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Indian authorities are readying for the extradition from the United States of a man that New Delhi accuses of helping plan the 2008 Mumbai siege that killed 166 people.Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 64, a Canadian citizen born in Pakistan, is due to be extradited “shortly” to face trial, Indian media said, reporting that New Delhi had sent a multi-agency team of security officials to collect him.India accuses him of being a member of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group, designated by the United Nations as a terrorist organisation, and of aiding planning the attacks.US President Donald Trump announced in February that Washington would extradite Rana, whom he called “one of the very evil people in the world”.The US Supreme Court this month rejected his bid to remain in the United States, where he is serving a sentence for a planning role in another LeT-linked attack.New Delhi blames the LeT group — as well as intelligence officials from New Delhi’s arch-enemy Pakistan — for the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, when 10 Islamist gunmen carried out a multi-day slaughter in the country’s financial capital.India accuses Rana of helping his longterm friend, David Coleman Headley, who was sentenced by a US court in 2013 to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to aiding LeT militants, including by scouting target locations in Mumbai.- ‘Long wait’ -Rana, a former military medic who served in Pakistan’s army, emigrated to Canada in 1997, before moving to the United States and setting up businesses in Chicago, including a law firm and a slaughterhouse.He was arrested by US police in 2009.A US court in 2013 acquitted Rana of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks. But the same court convicted him of backing LeT to provide material support to a plot to commit murder in Denmark.Rana was sentenced to 14 years for his involvement in a conspiracy to attack the offices of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which had published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed that angered Muslims around the globe.But India maintains Rana is one of the key plotters of the Mumbai attacks along with the convicted Headley — and the authorities have welcomed his expected extradition.In February, Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of Maharashtra state which includes the megacity Mumbai, said that “finally, the long wait is over and justice will be done”.Devika Rotawan, a survivor of the Mumbai attacks, said she believed the extradition of Rana would be a “big win for India”.”I will never be able to forget the attack,” she told broadcaster NDTV on Wednesday.- ‘Chilling effect’ -Counterterrorism experts however suggest Rana’s involvement was peripheral compared to Headley, a US citizen, who India also wants extradited. “They gave us a small fish but kept David Headley, so the essential outcome is going to be symbolic,” said Ajay Sahni, head of the Institute for Conflict Management, a New Delhi-based think tank.Rana knew Headley, 64, from their days together at boarding school in Pakistan.Headley, who testified as a government witness at Rana’s trial, said he had used his friend’s Chicago-based immigration services firm as a cover to scout targets in India, by opening a branch in Mumbai.Rana has said he visited Mumbai ahead of the attacks — and stayed at the luxury Taj Mahal Palace Hotel that would become the epicentre of the bloody siege — but denied involvement in the conspiracy.Sahni said that more than 16 years after the attacks, Rana’s extradition is of “historical importance” rather than a source of any “live intelligence”. But he added that handing him over has “a chilling effect” on others abroad who India seeks to put on trial.

China is trying to tariff-proof its economy by boosting consumption and investing in key industries, but analysts say it remains critically vulnerable to the economic storm triggered by Donald Trump’s 104 percent levies on its goods.Beijing has vowed to “fight to the end” against Trump’s aggressive trade policy, with number two leader Li Qiang saying authorities were “fully confident” in the resilience of the Chinese economy.But even before the tariffs hit, weakness in the post-Covid domestic market, rising unemployment and a long-running property crisis had all dampened consumption.”The Chinese economy has been significantly weakened since Trump’s first term and can’t really withstand the impact of sustained high tariffs,” said Henry Gao, an expert on the Chinese economy and international trade law.Overseas shipments had represented a rare bright spot last year, with the United States the top single country buyer of Chinese goods. US figures put Chinese exports to the United States at around $440 billion in 2024, almost three times the $145 billion worth of imports. Machinery and electronics — as well as textiles, footwear, furniture and toys — make up a majority of the goods sent, and a supply glut could squeeze already crowded domestic consumer markets.Although China’s domestic market is stronger now than in Trump’s previous term, there would inevitably be pain ahead, said Tang Yao from Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. “Certain products are specifically designed for American or European markets, so efforts to redirect them to domestic consumers will have only a limited effect,” he said.- ‘Strategic opportunity’ -However, a weekend editorial in the Communist Party-backed People’s Daily described the tariffs as a “strategic opportunity” for China to cement consumption as the main driver of economic growth.We must “turn pressure into motivation”, it read. Beijing has been seeking to “recast structural external pressure as a catalyst for long-intended reforms”, said Lizzi Lee from the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.Authorities are “projecting confidence”, she said.China’s quick and coordinated response to tariffs reflect lessons learned from Trump’s first term, she added.For example, in addition to readying reciprocal tariffs on US goods set to come into effect Thursday, Beijing’s commerce ministry the same day announced export controls on seven rare earth elements — including ones used in magnetic imaging and consumer electronics.Beijing’s response to any further escalation may no longer be confined to tit-for-tat levies, as China is “refining its retaliatory approach”, Lee said.Since Trump’s first term, China has diversified and fortified relationships with countries in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, as well as South Korea and Japan. Beijing could also expand government support for the private sector as entrepreneurs fall back into President Xi Jinping’s good graces, added ANZ’s Raymond Yeung.China’s leaders have been trying to promote domestic self-reliance in technology for some time, offering explicit support and reinforcing supply chains in key areas like AI and chips. – ‘No real protection’ -While this time round Beijing has more experience with Trump, it “doesn’t mean the Chinese economy can easily shake off the effects of soaring tariffs”, said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC.Authorities will be looking to quickly offset falling US demand for Chinese goods, he said.That could look like trade-in schemes or more consumer subsidies that make it easier for Chinese shoppers to buy common household items, from water purifiers to electric vehicles.”By creating demand and trade opportunities for China’s partners in Asia and Europe, the country could help shore up what’s left of the liberal global trading order,” Neumann said.But whether or not Beijing can do that is yet to be seen.The government has “been very reluctant to introduce real consumption stimulus, which is why there’s such low confidence in any so-called consumption-boosting measures”, Gao said. “I don’t think China has any real protection against a trade war,” he added.Success also goes beyond words, and ultimately hinges on Beijing’s ability to deliver the long-awaited consumption boost, HSBC’s Neumann warned.”This is China’s moment to seize economic leadership of the world,” he said. “But that leadership will only come about if domestic demand rebounds and fills the void left by an absent US.” 

Priyansh Arya has been earmarked for great days ahead and a possible place in the India team after the six-hitting specialist’s match-winning century for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.The uncapped left-hander Arya pummelled nine sixes in a 39-ball hundred to set up Punjab’s 18-run victory over Chennai Super Kings at New Chandigarh on Tuesday.The 24-year-old Arya equalled the fourth fastest IPL century and though he fell soon after for 103 off 42 balls, he had rescued his team from 83-5 and they went on to amass 219-6.West Indies great Chris Gayle holds the record fastest IPL century off just 30 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013. Yusuf Pathan is second quickest at 37 balls followed by South Africa’s David Miller on 38. Arya comes next on that illustrious list, matching Australia’s Travis Head’s 39-ball hundred for Sunrisers Hyderabad last year.”Happy to be counted among the legends,” said Arya after becoming only the second batsman this season to score an IPL hundred.”It is an out of this world feeling. To make runs is one thing, but to score a century is something different,” he added. “I always thought if the ball would be in my slot, I will back myself to hit a shot. “I have belief in myself to clear the boundary.”Arya first exploded onto the Indian cricket scene last year when he hit six sixes in an over in the T20 Delhi Premier League.Punjab then splashed $440,000 on a batsman who has never been picked for India- Bright prospect -The seeds of Arya’s success were sown years earlier when his talent was recognised by teachers in his native New Delhi.At the age of seven he began to be coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj, renowned for developing India cricketers such as Gautam Gambhir.Arya went on to play for Delhi Under-19s but it was only last season that IPL sides took notice when he became the Delhi senior side’s leading batsman with 222 runs in the national T20 competition.Little known only six months ago, Arya is now coping with being under the IPL spotlight.”There is more pressure, crowds and you face international bowlers and legends, so to perform against them is a good feeling,” he said.On Tuesday, Arya continued to play his shots even as wickets tumbled, also hitting seven fours, until he found the perfect partner in number seven Shashank Singh who made 52 not out as the pair put on 71 off 34 balls.Shashank hailed Arya as “a very bright prospect for the franchise and the country as well.”The free-scoring Arya showed glimpses of his power in a 23-ball 47 on his Punjab debut last month, but it was his latest knock that had the pundits purring.”Not a big man, a compact left-hander and that six-hitting reputation brings a tense nature,” former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull said on Indian website Cricbuzz.”But that was some innings, he was like that guy at the bar walking around looking for someone to stay with him and have a drink with him. “He was on his own for an hour.”Former India batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu, on Star Sports, said: “Priyansh Arya’s hundred is like 1,000 runs for me. “I haven’t seen a better innings like this before. Wickets were falling, but he didn’t stop. Everyone will be proud of his effort.”

India’s central bank cut interest rates in the world’s fifth-largest economy on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs kicked in and policymakers warned of “challenging global economic conditions”.The cut, the second this year, aims to boost a slowing economy grappling with the impact Trump’s sweeping tariffs.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the benchmark repo rate, the level at which it lends to commercial banks, would be reduced by 25 basis points to 6 percent.The central bank’s decision was announced the same day Trump’s 26 percent tariff for the world’s most populous nation came into effect.Easing inflation concerns over the last few months have allowed the RBI to focus on perking up the Indian economy, whose growth has slowed in the last few quarters.Trump’s protectionist trade policies will likely add to growth pressures and present a challenge for Indian policymakers.While New Delhi is not a manufacturing powerhouse, experts believe that high US tariffs will hurt billions of dollars of Indian exports across different sectors, including gems, jewellery and seafood.- ‘Uncertainties’ -Economists project that Trump’s tariffs drive will impact India’s GDP growth, with analysts at Goldman Sachs reducing their forecast for the current fiscal year from 6.3 to 6.1 percent.The RBI was more cautious on Wednesday, downgrading its GDP growth projection for the current financial year from 6.7 percent to 6.5 percent. The central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) said that “recent trade tariff related measures” had “exacerbated uncertainties” and clouded the “economic outlook across regions”.”In such challenging global economic conditions, the benign inflation and moderate growth outlook demands that the MPC continues to support growth,” it added in a statement.RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra, speaking in the financial capital Mumbai, said the “dent on global growth due to trade frictions will impede domestic growth”.”The year has begun on an anxious note for the global economy,” he said. “Some of the concerns on trade frictions are coming true, unsettling the global community.”Malhotra added that “several known unknowns”, including the impact of relative tariffs, made the “quantification of the adverse impact difficult”.- ‘Headwinds’ -India’s central bank cut interest rates for the first time in nearly five years in February 2024, as it sought to boost an economy that has been weighed down by muted urban consumer sentiment, a sluggish manufacturing sector and lower government expenditure.The Indian economy is projected to grow at its slowest pace since the Covid-19 pandemic and down from 9.2 percent in 2023-24.New Delhi has responded cautiously to Trump’s chaotic trade policies so far.The Department of Commerce said last week it was examining both “implications” and “opportunities” after rival manufacturing competitors were harder hit by Trump’s hike in duties.New Delhi and Washington are currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement, the first tranche of which they hope to finalise by this autumn.Shilan Shah from Capital Economics said that the “RBI decision had come as “no surprise given the recent sharp drop in inflation and the headwinds from US tariffs”.Shah added that further rate cuts would be expected with the “uncertainty around US trade policy set to rumble on and inflation looking contained”.

US President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs on dozens of economies came into force Wednesday, including over 100 percent in levies against Chinese goods, sending markets into a tailspin again as the devastating global trade war intensified.Following the sweeping 10 percent tariffs that took effect over the weekend, rates on imports to the United States from exporters like the European Union or Japan rose further at 12.01 am (0401 GMT) Wednesday.China — Washington’s top economic rival but also a major trading partner — is the hardest hit, with tariffs imposed on its products since Trump returned to the White House now reaching a staggering 104 percent.Trump said Tuesday his government was working on “tailored deals” with trading partners, with the White House saying it would prioritize allies like Japan and South Korea.His top trade official Jamieson Greer also told the Senate that Argentina, Vietnam and Israel were among those who had offered to reduce their tariffs.Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night that countries were “dying” to make a deal.”I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” he said.But Beijing has shown no signs of standing down, vowing to fight a trade war “to the end” and promising countermeasures to defend its interests.China’s retaliatory tariffs of 34 percent on US goods are due to enter in force at 12:01 am local time on Thursday (1601 GMT Wednesday).The US president believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.But many business experts and economists question how quickly — if ever — this can take place, warning of higher inflation as the tariffs raise prices.Trump said Tuesday the United States was “taking in almost $2 billion a day” from tariffs.- China ‘wants to make a deal’ -He originally unveiled a 34 percent additional tariff on Chinese goods. But after China countered with its own tariff of the same amount on American products, Trump piled on another 50 percent duty.Counting existing levies imposed in February and March, that takes the cumulative tariff increase for Chinese goods during Trump’s second presidency to 104 percent.Trump has insisted the ball was in China’s court, saying Beijing “wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started.”Late Tuesday, Trump also said the United States would announce a major tariff on pharmaceuticals “very shortly”.Separately, Canada said that its tariffs on certain US auto imports will come into force Wednesday.- Meltdown -After trillions in equity value were wiped off global bourses in the last days, markets in Asia came under pressure again on Wednesday, with Hong Kong plunging more than three percent and Japan’s Nikkei sinking 2.7 percent.The markets accelerated their losses as the new tariffs came into effect, with Taiwan stocks closing down 5.8 percent in the afternoon.Ahead of European markets’ open, stock futures were also indicating steep drops ahead.Foreign exchange markets likewise witnessed ructions, with the South Korean won falling to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009 this week.China’s offshore yuan also fell to an all-time low against the US dollar, as Beijing’s central bank moved to weaken the yuan on Wednesday for what Bloomberg said was the fifth day in a row.Analyst Stephen Innes said however, that “letting the yuan grind lower at this measured pace won’t offset the blow from a full-blown tariff barrage”. “The levies are simply too big. China is trying to thread the needle, but the runway is short,” he warned.Oil prices slumped, with the West Texas Intermediate closing below $60 for the first time since April 2021.- Avoid ‘further escalation’ -The European Union has sought to cool tensions, with the bloc’s chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.She stressed stability for the world’s economy, alongside “the need to avoid further escalation,” said an EU readout.The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that his country could weather the storm, saying it “is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development.”The EU — which Trump has criticized bitterly over its tariff regime — may unveil its response next week to new 20 percent levies it faces.In retaliation against US steel and aluminum levies that took effect last month, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on American goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles, according to a document seen by AFP.In one public sign of friction over tariffs, key Trump ally Elon Musk described senior White House trade advisor Peter Navarro as “dumber than a sack of bricks.”Musk, who has signaled his opposition to Trump’s trade policy, hit out after Navarro described his Tesla company as “a car assembler” that wants cheap foreign parts.burs-oho/hmn

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.”- ‘Outdated concept’ -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”.- ‘Save the nation’ -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.

Global temperatures hovered at historic highs in March, the EU agency that monitors climate change said on Tuesday, prolonging an unprecedented heat streak that has pushed the bounds of scientific explanation. In Europe, it was the hottest March ever recorded by a significant margin, said the Copernicus Climate Change Service. That drove rainfall extremes across a continent warming faster than any other, as planet-heating fossil fuel emissions keep rising.The world meanwhile saw the second-hottest March in the Copernicus dataset, sustaining a near-unbroken spell of record or near-record-breaking temperatures that has persisted since July 2023.Since then, virtually every month has been at least 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than it was before the industrial revolution, when humans began burning massive amounts of coal, oil and gas.March was 1.6C above pre-industrial times, extending an anomaly so unusual that scientists are still trying to fully explain it.”That we’re still at 1.6C above preindustrial is indeed remarkable,” said Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London. “We’re very firmly in the grip of human-caused climate change,” she told AFP.Scientists had predicted the extreme run of global temperatures would subside after a warming El Nino event peaked in early 2024, but they have stubbornly lingered well into 2025. “We are still experiencing extremely high temperatures worldwide. This is an exceptional situation,” Robert Vautard, a leading scientist with the United Nations’ climate expert panel IPCC, told AFP. – ‘Climate breakdown’ – Scientists warn that every fraction of a degree of global warming increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall and droughts.Climate change is not just about rising temperatures but the knock-on effect of all that extra heat being trapped in the atmosphere and seas by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane.Warmer seas mean higher evaporation and greater moisture in the atmosphere, causing heavier deluges and feeding energy into storms.This also affects global rainfall patterns.March in Europe was 0.26C above the previous hottest record for the month set in 2014, Copernicus said.Some parts of the continent experienced the “driest March on record and others their wettest” for about half a century, said Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which runs the Copernicus climate monitor. Bill McGuire, a climate scientist from University College London, said the contrasting extremes “shows clearly how a destabilised climate means more and bigger weather extremes”.”As climate breakdown progresses, more broken records are only to be expected,” he told AFP.Concerns over the global economy were dominating headlines at a time when India was enduring scorching heat and Australia was swamped by floods, said Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group.”The threat to the planet is existential, but our attention is elsewhere,” Clarkson said.- Puzzling heat -The global heat surge pushed 2023 and then 2024 to be the hottest years on record.Last year was also the first full calendar year to exceed 1.5C — the safer warming limit agreed by most nations under the Paris climate accord.This single year breach does not represent a permanent crossing of the 1.5C threshold, which is measured over decades. But scientists warn the goal is slipping out of reach.If the 30-year trend leading up to then continued, the world would hit 1.5C by June 2030.Scientists are unanimous that burning fossil fuels has largely driven long-term global warming.But they are less certain about what else might have contributed to this record heat spike.Vautard said there were “phenomena that remain to be explained,” but the exceptional temperatures still fell within the upper range of scientific projections of climate change.Experts think changes in global cloud patterns, airborne pollution and Earth’s ability to store carbon in natural sinks like forests and oceans could be among factors contributing to the planet overheating.Scientists say the current period is likely to be the warmest the Earth has been for the last 125,000 years.

Explosive knocks from Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh set up a tense four-run win for Lucknow Super Giants in a high-scoring IPL clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday.Marsh smashed 81 for his fourth half-century of the tournament and Pooran an unbeaten 36-ball 87 to fire Lucknow to 238-3 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.Kolkata mounted a strong reply as skipper Ajinkya Rahane struck 61 off 35 balls and Rinku Singh blasted an unbeaten 38 in a late blitz, but the home team finished on 234-7.Lucknow have three wins from five matches. Kolkata, who won their third IPL title last year, have three defeats from their five outings.LSG fast bowler Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each and struck at key moments to trigger a middle-order collapse during which KKR lost four wickets in 16 balls.Thakur dismissed Rahane and Andre Russell, for seven, while Deep cut short Venkatesh Iyer’s knock on 45.Sunil Narine got the chase off to a brisk start with his 13-ball 30 and after his departure Rahane and Iyer kept up the charge until Kolkata lost their way.Earlier, the in-form Marsh laid the foundations for Lucknow’s mammoth total in his 99-run opening stand with Aiden Markram, who hit 47.Marsh took down the bowlers with regular boundaries and Markram was equally fluent in his 28-ball knock before Harshit Rana denied the South African a fifty.Marsh reached his half-century with a boundary and with Pooran put on another destructive partnership until Russell broke through.Russell dismissed Marsh but Pooran kept up the onslaught to reach his fifty in just 21 balls before he smacked Russell for three fours and two sixes in a 24-run 18th over.Lucknow skipper Rishabh Pant did not bat and is still waiting to justify his record auction price of $3.21 million.Pooran is the leading run-scorer in the 2025 IPL so far with 288 runs including three half-centuries in five matches, scoring at a strike-rate of 225.Marsh has accumulated 265 runs and is second on the list.

The Philippines took possession of the first of two corvette-class warships with “advanced weapons and radar systems” on Tuesday as it faces growing pressure from Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.The arrival of the 3,200-ton BRP Miguel Malvar is part of a two-ship deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2021.Its sister ship, the BRP Diego Silang, was formally launched in Ulsan, South Korea, last month but has yet to begin the journey to the Philippines.Corvettes are small, fast warships mainly used to protect other vessels from attack.The arrival of the ship marked “a critical step toward developing a self-reliant and credible defense posture”, the Philippine defence department said in a statement.It follows months of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international ruling its assertion has no merit.”(The) Miguel Malvar is here today not only to serve as a deterrent and protector of our waters but also as an important component in joint and combined operations” with allies, Philippine defence chief Gilberto Teodoro said at a Subic Bay naval base ceremony.The deal for the two ships was first unveiled in 2021, five years after Hyundai Heavy Industries had won a contract to build two new frigates for the Philippine Navy.The military said last month that the two corvettes would “significantly enhance the country’s naval capabilities amid growing security challenges in the West Philippine Sea”.On Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard separately welcomed the donation of 20 Australian surveillance drones its commander said could extend its vessels’ coverage area by a “significant distance”.Using drones will “save fuel and it will be less risky for our people”, Commandant Ronnie Gil Gavan said at a ceremony in coastal Bataan province.The Philippines has been deepening ties with allies and more aggressively pushing back on Beijing’s sweeping South China Sea claims since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022.In December, Manila said it planned to acquire the US mid-range Typhon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests.Beijing warned such a purchase could spark a regional “arms race”.Last week, the United States said it had approved the possible sale of $5.58 billion in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, though Manila said the deal was “still in the negotiation phase”.

China vowed on Tuesday to “fight to the end” against fresh tariffs of 50 percent threatened by US President Donald Trump, further aggravating a trade war that has already wiped trillions off global markets.Trump has upended the world economy with sweeping tariffs that have raised the spectre of an international recession, but has ruled out any pause in his aggressive trade policy despite a dramatic market sell-off.Beijing — Washington’s major economic rival but also a key trading partner — responded by announcing its own 34 percent duties on US goods to come into effect on Thursday, deepening a showdown between the world’s two largest economies. The swift retaliation from China sparked a fresh warning from Trump that he would impose additional levies if Beijing refused to stop pushing back against his barrage of tariffs — a move that would drive the overall levies on Chinese goods to 104 percent.”I have great respect for China but they can not do this,” Trump said in the White House.”We are going to have one shot at this… I’ll tell you what, it is an honour to do it.”China swiftly hit back, blasting what it called “blackmailing” by the US and vowing “countermeasures” if Washington imposes tariffs on top of the 34 percent extra that were due to come in force on Wednesday.”If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end,” a spokesperson for Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday.In a mounting war of words between Beijing and Washington, China’s foreign ministry also Tuesday condemned “ignorant and impolite” remarks by US Vice President JD Vance in which he complained the US had for too long borrowed money from “Chinese peasants”.The ministry said that “pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China”.Beijing urged Washington to instead “adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit” if it wanted to engage in talks.- Market turmoil -A 10 percent “baseline” tariff on US imports from around the world took effect Saturday, and a slew of countries will be hit by higher duties from Wednesday, including the levy of 34 percent for Chinese goods as well as 20 percent for EU products.Trump’s tariffs have roiled global markets in the last days, with trillions of dollars wiped off combined stock market valuations in recent sessions. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng collapsed by 13.2 percent on Monday — its worst day since the Asian financial crisis — before paring back some of those losses on Tuesday.But stocks in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam — a key export hub — sank on Tuesday, as they resumed trading after bank holidays.In financial powerhouse Singapore, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told parliament his government was “very disappointed by the US move”.”These are not actions one does to a friend.”Trump doubled down Monday, saying he was “not looking” at any pause in tariff implementation.He also scrapped any meetings with China over tariffs, but said the United States was ready for talks with any country willing to negotiate.After equities took a hammering in Shanghai, China’s central bank issued a statement before trading resumed Tuesday to underline it was standing behind a sovereign fund as it buys up exchange traded funds to stabilise the market. With investors seeking any relief from the ruinous trade war, stocks in Tokyo leapt Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested in an interview with Fox News that Japan would get “priority” in negotiations over the US tariffs “just because they came forward very quickly”.Scores of countries have sought talks, Bessent said, adding “through good negotiations, all we will do is see levels come down”.- ‘Don’t be Weak!’ -While meeting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first leader to lobby Trump in person over the levies, Trump said: “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.”EU trade ministers were in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the bloc’s response, with Germany and France having advocated a tax targeting US tech giants.”We must not exclude any option on goods, on services,” said French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin.The 27-nation bloc should “open the European toolbox, which is very comprehensive and can also be extremely aggressive”, he said.While markets continued its wild ride, Trump told Americans: “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid!”.The 78-year-old Republican believes the tariffs will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing foreign companies to relocate to the United States, rather than making goods abroad.But most economists question that and say his tariffs are arbitrary.JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned of coming inflation, adding “whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth”.burs-oho/hmn