This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia<\/a>, Europe\/Africa<\/a> or Americas<\/a> edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today\u2019s newsletter: <\/p>\n India downgrades ties with Pakistan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The US Treasury secretary\u2019s remarks on China trade war de-escalation <\/p>\n<\/li>\n Chinese internet users mock Trump\u2019s tariffs<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n India has downgraded diplomatic relations with Pakistan and suspended its participation in a crucial cross-border water treaty, accusing Islamabad of being involved in a deadly attack on tourists in the disputed northern region of Kashmir.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened senior ministers yesterday to decide how to respond to Tuesday\u2019s killing by suspected militants of 26 tourists in the India-controlled territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Here\u2019s what to know about the simmering tensions between India and Pakistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n India\u2019s response:<\/strong> At the meeting, the \u201ccross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out\u201d, India\u2019s foreign secretary Vikram Misri told a news briefing without giving details of Pakistan\u2019s alleged role. Misri said the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, which governs the use by the two countries of water resources in the Indus river system, would be held in \u201cabeyance\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures support for cross-border terrorism\u201d. The foreign minister also announced new travel restrictions.<\/p>\n Fears of a confrontation:<\/strong> Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh vowed to deliver a \u201cvery loud response\u201d to those behind the attack. New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of supporting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and has previously staged military strikes on its nuclear-armed neighbour in response to militant attacks in the territory. <\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s foreign ministry did not immediately comment on India\u2019s allegations of involvement, saying in a statement yesterday that it was \u201cconcerned at the loss of tourists\u2019 lives in an attack in Anantnag district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir\u201d. <\/p>\n Setback for Modi:<\/strong> The prime minister\u2019s government has claimed to have brought peace to Jammu and Kashmir since 2019 when it reduced what was India\u2019s only Muslim-majority state to a territory under direct federal rule. The attack was the deadliest in the region since a 2019 suicide bombing when 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed \u2014 prompting India to launch an air strike inside Pakistan on what it said was a terrorist training camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what else we\u2019re keeping tabs on today:<\/p>\n Economic data:<\/strong> Japan reports March services PPI inflation figures and South Korea publishes advance first-quarter GDP.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Companies:<\/strong> Alphabet, SK Hynix, Tech Mahindra, Fujitsu and Hyundai Motor report earnings.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 1. US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has cautioned that\u00a0any de-escalation in the US-China trade war<\/strong> would have to be mutual,<\/strong> denying reports that President Donald Trump would unilaterally cut levies on Chinese goods<\/a>. Bessent also told reporters: \u201cA break between the two countries on trade does not suit anybody\u2019s interests.\u201d <\/p>\n More trade war news:<\/strong> Trump is planning to spare carmakers<\/a> from some of his most onerous tariffs, following intense lobbying by industry executives.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n China-EU relations:<\/strong> Beijing is preparing to lift sanctions on European lawmakers<\/a> as it tries to revive an investment deal with the EU after losing most of its access to the US market in Trump\u2019s trade war.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Boeing confronts trade war fallout:<\/strong> The US aircraft maker is prepared to look for alternative buyers for its planes destined for Chinese airlines<\/a>, its chief executive has said. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 2. Trump has attacked Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy for refusing to recognise Russia\u2019s occupation of Crimea,<\/strong> accusing him of harming peace negotiations with Moscow<\/a>. His intervention came days after the US floated ideas for a possible resolution of the war that included Washington recognising Russian control over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.<\/p>\n 3. World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab allegedly manipulated the organisation\u2019s research<\/strong> to curry favour with governments, according to whistleblower claims<\/a> that led to his resignation as chair of the organisation over the Easter weekend. In a statement circulated yesterday, Schwab said he was the victim of a \u201ccharacter assassination\u201d and denied all the claims against him. <\/p>\n 4. The British banker tasked with overhauling Nomura\u2019s global investment operations<\/strong> after a $2.9bn hit from the collapse of Archegos has said his traders are finally closer to being able to go \u201cmax risk\u201d. Christopher Willcox told the FT he was increasingly confident of taking bold, high-stakes bets in an interview at the bank\u2019s Tokyo headquarters<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood yesterday, casting doubt on the future of the Islamist group\u2019s political arm,<\/strong> which emerged as the country\u2019s largest opposition force in last year\u2019s election. The move comes a week after Jordanian authorities said they had arrested 16 members of the Brotherhood, whom they alleged had been trained in Lebanon to carry out rocket and drone attacks within the kingdom. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n Internet users in China mocked Trump\u2019s claim that \u201cjobs will come roaring back\u201d to the US as a result of his tariffs with artificial intelligence-generated videos depicting American workers sweating over trainer and smartphone assembly lines<\/a>. The videos highlighted that there is little chance of the US replicating the labour force advantages that turned China into the world\u2019s factory over more than two decades.<\/p>\n Maga Catholics: <\/strong>A growing number of Americans hope Pope Francis\u2019s death will mark a decisive conservative shift and pave the way for a \u201cTrump-like pope\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Banking at the beach:<\/strong> Citigroup is closing its beachside M\u00e1laga office<\/a> less than three years after opening the hub to offer bankers a better work-life balance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Tradwives: <\/strong>Domestic influencers have become pin-ups of the religious right\u2019s quest for higher birth rates<\/a>, writes Chine McDonald of think-tank Theos. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Jane Street\u2019s trading revenues almost doubled last year and boomed during the tariff-induced turmoil of the first quarter of 2025, as the secretive US firm generated profits<\/a> rivalling those of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.<\/p>\n Are you a fashion hoarder? Read Alexa Chung\u2019s guide to letting go<\/a> of \u2014 some of \u2014 the clothes you no longer need.<\/p>\n Sign up for<\/em> Fashion Matters<\/em><\/a>, your weekly newsletter about the fashion industry.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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