SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Wednesday, April 9, 2025 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
Mysterious US military flight to Afghanistan sparks speculation about Bagram air base (The Independent)
The Independent [4/8/2025 8:11 AM, Arpan Rai, 33298K]
A US military cargo plane that flew into Afghanistan last week has sparked speculation about renewed American control on the strategic Bagram air base.
According to local media reports, the C-17 aircraft took off from Doha’s Al Udeid military base, arrived in Afghanistan via Pakistan on Sunday, and landed at Bagram.
The aircraft was reportedly carrying senior US intelligence officials, including CIA deputy chief Michael Ellis, and military equipment, Khaama Press reported.
The outlet claimed the Taliban had handed over the base, which president Donald Trump expressed interest in reclaiming during his presidential run, to the US.
The claim was swiftly denied by Taliban’s chief spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid who described it as "propaganda". He said the Taliban had complete control of the air base.
American takeover of the base was "impossible", Mr Mujahid said, and "there is no need for any country’s military presence in Afghanistan at present and the Islamic Emirate will not allow such an action".
Zia Ahmad Takal, a deputy spokesperson at Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, issued a denial as well. "This news is not correct," he told The Independent.
The Independent has reached out to the US defence department for comment.
The Bagram air base, north of the capital Kabul, served as the command node for American and allied Nato forces for two decades as they waged a war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The base, the size of a small city, was captured by the Taliban soon after Western troops vacated it, shutting off power and slipping away as they withdrew from the country, in the summer of 2021.
Bagram has two runways and over 100 parking spots for fighter jets known as revetments because of the blast walls which protect each aircraft. One of the runways, built in 2006, measures 12,000ft long.
It also boasts a passenger lounge, a 50-bed hospital and hangar-sized tents filled with supplies like furniture.
Mr Trump has repeatedly talked about taking control of the Bagram base. He claimed last month that Washington planned to return to the base because it now allegedly hosted Chinese troops.
"I am the one who got our military presence to under 5,000 but we were going to keep Bagram, not because of Afghanistan but because of China, because the air base is exactly one hour from where China makes its nuclear missiles," Mr Trump said. "So, we were going to keep Bagram.".
Bagram was one of the largest air bases in the world, complete with "one of the biggest and most powerful runways", the US president added. "And we gave it up. And you know who is occupying it at the moment? China. Because Biden gave it up. So, we are going to keep that.".
At the time, Mr Mujahid dismissed Mr Trump’s comments as "emotional" and said US officials should "refrain" from making "statements based on unsubstantiated information". USAID enabled 208 Afghan women to defy the Taliban ban on college -- until now (NPR)
NPR [4/8/2025 1:38 PM, Ruchi Kumar, 7K]
She’s a young woman who has zero chance of pursuing a college degree in Afghanistan.
That’s because in December 2022 the Taliban decreed that women would no longer be allowed to pursue university education. High schools for girls were banned the year before.
But she found a way to follow her dream. Starting in 2024, R.K. began taking online courses at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), thanks to a scholarship funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). (R.K. asked to be identified by her initials because of fear that the Taliban would threaten her for defying their ban.).
Now R.K. and 207 other young women with scholarships are in limbo because of a series of communications from USAID, first stating that the program would operate through June but with no further details beyond that date — and now with an April 5 email stating that the program would be terminated immediately "pursuant to a review and determination that the award is inconsistent with the Administration’s priorities." This directive was one of many terminated notes sent on that date from Jeremy Lewin, deputy administrator at the significantly shrunk USAID.
How the USAID endowment worked
The scholarship itself has an unusual history. In 2018, USAID gave a $50 million bequest to the Texas A&M University Foundation to create and administer the Women’s Scholarship Endowment program (WSE). "We are an endowment — the first endowment that USAID awarded in nearly 40 years," an official with the scholarship program tells NPR. The official asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.
"So it’s in an investment pool, and the program itself runs only on the interest generated from that $50 million, which remains intact. We haven’t even touched it," the official says.
The interest pays for 208 scholarships, including R.K.’s. Along with dozens of students, R.K. participates in online learning from their homes in Afghanistan. (Additional USAID funding pays the teachers and other expenses.).
AUAF is a Kabul-based university founded in 2006 that partially shifted its campus to Qatar for displaced Afghans after the Taliban takeover. It also runs online classes for students unable to leave Afghanistan.
For 120 women, the funds allowed them to relocate to Oman and Qatar to attend college in person, with living expenses covered.
The program currently focuses on STEM fields of study: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Left in limbo
R.K. has already completed 49 out of the required 120 credits and hoped to graduate in 2026.
"This scholarship meant everything to me," she says. "It was like a light in the darkest days of my life. After the fall of Kabul, this program was my biggest hope for the future.".
In the wake of the USAID shakeup, R.K. says she feels as if she is in limbo.
The program organizers are also in limbo. According to the official who spoke to NPR, they had been pressing USAID to learn if the scholarship funding can continue until the end of the current semester — and whether it might be possible to continue holding the $50 million endowment through 2030 to allow the current students to complete their studies.
They have received no answer to past inquiries but are continuing to seek clarification, the official says.
"It does not cost the U.S. taxpayer one penny," the official adds. "All we need is a time extension through 2030.".
"We’ve requested a meeting with our newly designated Agreement Officer at the State Department (since the person we normally work with was placed on Administrative Leave) to talk about the future of this program —- but we haven’t heard anything back," says the official.On March 17, 29 and April 8, NPR sent emails to the U.S. State Department to ask about the grant and the program. The State Department responded via email, on March 18, stating that the U.S. Government had authorized the continuation of funding to the scholarships until June 30 but did not clarify if the funding would continue beyond June. NPR did not received a response to these additional emails in in time for publication.
"I put in a lot of effort into my studies at AUAF," R.K. tells NPR, adding that students worry about finding similar educational opportunities to allow them to complete their coursework and aren’t sure if other universities will honor their credits.
Criticisms of the decision
The USAID statement that the program has been terminated has been criticized by human rights groups and educators, internationally and in Afghanistan.
Girls in Afghanistan have already endured extreme restrictions and bans on their education over the last four years, said Sahar Fetrat, researcher at the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch in London.
"A smaller group, who managed to complete high school, had a rare opportunity to continue their education online or in person in other countries," she says. The suspension of these scholarships would take away a "final opportunity" from girls. "These programs were the last remaining loopholes for girls and women seeking higher education.".
It is unclear if AUAF classes will be able to continue this semester.
As the scholarship program awaits more information, R.K. says, "I am depressed and lost. I do not know what will happen to me and my classmates. All my hard work, sacrifices and my dreams will be gone. And all this makes me wonder, why won’t the authorities of the world allow Afghan girls to study?". The Taliban say the case of a detained British couple will be decided under Islamic law (AP)
AP [4/8/2025 9:34 PM, Staff, 62527K]
The Taliban detained a British couple in Afghanistan over a small matter and the courts will rule on it based on Islamic law, a government spokesperson said Tuesday, adding: "God willing, their problem will soon be resolved.".
It´s the first time in more than a month that Taliban authorities have publicly commented on the case of Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who were arrested in early February after being taken from their home in central Bamiyan province to the capital, Kabul.
The husband and wife, who are in their 70s, run an organization that provides education and training programs. Family members in the UK have said they are being mistreated in Pul-e-Charkhi prison, where they are held on undisclosed charges.
In a message to The Associated Press, Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani did not give details on why the couple was arrested or comment on their treatment.
"The only thing I can say is that the matter was previously with the Interior Ministry and it has now been handed over to the courts," Qani said. "Their problem (crime) is not that big. God willing, their problem will soon be resolved and a shariah (Islamic law) decision will be made. It is a small matter and should not be a cause for concern.".
A U.S. national who was detained alongside the couple, Faye Hall, was released on March 30 as part of a deal that Qatari negotiators helped to broker. Hall was detained on charges of using a drone without authorization. She is believed to be the fourth American freed from Afghanistan since January. Kabul Slams Pakistan’s ‘Violence’ Against Afghans Pressured To Leave (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/8/2025 9:11 AM, Staff, 931K]
The Taliban government accused Pakistan on Tuesday of violently expelling Afghans after Islamabad cancelled hundreds of thousands of residence permits, pressuring families across the border.
Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be cancelled -- the second phase of a deportation programme which has already expelled around 800,000 undocumented Afghans.
"The mistreatment of them (Afghans) by neighbouring countries is unacceptable and intolerable," the Taliban Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said on X, calling for a joint agreement to facilitate repatriations.
An average of 4,000 Afghans crossed the border from Pakistan on Sunday and Monday, "far higher than the March daily average of just 77", the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told AFP.
The new phase in Pakistan’s campaign to repatriate Afghans "could affect up to 1.6 million undocumented Afghan migrants and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders during 2025", the agency said.
The United Nations says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan: 800,000 had their Pakistani ACC residency cards cancelled in April and 1.3 million still have residence permits until June 30 because they are registered with the UN refugees agency UNHCR. Others have no papers.
"It is with great regret that Afghan refugees are being subjected to violence," the Taliban refugees ministry said.
"All refugees should be allowed to take their wealth, belongings and household goods with them to their own country," it added.
"No one should use refugees as tools for their political goals."
Afghans who crossed the border in recent days told AFP that they left without being able to take all their belongings or money, while others were rounded up and taken directly to the border.
"My only crime is that I’m Afghan," Shah Mahmood, who was born in northern Afghanistan, told AFP on Monday after crossing the Torkham border point.
"I had papers and they ripped them up."
Human rights activists have for months been reporting harassment and extortion by Pakistani security forces against Afghans.
Moniza Kakar, a lawyer in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, said that officials "are picking and arresting people randomly, from different places".
"There is no proper mechanism to shift the whole family," she told AFP.
Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have soured since the Taliban takeover, fuelled by a sharp rise in violence in Pakistan along the Afghan border.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said it had issued "strict instructions" for the facilitation of Afghans’ exits, including "that no one should be harassed in this process".
In September 2023, hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans poured across the border into Afghanistan in the days leading up to a deadline to leave, after weeks of police raids. Pakistan
Pakistan says the US companies seek to invest in the country’s untapped minerals sector (AP)
AP [4/9/2025 3:33 AM, Munir Ahmed, 456K]
U.S. companies are seeking to invest in Pakistan’s largely untapped minerals sector that boasts one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits, the Pakistani government said Wednesday.
Eric Meyer, Senior Bureau Official for the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, conveyed that interest directly to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during meeting in Islamabad, according to a government statement.
The meeting came a day after Meyer attended the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum—an international summit aimed at attracting foreign investment in the country’s mining sector. Apart from gold and copper, Pakistan is also rich in lithium used to make batteries, as well as other minerals.
The summit has drawn participation from major international companies, including Canada-based Barrick Gold, as well as government officials from the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, and other nations.
Pakistan’s massive copper and gold deposits are located in Reko Diq, a district in restive Balochistan, which has witnessed a surge in attacks by Baloch separatists in recent years. Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir had told foreign companies and investors at the summit that the military would ensure their security.
The statement said Meyer “acknowledged the potential of Pakistan’s mineral sector,” adding that American companies are interested in exploring investment opportunities.
He reaffirmed Washington’s interest in expanding bilateral cooperation, including in such sectors as trade, investment, and counterterrorism, the statement said. Sharif said Pakistan’s minerals sector offered “immense opportunities” and encouraged U.S. companies to take advantage of the investment potential.
Sharif expressed Islamabad’s desire to strengthen ties with the Trump administration. Meyer’s visit marks the first by a Trump administration official since the U.S. imposed a 29% tariff on Pakistani exports as part of his trade war. Pakistan seeks billions in investment as it promotes its minerals sector (AP)
AP [4/8/2025 9:02 PM, Munir Ahmed, 62527K]
Pakistan pitched investments in its mines and minerals sector to delegations from the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and elsewhere as it opened a summit Tuesday that authorities hope will bring billions of dollars in investments.The Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum aims to spotlight Pakistan’s reserves of copper, gold, lithium and other minerals while promoting opportunities in the long-overlooked sector.In a speech to delegates, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that Pakistan possesses mineral reserves worth trillions of dollars, and foreign investment in the mineral sector could help the country overcome its prolonged financial crisis and free itself from the burden of massive foreign loans.However, he said Pakistan will not permit the export of raw minerals, as the country expects foreign companies to process the extracted materials locally and export the finished products.Several companies signed agreements with Pakistan in the mining sector. They included the Canadian firm Barrick Gold, which already owns a 50% stake in the Reko Diq gold mine in southwestern Balochistan province.Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan is offering incentives to potential investors. He gave few details but noted “aligning our regulatory frameworks with competitive fiscal terms.”Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir in his speech told foreign companies and investors that the military would “ensure a robust security framework and proactive measures to safeguard the interests and confidence of our partners and investors.”Pakistan has one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits in Reko Diq, a district in restive Balochistan, which has witnessed a surge in attacks by Baloch separatists in recent years.Mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and least populated province. It is a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.Pakistan says it has quelled the insurgency, but the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army has mounted attacks as recently as last month. It mostly targets security forces and foreigners, especially Chinese nationals who are in Pakistan as part of Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. The BLA wants a halt to all Chinese-funded projects and for Chinese workers to leave Pakistan. Pakistan’s Army Vows to Protect Investors in Billion-Dollar Mining Sector in Conflict Zone (Reuters)
Reuters [4/8/2025 9:20 AM, Asif Shahzad, 24727K]
Pakistan will provide robust security to protect the interests of investors and partners, its army chief told a minerals conference on Tuesday, amid heightened unrest in key mineral-rich province Balochistan.
Pakistan is hosting a two-day mines and minerals conference with delegates from countries including the United States, China and Saudi Arabia, as well as companies including Barrick Gold and Woods Mackenzie. It is seeking to attract investments in its natural reserves, which are estimated to be worth $6 trillion.
"Pakistan’s army will ensure a robust security framework, (and) proactive measures to protect the interests and trust of partners and investors," General Asim Munir said.
"You can count on Pakistan as a reliable partner.".
The conference comes weeks after insurgents hijacked a train carrying over 400 passengers, including soldiers, in volatile Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
The majority of Pakistan’s mines, including Reko Diq, which houses one of the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of copper and gold jointly owned by Barrick Gold and Pakistan, are located in the southwestern province.
Barrick Gold estimates Reko Dig has the potential to generate $74 billion in free cash flow over 37 years.
Ethnic Baloch separatists, who have long been running an insurgency in the region, oppose any foreign investment which they say is an attempt by Islamabad to solidify its hold through external players on their regional resources.
They have been fighting for decades for a greater share of local resources, but some of their armed groups now say they will not settle for anything less than a separate homeland.
One of the largest insurgent groups, the Baloch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the train hijacking, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed."We welcome international organisations to seek investment opportunities and partnership with us in the development of wider resources," Munir said. Pakistan expels thousands of Afghan nationals in fresh drive, says UNHCR (Reuters)
Reuters [4/8/2025 10:07 AM, Charlotte Greenfield and Muhammad Yunus Yawar, 41523K]
Pakistan has expelled more than 8,000 Afghan nationals in the past week in a fresh repatriation drive after the expiry of a March 31 deadline, the UNHCR said on Tuesday.
All Afghan nationals who have no legal documents to stay or those holding Afghan Citizen Cards had been warned by Islamabad to return home or face deportation.
Authorities say they have set up temporary centers in various cities to house the Afghan nationals before transporting them to Torkham border crossing in northwest Pakistan.
At least 8,906 Afghan nationals have been deported since April 1, the UNHCR said in a WhatsApp message.
Islamabad says the drive is part of a campaign called the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023.
Pakistan has in the past blamed militant attacks and crimes on Afghan citizens, who form the largest portion of migrants in the country. Afghanistan has rejected the accusations.
Kabul has termed the repatriation as forced deportation.
"There is no doubt that the forced deportation of Afghan migrants and this unilateral action is against all international, Islamic, and neighbourly principles," Abdul Motalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Afghan ministry of migration and repatriation, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Since this matter concerns two countries, it is essential to work on a mutually agreed mechanism to ensure the dignified return of Afghans to their homeland," he said.
Pakistan says it plans to accelerate the drive to repatriate the roughly four million Afghans who crossed the border during 40 years of armed conflict in their home country and after the Taliban seized power in 2021.
Human rights groups have raised concerns.
"Pakistan is abandoning its international commitment to not send people back to where their rights are at risk," said Fereshta Abbasi of Afghanistan Human Rights Watch.
"All countries hosting Afghan refugees should maintain the position that Afghanistan is unsafe for returns.". Pakistan’s national airline posts first annual profit in two decades (Reuters)
Reuters [4/9/2025 1:11 AM, Asif Shahzad, 5.2M]
Pakistan’s national carrier has posted an annual profit for the first time in more than two decades ahead of a second attempt by the government to sell the airline, the country’s defence minister said.
The disclosure was made at a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) (PIAHa.PSX) board meeting, the minister said late on Tuesday.
"PIACL Board today has approved its accounts FY 2024, and after 21 years, it has achieved an operating profit of PKR 9.3 Billion ($33.14 million) & Net Profit of PKR 26.2 Billion (after deferred tax adjustment)," Defence and Aviation Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in a post on X, which was confirmed by the airline in a statement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday termed it a "major turnaround after decades of losses" and said in a post on X: "The skies ahead looks brighter, God willing."
Islamabad’s attempt to privatise PIA last year fell flat when it received only a single offer, well below the asking price of more than $300 million.
Pakistan had offloaded nearly 80% of the airline’s legacy debt and shifted it to government books ahead of the privatisation attempt.
The rest of the debt was also cleaned out of the airline’s accounts after the failed sale attempt to make it more attractive to potential buyers, according to the country’s privatisation ministry.
The airline has for years survived on government bailouts as its operational earnings were eaten up by debt servicing costs.
Officials say offloading the debt burden and recent reforms like shedding staff, exiting unprofitable routes and other cost-cutting measures led to the profitable year.
Ahead of the attempt to sell the airline last year, PIA had faced threats of being shut down, with planes impounded at international airports over its failure to pay bills and flights cancelled due to a shortage of funds to pay for fuel or spare parts. India
India’s Drug Makers Shudder as Trump Again Threatens Tariffs (New York Times)
New York Times [4/9/2025 3:17 AM, Alex Travelli, 831K]
An important segment of India’s business community woke up Wednesday to a fright: President Trump had again brandished the threat of tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.“We’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals,” he told guests at a dinner held by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
India has spent most of a week trying to find reasons for hope after the shock of being hit with a 27 percent blanket rate. One of the best was the fact that the global pharmaceutical industry was excluded from the first round of tariffs.
Last year India exported almost $13 billion worth of drugs, many of them generics. That makes pharmaceuticals India’s most successful industrial export. The United States is its biggest market.
In the short term, there’s no realistic way for the United States to replace the Indian supply: The next biggest exporter of generic drugs is China, which is suddenly facing higher tariffs than any other country.
Mr. Trump’s idea is that in the long term these medications can be made domestically. They would have to become much more expensive before that happened. Medicines come up in Economics 101 as the best example of a product with “inelastic demand,” or something that consumers will keep buying even when the price goes up.
India’s government ministers have been talking up the possibility of a bilateral agreement between their prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Mr. Trump. Two ministers spoke optimistically this week about the “new opportunities” these tariffs are creating for India. They are inspired by the fact that India’s nearest competitors in traded goods — including China, Vietnam and Bangladesh — will suffer from even higher rates.
On Mumbai’s stock market, shares of India’s biggest and most profitable drugmakers started the trading day sharply lower on the overnight news from Trump’s dinner. India’s Central Bank Cuts Key Rate, Signals More Support for Economy (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [4/9/2025 3:44 AM, Fabiana Negrin Ochoa, 810K]
India’s central bank delivered a back-to-back rate cut, signaling more monetary support ahead as U.S. trade tariffs raise alarm about slowing global growth.
The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary-policy committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to cut the policy repo rate to 6.00% from 6.25%, a move that was widely expected as policymakers worldwide respond to market turmoil and tariff risks.“The global economy is going through a period of exceptional uncertainties,” RBI Gov. Sanjay Malhotra said.
Central banks are navigating the headwinds cautiously, he said, noting the difficulty that a noisy environment poses for policymaking.
In a keenly watched change, the RBI also voted unanimously to change its monetary-policy stance to neutral from accommodative.
The shift means that absent any shocks, the RBI is considering only two options going forward: status quo or a rate cut, Malhotra said.
Tough global economic conditions, combined with a benign domestic inflation outlook and moderate growth, demand that the RBI continue to support growth, he said.
The RBI’s decision comes as President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on trading partners kicked in. Markets are watching to see how Asia’s third-largest economy will respond to the 26% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods announced by Trump last week.
The so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries including India have unraveled markets, sparking a flight to safety as investors worry that recession risks are rising.
Many analysts expect central banks in Asia, which has been hit hard by the tariffs, to step up support for their economies. But domestic factors like concerns about rekindling inflation—which has finally come down across much of the region—or adding to currency pressures could limit policy space.
In India, the continued cooling of inflation and slowing domestic growth have helped build the case for a cut.
All 15 economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected the decision, which marks the second cut of the easing cycle the RBI started in February.
The RBI on Wednesday said there has been a decisive improvement in the inflation outlook. Highlighting a sharp fall in food inflation—a key concern over the past months—it said there is now greater confidence that inflation will durably align with the target.
India’s consumer-price growth continued easing for a fourth straight month in February, coming sustainably closer to the 4% level deemed optimal by the RBI.“[Economic] growth is improving after a weak performance in the first half of the financial year 2024-25, although it still remains lower than what we aspire for,” the RBI governor said.
Real gross domestic product growth for the fiscal year started in April is projected at 6.5%, down from 6.7% previously. That compares with an estimated 6.5% for the prior year.
Despite the threat of a trade war, analysts view India as one of the best-placed countries in Asia to weather the storm, thanks largely to its vast domestic economy. There are also hopes that India will be able to strike a trade deal with Washington.
While other countries are readying retaliation, India has made a head start in arriving at a deal with the U.S., Nomura analysts said in a recent note.
If India fashions itself as a low-cost portal for global companies to access the U.S. market, it “stands to gain from this rejigging of the global trading order,” they said. India central bank cuts rates, changes stance to ‘accommodative’ as US tariffs add to growth risks (Reuters)
Reuters [4/9/2025 3:47 AM, Swati Bhat and Sudipto Ganguly, 5.2M]
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered its key repo rate on Wednesday for a second consecutive time and changed its monetary policy stance signalling room for more cuts ahead, as it seeks to boost the sluggish economy in the face of fresh U.S. tariffs.
India became the second central bank after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to cut interest rates since the wide-ranging trade levies were announced.
The tariffs have raised the risk of a global slowdown and a U.S. recession while sparking financial turmoil, leaving emerging market central banks facing a tough choice between cutting rates to support growth and shoring up their fragile currencies.
India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which consists of three RBI and three external members, cut the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) by 25 basis points to 6.00% as expected. It started reducing rates with a quarter-point reduction in February, its first cut since May 2020.
The central bank also changed its stance to "accommodative" from "neutral".
The 26% tariffs announced by the U.S. on imports from India have exacerbated uncertainties but quantifying the impact on growth is difficult, central bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in his statement.
"Growth is improving after a weak performance in the first half of the financial year 2024-25, although it still remains lower than what we aspire for," said Malhotra, adding that the inflation outlook is benign.
All six MPC members voted to cut the repo rate and change the policy stance.
The change in stance means the MPC is considering only two options, either status quo or a rate cut, and the stance does not directly link to liquidity conditions, he said.
"With uncertainty around U.S. trade policy set to rumble on and inflation looking contained, further rate cuts are likely," said Shilan Shah, deputy chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.
"We think the repo rate will drop to 5.50% this year," Shah said in a note.
ANZ Research also expects two more rate cuts and sees these by August 2025.
GROWTH, INFLATION FORECASTS CUT
The RBI now estimates growth at 6.5%, slightly lower than its earlier estimate of 6.7%. It sees inflation at 4% compared to 4.2% earlier.
"In such challenging global economic conditions, the benign inflation and moderate growth outlook demands that the MPC continues to support growth," the committee said in its written statement.
India’s benchmark 10-year bond yield was marginally lower at 6.50% after the announcement, against 6.51% before, while the rupee was little changed at 86.57. The benchmark equity indexes extended their losses and were down around 0.6% each.
Economists estimated growth in the world’s fifth-largest economy could be hit by 20-40 basis points in the current fiscal year due to the direct and indirect fallout of higher tariffs."We see growth undershooting the RBI’s estimates and expect it at 6.3% for the fiscal year 2026," Sakshi Gupta, principal economist at HDFC Bank said.
RUPEE WEAKNESS
In an accompanying monetary policy report, the central bank said that rising trade protectionism and threat of currency wars could put further pressure on the rupee.
If the rupee depreciates by 5% over its current assumption of 86 per U.S. dollar, inflation could rise by around 35 bps, though GDP growth could benefit by around 25 bps through the trade channel as exports would become more competitive, the report said.
The central bank’s currency management policy will continue to target "excess volatility", Malhotra said. The RBI does not target any level on the rupee but "will not shy from intervening if there is excess volatility," he said.
The rupee has declined 1.2% since the U.S. reciprocal tariffs were announced, largely in line with losses seen in major Asian peers. It hit a record low of 87.95 on February 10. China, India should stand together in face of U.S. tariffs, says Chinese Embassy in India (Reuters)
Reuters [4/8/2025 10:42 AM, Sakshi Dayal, 41523K]
India and China should stand together to overcome difficulties in the face of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India said on Tuesday.
"China-India economic and trade relationship is based on complimentarity and mutual benefit. Facing the U.S. abuse of tariffs... the two largest developing countries should stand together to overcome the difficulties," spokesperson Yu Jing said in a post on X. Tariffs driving India to strike trade deals, finance minister says ahead of UK talks (The Guardian)
The Guardian [4/8/2025 11:01 AM, Eleni Courea, 78938K]
India is seeking to strike more trade deals with other countries at a time of "global uncertainty", its finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said before talks with the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
Sitharaman, who serves as finance and corporate affairs minister in Narendra Modi’s government, said she was hopeful the UK and India would finalise a free trade deal "sooner rather than later".
Speaking at the Indian high commission during a visit to London, Sitharaman said global uncertainties were "multiplying by the day", which was "driving many countries to clearly be active on [seeking] bilateral arrangements" that went beyond their old ideological and political ties.
"India is also looking at many bilateral arrangements. In the recent past, we’ve signed agreements with Australia, the UAE, with Oman, and we’re looking forward to concluding the bilateral trade agreement with the UK, negotiating also with the EU," she said. "I think that’s the way the world is going.".
Asked whether Donald Trump’s tariffs had created more urgency in the UK-India trade talks, Sitharaman said the negotiations had been going on for "a very long time" and that it was "not as if we are rushing into a UK FTA because of what is going on in the US".
But, she added: "We hope that [with] the new government showing a great deal of commitment and enthusiasm to have this agreement signed, we will be in a position to sign it sooner rather than later.".
Sitharaman said the world was increasingly multipolar with many competing powers, which had created "a rapidity with which countries are talking to each other and seeing if they can come up with something, an arrangement".
India has historically been one of the world’s most protectionist countries, with a focus on self-sufficiency over opening up for international trade. When Modi came to power he promised to boost India’s already rapid growth by liberalising its economic and trade policy.
Nonetheless, Delhi has often taken a cautious approach towards trade deals. An agreement signed last spring with the European Free Trade Association, made up of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, took 16 years to negotiate.
UK ministers are accelerating trade negotiations with the world’s fifth-largest economy, which have been happening since January 2022, in hopes of mitigating the impact of US tariffs. Reeves will meet Sitharaman for talks on Wednesday, withthe UK and India pursuing a bilateral investment treaty in parallel to a free trade agreement.
Reeves said ahead of the talks that "in a changing world, this government is accelerating trade deals with the rest of the world to back British business and provide the security working people deserve".
She and Sitharaman are expected to hold a working dinner on Wednesday night, which may also be attended by Keir Starmer.
Sitharaman said in London that the discussions would touch on "successfully concluding the investment treaty", mutual recognition of professional qualifications and collaboration on science and technology.
She said the two countries would also discuss higher education. "There was a time when the first choice for Indian higher education seekers was UK, but gradually it came down," she said. "You see Indians discuss prioritising the United States rather than UK … That momentum will have to be regained.".
There have been reports of tensions between the Home Office and Department for Education over graduate visas which allow international students to stay in the UK for two years after completing their degrees, even if they are not working.Ministers are drawing up policies to reduce legal migration into the UK and are targeting graduate visas amid government concerns they are being abused. However, the education department is said to be anxious about the impact this would have on the beleaguered university sector.
Jonathan Reynolds, the trade secretary, is also due to take part in talks with India on Wednesday. He travelled to India last month to formally relaunch trade negotiations under Labour.
As part of the negotiations, the UK has asked for lower tariffs on goods such as cars and whisky, and increased access for British lawyers and financial services companies to the Indian market. In return, India has asked for faster and easier processing arrangements for its companies to send workers to the UK.
One sticking point has been Delhi’s concern that Indians working temporarily in the UK on business visas have to pay national insurance, despite not being eligible for UK pensions or social security benefits. India clears deal to buy 26 Rafale marine fighter aircraft from France, says ANI (Reuters)
Reuters [4/9/2025 3:56 AM, Shivam Patel, 5.2M]
India has cleared a deal to buy 26 Rafale marine fighter aircraft from France worth more than 630 billion rupees ($7 billion), news agency ANI reported on Wednesday, citing government sources.
India’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment. ‘Won’t let it happen’: Indian fishers fight $1.8bn offshore minerals hunt (Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera [4/9/2025 12:00 AM, Nikhil Sreekandan, 18.2M]
Sebastian Stephen has spent his adult life chasing ocean winds and catching fish off the coast of Kollam, in India’s southern state of Kerala.
A stroke two years ago left the 72-year-old fisherman partially paralysed, forcing him to hire others to operate his motorised fishing boat. In recent years, the catch has dwindled for fisherfolk along India’s southwestern coast due to rising sea surface temperatures and increasing extreme weather events, which affect fish food availability and survival rates. This, in turn, has pushed many fishers into debt.
Now, things could even worsen, Kerala’s fishing communities fear.
In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced the first-ever auction of offshore land parcels for mining. “We are pioneering offshore mineral auctions for the first time in 75 years,” said Mining Minister G Kishan Reddy. The 13 identified “blocks” for the first offshore mineral auction include three sites chosen for digging up construction sand off the coast of Kollam.
The Indian government argues that the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified about 600,000 square kilometres of offshore territories that could offer lucrative mining opportunities. The blocks selected for the auction fall in these regions.The three sites off Kerala contain an estimated 302.42 million tonnes of construction sand, enough to build more than 10,000km (6,000 miles) of highway.
But Kerala’s fisherfolk worry the mining will kill the already depleted fishing stocks they rely on for their livelihoods, and damage the coast that has been their home for centuries.
Since the November announcement, they have held near-continuous protests against the offshore mining plan. On February 27, the Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee, a platform representing fishers and other stakeholders in the fishing industry, held a daylong strike.
The state is governed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its left-leaning allies who are opposed to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party government, which rules federally.
On March 4, the Kerala state assembly passed a unanimous resolution opposing the federal government’s decision to permit offshore mining. The BJP has no representation within the state assembly.
On March 12, a march in the nation’s capital, New Delhi, led by the Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee saw 18 members of parliament speak against the offshore mining proposal.“Income is low as it is. If this goes ahead, you can imagine the position it leaves us in,” Stephen said. “[Fishing] is our livelihood, and this [mining project] will have dire consequences. The [union government] should back out immediately.”‘Grave concerns’
On March 29, India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, wrote to Modi criticising the offshore mining plan.“Tenders were floated without any consultation with the stakeholders or an assessment of the long-term socio-economic impact on coastal communities,” Gandhi wrote. “Millions of fisherfolk have expressed grave concerns [about] its impact on their livelihood and way of life.”
The primary concern of the state’s fishers is the potential damage from offshore mining on a large sand bank spread over 3,300 square kilometres — more than 10 times the land area of the Maldives archipelago to the southwest of Kerala.
This sand bank is a major habitat for shrimp, octopus, squid and fish. According to Charles George, convenor of the Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee, the Kollam region has 3,500 trawlers, more than 500 motorised boats like Stephen’s, and hundreds of other boats. “The livelihoods of these people depend on the sand bank’s fertile fishing grounds.”
But the local economy isn’t the only worry. Sheer survival is also at stake, according to critics of the mining initiative.
The fishing community in Kollam fears that offshore mining could damage or even destroy the rocky reefs along the coast that prevent shoreline erosion. Those reefs protected the region from some of the most devastating effects of the 2004 tsunami, which killed hundreds of people in other parts of the Kerala coast.“People were safe because of the fortification provided by these reefs offshore,” George said.
Coastal erosion some 80km south, in Vizhinjam, home to a recently developed port, has spooked Kollam’s fishers, who worry that their shoreline might similarly suffer. The port in Vizhinjam has faced local protests, though a 2022 study found no correlation between the project and the erosion.“There is a common misconception that the fishing community is blind to these issues,” said N A Jane, secretary of the Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi (TUCI), a union of independent traditional fishermen.“[But] we are very aware, we understand what will happen if you take sand from our shores.”‘Well within active fishing zones’
The federal mining ministry has said that the proposed sites for offshore mining do not fall within the state’s active fishing zones.
However, a report by the marine monitoring lab of the University of Kerala’s Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries released in February, contradicts that claim.
The territorial waters of Kerala extend seawards up to 12 nautical miles (about 22km), and the proposed mining sites fall just outside this limit, A Biju Kumar, professor and head of the department, told Al Jazeera.“But fishers don’t just fish within this boundary. With the advent of cheap Chinese outboard engines, traditional fishers now fish up to 100m depth,” he said. “All the proposed sites are below 65m depth, which shows that the proposed sites are well within active fishing zones.”
The report also highlighted the potential impact on rocky reefs that line the Kollam coast. “We have dived to 50m, very close to the proposed mining sites. The reefs here have been around for thousands of years and are areas where fish accumulate and where traditional fishermen fish even today,” Biju Kumar said. The reefs are also home to three-quarters of the 30 reported coral species along the Kerala coast.
Unlike other marine areas, the Kerala coast has a lot of clay and silt deposition, Biju Kumar said. Sea sand mining in the region will release a lot of clay back into the water, increasing turbidity and reducing light penetration in the water, leading to less productive phytoplankton, the primary producers in marine ecosystems.
Around the world, sand mining, especially shallow water mining, has resulted in extensive coastline erosion, Biju Kumar told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera has contacted India’s Ministry of Mines for its comments on the concerns raised by fisherfolk and scientists but is yet to receive a response.$1.8bn hunt for critical minerals
The offshore mining initiative is part of a larger $1.8bn seven-year National Critical Mineral Mission announced by the Modi government in January.
Critical minerals are the building blocks of the global green energy transition and are seen as vital to India’s 2070 net-zero emission goals. “But it’s not just the green transition, from pharmaceuticals to consumer durables such as air conditioners, critical minerals are a part of the larger economy,” Ganesh Sivamani, associate fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Social and Economic Progress, said.
Several minerals are critical for India’s clean energy transition and manufacturing self-sufficiency, primarily lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth metals. “We are 100 percent import-dependent on almost all of them. There are some levels of domestic production of rare earths, but not nearly enough to manufacture all the clean energy equipment we need,” Sivamani said.“What the National Critical Mineral Mission can do is try to open up the mining sector in India,” Sivamani said. “Once we build up the capacity to mine these minerals and have access to an uninterrupted supply, we won’t need to rely on other nations.”
But this will take time, much beyond the projected seven-year timeline, Sivamani told Al Jazeera. “Mining itself is such a slow-moving sector. From exploration to obtaining clearances to setting up processing industries, it will take 15-20 years before we can see the benefits,” he said.
And speed over caution is not a smart strategy, he warned. “The laws they are passing seem to suggest that they are going back” on some of the government’s commitments on environmental protection, he said.
Though construction sand isn’t listed as a critical mineral, it is an increasingly important resource, Sivamani said.“It is going to be the driving force behind the construction industry in India, which is going to experience a massive boom as urbanisation increases,” he said. “[But], I believe at this point, like other countries in the West and island nations, India, too, should put a moratorium on offshore mining.”
France declared its support for a ban on all deep-sea mining as early as November 2022. Since then, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have all called for a moratorium.
Sea sand mining will be essential in the future, according to Biju Kumar. “If not today, tomorrow we will have to turn to the ocean for sand,” he said. “But the problem is where to mine? The government should identify sites with minimum ecological and social impacts.”
For now, Kerala’s fishing community is braced for a fight. If the Modi government decides to go ahead with the offshore mining plan despite opposition from fishers, the Kerala government and scientists like Biju Kumar, George said, it would be going “against the wishes of an entire state”.“We will not let it happen.” Man posing as UK doctor held in India after fatal surgeries (BBC)
BBC [4/8/2025 8:59 AM, Vishnukant Tiwari and Neyaz Farooquee, 33298K]
Police in India have arrested a man, who is accused of impersonating a British doctor, for performing surgeries that allegedly led to the death of seven patients.
Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav - also known as Dr N John Camm - worked as a cardiologist at a missionary hospital in Madhya Pradesh state.
Police accuse him of fraud, cheating and forgery and allege that the 53-year-old, who has worked as a doctor for almost two decades, faked his medical degrees.
They are also investigating allegations that he added the name of Prof John Camm, a leading cardiologist at UK’s St George Hospital, to his own to gain credibility. Mr Yadav has denied the allegations against him.
On Monday, just hours before he was arrested, he sent a legal notice of 50m rupees ($580,000; £455,000) to two dozen individuals and publishers for claiming he impersonated "some other cardiologist".
The Mission Hospital in Damoh city, where Mr Yadav worked for a few weeks, has denied having any knowledge of his alleged fake credentials.
"Nobody suspected him of being a fake doctor. He was good at his job and acted like a big-time professor," a hospital official told The Indian Express newspaper.
The case first came to light in February, when a child welfare committee in Damoh flagged the deaths to district officials.
"We got suspicious about his expertise and checked his credentials online and found that he had cases against him in at least three states," claimed Deepak Tiwari, president of the district Child Welfare Committee.
An investigation found that Mr Yadav had quit his job at the hospital earlier that month and "gone missing" without explanation.
He was arrested in the city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state on Monday evening.
"The accused doctor had worked on a total of 64 cases, including 45 cases of angioplasty, which led to seven patient deaths," the district’s police chief Shrut Kirti Somvanshi told BBC Hindi.
It’s not yet clear whether his degrees are genuine or fake, but police believe they were likely to be forged as the documents lack key details, such as a unique registration number given to each student.
This is not the first time that questions have been raised about Mr Yadav’s identity.
In a 2019 blog post, he claimed that he trained in the UK under Prof A John Camm and joined St George’s hospital in 2002 as an "Interventional Cardiologist".
He claimed he first returned to India in 2003 to work at a leading heart hospital in Delhi and had worked in the US, Germany and Spain since then.
In one post shared in 2021, Mr Yadav wrote that he was developing a 5,000-bed John Camm Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in the western state of Rajasthan.
"The hospital is being developed under [the] leadership of Dr N John Camm, renowned Interventional Cardiologist from Germany, and will [be] spread over 100 acres of land and will have world class research and tissue labs," he claimed.
But public records show that he registered four companies in the UK in 2018 under the name of Dr Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, which he later got changed to Dr Narendra John Camm.
In 2023, a well-known fact-checker in India too had raised questions about his credentials after he allegedly created an X (formerly Twitter) account under the name of "Prof N John Camm".
After some of his posts went viral, the real Prof Camm put out a statement clarifying that it was not his account and that he was being impersonated.
Police say Mr Yadav has also been at the centre of several other investigations.
In 2019, he was arrested for allegedly abducting a British doctor he had invited to work with him at a hospital in Hyderabad city.
And in 2014, India’s medical regulators had banned him for five years for "professional misconduct", parliamentary records show.
Records show that he was also charged with fraud and cheating in 2013 in Uttar Pradesh. However, a court stayed the complaint against him. NSB
Bangladesh pledges US cotton purchases to save garment sector (Financial Times)
Financial Times [4/8/2025 11:41 PM, John Reed, 14.6M]
Bangladesh is hoping a pledge to buy more US cotton will help persuade President Donald Trump not to maintain a 37 per cent tariff on its exports that threatens its vital garment sector.“Bangladesh will take all necessary actions to fully support your trade agenda,” interim leader Muhammad Yunus promised Trump in a letter published this week that also promised Bangladeshi tariff cuts on American products such as gas turbines, semiconductors and medical equipment.
The 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s offer comes amid concern in Dhaka that Trump’s tariffs could unravel an industry that subsists on low margins but generates four-fifths of Bangladesh’s export earnings.
Economists have also praised the industry’s role in lifting millions of women out of poverty. But they have long warned of the country’s over-reliance on a single-industry “monoculture”.
The tariff threat to the garment industry adds to the worries of Yunus’s interim administration as it tries to revive Bangladesh’s economy, reform state institutions and mend ties with India, which supported former authoritarian leader Sheikh Hasina, who was overthrown last year.
In his letter to Trump, Yunus asked for a three-month grace period on the tariffs to allow his government to “substantially increase US exports to Bangladesh”.
Alongside an offer to “significantly increase” imports of wheat, corn and soyabeans, he said Bangladesh would streamline customs procedures and build dedicated duty-free bonded warehouses for cotton “to improve speed to market”.
The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest cotton importer after China, on track to import 8mn bales in the year 2024-25, according to a report published by the US Department of Agriculture this month. West Africa was its largest source of cotton, making up 35 per cent of its imports in 2023-24, followed by neighbouring India and Brazil. The US accounted for 11 per cent of its imports.
Bangladesh garment sector officials said imported US cotton was priced competitively relative to that of other suppliers — including product brought by road from India. However, they said setting up warehouses where cotton could be stocked and delivered on a shorter lead time would allow Bangladesh to buy more, easing the pressure from Washington over the US trade deficit.
Clothing manufacturers in Bangladesh that supply US companies warn that if the tariffs are maintained, they will lose business to rival countries that were promised lower tariff rates on what Trump dubbed “liberation day”.“Jordan, Egypt and Kenya will be the biggest winners,” said Miran Ali, a member of the support committee of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. “These are the only countries with any garment sectors worth speaking of which are not subject to massively increased tariffs, and which will now benefit.”
Egypt and Jordan were subjected to relatively low 10 per cent and 20 per cent tariffs, respectively, in last week’s announcement by the US administration. Kenya — with a 10 per cent tariff — is among the countries that benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a long-standing US trade scheme that gave eligible countries duty-free market access.
The terms of trade had “now changed dramatically”, Ali said.“Brands are going to want to share the costs with us,” said Mahir Ahmed, director of Apex Holdings, a clothing producer whose buyers include Target, Walmart and Gap. “For a country investing in sustainability, this development feels like a curveball that could affect everything from cost structures to international competitiveness.”
A second industry executive, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said: “We have been hearing of order placements being deferred, and we anticipate big challenges with pricing structures due to the tariffs.”
The bulk of Bangladesh’s clothing exports goes to US “big box” mass market retailers such as JCPenney, Target and Walmart, and manufacturers said they expected that business to be harder hit than orders from premium brands such as Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger. “The impact will be on the US customer,” said Vidiya Amrit Khan, deputy managing director of Desh Garments, which lists US retailers Macy’s and Target among its customers. “Will they be willing to pay more?”
The US tariff threat is the latest setback for the industry after the Covid-19 pandemic and the political and labour unrest that accompanied the overthrow of Hasina, which caused some foreign buyers to divert business.
Manufacturers had also been preparing for Bangladesh’s expected “graduation” from UN Least Developed Country status next year, which will mean the loss of trade preferences it enjoys from some European and other countries.
The country’s producers have spent heavily on improving their safety, environmental and other credentials since a 2012 fire at a garment factory near Dhaka that killed at least 112 people and put a spotlight on sustainability.“We invested in these initiatives to make Bangladesh a sustainable destination for US brands in particular,” said Apex Holdings’s Ahmed. “But the tariffs are undermining all these investments.” BRICS bank to triple lending to Bangladesh, pledges $1 billion in 2025 (Reuters)
Reuters [4/8/2025 11:58 AM, Staff, 27248K]
The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS nations plans to raise its lending to Bangladesh to $1 billion this year, more than tripling its current support, the Bangladesh government said in a statement on Tuesday.
The bank has already approved $320 million for a project to expand the water supply to the Dhaka area, and intends to more than triple that amount in response to Bangladesh’s growing development needs, it said.
The NDB has introduced multi-currency lending, which will benefit Bangladesh, the statement said, quoting the bank’s Vice President Vladimir Kazbekov.
Established in 2015, the NDB supports development and infrastructure projects across BRICS member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and other emerging economies.A delegation from the International Monetary Fund is currently in Bangladesh to review progress before releasing two tranches of the $4.7 billion bailout that was sought in 2023. Nepal Royalists Seek Return Of King (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/8/2025 11:37 PM, Anup Ojha, 931K]
Nearly two decades since Nepal became a secular republic, a surge of pro-monarchy protests have swept the Himalayan nation, fuelled by economic despair and disillusionment with current leaders.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets last month in a royalist rally that turned violent, with two people killed and more than 100 arrested.
It was one of the latest in a wave of protests demanding the restoration of the monarchy, which has grown in tandem with popular dissatisfaction over political instability, corruption and lacklustre economic development.
The Hindu-majority nation became a secular republic in 2008 after parliament abolished the monarchy in a peace deal to end a decade-long civil war in which more than 16,000 people died.
Rajendra Lingden, chairperson of the royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), Nepal’s fifth-largest party, said the king is linked with national identity and pride.
"We do not seek monarchy as a ruling institution, but rather as a guardian that safeguards national interests and prevents foreign interference," Lingden told AFP.
In 2017, RPP won a single seat in parliament. Then in the last election in 2022, their royalist and pro-Hindu agenda gained them 14 seats.
"The country faces instability, prices are high, people are jobless, and there is a lack of education and healthcare facilities", said Rajindra Kunwar, 43, a teacher who joined a royalist demonstration last month.
"That’s why we need the king back."
Former king Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, 77, was crowned in 2001 after his elder brother king Birendra Bir Bikram Shah and his family were killed in a palace massacre that wiped out most of the royal family.
His coronation took place as the Maoist insurgency raged in far-flung corners of Nepal.
Shah suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament in 2005, triggering a democratic uprising in which the Maoists sided with Nepal’s political establishment to orchestrate huge street protests.
That eventually precipitated the end of the conflict, with parliament voting in 2008 to abolish Nepal’s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy.
"I have assisted in and respected the verdict of the people," Shah said in a short address before leaving his palace, adding that he "will not leave this country" and go into exile.
As he departed, many gathered to cheer the monarchy’s end, while a few royalists wept.
Mainstream politicians have dismissed a return to the past.
"Monarchy is a failed and outdated concept," said Rajaram Bartaula, chief whip of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), which governs in a coalition with the Nepali Congress Party.
"Conscious Nepalis of the 21st century will not accept the return of the monarchy," he added.
The World Bank notes that impoverished Nepal faces multiple challenges.
But it also said this month that real GDP grew by 4.9 percent in the first half of the 2025 financial year -- up from 4.3 percent in the same period a year earlier -- primarily due to a "pickup in agricultural and industrial sectors".
The deposed king had largely refrained from commenting on Nepal’s fractious politics -- but in the last few months, he made several public appearances, mainly visiting religious sites with supporters.
"It is now time," the former king said in a statement on the eve of national democracy day in February before embarking on a tour of several districts.
"If we wish to save our nation and maintain national unity, I call on all countrymen to support us for Nepal’s prosperity and progress."
His arrival in Kathmandu airport last month drew thousands of supporters, who waved the national flag and chanted: "Come king, save the nation".
Political analyst Hari Sharma said the royalists were seizing an opportunity as dissatisfaction grows among many ordinary Nepalis.
"The royalists have found the chance to articulate their demands and frustrations, especially in a global climate where right-wing conservative ideas are gaining traction," Hari Sharma said. Sri Lanka Passes Landmark Law To Recover Stolen Assets (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/8/2025 9:42 AM, Staff, 931K]
Sri Lanka’s government introduced sweeping legislation Tuesday to recover stolen assets and pave the way for the prosecution of high-profile politicians from previous administrations, among others.
The Proceeds of Crime bill was passed unanimously in parliament, where the leftist government of President Anura Dissanayake enjoys a two-thirds majority after elections last year.
"This is a historic day for Sri Lanka," Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told the assembly. "This is the first bill of the new government."
He said the bill had been in the works for nine years, but the new administration had accelerated it to deliver on a promise to pursue politicians who had bankrupted the country.
It allows for the seizure and confiscation of ill-gotten wealth even without a criminal conviction, and it can be applied to unexplained assets accumulated in the past.
The legislation is also in line with an International Monetary Fund bailout programme that the island nation entered into in early 2023, after declaring bankruptcy.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports, such as food, fuel and medicines.
Months of street protests led to the resignation of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a younger brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who ruled for a decade until January 2015.
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that then-president Gotabaya, his then-prime minister brother Mahinda and then-finance minister brother Basil were responsible for the unprecedented economic meltdown.
Several relatives, including two of Mahinda’s children, are currently facing criminal proceedings over corruption and money laundering.
Dissanayake came to power promising to prosecute high-profile politicians accused of embezzlement.
The new legislation gives sweeping powers to a special police unit to seize property and freeze bank accounts.
It also allows the authorities to seek help from foreign governments to locate and bring back stolen assets stashed abroad.
Courts are to apply the balance of probability principle, rather than the beyond reasonable doubt standard used in normal criminal cases. Sri Lanka’s Climate Exodus (Foreign Policy)
Foreign Policy [4/8/2025 12:55 PM, Dimuthu Attanayake, 1.4M]
Soon after Ravindra Lamosia started working as a tenant farmer more than a decade ago, he learned the hard way that climate extremes could swiftly destroy his family’s livelihood. The first year, his farm, located near the Sri Lankan town of Talawa, flooded. The second year, a drought destroyed the entire rice paddy, along with any hope of an income that season.
After the drought, his family “fell into money troubles,” Lamosia said in January last year, sitting in his brother’s house in Gangasiripura, a village near Talawa. They could not pay back the loans that they had taken out to farm. The family’s debt was a major factor in why his wife, Ishara, decided to move to Lebanon to find a job as a domestic worker.
In the agricultural heartlands of Sri Lanka’s North Central Province, many farming families have been torn apart as women like Ishara migrate to the Middle East in search of work. Sri Lanka is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts—in 2023 it faced both deadly flooding and a drought that devastated farmlands, while in 2024 there were major floods throughout the year. As erratic weather events become more frequent in the country, farming has become an increasingly precarious livelihood.
So far, the Sri Lankan government has done little to support these farmers. Although past administrations set ambitious climate targets, they did not fully recognize the severity of the threat that climate change poses to everyday Sri Lankans or implement comprehensive policies to support farming communities.
In September, Sri Lanka elected its first leftist president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the socialist National People’s Power party. His party’s manifesto features a section dedicated to building a “sustainable” world, which includes ensuring “environmental justice” and emphasizes the need for gender equality. But it is too soon to tell how his ambitious plans will be implemented, especially since his government has yet to make progress on many of its promises, and few analysts expect the trend in the climate-driven out-migration of women workers to abate anytime soon.
Women have migrated from Sri Lanka to the Middle East to find work—particularly to Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—for decades, but recent years have seen an uptick in this trend.
From the 1990s to 2000s, female domestic workers made up around 60 percent of Sri Lankan migrant workers in the Middle East, according to research conducted by Anoji Ekanayake, a Sri Lanka- and Qatar-based migration researcher, and her colleagues. (The other 40 percent comprised men and women working in other industries.)
The proportion of female domestic workers among Sri Lankan laborers in the Middle East fell to around 28 percent after the government implemented policies in the late 2000s and early 2010s to control labor migration. According to Ekanayake, some of these policies promoted male migration by creating more opportunities in male-dominated occupations, while others directly sought to decrease the out-migration of female domestic workers.
But in 2022, that figure rose again. That year, 124,091 Sri Lankan women migrated for semi-skilled and low-skilled jobs—nearly all to the Middle East, where they made up around 37 percent of the country’s migrants to that region. Remittances from the Middle East totaled $1.94 billion—more than half of all foreign remittances entering Sri Lanka in 2022.
Economic pressures contributed to this trend. Sri Lanka faces a debilitating debt crisis, and after its historic debt default in 2022, the government imposed austerity measures, including tax hikes, as part of an economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund. There have also been fewer jobs for less-skilled workers.“When [female farmers] face financial pressure, they turn to migration to the Middle East as they consider it as a way of accumulating considerable savings within a short span of time,” Ekanayake said.Climate change has had an outsized impact on migration as well, said Vimukthi de Silva, the North Central provincial coordinator for the Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform, a collective of organizations for small-scale farmers and marginalized communities in Sri Lanka.
According to Sri Lanka’s 2023 national policy on climate change, in the previous decade, climate-induced hazards had become 22 times greater than in the period between 1973 and 1983. This has severely disrupted Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector, de Silva said, which employs around 27 percent of Sri Lankans over the age of 15.
Traditionally, Sri Lanka has two monsoon-dependent seasons for farming, and rain cycles dictate the timeline of the harvesting process for rice, the country’s staple crop, as well as finger millet, legumes, and vegetables. Now, rather than intermittent rains, farmers face long dry spells and prolonged periods of rain—both of which can devastate crop production.
Climate-driven outmigration of Sri Lanka’s agricultural workers remains poorly studied. But when SLYCAN Trust, a Sri Lanka-based think tank, interviewed 57 Sri Lankan migrant workers in Kuwait—where an estimated 130,000 Sri Lankans live—from 2020-21, 63 percent said that climate-related impacts contributed to their decision to work abroad. A quarter of the migrants surveyed formerly worked in “small-scale agriculture.”
Women are integral to Sri Lanka’s agricultural economy. Only 31.3 percent of Sri Lankan women participate in the formal labor force, as traditional gender roles push them toward unpaid work at home, including in farming. Farmers often work collectively as families; in general, women clean the farms, plant seeds, and harvest, while men are involved in land preparation, fertilizer application, and other tasks that require machinery. But women also work as tenant farmers and laborers under other farmers. As of 2021, they comprised around 36 percent of the country’s workforce in the agricultural sector.
Female agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which “exacerbates” existing gender inequalities in Sri Lanka, said Vositha Wijenayake, the executive director of SLYCAN Trust. Since many of these women do not own land, they do not have access to credit or government subsidies. Crop losses also contribute to malnutrition and, consequently, can lead to worse maternal and child health. And financial struggles in the home often worsen existing gender-based violence in rural Sri Lanka.
In the face of these risks, more women from farming families now want to go abroad, de Silva said.
Women migrating for work comes with challenges at home, including disruptions to care for older family members and children, as migrants noted in SLYCAN Trust’s survey. When mothers go abroad for work, “children live in different houses, families are separated,” de Silva said. “It’s a tragedy.”
Ravindra Lamosia’s family faced many of these problems. When his wife first went abroad, their older son was just 2 years old. In 2022, she left again due to the family’s financial troubles, migrating to Saudi Arabia and leaving behind her two young children. Both times, Lamosia’s mother, Mallika, took over child care, despite ongoing chest pain. “I am sick these days—the doctor asked me to stay at the hospital—but I can’t leave the children behind,” Mallika said.
Seeking work abroad can also be dangerous for women, and some even become victims of human trafficking. Recruiters (known locally as “agents”) exploit rural women’s desperation and limited knowledge on the migration process, promising easy informal routes to domestic work abroad. “People do not know what the agency is,” de Silva said. “They cannot even read the documents sometimes.” Once they arrive at the destination, many of these women find that the salaries are much lower than promised or are never paid. In some cases, the job does not even exist, and the women are left stranded in an unfamiliar country without adequate resources.
Still, migration has provided a much-needed financial cushion to families like Lamosia’s. In the 2010s, his family was able to pay off its loans with the money that his wife sent home, and build parts of their house, though it remains unfinished.
Saman Padmalatha, a farmer from Gangasiripura, worked in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on and off for around 25 years until 2019. She said that her family built a house with the money she sent, and also expanded their farm, but a drought around 20 years ago wrecked their crops. “[We] planted corn in 2.5 acres of land, the plants grew tall, but we could only harvest four corn cobs,” she said. “After that, I went abroad again to repay the loans taken to plant corn.”
Today, Padmalatha’s family continues to plant paddy rice and vegetables. The farm hardly brings in any money, but they keep a portion of the harvest, which ensures that they can at least put food on the table.
Climate migration will only worsen in the coming years. In 2021, the World Bank predicted that Sri Lanka will see a significant increase in extreme heat under all potential emissions pathways. Carbon Brief, meanwhile, has projected that the country will face 1 to 3.6 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100. These trends will “create problems with relation to agriculture,” said Buddhi Marambe, a senior professor in crop science at Sri Lanka’s University of Peradeniya.
Rising temperatures prevent crop fertilization, he said, and unexpected periods of rain can also crush incomes at certain times, such as when farmworkers are drying harvested paddy. In addition, one 2015 study projected that there will be a 14 to 26 percent decrease in net returns per farm in Sri Lanka due to climate change by 2040-2069 compared with 2012-2013.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s farmers will remain at the mercy of changing weather patterns. In Talawa, Padmalatha lamented the challenge of trying to predict the weather. Because of drought, her family switched to planting soya. “But now it’s raining, and rains are not good for soya,” Padmalatha said, sitting under a tree beside the fields after weeding for hours under the hot sun. “Nothing is certain until the harvest is taken inside.” Central Asia
China trying to expand role as arms supplier to Central Asia (EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet [4/8/2025 4:14 PM, Staff, 57.6K]
China has succeeded in muscling aside Russia as Central Asia’s top trade partner. Now, Beijing appears intent on capturing a share of the regional arms market.
Until very recently, China was a non-factor as an arms supplier to Central Asian states. For most of the post-Soviet era, Russia dominated the regional arms market, especially sales to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. But Russia’s arms exports have plummeted since the Russian army became bogged down in Ukraine, opening up opportunities for other nations, including Turkey, Belarus, France, Spain and Italy, to boost sales.
China is also entering the mix. In 2024, Beijing reportedly supplied drones to Kazakhstan and in February sold anti-aircraft systems to Uzbekistan. Now, reports are circulating that Tashkent is pondering a major purchase of Chinese-made fighter jets. A report published by defense-blog.com indicates the deal may involve JF-17s, which are jointly designed by China and Pakistan.
Its designers tout JF-17s as an “advanced, lightweight, all weather, day/night multi-role fighter aircraft … [possessing] excellent air-to-air and air-to-surface combat capabilities.”
If the deal is completed, it would mark a sales coup for Beijing. Uzbek officials were reportedly considering purchasing French-made Rafale fighters before Chinese officials pressed their sales pitch. The JF-17s are reportedly less expensive to maintain than Rafale fighters and require less extensive pilot training.
An announcement of a Chinese sale of fighters coming so soon after the Central Asia-European Union summit would help reinforce the notion that Central Asia has become China’s economic backyard.
From 2018-23, China sold arms to about 40 nations, mainly in Africa and across Asia, good for 5.8 percent of all global arms exports during that period. Only the United States, France and Russia had higher global market shares during that six-year span. Karakalpak Refugees Find Asylum in the US (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [4/8/2025 6:39 PM, Catherine Putz, 2K]
In October 2024, four Karakalpak activists – Tleubike Yuldasheva, Ziuar Mirmanbetova, Raisa Khudaibergenova, and Zhangeldi Zhaksymbetov – received word that they had been granted asylum in the United States.
The four had been detained in Kazakhstan between September and November 2022 at the request of Uzbekistan along with Koshkarbai Toremuratov (who was granted asylum in Poland in January 2025). Their detentions came in the wake of violence in Karakalpakstan – an autonomous republic with a complicated history with Tashkent – earlier in 2022, when Uzbek authorities offered up a constitutional revision that would have deleted Karakalpakstan’s constitutional right to secede.
The four activists were held in pretrial detention in Almaty for about a year each before being released in the latter half of 2023. Although they were released rather than being deported to Uzbekistan, their asylum applications in Kazakhstan were denied – putting them in a kind of limbo.
A few months later, another Karakalpak activist, Aqylbek Muratbai, was detained, illustrating the precarity of remaining in Kazakhstan and the desire on the part of some Uzbek authorities to reach across the border. (Muratbai was released in February 2025).
In the following interview, Yuldasheva, Mirmanbetova, Khudaibergenova, and Zhaksymbetov speak for themselves about the events of 2022, their activism, their connections to Karakalpakstan and Kazakhstan, and what steps they hope are taken by the international community and the Uzbek authorities to address the situation in Karakalpakstan.
The Diplomat thanks the intermediary who helped translate and edit the interview responses.
In October 2024 you and other Karakalpak activists who had previously been detained in Kazakhstan, at the request of Uzbekistan, were granted asylum in the United States. What can you tell us about that process and your arrival in the U.S.?
In their own words, the Karakalpak refugees express deep gratitude to the United States for granting them asylum and protecting their rights. We are grateful to everyone, especially the U.S. government, for protecting us and providing shelter in the U.S., allowing us to be here instead of in a prison in Uzbekistan.
Ziuar Mirmanbetova recalls the terror of being targeted by Uzbekistan’s authorities: "When Uzbekistan’s special services oppressed us in Kazakhstan, we felt hopeless. It was thanks to international human rights organizations — and, crucially, the protection offered by the U.S. government — that we were spared extradition and found refuge. Being granted asylum wasn’t just a lifeline; it was an acknowledgment of the human rights violations we suffered. We arrived in the United States determined to expose the truth about Karakalpakstan’s sovereignty and to rally international support for our cause.".
This act of protection by the United States stands as a symbol of democracy and a beacon of hope for those suffering under oppressive regimes.
Media coverage has broadly labeled you as "activists." How would you describe yourselves?
We are not just activists; we are defenders of Karakalpakstan’s sovereignty.
The 1990 Declaration of Sovereignty established that Karakalpakstan is independent of Uzbekistan and has the right to self-determination. However, Tashkent has violated this legal status. Karakalpak history was erased from the curricula, replaced with Uzbek history. Karakalpak signs were replaced with Uzbek. Despite Karakalpak being the state language, everything has been in Uzbek. Uzbek authorities began sterilizing Karakalpak women. Young men were forced into surgeries under the pretext of illness.
Tell me about your life in Kazakhstan and your connections to Karakalpakstan. What do you want people to know about Karakalpakstan?
Karakalpak people do not face discrimination in Kazakhstan and are treated with dignity.
However, Uzbekistan has created a harsh economic environment in Karakalpakstan, forcing many to seek opportunities in other countries where jobs are available.
Raisa Khudaibergenova worked as a cardiologist in Almaty. She was falsely accused of being intoxicated in Karakalpakstan during the protests in Nukus on July 2, 2022. In reality, she was never in Karakalpakstan that day; she was in Kazakhstan, working and attending to patients as usual.
What was your reaction to the Uzbek constitutional amendments proposed in the spring of 2022, which dropped the specific articles referring to Karakalpakstan’s sovereign status and right to secede?
We were outraged as the sovereignty of Karakalpakstan was under direct threat. The Karakalpak diaspora in Kazakhstan met with the Uzbek Embassy to express our concerns. Our families and friends in Karakalpakstan voiced their opposition on social media, called, and sent letters to government officials. However, the government completely disregarded these protests, which ultimately led to the organization of a peaceful demonstration.
Those provisions were ultimately retained, but not until after considerable violence in Nukus in July 2022. What do you think is important for the world to understand about the events of that summer?
The tragedy in Karakalpakstan in July 2022 was a horrific display of state violence, constituting clear war crimes and crimes against humanity at the hands of the Uzbek government. Protestors, unarmed and peacefully defending their constitution, were met with ruthless force as Uzbekistan’s military unleashed military-grade weapons and grenades upon them. The government has deliberately downplayed the true scale of the atrocities, but the truth cannot be concealed.
In a desperate attempt to shift blame, the Uzbek authorities falsely accused protesters of setting fire to a truck. However, there were no burn marks on the ground, revealing the fabricated nature of the accusation. The burned truck, brought in from another region of Uzbekistan, was used as a prop to falsely implicate the protesters. The subsequent internet blackout and systematic destruction of evidence only serve to underscore the government’s efforts to cover up these crimes.
This was not just a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters; it was an intentional, calculated effort by the Uzbek government to suppress dissent and erase the truth. The world must recognize these atrocities for what they are – an attempt to silence a people’s demand for justice and self-determination.
What steps do you think need to be taken to address the situation in Karakalpakstan? By local leaders, by Uzbekistan, by the international community?
We want the international community to understand that Karakalpakstan stands at a historic crossroads. This is a nation that declared its independence on December 14, 1990, becoming the second state after Lithuania to break free from Soviet domination. Karakalpakstan’s bold assertion of self-determination is not only a legal and moral claim but also a strategic one. Rich in critical mineral resources and strategically located near Russia, China, and Iran, Karakalpakstan’s independence is crucial for regional stability and global economic interests.
For decades, Karakalpakstan has suffered under Uzbek domination, enduring cultural erasure, forced assimilation, and systematic human rights abuses, including forced sterilizations, mass detentions, and the suppression of its language and customs. Despite these hardships, the 1990 Declaration of Sovereignty remains a testament to its enduring spirit and the legitimacy of its quest for nationhood.
Further reinforcing its claim, Karakalpakstan signed a 20-year agreement with Uzbekistan acknowledging that its inclusion in Uzbekistan is only temporary. Both Karakalpakstan’s and Uzbekistan’s constitutions recognize Karakalpakstan as a sovereign entity, reaffirming its right to self-determination.
The international community must not turn a blind eye to these violations. Upholding the principles of justice and self-determination means recognizing that when a people are systematically oppressed and denied their fundamental rights, their pursuit of independence is not an act of rebellion, but a necessary step toward freedom.
Now is the time for decisive action. The world must stand in solidarity with Karakalpakstan by:
Recognizing its sovereign right to self-determination.
Condemning the ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by the Uzbek regime.
Releasing all Karakalpak political prisoners.
Supporting international legal processes to hold perpetrators accountable.
Acknowledging the strategic, economic, and legal case for Karakalpakstan’s independence.
The international community has both the responsibility and the opportunity to ensure that another nation is not denied its birthright of independence. Kyrgyzstan’s Top Muslim Body Backs Ban On Full-body Veils (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [4/8/2025 11:24 AM, Staff, 931K]
Kyrgyzstan’s official Muslim governing body has come out in favour of a government ban on full-body veils known as the niqab, as Central Asian officials seek to combat growing Islamist influence, local media reported.
The Muslim-majority country introduced a ban earlier this year on the garment, worn by some adult women, that covers most of the body except the eyes.
Those found wearing the garment could be fined 20,000 Som ($230), more than half the monthly average wage.
"The niqab is alien to our society," the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan was quoted as saying by local media on Tuesday.
"It is possible that our niqab-wearing sisters are attackers in disguise, which threatens public safety. So it is important to openly show your face to be recognisable," it added.
After becoming independent from the USSR, the five Muslim-majority countries of Central Asia saw a rapid revival of interest in Islamism that its secular governments have sought to suppress.
The region has seen a rise in Islamic radicalisation in recent years, and thousands of Central Asian citizens left to join jihadist groups in the Middle East during the rise of the Islamic State between 2013-2015.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, who signed the ban into law in January, said in an interview Saturday that women had traditionally "never worn a burqa" in the country and that the move was "important for ensuring public safety".
Central Asia’s Islamic "spiritual administrations" are nominally independent from the government but have their roots in the official, Soviet-era governing bodies that sought to enforce the state’s authority over religion. Indo-Pacific
Trump administration moves to restore some terminated foreign aid programs, sources say (Reuters)
Reuters [4/8/2025 6:51 PM, Jonathan Landay, Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk, 41523K]
President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to reinstate at least six recently canceled U.S. foreign aid programs for emergency food assistance, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The quick reversal of decisions made just days ago underscored the rapid-fire nature of Trump’s cuts to foreign aid. That has led to programs being cut, restored then cut again, disrupting international humanitarian operations.
USAID Acting Deputy Administrator Jeremy Lewin, who has previously been identified as a member of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, asked staff in an internal email to reverse the terminations.
He asked to restore awards to the World Food Programme in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq and Ecuador, five sources familiar with the matter said.
The administration has also resumed four awards to the International Organization for Migration in the Pacific region, two sources familiar with the matter said.
"Sorry for all the back and forth on awards," Lewin said on Tuesday in the internal email seen by Reuters. "There are a lot of stakeholders and we need to do better about balancing these competing interests — that’s my fault and I take responsibility," he added.
Reuters reported on Monday that the Trump administration had ended life-saving aid programs for more than a dozen countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Syria, totaling over $1.3 billion.
According to Stand Up For Aid, an advocacy group of current and former U.S. officials, WFP contracts canceled on Lewin’s orders last weekend for Lebanon, Syria, Somalia and Jordan totaled more than $463 million.
Many of the terminated programs had been granted waivers by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio following an initial round of cuts to foreign aid programs. The State Department said those did not reflect a final decision.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about restoring the awards.
A ‘DEATH SENTENCE’
The decision to restore some aid followed pressure from inside the administration and from Congress, two sources said.
The World Food Programme said on Monday that the U.S. notified the organization it was eliminating emergency food assistance funding in 14 countries, warning: "If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation.".
The U.S. did not restore aid to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and to Yemen, most of which is controlled by Islamist militants of the Iran-backed Houthi movement. Washington has been the largest aid donor to both countries, which have suffered years of devastating war.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Tuesday told reporters that the United States had concerns that WFP funding for Yemen and Afghanistan was benefiting the Houthis and the Taliban.
"There were a few programs that were cut in other countries that were not meant to be cut that have been rolled back and put into place," Bruce said, adding that the administration remains committed to foreign aid.
Among the cuts over the weekend were $169.8 million for the WFP in Somalia, covering food assistance, nutrition for malnourished babies and children and humanitarian air support. In Syria, $111 million was cut from WFP food assistance.
The cuts have been the latest piece of the Trump administration’s drive to dismantle USAID, the main U.S. humanitarian aid agency.
The administration has canceled billions of dollars in foreign aid since the Republican president began his second term on January 20 in an overhaul that officials described as marked by chaos and confusion.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats on Tuesday wrote a letter to Rubio regarding plans to restructure the State Department, including by folding in USAID, which they said was "unconstitutional, illegal, unjustified, damaging, and inefficient.". Twitter
Afghanistan
Beth W. Bailey@BWBailey85
[4/8/2025 12:23 PM, 8.3K followers, 19 retweets, 81 likes]
DOD spokesperson confirms there is no U.S. military presence in Afghanistan at this time, squashing reports that the U.S. has taken over Bagram Air Base
Beth W. Bailey@BWBailey85
[4/8/2025 10:27 AM, 8.3K followers, 4 retweets, 14 likes]
Suhail Shaheen tells me that "it is not true" that the U.S. has taken over Bagram.
Shawn VanDiver@shawnjvandiver
[4/8/2025 12:11 PM, 32.9K followers, 14 retweets, 118 likes]
Do not believe random internet idiots telling you that we are landing U.S. military aircraft in Afghanistan. It’s not true. It’s not real. #AfghanEvac
UN Afghanistan@unafghanistan
[4/9/2025 1:43 AM, 93.7K followers, 19 retweets, 25 likes]
In 2024, the UN in #Afghanistan strengthened joined-up humanitarian, basic human needs and peace operations, resulting in more efficient and effective support for the Afghan people. Read our Results Report here: https://afghanistan.un.org/en/292116-2024-un-afghanistan-annual-results-report
UN Afghanistan@unafghanistan
[4/9/2025 1:43 AM, 93.7K followers, 3 likes]
Despite challenges, the UN continued to deliver results in #Afghanistan. In 2024, 32 mln healthcare service interventions supported; 3.4 million women, men, girls and boys received explosive ordinance risk education; 13,600 MSMEs assisted; 38,700 provided with legal support.
UN Afghanistan@unafghanistan
[4/9/2025 1:43 AM, 93.7K followers, 1 retweet, 5 likes]
In 2025, UN will prioritize maximizing linkages across all agencies, funds, and programmes to support the people of #Afghanistan. With funding challenges, our interventions will be more focused and targeted. Pakistan
Shehbaz Sharif@CMShehbaz
[4/9/2025 12:57 AM, 6.7M followers, 302 retweets, 953 likes]
Another good news! Alhamdolilah PIA set to post its first profit in 20 years ,a major turnaround after decades of losses.The skies ahead look brighter, INSHALLAH!Great team effort led by Khawaja Asif, Minister Aviation @KhawajaMAsif
Dr. Arif Alvi@ArifAlvi
[4/8/2025 3:44 PM, 4.4M followers, 4.2K retweets, 9.7K likes]
I strongly condemn the treatment being meted out to sisters of @ImranKhanPTI It is shameful indeed. They have not allowed the family to meet him and no calls even with his sons. Only selective information goes in, but I am still proud of my leader, that despite all these cruel shenanigans he has stayed steadfast to his vision, not yielding an inch to these cruel usurpers of power. The people of Pakistan will prevail
Dr. Arif Alvi@ArifAlvi
[4/8/2025 3:34 PM, 4.4M followers, 133 retweets, 749 likes]
I would like to condole the death of Senator Taj Haider whom I respected as a friend and with whom I had many private debates. He was a rare breed of Marxists and a committed leftist among those who remained, after the demise of socialist movements the world over. May his soul rest in peace.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/8/2025 3:01 PM, 3.1M followers, 10 retweets, 25 likes]
Pakistan’s Weekly Sensitive Price Index (SPI) has recorded a notable decline in key commodity prices. Prudent policies and effective governance under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif are yielding tangible results, reflecting the government’s strong commitment to curbing inflation and delivering economic relief to the public. (1/2)
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[4/8/2025 3:01 PM, 3.1M followers, 4 retweets, 8 likes]
Pakistan’s Weekly Sensitive Price Index (SPI) has recorded a notable decline in key commodity prices. (2/2) India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/9/2025 12:38 AM, 107.4M followers, 1.1K retweets, 5.8K likes]
Entertainment is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries and it’s only getting bigger. The WAVES Summit will showcase India’s creative power on the global stage.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[4/8/2025 6:57 AM, 107.4M followers, 4K retweets, 25K likes]
Dadi Ratan Mohini Ji had a towering spiritual presence. She will be remembered as a beacon of light, wisdom and compassion. Her life journey, rooted in deep faith, simplicity and unshakable commitment to service will motivate several people in the times to come. She provided outstanding leadership to the Brahma Kumaris’ global movement. Her humility, patience, clarity of thought and kindness always stood out. She will continue to illuminate the path for all who seek peace and wish to make our society better. I will never forget my interactions with her. My thoughts are with her admirers and the Brahma Kumaris’ global movement in this hour of grief. Om Shanti.
President of India@rashtrapatibhvn
[4/8/2025 1:01 PM, 26.6M followers, 194 retweets, 1K likes]
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the members of Indian Community at a Reception hosted by the Ambassador of India to Portugal. The accompanying Minister of State, Smt. Nimuben Bambhaniya as well as Members of Parliament, Shri Dhaval Patel and Smt. Sandhya Ray were present on the occasion. The President said that members of Indian community representing many parts of India and different communities, not only reflect the diversity of India but also represent the shared values of democracy, pluralism and the spirit of fraternity that bind our two countries.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[4/9/2025 12:38 AM, 3.4M followers, 70 retweets, 308 likes]
In conversation with @Zakka_Jacob at @CNNnews18 #RisingBharatSummit2025. https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1YqJDZVzNzVKVRahul Gandhi@RahulGandhi
[4/8/2025 4:00 AM, 27.7M followers, 3.5K retweets, 10K likes]
I have written to the Honourable President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu ji, seeking her kind intervention in the matter of thousands of qualified school teachers in West Bengal who have lost their jobs following the judiciary’s cancellation of the teacher recruitment process. I have requested her to urge the government to take necessary steps to ensure that candidates who were selected through fair means are allowed to continue.
Derek J. Grossman@DerekJGrossman
[4/8/2025 5:09 PM, 96.7K followers, 41 retweets, 67 likes]
China just approved construction of what will become the world’s largest hydroelectric dam, crossing the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet. The problem? That same river becomes the Brahmaputra and may severely impact downstream nations India and Bangladesh. https://theconversation.com/china-plans-to-build-the-worlds-largest-dam-but-what-does-this-mean-for-india-and-bangladesh-downstream-250109 NSB
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/8/2025 11:47 PM, 139.3K followers, 35 retweets, 423 likes]
72 arrested over attacks on shops DHAKA, April 9: As of now, at least 72 individuals have been arrested in connection with the vandalism and attacks on shops during protests on Monday. Ten cases have been formally filed. Further investigations are underway, and additional cases are in the process of being filed against those responsible for these reprehensible acts.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/8/2025 1:04 PM, 139.3K followers, 37 retweets, 349 likes]
Top US firms to champion growing Bangladesh-US economic partnership DHAKA, April 8: Leading US investors in Bangladesh, represented by the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council, met with the head of the interim Government Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus. They expressed their commitment to champion a growing Bangladesh-U.S. economic partnership and to help catalyze and support mutually beneficial commercial relations between the two nations.
The delegation was led by Peter Haas, former US Ambassador to Bangladesh and Strategic Advisor at Excelerate Energy, and included representatives from Meta, Visa, Chevron, Uber, MetLife, Mastercard, Boeing and the U.S. Soybean Export Council. Excelerate Energy chairs the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council.
The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the Bangladesh Investment Summit, focused on strengthening trade and investment ties between the two countries. U.S. companies expressed their support for a positive and constructive relationship with the Interim Government to support a strong commercial and economic partnership.“U.S. companies have a long-term commitment to the growth story of Bangladesh, one that is anchored in resilience, entrepreneurship and long-term prosperity,” said Haas. The delegation welcomed the Interim Government’s forward-leaning approach to economic reforms that address trade and non-tariff barriers.
Nisha Desai Biswal, who previously served as Deputy CEO of DFC and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, reaffirmed the commitment of U.S. companies that have invested in Bangladesh. The delegation offered to work with the Interim Government to identify steps that Bangladesh can take to address the trade imbalance and attract further U.S. investment.
"American companies are at the heart of Bangladesh’s growth. We want to ensure that Bangladesh positions itself effectively in these conversations," she said, referring to the ongoing tariff discussions.
Professor Yunus thanked the executives for the contributions that American companies have made to Bangladesh’s development and promised the Interim Government’s full support to overcome obstacles and improve the ease of doing business.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/8/2025 11:30 AM, 139.3K followers, 42 retweets, 544 likes]
BRICS-backed bank to lend one billion dollars to Bangladesh this year
DHAKA, April 8: The BRICS-established New Development Bank has planned to raise its lending to Bangladesh development projects to one billion US dollars this year, a vice president of the Shanghai-based multilateral lender said on Tuesday.
Vladimir Kazbekov, a vice president of the NDB, said the bank has approved 320 million US dollars for the implementation of the Expanded Dhaka City Water Supply Resilient project, but this year it wants to more than triple the funding amount in view of Bangladesh’s development needs.
Kazbekov made the comments when he called on the Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh, Professor Muhammad Yunus, at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka.
The Chief Adviser appreciated the role of the new multilateral lender, saying it can make a significant contribution in upgrading its development infrastructure.
Kazbekov said the lender was also committed to making major support for the infrastructure development of the gas sector in Bangladesh.
The NDB was also interested in lending substantially to the country’s private sector in an effort to strengthen their capacity, Kazbekov said.
Bangladesh Chief Adviser stressed NDB lending in social infrastructure such as housing facilities for thousands of workers in the country’s booming economic zones.
Kazbekov said the bank has introduced multi-currency lending, which will benefit Bangladesh.
Shahriar Kader Siddiqi, the Secretary of the Economic Relations Division, said the NDB should focus on introducing country strategy programmes on Bangladesh in an effort to align its funding with the development priorities of Bangladesh.
BIDA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed and ERD Secretary Shahriar Kader Siddiqi were present in the meeting.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/8/2025 10:56 AM, 139.3K followers, 32 retweets, 304 likes]
On Tuesday, Peter Haas led a delegation of the US-Bangladesh Business Council (@USBanglaTrade) Board of Directors — representing top US investors — in a meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna.
Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh@ChiefAdviserGoB
[4/8/2025 10:51 AM, 139.3K followers, 30 retweets, 310 likes]
A new report by the World Bank Group released at the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025 on Tuesday highlighted that Bangladesh could attract significant investments and create millions of jobs by implementing essential reforms across four key sectors. The Country Private Sector Diagnostic( CPSD) report launch was followed by a panel discussion on its findings by Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Envoy of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus for International Affairs, and Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Executive Chairman, (BIDA), as well as private sector leaders, including Arun Mitra, Head of Operations, Nippon Paint, Kamal Quadir, CEO, bKash, Selim R.F. Hussain, Managing Director, BRAC Bank, Sharif Zahir, Managing Director, Ananta Group and Srabanti Datta, Managing Director, ABC Real Estate.
Abdulla Khaleel@abkhaleel
[4/8/2025 7:12 AM, 33.9K followers, 23 retweets, 33 likes]
Had the pleasure of meeting Professor Stephen Calleya, Director of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies. We explored avenues for diplomatic education and cooperation between FOSIM and MEDAC. Looking forward to deeper engagement between our two institutions in shaping the next generation of diplomats. @MEDAC_Malta
PMO Nepal@PM_nepal_
[4/8/2025 8:32 AM, 721.1K followers, 8 retweets, 59 likes]
Rt. Hon. PM KP Sharma Oli addressed the Madhesh Provincial Assembly today, calling for unwavering commitment to strengthening the Federal Democratic Republic—an achievement born of the people’s enduring struggle—and urged all to deepen democracy through dedicated public service.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[4/8/2025 11:52 AM, 149K followers, 8 retweets, 86 likes]
Today, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in the ‘Outcome is clear - Victory is ours!’ public rally in Kottawa. Your presence and support have been vital in uniting our community and reinforcing our collective journey toward progress and renewal. Together, we stand for a brighter future!
Anura Kumara Dissanayake@anuradisanayake
[4/8/2025 10:03 AM, 149K followers, 12 retweets, 177 likes]
Had a productive meeting today with senior officials of @flysrilankan to discuss transforming the airline into a profitable state-owned enterprise. We’re committed to finding both short-term and long-term solutions for its debt management. Together, we will ensure the national carrier thrives!
Namal Rajapaksa@RajapaksaNamal
[4/8/2025 1:03 PM, 436.5K followers, 13 retweets, 114 likes]
Was glad to meet Indian Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji on the sidelines of #RisingBharatSummit2025 today. India has reached greater heights in the modern world under his firm leadership with its economy rapidly growing further.@News18India
Namal Rajapaksa@RajapaksaNamal
[4/8/2025 3:24 AM, 436.5K followers, 6 retweets, 36 likes]
As countries and their economies face fresh challenges amid global shifts, national security, regional stability, and development remain crucial for nations like India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives — with India playing a leading role in the Indian Ocean. At the #RisingBharatSummit2025 in New Delhi, I underlined the importance of our region adapting to emerging trade and business opportunities, calling for new partnerships between nations and businesses. @News18India @palkisu Central Asia
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