Asian stock markets rebounded Wednesday after Wall Street stabilized following declines for bank stocks and U.S. inflation eased but stayed high. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Oil prices rose more than $1 per barrel, recovering some of the previous day's losses. Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose Tuesday as bank stocks recovered some of their losses caused by worries customers might pull out deposits following the collapse of two U.S. lenders. Stocks rose despite data showing prices rose 6% over a year ago in February, decelerating from the previous month's 6.4% but above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Also Read: Asian shares mostly sink on jitters after US bank failure “The anchoring of less hawkish expectations provided some catalyst for risk sentiments to recover,” said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report. “There were also no new negative headlines of another bank or funds in trouble, which allows investors’ sentiments to settle down.” Investors had worried the Fed might respond to enduring upward pressure on prices by speeding up the pace of interest rate increases to dampen economic activity and inflation. But those jitters were overshadowed by anxiety about the U.S. financial system following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday and Signature Bank on Sunday. President Joe Biden and regulators tried to assure the public risks were contained and deposits in other banks were safe. Tuesday's data showed core inflation, with volatile energy and food prices stripped out to show a clearer trend, was 0.5% in February over the previous month, edging up from January's 0.4% gain. The Fed pays close attention to core inflation in making monetary policy. The Fed faces a dilemma over how to respond when banks already are under strain after the fastest pace of rate hikes in a decade knocked down prices of their assets. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 3,267.15 after Chinese economic activity improved in January and February but less than expected after anti-virus controls ended. Retail sales rose 3.5% over a year earlier, rebounding from December's 1.% contraction. Factory output rose 2.4%, up from 1.3%. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 0.1% to 27,258.01 after major Japanese companies announced they had agreed with unions to the biggest wage increases in almost two decades. Low wages are seen as a major drag on economic growth in Japan, but fewer than one in five Japanese workers belong to unions. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.3% to 19,490.35 and the Kospi in Seoul surged 1.5% to 2,384.38. India's Sensex opened up 0.2% at 58,297.50. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets advanced. Traders rushed Monday to place bets that the Fed could keep rates steady at its next meeting, instead of accelerating to a hike of 0.50 percentage points, double last month's margin, according to data from CME Group. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 1.7% to 3,920.56, reversing from a three-day string of declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to 32,155.40. The Nasdaq added 2.1% to 11,428.15. First Republic Bank jumped 27% after plunging 67.5% over the prior three days. KeyCorp gained 6.9%, Zions Bancorp. rose 4.5% and Charles Schwab climbed 9.2%. The yield on a two-year Treasury, or the difference between the market price and the payout at maturity, climbed back to 4.21% from 4.02% late Monday, another huge move. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 3.66% from 3.55%. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.08 to $72.41 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $3.47 on Tuesday to $71.33. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, advanced $1.09 to $78.54 per barrel in London. It lost $3.32 the previous day to $77.45. The dollar declined to 134.09 yen from Tuesday's 134.19 yen. The euro rose to $1.0754 from $1.0741.

Asian shares mostly fell Monday, shaken by a Wall Street tumble that set off worries the biggest United States bank failure in nearly 15 years might have ripple effects around the world. But the falls were relatively subdued because of reassurances from U.S. officials that financial shocks would be mitigated. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6% to 27,685.86 in morning trading. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 7,125.90. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.4% to 2,385.25. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.4% to 19,594.07. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,238.98, as Chinese shares tracked a gain in U.S. futures. Dow futures were up 1.1% at 32,516.00. S&P 500 futures rose 1.4% to 3,952.50. The recent developments in Chinese politics have also worked as a stabilizing factor. Major posts, including the governor of the Bank of China, as well as other political leaders, were announced, signaling a continuation of policy. Also Read: Startup-focused Silicon Valley Bank becomes largest bank to fail since 2008 financial crisis Before trading began in Asia, the U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and FDIC said Sunday that all Silicon Valley Bank clients will be protected and have access to their funds and announced steps designed to protect the bank’s customers and prevent more bank runs. Regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank on Friday amid a run on the bank, which was the second-largest U.S. bank failure, behind the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual. They also announced Sunday that New York-based Signature Bank was being seized after it became the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Following two bank failures, worries about financial stability and liquidity concerns were dominating the market landscape, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management in Hong Kong. He said traders made nervous by the weekend's news could create “a ready-aim-fire Monday open.” “With the market likely headed for a more turbulent period with US inflation on a collision course with Bank ‘theater of tragedy,’ now is probably not the best time for investor euphoria," Innes said. But the sense that U.S. authorities were taking some steps to limit “the contagion effect” had somewhat of a calming effect, although “markets remain skittish” in Asia, said Venkateswaran Lavanya at Mizuho Bank. Shares had tanked Friday on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.4% to cap its worst week since September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 345 points, or 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.8%. The S&P 500 fell 56.73 points to 3,861.59. The Dow lost 345.22 to 31,909.64, and the Nasdaq dropped 199.47 to 11,138.89. Some of the sharpest drops on Wall Street last week came from the financial industry. First Republic Bank tumbled 14.8%, while Charles Schwab lost another 11.7% after dropping 12.8% Thursday. Larger banks, which have been stress-tested by regulators following the 2008 financial crisis, held up better. JPMorgan Chase rose 2.5%. In Tokyo trading, banking issues were sold, with MUFG Bank falling nearly 4%, echoing such falls on Wall Street. Shares in Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group dipped 4.7% in morning trading. Worries were growing recently that interest rates are set to go higher than expected after the Fed Reserve said it could reaccelerate the size of its rate hikes. The Fed is focusing on wage growth in particular in its fight against inflation. It worries too-high gains could cause a vicious cycle that worsens inflation. Traders now largely expect the Fed to stick with a modest 0.25 point hike. Last month, the Fed slowed to that pace after earlier hiking by 0.50 and 0.75 points. The Fed has already raised rates at the fastest pace in decades and made other moves to reverse its tremendous support for the economy during the pandemic. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 26 cents to $76.42 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 35 cents to $82.43 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 134.40 Japanese yen from 134.96 yen. The euro cost $1.0694, up from $1.0643.

Qatar’s top diplomat was sworn in as the country’s prime minister on Tuesday, replacing another member of the ruling family who had held the post since 2020, state news reported. The Qatar News Agency says Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was sworn in as the new head of government, without providing further details. Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, appoints the holders of top offices, usually from members of the ruling family. As in other Gulf Arab countries, politics is largely confined to the ruling family and developments are rarely aired in public. Sheikh Mohammed has served as foreign minister since 2016 and was the public face of Qatar as it navigated a 3 1/2-year economic boycott by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt that only came to an end in January 2021. He replaces Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, who had served as prime minister and interior minister — responsible for domestic security — since 2020. He was replaced as interior minister on Tuesday by Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Gas-rich Qatar, one of the wealthiest countries on earth, supported Islamist groups across the region during and after the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, bringing it into conflict with its Gulf Arab neighbors, who view such groups as a threat to hereditary rule. Relations have improved over the last two years. The rulers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt visited Qatar as it hosted soccer’s World Cup last year.

The Biden administration on Tuesday pledged to support the independence of the five Central Asian nations, in a not-so-subtle warning to the former Soviet states that Russia’s value as a partner has been badly compromised by its year-old war against Ukraine. In Kazakhstan for meetings with top Central Asian diplomats, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said no country, particularly those that have traditionally been in Moscow’s orbit, can afford to ignore the threats posed by Russian aggression to not only their territory but to the international rules-based order and the global economy. In all of his discussions, Blinken stressed the importance of respect for “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.” The Central Asian states have hewed to a studied position of neutrality on Ukraine, neither supporting Russia’s invasion nor U.S. and Western condemnations of the war. “Ever since being the first nation to recognize Kazakhstan in December of 1991, the United States has been firmly committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Kazakhstan and countries across the region,” Blinken said after meeting in Astana with the foreign ministers of the so-called C5+1 group, made up of the U.S. and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Also Read: Blinken tours Turkey’s earthquake zone, pledges $100M in aid “In our discussions today, I reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Kazakhstan, like all nations, to freely determine its future, especially as we mark one year since Russia lost its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a failed attempt to deny its people that very freedom,” Blinken told reporters at a news conference with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi. Tileuberdi thanked Blinken for the U.S. commitment to Kazakhstan’s freedom, but signaled that his country was unlikely to adopt either a pro-Russian or pro-Western position. Tileuberdi said Kazakhstan would continue to act in its own national interest given “the complex international situation.” “Our country continues a balanced multilateral foreign policy,” he said. Tileuberdi noted that while Kazakhstan has very close and historic ties with both Russia and Ukraine, it would not allow its territory to be used for any Russian aggression or sanctions evasion. He added that even though Kazakhstan shares the world’s longest land border with Russia, it did not see a threat from Moscow. Blinken also held separate meetings in Astana with the foreign ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Tajiistan and Turkmenistan. After visiting Kazakhstan, Blinken arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on his first trip to Central Asia as secretary of state. None of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia, traditionally viewed as part of the Kremlin’s sphere of influence, publicly backed the Russian invasion. Kazakhstan welcomed tens of thousands of Russians fleeing from the military call-up last fall. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has spoken by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy three times since Russian troops rolled into Ukraine last February, calling for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict in accordance with the U.N. charter and international law. However, all five Central Asian republics, along with India, which Blinken will visit next after Uzbekistan, abstained in a vote to condemn the invasion as a violation of core international principles last week at the U.N. General Assembly, on the first anniversary of the war. “If we allow (those principles) to be violated with impunity, that does open the prospect that Russia itself will continue to consider further aggression against other countries, if it sets its sights on them, or other countries will learn the wrong lesson and would-be aggressors in every part of the world will say ’well, if Russia can get away with this, then we can too,’” Blinken said. “That’s a recipe for a world of conflict, a world of instability, a world that I don’t think any of us want to live in.” “So, that’s why it’s been so important for so many countries to stand up and say, no we don’t accept this,” he said. The U.S. has for decades sought — without great success — to wean the former Soviet nations of the region from Moscow’s influence. Some, notably Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, assisted the U.S. logistically during its 20-year conflict in Afghanistan, but their ties to Russia remain deep and extend to the economic, military and diplomatic spheres as members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a Moscow-dominated grouping of ex-Soviet nations.

The Philippines is in talks with the United States as well as Australia on future joint patrols in the South China Sea, where China's increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters are causing concern, top defense officials in the three nations said Wednesday. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr., to reiterate Washington’s support and commitment to help defend its oldest treaty ally in Asia after a Chinese coast guard aimed a military-grade laser at a Philippine patrol vessel near a disputed shoal. The Feb. 6 incident off Second Thomas Shoal briefly blinded some of the Filipino crew and prompted Manila to file a strongly worded diplomatic protest. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also summoned China’s ambassador to express his concern. Also Read: US renews warning it’ll defend Philippines after China spat “The two leaders discussed proposals to deepen operational cooperation and enhance the United States and the Philippines’ shared security, including the recent decision to resume combined maritime activities in the South China Sea,” according to details of the phone conversation provided by Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. During Austin's visit to Manila this month, Galvez and U.S. officials had said the allies agreed to carry out joint patrols. Separately, Galvez and visiting Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a news conference on Wednesday that they were looking at Australian and Philippine forces possibly carrying out their joint patrols in the busy waterway. Also Read: US, Philippines agree on larger American military presence As countries asserting the rule of law, including the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, in the South China Sea, where a bulk of Australia’s trade traverses, “we did talk today about the possibility of exploring joint patrols,” Marles said, without elaborating. Australian and Philippine forces have undertaken joint patrols off the southern Philippines in the past to counter terrorist threats, Galvez said, and added, “We can do it again." Aside from the United States, Australia is the only other country that struck a defense agreement with the Philippines for joint combat exercises in the country. The Philippine Constitution prohibits the permanent basing of foreign troops and their involvement in local combat. Austin announced after meeting Marcos on Feb. 2 that the Philippines had approved an expanded U.S. military presence by allowing rotating batches of U.S. forces to stay in four more Philippine military camps, in addition to five others. It was the latest move by the Biden administration to strengthen an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan. Austin reaffirmed in his talk with Galvez on Wednesday the U.S. Defense Department’s “commitment to bolstering the Philippines’ defense capabilities and capacity to resist coercion as the allies develop a security-sector assistance roadmap.” No details of the mutual security plan were immediately provided. China opposes military activities involving the U.S. and its allies, especially in the South China Sea, and has warned Washington not to meddle in what it says is a purely Asian dispute. Chinese forces have protested the presence of U.S. Navy ships and fighter jets that have been enforcing freedom of movement in the contested waters. The U.S. military insists it would exercise its rights under international law to sail and fly in international waters. In Jakarta, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Wednesday that China would work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is currently led by Indonesia, to hasten negotiations on a proposed nonaggression pact, which is designed to avoid armed confrontations in the South China Sea. “China and Indonesia will work with other ASEAN countries to … accelerate consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea, and jointly maintain the peace and stability in the South China Sea fully and effectively.” Gang said in an online press conference. The highly secretive talks between China and the 10-nation ASEAN, whose four members are locked in territorial conflicts with Beijing over the strategic waterway, have faced years of delay, including during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. China and the regional bloc have agreed to speed up the negotiations this year but it's unclear how they can overcome key differences, including which areas should be covered by the pact and whether the agreement should be legally binding.  

Asia will for the first time use half of the world’s electricity by 2025, even as Africa continues to consume far less than its share of the global population, according to a new forecast released Wednesday by the International Energy Agency. Much of Asia’s electricity use will be in China, a nation of 1.4 billion people whose share of global consumption will rise from a quarter in 2015 to a third by the middle of this decade, the Paris-based body said. “China will be consuming more electricity than the European Union, United States and India combined,” said Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s director of energy markets and security. By contrast, Africa — home to almost a fifth of world’s nearly 8 billion inhabitants — will account for just 3% of global electricity consumption in 2025. “This and the rapidly growing population mean there is still a massive need for increased electrification in Africa,” said Sadamori. The IEA’s annual report predicts that nuclear power and renewables such as wind and solar will account for much of the growth in global electricity supply over the coming three years. This will prevent a significant rise in greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, it said. Scientists say sharp cuts in all sources of emissions are needed as soon as possible to keep average global temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. That target, laid down in the 2015 Paris climate accord, appears increasingly doubtful as temperatures have already increased by more than 1.1 C since the reference period. One hope for meeting the goal is a wholesale shift away from fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil toward low-carbon sources of energy. But while some regions are reducing their use of coal and gas for electricity production, in others consumption is increasing, the IEA said. The 134-page also report warned that electricity demand and supply are becoming increasingly weather dependent, a problem it urged policymakers to address. “In addition to drought in Europe, there were heat waves in India (last year),” said Sadamori. “Similarly, central and eastern China were hit by heat waves and drought. The United States also saw severe winter storms in December, and all those events put massive strain on the power systems of these regions.” “As the clean energy transition gathers pace, the impact of weather events on electricity demand will intensify due to the increased electrification of heating, while the share of weather-dependent renewables will continue to grow in the generation mix,” the IEA said. “In such a world, increasing the flexibility of power systems while ensuring security of supply and resilience of networks will be crucial.”

Bangladesh is going to be the first country in Asia to receive loan from International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) ‘Resilience and Sustainability Fund’ (RSF). The first country in the world to receive this IMF loan was Barbados, followed by Costa Rica and Rwanda. After that, there are five more countries on the list to receive loans from the RSF. Bangladesh is at the top of the list. Read more: IMF Board could consider approving $4.5bn loan for Bangladesh on Jan 30 The IMF board approved the fund on April 13, 2022, and it became effective on May 1, 2022. The fund was created for low and middle-income countries that are at risk due to climate change. According to the IMF, this fund is for countries with low incomes, high debt burdens, high costs to deal with climate change risks, and deficits in development spending. Read more: IMF to support Bangladesh’s aspirations of becoming a higher-income country by 2041: DMD The global lender says borrowing has increased in many low- and middle-income countries in the post Covid-19 period.

Reformist opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim edged closer to become Malaysia's new prime minister after a political party agreed Thursday to support a unity government following inconclusive general elections. Any agreement must still be approved by Malaysia's king. Last Saturday's divisive election led to a hung parliament that renewed a leadership crisis in Malaysia, which had three prime ministers since 2018. Police have tightened security nationwide as social media warned of racial troubles if Anwar’s multiethnic bloc wins. Anwar's Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope, topped the race with 82 parliamentary seats, short of the 112 needed for a majority. Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin’s Malay-centric Perikatan Nasional, or National Alliance, won 73 seats. The alliance led by the United Malays National Organization, which has 30 seats, hold the key that will tilt the balance. UMNO reversed its decision to remain in the opposition, saying it will heed the king's proposal for a unity government. UMNO's secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said Thursday the party's highest-decision making body has decided to now support a unity government that is not led by Muhyiddin's camp. He said the party will accept any unity government or any other form of government decided by the king. UMNO holds 26 seats and four others are held by component parties in its National Front alliance. It is unclear if the other party members have agreed to go along with UMNO's decision. If all 30 National Front lawmakers support Anwar, he will secure a majority. Anwar already has the support of a small party in Borneo island with three seats. In all, that will give him 115 parliamentary seats. Read more: Former Malaysia PM Mahathir loses ground to poll rivals If Anwar clinches the top job, it will ease fears over the rise of right-wing politics in the country. Muhyiddin's bloc includes the hard-line Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which has 49 seats — more than double what it won in 2018. Known as PAS, it backs Islamic Shariah law, rules three states and is now the single largest party. Malay Muslims are two-thirds of Malaysia’s 33 million people, who include large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is to meet Thursday with royal families from nine states to consult them on the deadlock. Malaysia’s hereditary state rulers, who take turns as the country’s king every five years under a unique rotation system, are highly regarded by the country’s Malay majority as the guardians of Islam and Malay tradition. Anwar’s reformist alliance won 2018 elections that led to the first regime change since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957. But the government collapsed after Muhyiddin defected and joined hands with UMNO to form a new government. Muhyiddin’s government was beset by internal rivalries and he resigned after 17 months. UMNO leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob was then picked by the king as the prime minister. Read more: Malaysian foreign minister, int’l lawmakers demand decisive action on Myanmar Many rural Malays fear they may lose their privileges with greater pluralism under Anwar. Fed up with corruption and infighting in UMNO, many opted for Muhyiddin’s bloc in Saturday’s vote.

Global average temperatures have risen and weather extremes have already seen an uptick, so the short answer to whether it’s too late to stop climate change is: yes. But there’s still time to prevent cascading effects, as every degree of additional warming has exponentially disastrous impacts, experts say. A 2021 report by the top body of climate scientists provided new analysis of the chance the world has to cap warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) or 2 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times in the coming decades, in line with global climate goals. Although scientists estimated it’s still possible to stay within these limits, they said it would require immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It’s more likely that global temperature will reach or exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, the report said. Without major action to reduce emissions, the global average temperature is on track to rise by 2.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 to 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, scientists say. And researchers warn that the situation will get very serious before then: Once the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold is reached, there will be increasing heat waves, longer warm seasons and shorter cold seasons. When the 2 degrees Celsius mark is crossed, critical tolerance levels for agriculture and health will be reached. Read more: UN, ADB to support Bangladesh's fight against climate change But all hope is not lost, they urge. At the time of the report’s release, Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College of London, said achieving the 1.5-degree goal “is still possible from a physical science point of view.” “If we reduce emissions globally to net zero by 2040 there is still a two thirds chance to reach 1.5 degrees and if we globally achieve net zero emissions by the middle of the century, there is still a one third chance to achieve that,” she said. If all human emissions of heat-trapping gases were to stop today, Earth’s temperature would continue to rise for a few decades but would eventually stabilize, climate scientists say. If humans don’t emit any additional planet-warming gasses, then natural processes would begin to slowly remove the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and global temperatures would gradually begin to decline. Read more: Bangladesh a key player in fight against climate change, says British envoy “There is a direct relation between delay and warming, and between warming and risk of what we would call extreme impacts,” said Ajay Gambhir, a senior research fellow at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, based at Imperial College London. “ Unfortunately, we’re already seeing all these extreme impacts — whether it’s extreme heat waves, increased risk of crop failures, forest fires or bleaching coral reefs— already happening.”

Thailand sealed a stunning one-wicket win against Pakistan in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup on Thursday in Sylhet. It was Thailand’s first-ever win against Pakistan in T20Is.  Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a moderate total of 116 runs for five wickets with opener Sidra Ameen hitting 56 runs off 64 balls with six fours.  Thailand bowlers were disciplined enough to restrict Pakistan to a moderate total.  For Thailand, Sornnarin Tippoch scalped two wickets while Thipatcha Putthawong took one wicket.  In reply, Natthakan Chantham guided Thailand to a historic victory. She scored 61 off 51 balls with five fours and two sixes.  Read: Women’s Asia Cup: Jemimah, Deepti guide India to stunning win Pakistan pushed the match to the last over. But with only one wicket in hand, Thailand sealed the match with one ball to play.  Nida Dar and Tuba Hassan scalped two wickets each, but their efforts were not enough to avoid a loss.  It was Pakistan’s third match in the event. They have won the first two matches. The Indian women’s team is on top of the table, with three wins in three matches.  Sri Lanka have also played three matches and won two of them while Bangladesh played two matches and won one. Bangladesh is set to take on Malaysia on October 6.