Trade tariffs torpedo markets from Shanghai to Tokyo

Today's news: Netanyahu in the United States; the IDF admits ‘errors’ in the killing of 15 health workers near Rafah; Heavy rains hamper relief efforts in Myanmar: risk of outbreaks; Pyongyang hosts first international marathon in six years;Indian Muslims protest the Waqf law, deemed unconstitutional

ASIA

Asian stock markets are collapsing as US President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to affect the whole world. This morning the main indexes from Shanghai to Tokyo and from Sydney to Hong Kong collapsed, at the weekly reopening after Beijing's announcement of counter-tariffs against Washington, announced on Friday when the markets were closed. Losses have reached 10%. Asian countries and territories - which produce many of the goods sold globally - are directly affected by the tariffs and fear that a trade war will cause a slowdown or recession.

GAZA - ISRAEL

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington to meet Trump. Meanwhile, the Israeli army has admitted that its soldiers made mistakes in the killing of 15 health workers in southern Gaza on 23 March. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance convoy had been targeted near Rafah. Footage from the phone of a paramedic who was killed (published by the New York Times) shows the vehicles with their lights on, responding to a call for help.

MYANMAR

The rain in Myanmar is complicating the already serious situation caused by the earthquake of 28 March and the war that has been going on for four years. According to humanitarian organisations the weather conditions are making rescue work more difficult and increasing the risk of diseases such as cholera breaking out. The United Nations has warned that more tents are needed to house the displaced persons. The (underestimated) death toll has risen to 3,471, the junta that carried out the coup has reported, with 4,671 people injured and another 214 still missing.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea hosted the international Pyongyang Marathon, welcoming around 200 foreign athletes. The marathon, launched in 1981, was held every April to celebrate the birth of founding leader Kim Il Sung. Before yesterday, the last edition had been held in 2019, with the participation of 950 foreigners. North Korea closed itself off to the world the following year, with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the ‘reopening’ has been slow.

INDIA

The Muslim community is protesting the approval of the Waqf Bill passed on Friday by one of the two houses of parliament. The initiative seeks to change the way in which the properties, worth billions of dollars, donated by Muslims over the centuries, are governed. Muslim leaders and opposition parties claim that the bill is ‘unconstitutional’ and violates the rights of the Muslim minority community in India.

AZERBAIJAN - ARMENIA - FRANCE

The French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, has declared that Azerbaijan's new demands regarding the revision of the Armenian constitution for the signing of the peace agreement ‘are unacceptable’, and the French are also concerned about the trials of the Armenian prisoners of Artsakh, who were arrested ‘illegally’ and to be released as soon as possible, so that ‘the South Caucasus becomes a space of peace and prosperity’.

RUSSIA

In the halls of the Moscow Patriarchate's economic administration, an assembly was held to prepare the solemn ceremony for the 15th anniversary of the programme for the construction of new Orthodox churches in the Russian capital. The ceremony was attended by many choirs and groups of young people from the catechism classes of the new parishes, and children's theatre performances in honour of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory in the Patriotic War.

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