Markets sink as Trump confirms tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
President Donald Trump has said he is moving forward with 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico into the US, adding that time had run out to reach a deal, BBC reported.
US stock markets sank in response to the measures, which he has threatened since earlier this year and said would now go into effect on Tuesday.
An additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports is also expected to come into force, leaving all of America's top three trade partners facing significantly higher barriers than just a few weeks ago.
"No room left for Mexico or for Canada," Trump said at the White House on Monday. "The tariffs, you know, they're all set. They go into effect tomorrow."
PM Oli to address BIMSTEC Summit today
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is addressing the sixth Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Thailand today. Other member states of BIMSTEC are also scheduled to address the event.
The first agenda of the Summit is the signing ceremony on 'BIMSTEC Maritime Transport Cooperation'. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is presenting the agenda after giving a welcome speech.
Her welcome speech will be followed by the addresses of the delegations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
After the passage of the agenda following the address, the hosting country Prime Minister Shinawatra will hold a news conference.
PM Oli meeting Indian PM today itself
Moreover, PM Oli will have a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4:00pm today itself.
It is the first time Nepali Prime Minister is holding the official visit to Thailand since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
PM Oli and the Nepali delegation will be attending a welcome dinner to be hosted by the Nepali Embassy in Bangkok.
One dies in Makwanpur forest fire
A person died in a fire that occurred in a community forest at Bhimphedi rural Municipality-1, Makwanpur district on Thursday.
The victim was Akil Bahadur Pakhrin, 49, according to the District Police Office, Makwanpur.
Pakhrin had gone to take care of a cowshed near the Bokedaha community forest. While going to the cowshed, he, accidently, fell off a cliff, reaching the community forest that was on fire.
He was found burnt to death in the forest, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shyamu Aryal.
The lifeless body was taken to Hetauda Hospital for a postmortem and investigation into the incident was underway, the police added.
US slaps 26% tariff on India amid ongoing bilateral trade talks
The U.S. slapped a 26% reciprocal tariff on India in a setback to the South Asian country's expectation of getting relief from President Donald Trump's global trade policy that has unnerved world markets for weeks, Reuters reported.
The reciprocal tariff will be effective from April 9, according to a statement from the White House.
Trump's Wednesday announcement on India was part of his wider plan to impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from April 5 and higher duties on certain other countries including 34% on China and 46% on Vietnam.
"They (India) are charging us 52% and we charge almost nothing for years and years and decades," Trump said at the White House while announcing the reciprocal tax.
The duty of 26% was based on tariff and non-tariff barriers including currency manipulation, the Trump administration said.
India imposed "uniquely burdensome" non-tariff barriers, the removal of which will increase U.S. exports by at least $5.3 billion annually, the White House said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The world reacts with caution to US ‘reciprocal’ tariffs against dozens of nations
The sweeping new tariffsannounced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump were met initially with measured reactions from key trading partners, highlighting the lack of appetite for a full-fledged trade war, Associated Press reported.
Trump presented the import taxes, which he calls “reciprocal tariffs” and range from 10% to 49%, in the simplest terms: the U.S. would do to its trading partners what he said they had been doing to the U.S. for decades.
“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” he said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”
The president promised that “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.” He framed it not just as an economic issue, but a question of national security that threatens “our very way of life.”
Financial markets were jolted, with U.S. stock futures down by as much as 3% early Thursday and Tokyo’s market leading losses in Asia. Oil prices sank more than $2 a barrel and the price of bitcoin dropped 4.4%, according to the Associated Press.
Hazy weather to continue for some more days in Kathmandu
The Kathmandu Valley blanketed with a haze will continue to see it for some days. Air pollution has taken a toll on the valley weather.
However, with the improving pace of wind, the haze will be fizzling out from Friday, according to meteorologist Binu Maharjan. There is no chance of rainfall at present in the Kathmandu Valley, but the haze will be cleared gradually, she added.
The Weather Forecasting Division has said the country has partial impact of westerly and local winds, causing partly cloudy in the hilly regions of the country, including Lumbini Province today.
Home Minister vows stern action against attackers on media, journalists
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has vowed stringent action against those involved in violent attacks on journalists and media houses during the March 28 demonstration at Tinkune, Kathmandu. Fair investigation into the violent incidents would find those behind the atrocities, he added.
Home Minister Lekhak made such a pledge during a meeting with a team led by General Secretary of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Ram Prasad Dahal, on Wednesday. The FNJ delegation submitted a memorandum to Minister Lekhak.
It was an anarchic and violent demonstration orchestrated by those sans ideology, Lekhak reminded, adding that the anarchic mob was intended to perpetrate crimes. "The mob crossed every limit, thereby putting journalists and media houses at the receiving end. The Nepal government is serious about it," he stressed.
He shared information on relief assistance to be provided to the family of victim journalist Suresh Rajak and another injured journalist.
On the occasion, FNJ General Secretary Ram Prasad Dahal requested the Home Minister to investigate well the atrocities meted out on media houses and death of an on-duty journalist during the demonstration, and to take a stringent action on culpable ones.
Information on it was shared by the Home Minister's secretariat.
Yadav addresses Indian Ocean Conference in Thailand
Raj Kishor Yadav, Chairman of International Relations and Tourism Committee of Parliament has addressed the ‘Indian Ocean Conference 2025: The BIMSTEC Dialogue’ organized by Indian Foundation in Thailand on the sidelines of BIMSTEC Summit.
It is an honour to represent Nepal at the 'Indian Ocean Conference 2025: The BIMSTEC Dialogue' hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand, a land of the free that was previously called Siam, Yadav said.
This Sanskrit word has connected us for centuries. Nepal's shared vision of fostering prosperity and connectivity with South and Southeast Asia(SEA) as a founding member of BIMSTEC since 1997, he added.
As the Nepali adage states, 'Strength lies in unity,' we gather to advance our Collective and robust Prosperity, he said, we request all to channel this unity to transcend challenges into opportunities and Take the plunge for Aspiration.
We are the civilisation state extending the Bharat Barsha, now divided into seven states with 22% of the total global population, and we are the hub of ancient wisdom, biodiversity, and youth and have been leaders for millennia, Yadav said.
We must work for resilient infrastructure to untapped this potential, breaking trade barriers for equitable growth. So this platform is also a bridge connecting the landlocked Himalayas with the vibrant ASEAN markets and blue economies of the Bay of Bengal, he said.