mondAY Global Economic Uncertainty Hits New Highs Amid U.S. Tariff 28 april, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard russia war 150 drones against Ukraine International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook warns economic uncertainty has surpassed levels seen during Covid-19 ‘an environment of fear and volatility’ Russia launched a drone assault and air strikes across Ukraine Sunday, killing four people, soon after Trump cast doubt about Putin’s intent to end the war. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l heads-up: chief of defence staff meets rajnath singh @ New Delhi IN the wake of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives and the possibility of an Indian retaliation against Pakistan-backed terror groups, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday to brief him on key military decisions taken after the attack. The Indian Navy on Sunday conducted successful multiple anti-ship firings, showcasing its readiness for longrange precision strikes. “Indian Navy stands combat ready , credible, and future-ready in safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests anytime, anywhere, anyhow,” the Navy said in a statement. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have taken a hit, after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on April 23 followed by India withdrawing its Defence, Navy and Air Ad, visors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, reducing the overall strength of the high commission to 30 from 55. The Indus Waters Treaty, functional since 1960, has been suspended, and the only operational land border crossing at Attari has been shut down. Diplomatic ties with Pakistan have been downgraded, prompting Pakistan to shut its ‘zero tolerance for terrorism’ New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday dialled his British counterpart David Lammy and spoke about India’s policy of “zero tolerance” for terrorism while discussing the Pahalgam terror attack, three days after UK PM Keir Starmer spoke to PM Modi tourists return to pahalgam Srinagar: Resilience has triumphed over terror and fear as tourists have begun returning to Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam 5 days after the terror attack. On Sunday, tourists from across the nation arrived in Pahalgam, and tourismrelated activities sprung back to life airspace to Indian airliners and suspend all trade with India. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the Pahalgam terror attack, intensifying efforts to collect evidence and identify perpetrators. NIA teams, overseen by an Inspector General of Police, a Deputy Inspector General of Police and a Superintendent of Police, are examining eyewitnesses, analyzing videos, and scrutinizing entry and exit points to piece together the sequence of events. Intelligence agencies have traced the attack’s digital footprints to safe houses in Muzaffarabad and Karachi, suggesting a clear Pakistan hand, sources said. A local videographer, who was there to film reels for tourists in Baisaran, has now become one of the key witnesses for the NIA, as a senior official said, “The photographer in a bid to save his life climbed a tree, but he continued videographing the incidents that unfolded there.” Meanwhile, Sunday was the last day for Pakistanis having short-term visas in 12 categories to leave India. A long queue of vehicles was seen at the Attari-Wagah border crossing. As many as 537 Pakistani nationals, including nine diplomats and officials, left India in four days since April 24 after the government announced the visa revocation the previous day officials said. , l J8.00 PAGES 12 Navy conducts war drills in arabian sea 1.2% is the The euro area’s growth forecast figure for 2026 Navy ships undertake multiple anti-ship firings in Arabian Sea to demonstrate its readiness for long range strikes | PTI r a j es h k u m a r t h a k u r @ New Delhi A BSF personnel guides Pakistani nationals arriving at Wagah border to cross over to their country | PTI the country and solidarity of its people is the big g est strength in the war against terrorism. He accused the terrorists and their masterminds of trying to push Kashmir back into turmoil, by executing a major conspiracy . “This attack in Pahalgam shows the desperation of the patrons of terrorism; displays their cowardice.” He noted that the attack was a setback to the progress and peace that was returning to Kashmir, where construction work had gained unprecedented pace, democracy was getting stronger, and new opportunities were being created for the youth. The prime minister urged the nation to demonstrate strong willpower in the face of terrorism, and said, “Today the world is watching, after this terrorist attack, the whole country is speaking in one voice. The anger that the people of India feel is also being felt across the whole world.” Hackers stole data from TN labour dept twice in ’24 JAYANTH JA C OB @ New Delhi PM vows ‘harshest punishment’ for conspirators, justice for kin of dead prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the families of the victims of the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir will receive justice, and the perpetrators and conspirators will face the harshest response ever imagined. Addressing the nation through his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modi expressed deep anguish over the attack that claimed the lives of at least 26 civilians, mostly tourists. “The whole world stands with 140 crore Indians in our fight against terrorism,” Modi said, adding that the unity of l China calls for restraint, backs an ‘impartial investigation’ NIA takes over probe, forces ready to strike m aya n k s i n g h & m u k es h r a n j a n New Delhi The report attributes this uncertainty to the unpredictable nature of the US tariff policy under President Trump. Recent tariff hikes, including a significant increase to 145% on Chinese products, have created an environment of fear and volatility in financial markets, said the report released on Sunday in Barcelona NIRU PAMA V I S WANATHAN Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, China on Sunday urged restraint by both sides. Beijing also backed Islamabad’s demand for an ‘impartial investigation’ into the Pahalgam terror attack, adding that it is ‘closely monitoring’ the situation. “Conflict is not in the fundamental interests of India and Pakistan, or conducive to regional peace and stability… Both countries should exercise restraint, meet each other halfway and promote the cooling of the situation,” Chinese state media quoted Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi as saying during a phone call with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday . During the call, Dar briefed Wang on the latest developments and the latter offered support for Pakistan’s “legitimate security concerns and its efforts to uphold sovereignty and security interests”. Reaffirming Beijing’s support for Islamabad, Wang added, “China has always supported Pakistan in its resolute anti-terrorism actions. As a staunch friend and all-weather strategic partner, China fully understands Pakistan’s reasonable security concerns and supports Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty and security interests.” Pakistan, which is going through an economic crisis amid rising tensions with India and potential global isolation, is looking at China to come to its rescue. According to reports, it has now sought an additional 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) on its Chinese swap line, over and above the existing 30 billion yuan swap line. Meanwhile, sources said the Pakistani military continued its unprovoked firing along the Line of Control for the third consecutive day The Pakistan . military was engaged in similar firing on Thursday and Friday nights as well. “Our troops responded effectively with appropriate small arms fire,” said an official. An employee said that the department mentioned a ‘data loss’ but has not, till date, informed stakeholders their sensitive data has been stolen | Express cluding the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, Tamil Nadu Industrial Personal infor mation Establishments (National of lakhs of employers and Festival and Special Holitheir staf f from across days) Act, Motor Transport Tamil Nadu has been sto- Workers Act, Inter-State len from the state govern- Migrant Workmen Act and ment’s labour department Beedi and Cigar Workers portal twice in the last (Conditions of Employyear. The stolen details be- ment) Act, among others. long to employers and their Apart from the labour employees in shops and department portal, data businesses, industries and from the department’s Inprivate fir ms, and also ter-State Migrant Workers comprises sensitive data MIS—which was launched including bank account de- in 2023—has also been stotails of guest workers in len. This system is used for the state. registration of inter-state The data was stolen twice migrant workers employed in May and November 2024 in commercial establishby two sepaments, a g rir a t e h a c ke r c u l t u r e , press g roups who, clusive schools, colaccording to le ges, local an FIR regisbodies and tered on November 14, 2024, motor establishments, and claimed to have hacked the has details of their Aadentire database from the la- haar and even their bank bour department portal accounts. and the inter-state migrant The department has workers’ portal for sale on been able to recover most the dark web. of the lost data with help The database contained from the Tamil Nadu State the Aadhaar and PAN de- Data Centre which maintails of employers, their tains the server for the dephone numbers and ad- par tment. However, indresses. The hackers also stead of acknowledging accessed documents relat- the large scale data theft, ed to the addresses and oth- the state government has er personal details of sev- been treating the incidents eral thousands of their as merely a ‘data loss’ employees. event in which they have The stolen data belongs been able to successfully to employers and their em- avoid severe repercussions ployees as registered under because the data was revarious labour laws, in- covered fairly quickly. @ Chennai Expect more ‘torpedoes’ MCD polls New Beginning: in Trump’s next 100 days Acan BJP deliver? Age n c i es US President Donald Trump, who completes 100 days in power on April 29, will spend his next 100 days of his presidency to seal trade and peace pacts, media reports quoting White House officials said. After a series of ‘loud’ changes during his first 100 days, including social policy areas such as transgender rights, Trump may deploy some ‘torpedoes in reserve’ over the next three months, reports said quoting officials. This could mean more ‘executive actions’ that have become the hallmarks of Trump’s first 100 days. Sources hinted that the administration was still working on a travel ban for citizens from multiple countries. Since taking office on January 20, Trump has enacted sweeping changes on domestic and foreign policy priorities, upending the world economic order with tariffs, slashing the size of the federal government with job cuts, and scrapping diversity programmes. He is expected to travel to Donald Trump Michigan this week for a rally marking the 100-day milestone. The White House intends to highlight his economic vision, handling of undocumented immigrants, foreign policy changes, and work by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to purge the federal bureaucracy . While Trump’s supporters have lauded his efforts to remake American society critics , say he has trampled on the rights of citizens as well as non-citizens, alienated allies, and weakened US’ standing on the global stage. Next month, Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE to push for peace in Russia’s war with Ukraine. The BJP’s sweeping victory in the MCD mayoral elections marks a significant political shift in the national capital, creating history by establishing BJP-led governments at the Centre, state and now the civic body. However, the road ahead is both promising and challenging | P4 express read 10 devotees among 12 killed in MP accident royal win RCB’s Krunal Pandya and Tim David celebrate after winning the IPL T20 match over Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on Sunday. | PTI Ginger cultivation: K’taka loses, Kerala gains Subhash Chandra NS @ Hubballi/ Haveri Ginger cultivation that has rendered thousands of acres in Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts infertile is luring farmers of Dharwad and Haveri districts, thanks to lucrative offers by Kerala-based cultivators. Farmers in North Karnataka districts who have had problems because of rising cost of agriculture and losses due to heavy rain last year, are opting to lease out their land to ginger cultivators from Kerala. They are happy that each acre of land gets `1.15-1.18 lakh for an 18-month lease. Now, villagers are queuing up to sign leases with ginger farmers. Basavaraj Konnur, a farmer who has leased his three-acre land to a ginger cultivator at Rs 1 lakh per acre, said, “We spent nearly `30,000 per acre to cultivate maize last year. Normally, we reaped 20 quintal per acre, but this time we got just 5 quintals.” Basavraj Mundinamani, another farmer, said this year, they lost money in cultivating maize because of heavy rainfall. He was approached by a man from Kerala offering `1.15 lakh per acre. As he has not been able to farm this year be- cause of the loss, he gave away his land on lease. “All I know is his name is Ajay and the lease is for 18 months. I don’t know which part of Kerala he is from or what happens to the land if ginger is cultivated,” he said. “I need the money badly and got it in advance. Their only condition is that there should b e a b o rewe l l . I g o t t h e borewell drilled at `2.14 lakh. I will now earn not less than `6.5 lakh,” he said. A speeding van carrying 14 devotees to a temple plunged into a well in the Mandsaur district of MP on Sunday, killing ten people. The deceased devotees included four women. A 40 year old man died after choking on poisonous gas while saving the victims. According to Manoj Kumar Singh, DIG, Ratlam, the incident began when the van struck a motorcycle, killing the rider instantly. The driver then lost control of the vehicle and drove it into a well located in an agricultural plot near the road at Kachariya Chaupati. Five migrant workers kidnapped in Niger Five migrant workers from Jharkhand have reportedly been kidnapped in Niger, West Africa. They had migrated to work for a power company in January 2024. According to fellow migrant workers, a group of locals raided the camp and abducted six individuals, including a local resident, at gunpoint, after killing 12 security personnel. “My husband went to Niger for work. The last time I spoke to him was on Friday, after which his phone has been switched off,” said the wife of a victim, Sanjay Mahto.