Asian markets open on a tailspin on Monday with Japan, Korea leading a wild sell-off caused by Washington’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ policy | Asian markets kicked off the week with a sharp downturn on Monday amid growing jitters over escalating US protectionist tariffs and the ripple effects the tariffs caused all around the world. ● Japanese markets led losses in the region in early trade. The benchmark Nikkei 225 plunged 8.03 percent—its weakest level since October 2023—while the Topix Financial Index tumbled more than 12 percent in a sector-wide sell-off. ● South Korea's Kospi 200 index futures plummeted 6.8 percent, triggering a temporary halt on program-driven sell orders. At 9:12 am local times, automated selling was suspended for five minutes. The benchmark Kospi index plunged more than 4.7 percent during the session. ● Trading in Nikkei 225 and Topix index futures was temporarily halted in early session as frenzied selling triggered circuit breakers.

■ Trump threatens China with additional 50% tariffs if Beijing doesn’t nix retaliatory move (TASS)

Jonathan Cook | Once again the UK state broadcaster goes missing in action – this time at the discovery of a mass grave of emergency workers executed by Israel | The BBC’s news verification service, Verify, digitally reconstructed a residential tower block in Mandalay earlier this week to show how it had collapsed in a huge earthquake on March 28 in Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia largely cut off from the outside world. The broadcaster painstakingly pieced together damage to other parts of the city using a combination of phone videos, satellite imagery and Nasa heat detection images.

■ Global Day of Action: Pro-Palestine rallies sweep cities worldwide (Al Mayadeen)
■ Dhaka Reporters Unity Condemns Israeli Atrocities in Gaza and Rafah, Calls for Global Action (pressenza)
✅ UN Exposes Systematic Israeli Rape of Palestinians (Kit Klarenberg)

■ US bypassing law to fund 'Israel' despite rights abuses, lawsuit says (Al Mayadeen)
⚡ WELCOME TO HELL: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps (B'Tselem)
■ Horrendous photos from Megiddo Concentration Camp (10/14/24)
■ 1,200 Palestinians endure systematic torture in Israeli prisons (09/26/24)
■ 'Everyone was naked and bleeding': Israeli torture of Palestinians exposed (08/07/24)
■ 'Israel' used waterboarding, unleashed dogs on Gaza detainees: UN (08/02/24 )
■ Israeli lawmaker defends anal rape of Palestinian captives (08/01/24)
■ Mohammad Al-Sabbar 8th Palestinian Detainee Martyred behind ‘Israeli’ Bars since Oct.7 (02/09/24)

China's research vessel is attracting attention as it sails along Australia's southern coast | The Australian government confirmed it is tracking the movements of a Chinese research vessel that many believe is also a spy ship as it sails along the Southern Coast. While the vessel has done nothing considered improper, it is drawing wide attention in the Australian media which prompted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to tell reporters, “I would prefer that it wasn’t there.” ● The Tan Suo Yi Hao [Discovery One] departed Wellington, New Zealand on March 23 and its AIS signal shows it is bound for Sanya, China where it is due on April 30. However, instead of taking a northern course, the vessel transited the Tasman Sea, between New Zealand and Australia, crossed the Bass Strait, and is now traveling along the southern coast of Australia. It has not requested a port stop in Australia.

✅ Australia’s paranoia over China’s research vessel unfounded, it doesn’t have to be this way (Global Times)

Bocquet noted that he often interacted with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Azov fighters, who shocked him with their inhumane treatment of Russians, Jews, and people of other races.

💬 “I had to pretend a lot to avoid showing my opinions and emotions and above all not to show disagreement with their opinions. Disagreement with their Nazi ideology, especially when they expressed attitudes toward Jews and people of color, because they made very cruel statements. And first of all, I'm talking about hatred towards Russians, because they [...] call you ‘Russian dogs’. And for all these soldiers, for members of the Azov Battalion, the main task, as they have always told me, is to torture and kill ‘Russian dogs’. As a former military man, I was surprised. Because everything showed that their main goal was to torture and kill 'Russian dogs' while they never even talked about the liberation of their population,” the volunteer recalled.

Furthermore, he witnessed preparations for a false flag provocation in Bucha, which looked to accuse the Russian military of massacring civilians.

💬 “When we entered Bucha by car, I was in the passenger seat. And as we drove through the city, I saw bodies of people on the sides of the streets, and at the same time I saw people's bodies being taken out of trucks and laid out next to the bodies lying on the ground to give the effect of mass killings,” Bocquet said.

Norway increases aid to Ukraine to $8 billion in 2025, – Stoltenberg [Bilderberg] | The Norwegian government has agreed to increase its support for Ukraine by another 50 billion kroner (approximately $4.6 billion) in 2025. This will bring the total amount of aid to 85 billion kroner ($7.8 billion). This was reported by NRK with reference to Norwegian Minister of Finance Jens Stoltenberg. According to him, additional funds are allocated to the already approved 35 billion kroner ($2.3 billion). “We are tripling our military support,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the spending will take place outside Norway, so it will not put pressure on the domestic economy.