport, sparking long delays.
"The mountain flights... as well as some other flights have been disturbed because of the pollution," said Rinji Sherpa, the airport’s spokesman.
The health ministry issued a notice Wednesday requesting Nepalis to "avoid unnecessary travel" and to wear a mask when outside.The government has also urged people to avoid construction and burning rubbish.
The Air Quality Life Index, issued by the University of Chicago, estimated that in 2024 air pollution stripped 3.4 years off the life of an average Nepal resident. India’s Modi aims for stronger energy, defence ties with Sri Lanka visit (Reuters)
Reuters [4/4/2025 2:30 AM, Shivam Patel and Uditha Jayasinghe, 5.2M]
India is looking to strengthen energy and defence ties with Sri Lanka and promote investments during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day state visit to the island nation, where New Delhi competes with China for greater influence.
Modi, set to arrive on Friday evening, will be the first global leader hosted by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake after he took office in September.
Sri Lanka is keen to attract foreign investment to stabilise its economy after a financial crisis in 2022, during which India provided $4 billion in financial assistance.
India is also one of Sri Lanka’s key bilateral lenders, which agreed to restructure about $1.36 billion in loans after the island nation defaulted on its debt in May 2022.
"Prime Minister Modi’s visit aims to strengthen the longstanding ties between Sri Lanka and India," the Sri Lankan president’s office said in a statement.
The visit will see pacts signed on key sectors such as energy, digitalisation, security, healthcare, as well as agreements related to India’s debt restructuring assistance for Sri Lanka, it added.
At their first meeting in New Delhi in December, the leaders discussed investments in Sri Lanka and plans for India to supply liquefied natural gas to Sri Lanka and help link power grids.
The talks also featured development of a regional energy and industrial hub in eastern Trincomalee. In January, Dissanayake said the two were in talks on building an oil refinery there as a joint venture focusing on exports, domestic media said.
When completed, the project would stoke competition between India and China, whose state energy firm Sinopec (600028.SS) has signed a deal to build a $3.2-billion oil refinery in Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Hambantota.
New Delhi-run Indian Oil Corp is already the second biggest fuel supplier after state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corp.
India’s foreign ministry did not comment on whether the proposed Trincomalee refinery will figure in this week’s talks.
It told reporters in a briefing ahead of the visit that Modi would join in a ceremony to break ground for a 120-megawatt solar power project of the Ceylon Electricity Board and India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC.NS).
The ministry said it hoped to wrap up an agreement on defence cooperation with Sri Lanka. December’s discussions had envisioned provision of arms to Sri Lanka to boost its defence capability. Sri Lanka’s target to be free of land mines by 2028 is under threat as US reviews aid (AP)
AP [4/4/2025 1:28 AM, Eranga Jayawardena and Krishan Francis, 456K]
Thavarathnam Pushparani fought on the front lines for the now-defeated Tamil Tiger rebels against the Sri Lankan forces in its decadeslong separatist war and later took to clearing the land mines on the same battle lines.
But the Trump administration’s suspension of aid threatens Sri Lanka’s demining operations, pushing the livelihoods of thousands like Pushparani into uncertainty.
What is more uncertain for Sri Lanka now is its obligation to rid the island nation of mines by 2028 under the Ottawa Treaty, which it ratified in 2017.
Pushparani has experienced the civil war in its full fury. In her family, her husband, father and two brothers died fighting for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as the rebel group was formally known. Two other siblings are missing.
She was born in eastern Sri Lanka and while still in school, her family had to move to the northern parts of the nation after a countrywide ethnic pogrom against minority Tamils by majority Sinhala mobs in 1983.
The incident stirred up emotions among many Tamil youth who joined militant organizations to fight for an independent state for the Tamils. Pushparani too joined the Tamil Tigers while still a teenager in school.“Because the whole of my family was with the organization they arranged my marriage. My eldest daughter was born in 1990 and the younger one was born in 1992. My husband died in battle in 1996 and my children were raised in the “Sencholai” home, run by the organization,” said Pushparani.
She was reunited with her children when the fighting ended in 2009 and started working with demining groups for a living.
Funds pending review
Demining operations in Sri Lanka started in 2002 during a ceasefire period and the U.S. has been the major donor among 11 countries supporting the effort, contributing about 34% of the $250 million grants received for the projects so far.
The U.S. contribution was 45% of the grants received last year, according to M.M Nayeemudeen, director of the state-run National Mine Action Center.
Thanks to the international generosity, the demining operations continue to date despite being interrupted for a few years because of the break down of the ceasefire. They have so far managed to clear more than 2.5 million anti-personnel, anti-tank, small arms ammunition and unexploded ordnance.
Out of 254 square kilometers of land that originally needed to be cleared, only about 23 square kilometers are left to deal with. Whether that can be achieved by the 2028 deadline will depend on continued funding.
Nayeemudeen said once the aid suspension was announced, Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry appealed and the U.S allowed the usage of its allocated funds pending a review, a decision on which is expected on May 1.“We hope that on completion of the 90-day review period that commenced from Jan. 24, 2025, the U.S government funding assistance will continue,” said Ananda Chandrasiri head of Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony, one of the four demining groups operating in the country.“Otherwise it will create a grave problem for Sri Lanka to achieve mine-free status by the end of 2027 as targeted ... A huge reduction of staffing levels of the four operators would be inevitable.”‘It looked like perfumed powder’
There are around 3,000 workers, most of them recruited from among the civil war-affected communities. With the uncertainty, some groups have already started terminating their staff, Nayeemudeen said.
Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009 when government troops crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels, ending their quarter-century separatist campaign. According to conservative U.N. estimates, about 100,000 people were killed in the conflict.
Civilian properties were demined, but large areas were still contaminated when hundreds of thousands of civilians who were displaced by the conflict came back to resettle. Mine awareness campaigns were held, but there were many accidents.
Kumarakulasingham Dinojan has lost his left hand below his wrist and has damaged fingers in his right hand from a mine blast. As a 9-year-old boy, he tried to open a metal container that he found in the woods. His brother, who was playing with him, also suffered wounds.“My grandmother went into the woods to get firewood and we also followed her. We did not know that she had reached home through another way. We found a container which looked like a perfumed powder, and when we tried to open it, it exploded,” said Dinojan.
There were people who were injured or killed trying to open mines and use the explosives for fishing.
Vidya Abhayagunawardena, coordinator of the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Land Mines, said it’s critical for Sri Lanka to ratify Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War. He also called for the enactment of domestic legislation to enforce the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified in 2016, to bolster the legal rights of the country’s disabled population.
Dinojan’s older brother, Vilvaraj Vinothan, said his brothers becoming land mine victims made him take action and become involved in mine clearance. He has worked with the Mine Advisory Group for six years.“Only when the land was being cleared that I understood how we should deal with the mines,” he said. “That’s when I decided to help, knowing it would benefit the entire community.”
Pushparani is grateful that her demining income has allowed her to fulfill her family’s needs. She financed one daughter’s university education and her marriage. However, she also cares for a daughter injured in crossfire and an elderly mother.“The reason for my choosing demining for livelihood is not only because of poverty. I also have a desire to see this land to be free of mines,” she said.“I don’t want to see our future generations being injured or affected by war. I can say that I am carrying the burden of both my family and of the country on my shoulders.” Central Asia
EU leaders hold their first summit with Central Asian states (AP)
AP [4/4/2025 3:57 AM, Staff, 456K]
The leaders of the European Union and five Central Asian countries held their first summit on Friday to discuss ways to boost trade and other ties.
The summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan is attended by European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Costa declared that “the European Union is eager to build a mutually beneficial partnership with Central Asia, one that goes beyond expectations.”
Von der Leyen said that the summit is set to “deepen trade ties and expand cooperation in transport, critical raw materials, digital connectivity, water and energy.”
The EU strategy on Central Asia emphasizes Central Asia’s growing strategic importance and aims to foster a stronger partnership with the countries of the region.
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted that during the past seven years trade between Central Asian and EU countries has increased to 54 billion euros ($60 billion), adding that the summit “should become the starting point of a new stage in the development of multi-faceted relations.” EU Leaders Push For Influence At Central Asia Summit (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/3/2025 11:01 PM, Staff, 1054K]
Top EU leaders were in Uzbekistan on Friday for a major summit with the heads of five Central Asian states, seeking to press their influence and boost ties in the face of Russian and Chinese competition.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accelerated the region’s drift from Moscow’s orbit, with major powers to both the west and east sensing an opening.
Central Asia is rich in natural resources, on the front lines of climate change and also seen as a key security player as a Muslim-majority region that is trying to contain extremism and shares borders with Afghanistan, Iran, China and Russia.
Leaders from the five states -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -- will meet European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, head of the European Council.
The summit takes place in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, for centuries a key hub in East-West connections, trade and commerce.
Von der Leyen said she hopes the summit will take Brussels’ relations with Central Asia "to the next level" and deepen ties in terms of transport, natural resources, water and energy.
"In these uncertain times, Europe stands for openness and engagement. For Europe, Central Asia is a partner of choice," she said.
Alongside Russia’s historic leadership in the region, Turkey, China, the United States and even the likes of South Korea and Japan are all trying to boost their influence.
For its part, Central Asia -- as large as the EU but home to just 80 million people, one-fifth of those in the 27-member bloc -- has been seeking to boost foreign investment.
The EU summit offers the countries a chance to get something their neighbours Russia and China cannot yet provide: advanced industrial technology.
Europe, meanwhile, is eyeing the region’s precious resources.
On the eve of the summit, Kazakhstan announced discovering potentially its "largest" ever deposit of rare earth elements.
The EU has its sights on uranium deposits, at a time when nuclear power is making a comeback, as well as other strategic metals like titanium, cobalt, and lithium, said Raul Villegas, an analyst at the European Policy Centre, a Brussels-based think tank.
As a bloc, the EU is already the region’s largest foreign investor, accounting for 40 percent of direct inward investment over the last 10 years.
It is also the largest provider of development aid.
But Russia and China will be difficult to dislodge.
Beijing is pouring cash into ambitious infrastructure projects, while Russia supplies arms and energy, as well as having long-standing cultural and linguistic reach across the former Soviet states.During a visit to Uzbekistan last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised the United States and Europe for "trying to disrupt our traditionally close commercial, cooperative and cultural ties.".
The war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will also be on the table, an EU official told AFP.
Central Asia has emerged as one of several hubs through which sanctioned Western goods are re-exported to Russia.
Brussels would like the region to crack down on the flow, as it pushes to keep up the pressure on Moscow at a time when US President Donald Trump pushes a rapprochement with the Kremlin.
Central Asian countries have shown "willingness" to act and "some progress" but "we would like to see a lot more from our partners," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Further action was not a precondition for cooperation in other sectors but "an important element in order to advance our relations," the official added.
Despite pleas from NGOs, human rights were not expected to feature heavily in the talks.
"We’re not going there to preach, but we are going to make our concerns known, to work with them, to have a dialogue," the official said.
All five of the countries are classed as "not free" by the Freedom House NGO that tracks democratic rights around the world. EU urged to put human rights centre stage at first central Asia summit (The Guardian)
The Guardian [4/3/2025 10:00 PM, Jennifer Rankin, 78938K]
The EU is being urged to put human rights centre stage as it begins its first summit with the leaders of central Asia.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are meeting the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on Friday.
Hosted by Uzbekistan’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the group will discuss trade, counter-terrorism, climate and energy ties in Samarkand, a stop on the ancient Silk Road linking Asia and the west that is now a symbol of rapid development in the region.
Ties between the EU and the former Soviet republics of central Asia have intensified since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The two sides have pledged to improve transport links, through a project known as the trans-Caspian transport corridor, which aims to cut the overland journey between the EU and central Asia by half, down to no more than 15 days. Brussels also hopes for endorsement of a text on critical raw materials that are abundant in the region and needed for the EU’s green transition.
One senior EU official said it was "a landmark summit" and that central Asian countries showed "a corresponding wish to deepen the relationship with the EU and to diversify their foreign policy".
Ahead of the summit, the most complex issue – for the central Asian countries – was how to refer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the final declaration. Kazakhstan, once one of Russia’s closes allies, has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, maintained contact with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and banned Russian military propaganda symbols. Kazakhstan, however, joined Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in abstaining on a recent UN general assembly vote calling for "peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine".
The European parliament has also raised concerns about Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan being "possible hubs" allowing Russia to circumvent western sanctions.
Amid shifting geopolitical alliances and the scramble for mineral wealth, campaigners are urging the EU not to overlook human rights.
"These new partnerships are very important, but they will not be sustainable and will not really secure the EU’s interests unless the EU also cares about rule of law in the region and protection of rights," Iskra Kirova, of Human Rights Watch, said.
The EU, she added, was not using its leverage in a credible way. She questioned the union’s decision to sign a wide-ranging trade and cooperation deal with Kyrgyzstan last June, after Bishkek adopted a Russian-style "foreign representatives" law that requires NGOs receiving funds from abroad to bear this designation. The law stigmatises organisations and has had a "very chilling effect" on Kyrgyz civil society, Kirova said.
The EU "does not insist that there will be concrete achievements before it grants these kinds of straight benefits or bilateral agreements", she said, referring also to preferential trade deals.
A senior EU official said a plan for criminal sanctions in the original Kyrgyz NGO bill had been dropped following EU intervention, adding this was "a major difference" with similar laws in Russia and Belarus. "We are not going there to preach," a second official said. "But the more we have a dialogue and engagement and interaction, the more we believe that we can change and improve all the things that concern us.".
Maisy Weicherding at Amnesty International said the EU needed to set an example by ensuring "human rights due diligence" was part of any infrastructure project, listing actions including environmental and climate impact assessments, consulting local people and ensuring no forced displacement.
Such due diligence would be crucial in Uzbekistan, she said, where a UN special rapporteur found in 2024 that large numbers of people were being forced out of their homes to make way for large-scale redevelopment. "It is really imperative that [the EU] do not just go in and endorse repressive practices in these countries but try and insist proper human rights procedures are followed.".
The summit host, Mirziyoyev, became Uzbekistan’s president in 2016, after the death of the dictator Islam Karimov. He has introduced reforms, including clamping down on forced labour in cotton fields. Rights groups say his government allows no dissent and voting remains tightly controlled, such as in a recent referendum introducing constitutional changes that will enable Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2040.
Jana Toom, the vice-chair of the European parliament’s delegation for central Asia, said central Asian countries were not doing enough to stop circumvention of EU sanctions against Russia, although she added that they had not made any commitments on this score.
Asked whether the EU was striking the right balance between economic interests and human rights, the Estonian liberal MEP said: "I believe that if we have beneficial cooperation between the European Union and central Asia, things will improve. It will take time, of course. And we have to take into account also the fact where they find themselves: between Russia and China, and they are trying to balance.". Kazakhstan makes bombshell announcement in advance of Central Asia-European Union summit (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [4/3/2025 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K]
On the eve of the first-ever Central Asia-European Union summit, Kazakhstan announced the discovery of vast deposits of rare earths, a big nugget of information clearly designed to attract foreign investment.
The two-day summit kicked off on April 3 in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, with the leaders of Central Asian states, along with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in attendance.
The EU’s primary objective is to deepen its trade & investment relations with the five Central Asian states, capitalizing on the growing interest of regional leaders in diversifying their options via the development of the Middle Corridor trade route. Access to Central Asia’s abundant mineral resources has also rapidly emerged as a point of interest for both the United States and EU.“Reaffirming our commitment to deeper cooperation in an evolving global and regional geopolitical landscape, we have decided to upgrade relations between the European Union and Central Asia to a strategic partnership,” a draft EU statement declares, according to a version seen by RFE/RL reporters.
The Kazakh announcement on April 2 about the discovery of more than 20 million metric tons of metal deposits is sure to be a major topic of discussion at the summit. If verified, the discovery would give Kazakhstan the world’s third largest reserves of rare earth metals, behind only China and Brazil. The newly discovered deposits contain neodymium, cerium, lanthanum and yttrium, elements used in the production of a wide array of advanced technological devices, including medical equipment, car batteries, catalytic converters, lasers and optics.
The announcement seemed specifically crafted to heighten EU interest in developing the deposits. “Successful development of ore enrichment technology and the extraction of valuable components will affect the increase in investment attractiveness and economic development of the region,” said a Kazakh government statement on April 2.Earlier, Kazakh Prime Minister Baktenov issued instructions to expand government surveying and prospecting activities to uncover new deposits that can attract foreign investment, according to a report distributed by the Zakon.kz news outlet.
On the summit sidelines, the meeting’s host, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, held a bilateral meeting with Costa and von der Leyen. A statement issued by the Uzbek president’s office expressed “particular satisfaction” with the “deepening of Uzbek-European multifaceted cooperation.” It added that Uzbekistan was preparing to sign an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU.
In a separate statement, the Uzbek president announced the opening of an office of the European Investment Bank in Tashkent. The bank’s presence in the country “will expand mutually beneficial cooperation and increase the volume of investments attracted to the development of a ‘green’ economy, innovative industry and modern infrastructure in Uzbekistan and in Central Asia as a whole,” the statement noted.
Meanwhile, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also held bilateral talks with Costa in Samarkand. A presidential communique, which pointed out that the EU is already the Central Asian state’s largest source of foreign direct investment, said discussions focused on “prospects for further strengthening multifaceted cooperation in various sectors.” Crops Under Threat As Surprise March Heatwave Hits Central Asia: Study (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/4/2025 12:01 AM, Staff, 931K]
A surprise heatwave hit Central Asia in March, a new study published Friday showed, putting in danger crops and water supply in a largely rural region already heavily affected by the impacts of climate change.
Temperatures across the month were up to 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter in the region than the pre-industrial average, according to World Weather Attribution, a coalition of scientists that studies the impact of climate change on extreme weather events, which conducted the research.
Climate change intensified the heatwave by about 4 degrees Celsius, the group said, though cautioned that figure "is likely an underestimate."
"This is a heatwave that didn’t make headlines –- it happened in spring and in a region that isn’t exactly known for blistering heatwaves," said Maja Vahlberg, a technical adviser at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre who took part in the study.
The research was conducted across the five Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
"Our heatwave studies often detect changes of 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (35-39 degrees Fahrenheit), so 10 degree Celsius is quite frankly bonkers," said Ben Clarke from Imperial College London.
"Hotter March temperatures are impacting agriculture harvests and access to water in Central Asia, as well as people’s health," said Friederike Otto, co-head of World Weather Attribution.
The melting of thousands of glaciers is a major threat to people in the landlocked region, which already suffers from water shortages.
Between 14 and 30 percent of glaciers in the Tian-Shan and Pamir -- the two main mountain ranges in Central Asia -- have melted over the last 60 years, according to a report by the Eurasian Development Bank.
The heatwave coincides with a crucial agricultural season, when almonds, apricots and cherries bloom and wheat is sowed.
Around half of all workers in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are employed in agriculture, which makes up one-fifth of the region’s economy.
In particularly hot spots, temperatures hit 30 degrees Celsius -- highly unusual for March.
Central Asia is typically characterised by exceptionally hot summers and harsh, cold winters.
Climate scientists said early heatwaves in the region would likely continue, seeing it as a trend rather than a one-off event.
"We should expect events like this often," Clarke told AFP during an online briefing. Indo-Pacific
Leaders in the Bay of Bengal region agree to improve trade ties and disasters relief efforts (AP)
AP [4/4/2025 4:10 AM, Staff, 456K]
Leaders of nations in the Bay of Bengal region pledged to improve trade and transport cooperation as they concluded a summit in Bangkok on Friday.Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the seven nations also agreed to increase natural disaster relief efforts after an earthquake last week killed more than 3,000 people in Myanmar and Thailand.The leaders also expressed their “condolences, solidarity, and commitment to supporting the affected countries” in a joint statement on the earthquake, the Thai leader and meeting chair said.The meetings faced controversy by the attendance of the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who has been shunned by many countries over his 2021 takeover and the brutal oppression that followed.He has not been allowed to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, another regional grouping to which Myanmar belongs, and his opponents have called on BIMSTEC to refrain from engaging with him.The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC, members are Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.It was Min Aung Hlaing’s first visit to a country other than his government’s main supporters and backers — China, Russia and Russian ally Belarus — since he attended a regional meeting in Indonesia in 2021.Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said Paetongtarn had a bilateral meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, and that they discussed relief efforts for the earthquake and cooperation on border security, especially on issues of illegal trade, drugs smuggling and online scams.Other leaders attending the summit are Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the Bangladesh government, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Thailand postponed the meetings last year, after then-Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was removed from office by a court order. Thailand has now handed the group’s chairmanship to Bangladesh. India, Thailand, 5 others sign maritime pact as Trump tariffs revealed (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [4/3/2025 10:36 AM, Kiran Sharma, 1191K]
A grouping of India, Thailand, Myanmar and four other Bay of Bengal nations on Thursday inked a maritime transport cooperation agreement that would boost regional connectivity and trade, even as U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping new reciprocal tariffs.The pact was signed as foreign ministers from members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) -- which also comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka -- met in Bangkok.The signing "coincides with the tariffs," Nikorndej Balankura, spokesperson for Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters. "This highlights even more urgency and more importance for our endeavor to connect and to facilitate transport [of] peoples, goods and services through all multimodal transportation."But he said there was no discussion of the new duties announced by Trump during the ministerial meeting.The BIMSTEC agreement’s details, such as how the nations increase regional connectivity, have yet to be revealed."We are pushing for all connectivity, be it land, sea [or] air," the spokesperson said, adding that members currently are trying to connect over a dozen ports in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. The new U.S. tariffs are "a wake-up call for everyone to talk about how we can consolidate our effort [for which] we have to be connected, and we have to talk about [a free trade area]."Among the BIMSTEC nations, Myanmar and Sri Lanka were hit with U.S. reciprocal tariff rates of 45% and 44%, respectively, the highest in the group. The rate for Bangladesh and Thailand was 37%, with India at 27%.Shrabana Barua, an associate professor at Jindal School of International Affairs in India, told Nikkei Asia that the pact "reflects very positively for the grouping and for intra-regional trade at large," mainly from the perspective of India, most of whose trade in the BIMSTEC area and Southeast Asia is maritime.Asked about a time frame for finalizing their negotiation of a BIMSTEC trade agreement, the Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the ministers agreed that a trade pact "should be concluded at the earliest opportunity." Washington’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs, he said, is timely in terms of the group discussing the importance of a free trade area.Raj Kumar Sharma, a senior fellow at New Delhi-based think tank NatStrat, said the U.S. tariff measures are likely to expedite the BIMSTEC negotiations for an FTA. This will "push the regional countries to find local solutions to the global disruption caused by Trump’s fascination for the use of tariffs as a weapon against even the friendly countries," he told Nikkei.Meanwhile, the ministers also talked about the devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar last week, with attendees briefed on the scale of the destruction, according to the Thai spokesperson."Myanmar did not ask for [any] particular assistance at the meeting, [which I think could] be raised at the bilateral meetings between Myanmar and their counterparts," he said.The ministerial meeting was held ahead of the summit of their leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Myanmar’s leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing."On a humanitarian basis, Myanmar will find some assistance for [earthquake] relief [efforts] ... but it won’t be a cakewalk for [Min Aung] Hlaing to say, ‘give me this or that,’" Barua told Nikkei Asia. Indian PM Modi and Bangladesh’s Yunus hold first talks after Hasina exit (Reuters)
Reuters [4/4/2025 1:56 AM, Devjyot Ghoshal, 5.2M]
India’s prime minister met with the head of Bangladesh’s interim government on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday, the Bangladesh government’s press office said, their first meeting since the ouster of Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina last year.
Relations between the South Asian neighbours, which were robust under Hasina, have deteriorated since she fled the country in August in the face of massive student-led protests and sought shelter in India.
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who took over as the chief adviser of an interim government in Dhaka after Hasina’s exit, met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the fringes of the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, the press office said.
BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, also includes Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
Public opinion in Bangladesh turned against India, in part, for its decision to provide sanctuary to Hasina. New Delhi has not responded to Dhaka’s request to send her home for trial.
India has repeatedly urged Bangladesh to protect its minority Hindus, saying they were being targeted in the Muslim-majority country since Yunus took charge. Dhaka says the violence has been exaggerated and is not a communal issue.
"The hope would be that this meeting would start the process of rebuilding some engagement," said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think-tank.
"I think at this point, simply stabilizing the relationship perhaps should be the priority."
With longstanding cultural and business ties, the two nations share a 4,000 km (2,500 mile) border. India also played a key role in the 1971 war with Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh. India And Bangladesh Leaders Meet For First Time Since Revolution (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/4/2025 4:16 AM, Staff, 931K]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Friday with the leader of neighbouring Bangladesh, the first such meeting since a revolution in Dhaka ousted New Delhi’s long-term ally and soured relations.
Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, took charge of Bangladesh in August 2024 after India’s old ally Sheikh Hasina was toppled as prime minister by a student-led uprising and fled by helicopter to India.
India was the biggest benefactor of Hasina’s government, and her overthrow sent cross-border relations into a tailspin, culminating in Yunus choosing to make his first state visit last month to China -- India’s biggest rival.
Amid the festering diplomatic dispute, Bangladesh has also moved closer to India’s arch-enemy Pakistan.
Tensions between India and Bangladesh have prompted a number of tit-for-tat barbs between senior figures from both governments.
New Delhi has in the past has repeatedly accused Muslim-majority Bangladesh of failing to adequately protect its minority Hindu citizens -- charges denied by the caretaker administration of Yunus.
On Friday, Yunus posted a picture on social media showing him shaking hands with Modi, and his press secretary Shafiqul Alam later said the "meeting was constructive, productive, and fruitful".
Their meeting took place on the sidelines of a regional summit in Thailand.
Yunus also shared a photograph of the two men smiling as he handed Modi a framed picture of themselves a decade ago -- when the Indian leader in 2015 honoured the micro-finance pioneer with a gold medal for this work supporting the poorest of society.
There was no immediate statement from New Delhi.
Yunus, according to his press secretary, also raised with Modi the issue of Dhaka’s long-running complaint at what it says are Hasina’s incendiary remarks from exile.
Hasina, who remains in India, has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh to face charges including mass murder.
Dhaka has requested that India allow Hasina’s extradition to face charges of crimes against humanity for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the unrest that toppled her government.
Yunus also raised concerns of border violence along the porous frontier with India, as well as issues of the shared river waters that flow from India, as the Ganges and the Brahmaputra wind towards the sea.
The caretaker government of Yunus is tasked with implementing democratic reforms ahead of fresh elections slated to take place by June 2026.
Modi and Yunus had dinner on Thursday night -- sitting next to each other alongside other leaders from the BIMSTEC bloc in Bangkok -- but the bilateral sit-down on Friday was the first since relations frayed between the neighbouring nations. Twitter
Afghanistan
UNAMA News@UNAMAnews
[4/3/2025 12:17 AM, 316.1K followers, 4 retweets, 5 likes]
Friday is International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in #MineAction. Each day in #Afghanistan, UNAMA and partners work to drive support to rebuild communities, support survivors, and forge peace. More assistance is needed. Safe Futures Start Here. https://x.com/i/status/1908011001531760734
Mariam Solaimankhil@Mariamistan
[4/4/2025 1:41 AM, 95.7K followers, 6 likes]
Saudi women can now choose their clothes. Afghan women can’t choose to study, work, speak, or even pray. The Taliban say this is the true face of Islam. Not culture. Not nationalism. Just Islam. So is Saudi un-Islamic? Or are Afghan women not human enough to matter? The Muslim world’s silence is cowardice. It’s betrayal. You watch Afghan women be erased- and say nothing. That’s not Islam. That’s shame.
Mariam Solaimankhil@Mariamistan
[4/3/2025 11:51 PM, 95.7K followers, 14 retweets, 98 likes]
A silent protest in Afghanistan Our roots will shatter stone for freedom. Their tears stain the earth, but their souls sing of freedom. Long live Afghan women- they will be free again.
Massoud Hossaini@Massoud151
[4/4/2025 12:13 AM, 30.6K followers, 1 retweet]
Between 400 and 800 #Afghanistan’s citizens have renounced their citizenship in every years, driven by deep disappointment and disillusionment about the future of their country. This growing number reflects a broader sense of hopelessness, as many feel abandoned by both national and international powers amid ongoing crises and lack of fundamental rights.
Massoud Hossaini@Massoud151
[4/3/2025 3:55 PM, 30.6K followers, 3 retweets, 3 likes]
he #TalibanTerrorist group has arrested a former #ANA soldier after his deportation from neighboring #Iran. The Iranian government supported the Taliban Terrorist group in overthrowing the U.S.-backed #Afghanistan’s republic in 2021. Pakistan
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/3/2025 1:37 PM, 3.1M followers, 5 retweets, 20 likes]
PM Shehbaz Sharif Announces Economic Stability and Progress
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shared positive news about Pakistan’s economic development, stating that the country is gradually moving towards stability. He recalled the critical financial situation when his government took charge, with the threat of default looming over Pakistan. Businesses were struggling, and investors were forced to shut down industries. However, he emphasized that the journey toward economic growth and prosperity has now begun, with key macroeconomic indicators showing improvement.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/3/2025 10:51 AM, 3.1M followers, 3 retweets, 21 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif announced reduction in electricity tariffs, providing relief of Rs 7.41 per unit for domestic consumers and Rs 7.69 per unit for industrial consumers. Announcing the power relief package he expressed the confidence that the reduction in electricity prices will trigger economic activities in the country.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/3/2025 10:51 AM, 3.1M followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif presented appreciation shields to the members of the task force of power sector reforms.
Imran Khan@ImranKhanPTI
[4/3/2025 10:45 AM, 21.1M followers, 8.3K retweets, 14K likes]
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Message from Adiala Jail - April 2, 2025
"I extend belated Eid greetings to all my fellow countrymen. I have unwavering faith in God. No tool of oppression can break me. The darkness that has engulfed this nation will soon come to an end, and our struggle will bear fruit. I have complete faith in God that I will emerge victorious, and by His will, I shall celebrate the next Eid with my people. My struggle is not for personal gain; everything I do is solely for the welfare of my nation. I fear no one but God. I never have nor will I ever, under any circumstances bow before anyone but God. I will not compromise on my ideology and will fight for my people until my very last breath. The puppet government is making every effort to keep me imprisoned because they are concerned about their grip on power. They know that their illegitimate rule will collapse the day I walk free from prison. That is why they are relentlessly trying to break me.
I am not even allowed to hold political meetings, because they fear that we will formulate our political strategy and that threatens their hold on power. I have only been allowed to speak to my children twice in the past seven months, and for several weeks now I have been denied communication with them once again. I was supposed to speak to my children on Eid, but even that was not permitted. My access to books has also been blocked. Despite my repeated requests, my personal physician, Dr. Faisal, has not been allowed to examine me. All of this is being carried out in blatant violation of court orders. However, there is no one left to hold them accountable since the judiciary has also been seized following the 26th constitutional amendment." India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/3/2025 10:23 PM, 107.4M followers, 7.3K retweets, 34K likes]
The passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill by both Houses of Parliament marks a watershed moment in our collective quest for socio-economic justice, transparency and inclusive growth. This will particularly help those who have long remained on the margins, thus being denied both voice and opportunity.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/3/2025 10:23 PM, 107.4M followers, 723 retweets, 3.1K likes]
Gratitude to all Members of Parliament who participated in the Parliamentary and Committee discussions, voiced their perspectives and contributed to the strengthening of these legislations. A special thanks also to the countless people who sent their valuable inputs to the Parliamentary committee. Yet again, the importance of extensive debate and dialogue has been reaffirmed.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/3/2025 10:23 PM, 107.4M followers, 1.1K retweets, 4.1K likes]
For decades, the Waqf system was synonymous with lack of transparency and accountability. This especially harmed the interests of Muslim women, poor Muslims, Pasmanda Muslims. The legislations passed by Parliament will boost transparency and also safeguard people’s rights.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/3/2025 10:23 PM, 107.4M followers, 1K retweets, 3.8K likes]
We will now enter an era where the framework will be more modern and sensitive to social justice. On a larger note, we remain committed to prioritising the dignity of every citizen. This is also how we build a stronger, more inclusive and more compassionate India.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/3/2025 3:19 AM, 107.4M followers, 6.2K retweets, 43K likes]
Grateful for the warm welcome by the Indian community in Bangkok. India and Thailand share a deep-rooted cultural bond that continues to flourish through our people. Heartening to see this connection reflected so strongly here.
Rajnath Singh@rajnathsingh
[4/3/2025 10:58 AM, 24.4M followers, 98 retweets, 655 likes]
Attended the 261st Raising Day celebrations of Army Medical Corps (AMC) at Army Hospital (Research & Referral) in Delhi Cantt. Exhorted the AMC to continue adopting latest technologies for providing quality health services to soldiers. There is need to develop technology for both defence & civilian sectors as Civil-military convergence is crucial for overall development. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2118354
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[4/3/2025 9:18 AM, 219.2K followers, 8 retweets, 13 likes]
With Trump’s new reciprocal tariff policy hitting India hard, recently launched negotiations on a US-India trade agreement have taken on added urgency for New Delhi-but reaching a deal won’t be easy. Me this week for @ForeignPolicy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/02/india-us-trade-talks-deal-reciprocal-tariffs-trump/ NSB
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/4/2025 1:11 AM, 133.5K followers, 25 retweets, 128 likes]
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi join a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/4/2025 12:40 AM, 133.5K followers, 16 retweets, 180 likes]
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus attends sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/3/2025 5:22 AM, 133.5K followers, 93 retweets, 1K likes]
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus delivers keynote speech at BIMSTEC Young Gen Forum on the sidelines of BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday. Photos: CA Press Wing
Michael Kugelman@MichaelKugelman
[4/3/2025 9:33 AM, 219.2K followers, 155 retweets, 742 likes]
The US is the top destination for Bangladeshi RMG and Pakistani textile exports. Both countries were slammed w/tariffs. Both industries will be hit hard. It’s reminder of the pitfalls of failing to develop a successful export diversification strategy. Vulnerability is heightened.
Jon Danilowicz@JonFDanilowicz
[4/3/2025 10:08 AM, 14.9K followers, 5 retweets, 80 likes]
One of the principles I adhere to is to talk about thinks I know something about and not talk about things I don’t understand. With that in mind, I am not planning to engage on the tariff issue other than to point out that Bangladesh is not being singled out. I hope the US and Bangladesh will take this opportunity for honest and open conversations about trade, investment and the bilateral economic and commercial relationship. I also hope that the interim government will take other domestic stakeholders into their confidence as the country responds to this challenge.
Tshering Tobgay@tsheringtobgay
[4/3/2025 8:05 AM, 101.6K followers, 19 retweets, 121 likes]
Pleased to meet with the Prime Minister of Nepal @PM_nepal_ on the sidelines of BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok today. We discussed the longstanding ties between our two nations and explored avenues to further strengthen our cooperation.
Tshering Tobgay@tsheringtobgay
[4/3/2025 7:36 AM, 101.6K followers, 26 retweets, 252 likes]
On the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, I had the pleasure of meeting Her Excellency @Dr_HariniA , Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. As two small, close-knit countries with deep spiritual foundations, Bhutan and Sri Lanka share many commonalities.
Tshering Tobgay@tsheringtobgay
[4/3/2025 7:36 AM, 101.6K followers, 8 likes]
Our conversation reaffirmed the importance of nurturing these shared values and working together to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between our nations. I look forward to building on this relationship in the years ahead.
K P Sharma Oli@kpsharmaoli
[4/3/2025 7:34 AM, 868K followers, 19 retweets, 144 likes]
Had a productive sideline meeting with the Prime Minister of Bhutan, H.E. @tsheringtobgay. We reflected on our bilateral meeting last September in New York and engaged in meaningful discussions on various dimensions of our partnership.
K P Sharma Oli@kpsharmaoli
[4/3/2025 6:45 AM, 868K followers, 6 retweets, 63 likes] Met with HE Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Exec. Sec. of @UNESCAP. Discussed UNESCAP’s work in Nepal and its support for our LDC graduation. Grateful for their efforts & look forward to strengthening our cooperation. #Nepal #UNESCAP
K P Sharma Oli@kpsharmaoli
[4/3/2025 5:51 AM, 868K followers, 15 retweets, 122 likes]
Had the honor of meeting Sri Lanka’s newly elected Prime Minister, H.E. @Dr_HariniA. We discussed Sri Lanka’s political landscape, Nepal’s Constitution, investment prospects, and avenues to deepen ties through the Buddha–Lumbini–Colombo connection. #Nepal #SriLanka
K P Sharma Oli@kpsharmaoli
[4/3/2025 5:39 AM, 868K followers, 16 retweets, 96 likes]
Honored to address the @AITAsia this afternoon. With 1,795 Nepali graduates (30% women) and 181 students currently enrolled, AIT has been instrumental in producing skilled Human Resources for Nepal. Reaffirmed Nepal’s support as #AIT commits to training more Nepali talents.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[4/3/2025 10:08 AM, 147K followers, 112 retweets, 662 likes]
Sri Lanka warmly welcomes Prime Minister @narendramodi from April 4-6. Following my successful discussions in India, we look forward to further strengthening our enduring partnership and exploring new opportunities for cooperation that benefit both nations.
Harsha de Silva@HarshadeSilvaMP
[4/3/2025 7:32 AM, 360.9K followers, 18 retweets, 128 likes]
1. I am willing to help figure way forward on #TrumpTariffs if Pres @anuradisanayake so desires. This crisis is national. Fallout could be huge. My position has always been #SriLanka must break (tariff) walls and build (trade) bridges @sjbsrilanka #Blueprint not other way around.
Harsha de Silva@HarshadeSilvaMP
[4/3/2025 7:35 AM, 360.9K followers, 20 likes]
2. It was only yesterday I argued at #BIMSTEC Dialogue that unless countries like #SriLanka undertake major trade and investment reform we will not be able to integrate with the region. I have always argued RCEP only a dream unless we commit to liberalizing in goods and services.
Harsha de Silva@HarshadeSilvaMP
[4/3/2025 7:42 AM, 360.9K followers, 1 retweet, 13 likes]
3. While I appreciate the complexity involved I urge the government to suspend next week’s scheduled amendment on SVAT removal for exporters as an urgent relief until things settle. Central Asia
Navbahor Imamova@Navbahor
[4/3/2025 11:18 PM, 24.2K followers, 1 retweet, 6 likes]
In case you missed it, all Central Asian countries — including Afghanistan (10%) — made the US reciprocal tariff list. Kazakhstan, America’s largest business partner in the region, tops with a 27% tariff, while UZ, TJ, and TM each face 10%.
Joanna Lillis@joannalillis
[4/3/2025 3:39 PM, 28.7K followers, 8 retweets, 17 likes]
An "outbreak of reasonableness" in #CentralAsia: "Resolving local squabbles will make it easier for the region to focus on the role it wants to play in the world" - my latest for @TheEconomist on the #Kyrgyzstan #Tajikistan border deal https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/04/03/ending-central-asias-endless-squabbles-over-eccentric-borders
Joanna Lillis@joannalillis
[4/3/2025 4:48 AM, 28.7K followers, 6 retweets, 10 likes]
Trump tariffs: government of #Kazakhstan says preliminary analysis suggests 92% of goods it trades with USA - which include crude oil, uranium, ferroalloys - won’t be affected because of exceptions USA
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[4/3/2025 3:13 PM, 215.2K followers, 3 retweets, 12 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev met with President of #Kazakhstan @TokayevKZ on the margins of the Samarkand Summit. They discussed further development and strengthening of bilateral relations, noting the importance to boost trade turnover, promote economic projects and humanitarian programs, including at the regional level.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[4/3/2025 2:03 PM, 215.2K followers, 6 retweets, 15 likes]
As part of the program of the first “Central Asia - European Union” summit President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev held a meeting with President of #Tajikistan @EmomaliRahmonTJ. Sides discussed enhancing bilateral relations of friendship, good-neighbourliness, strategic partnership and alliance, noting the importance of increasing trade turnover and accelerating joint projects.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[4/3/2025 12:17 PM, 215.2K followers, 3 retweets, 13 likes]
On the sidelines of the Samarkand Summit, President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev met with the President of #Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov. They reviewed practical implementation of agreements, measures to accelerate the implementation of important cooperation projects in the field of industry, transport, energy and infrastructure.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[4/3/2025 11:48 AM, 215.2K followers, 6 retweets, 24 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev met with President of Turkmenistan Serdar #Berdimuhamedov, who arrived in #Samarkand for the first “Central Asia-EU” summit. They discussed further developing and strengthening UZ-TM relations, including preparations for bilateral and multilateral events at the highest level and promoting joint projects.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[4/3/2025 10:58 AM, 215.2K followers, 8 retweets, 42 likes]
Presidents Shavkat #Mirziyoyev, @eucopresident and @vonderleyen visited the ethnographic park "Eternal City" in #Samarkand.The guests were shown the unique artistic, folk and musical culture of our people.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[4/3/2025 10:14 AM, 215.2K followers, 6 retweets, 42 likes]
The high-level talks in #Samarkand concluded with a joint tree planting ceremony by Presidents of Uzbekistan Shavkat #Mirziyoyev, @EUCouncil @eucopresident and @EU_Commission @vonderleyen, becoming another symbol of the strengthening relations of friendship, multifaceted cooperation and partnership between #Uzbekistan🇺🇿 and the #EU.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[4/3/2025 9:31 AM, 215.2K followers, 10 retweets, 29 likes]
In the presence of President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev, Presidents of the @EUCouncil @eucopresident and the @EU_Commission @vonderleyen an agreement was signed on the establishment of a regional office of the @EIB in our country. Opening of the office in #Tashkent will foster mutually beneficial cooperation and attract investments in the “green” economy, innovation, and modern infrastructure in #Uzbekistan and Central Asia.{End of Report} To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.