INDIA: Many people were feared dead today after gunmen indiscriminately opened fire on tourists in Kashmir.

Police described the incident at Baisaran meadow, three miles from the resort town of Pahalgam, as a “terror attack” and blamed militants fighting Indian rule in the region, which is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in its entirety by both countries.

UNITED STATES: The US and global economies are likely to take a significant hit from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today.

The global economy will grow by just 2.8 per cent this year, down from the IMF forecast in January of 3.3 per cent, according to its latest World Economic Outlook.

US growth is expected to be just 1.8 per cent this year, down sharply from the previous IMF forecast of 2.7 per cent.

INDIA: US Vice-President JD Vance called today for New Delhi to buy more defence equipment and energy from the US and allow Washington greater access to its market.

Mr Vance, who is on a four-day visit to India, said that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had finalised the terms of reference for trade negotiations, which will seek to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion (£3.7bn) by 2030.

UKRAINE: Russian attacks have hit the southern cities of Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, local authorities said today.

The port city of Odessa came under a “massive attack” by Russian drones the previous night, injuring at least three people.

Later in the day, Russia hit Zaporizhzhia with two massive aerial glide bombs, killing a 69-year-old woman and injuring 24 people, including four children.