Good morning, happy Friday and return to Firstft Asia. In today’s newsletter:
We started with a skirmish between India and Pakistan yesterday, bringing our nuclear-armed neighbors closer to war, deepening the most serious crisis in decades.
Latest Development: India’s Ministry of Defense said it had “neutralized” Pakistani drone and missile attacks on the country’s north and west military targets yesterday. He also said that the Indian military had “targeted air defense radars and systems in many parts of Pakistan,” and that it had knocked out the air defense system in Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city. Earlier in the day, Pakistani military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the country’s air defense had fired down 25 Indian drones near several cities.
Deaths: The attack killed 32 people and injured 61 people this week in Pakistan’s official toll. India said Pakistani troops “increased” control, the de facto border of Kashmir. The two countries claimed and ruled part of it, killing 16 civilians, including women and children, and injuring 59 people.
“The old rules have been dumped”: Christopher Clary, a professor at the University of Albany in New York, said, “Attacks on cities by military drones never occurred in the Indian-Pakistan competition.”
“This is a very serious allegation (by Pakistan) and signs showing old rules have been dumped through the window,” he added: Read the entire story, “We are in a dangerous time, as there are no new rules written.”
Trump offers to mediate. The US Presidential administration is pushing for the Indian missile strike against Pakistan to prevent spiraling into nuclear standoffs.
Go deeper: In response to last month’s fatal attack on Kashmir tourists, the Indian attack sparked a ground swell of support in Pakistan in retaliation.
Opinion: At the time of the crisis, Pakistan is led by a general general who is not known for his restraint, writes Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior fellow at King’s College London.
Here are other things that keep tabs today and weekends:
Economic Data: China reports trade data for April today and inflation count figures on Saturday.
US-China Trade War: Washington and Beijing will hold their first trade talks this weekend since US President Donald Trump launched a tariff war against China.
China-Russia Relations: XI Jinping attends the Moscow Parade for the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s World War II victory. Yesterday, Chinese leaders compared “hegemony” to the “fascist force” ahead of the summit with Vladimir Putin.
Results: Macquarie Group, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Nippon Steel Report Reports.
How well did you get with this news this week? Take the quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevast was elected the new Pope and became the first American to lead 1.4 billion Catholics around the world. Called Pope Leo XIV, Prevost is considered a compromise candidate who can find widespread support in the divided Catholic Church.
2. The UK has concluded its first contract with the US since Trump sparked a trade war and won punitive tariff cuts on cars and steel, but did not reverse the 10% collection of flats, which apply to most goods. As the White House and Downing Street celebrated the deal, critics warned of a thin agreement that could face legal challenges.
Immediate Insight: By falling into US pressure and rushing for quick deals, the UK is encouraging others to do the same, writes Alan Beatty.
3. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has accused Elon Musk of misguided reductions in US development support through what he said he “killed the world’s poorest children.” Gates said that the sudden cuts have expired food and drugs in the warehouse, which could lead to a revival of diseases such as measles, HIV, and polio. Read his explosive remarks in an interview with FT.
4. Toyota warns that the fallout from Trump’s trade war will reduce this fiscal year by 21%, increasing pressure on Japan to reach a tariff contract with the US. The “tentative” forecast includes the estimated tariff impact of the estimated US tariff impact ($1.25 billion) for the months of April and May.
5. Trump has proposed a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans in violation of Republican orthodoxy, hoping to pay for the broader tax cuts debated in Congress. The US president also expressed his willingness to end the priority tax treatment of hedge funds and private equity interests, known as “interest,” with a potential blow to Wall Street.
Big reading
Goku is the son of the Dragon Ball series. Doraemon the robot cat. Totoro from Studio Ghibli’s animated fantasy “My Neiber Totoro” © ft Montage/Getty/Alamy
Over the past few years, Japanese anime has shifted from a niche fandom to one of Japan’s most powerful soft power vectors. The distinctive global market for Japanese manga is expected to almost double from $31.2 billion in 2023 to $60.1 billion by 2030. Global private equity firms and Hollywood Studios are hungry to buy valuable IPs with Japanese entertainment companies. But who will enjoy the reward of this growth potential?
We’re reading too. . .
Japan: Trump’s trade crisis answers whether the country’s businesses have saved or danced all summer, writes Leo Lewis.
University Case: Institutions are in danger everywhere, Simon Cooper writes, but they will survive.
Joseph Nye: An international relations expert who served in the administrations of former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who coined the term “soft power” has passed away. He was 88 years old.
The chart of the day
Although it appears to be rather bad in the medium term, recent evidence suggests that both international trade and the US economy can fully deal with the major shock without long-term damage, Alan Beatty writes.
Take a break from the news
Don’t miss out on six of this week’s films, including a wedding banquet starring Bowen Yang and Hangi Chang in the latest news on the 1993 fake marriage film Millennials.
From left, Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, Han Gang, and Bowen Yang “The Wedding Banquet” ©Luka Cyprian
