Day: May 10, 2025

Pakistan says it has launched military retaliation against India

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Pakistan’s military said it launched a wave of short-range missiles into India early on Saturday, as India targeted air bases deep inside Pakistan and the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours escalated closer to a full-scale war. Pakistan said it had launched Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos — named after a Koranic phrase roughly meaning a “wall of lead” — as a response to missile and drone attacks by India since May 7.…

What the turmoil in Asian currencies tells us

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Asian markets this week gave a lively taster of what a full-blown currency war might look like under Trump 2.0. But we are not at panic stations yet, and probably (touch wood) will not be any time soon. It has, to be sure, been a week of high drama in a typically sleepy corner of markets. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Taiwanese dollar shot to the moon, jumping by, at…

The duty-free island trying to lure Chinese shoppers amid the trade war

Media Library

The intensifying trade war with the United States has created a crisis for businesses across China, as sky-high tariffs dampen trade, disrupt supply chains and raise concerns about a wave of job losses. Advertisement But one island province could stand to benefit. Hainan, a tropical haven off China’s southern coast, has emerged as a major shopping destination over the past few years, with special policies allowing its duty-free stores to maintain unbeatable prices. Now, local shops are set to gain an even greater advantage over the rest of China, as…

Taiwan’s Lai accused of ignoring Japanese invasion of China with VE Day speech

Media Library

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, in a controversial move that is being interpreted as a symbolic stand against Beijing’s growing military pressure. Advertisement It was the first time that Taipei formally observed the end of the war in Europe and triggered sharp criticism at home, where analysts and opposition lawmakers accused Lai of distorting history. Lai had sidestepped Japan’s wartime atrocities and minimised the crucial role of the Republic of China (ROC) – and main opposition…