Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, Israeli carnage continues in Gaza, Ukraine-Russia meet, and Iran seeks clarity on the nuclear deal. Locally, the IMF-backed budget was finalized amid fiscal tightening, a Faisalabad man arrested for a TikToker’s murder, and 200+ prisoners escape Karachi jail.

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Around The World

Updates from Gaza. At least 27 Palestinians have been killed and dozens injured in an Israeli attack on people waiting for aid in southern Gaza’s Rafah governorate at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US. The Israeli military says it fired shots near an aid complex after identifying "several suspects," and it is examining reports of casualties.

Israel denied shooting Palestinians in a similar incident on Sunday, which the Hamas-run health ministry said killed 31 people and injured nearly 200. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the mass shooting of Gaza’s aid seekers that have been reported every day since May 27, when the GHF started its operations. Get live updates here and here.

Swap-meet. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a new prisoner swap and the return of thousands of war dead during direct talks in Istanbul, although little headway was made towards ending the war. Ukrainian negotiators said Russia again rejected an "unconditional ceasefire", a key demand by Kyiv and its allies in Europe and the US. The Russian team said it had proposed a two or three-day truce in certain areas of the vast front line, but gave no further details.

Lost in translation. Senior Iranian officials say that the new nuclear deal proposal presented to Tehran is “incoherent and disjointed,” as the momentum behind negotiations appears to be collapsing. Iran has demanded that the United States clarify exactly how sanctions will be lifted under the new agreement.

Reportedly, the US has also shifted position on the issue of uranium enrichment in the new proposal, which previously suggested the US could invest in Iran’s civilian nuclear power program and join a consortium that would oversee the enrichment of low-level uranium within Iran. However, later Monday, Trump said that the Iran deal will not allow any uranium enrichment.

Pakistan

On the money. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Monday that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the upcoming federal budget had concluded successfully. The federal budget (expected to be heavily guided by IMF recommendations) is now set to be presented in the National Assembly on June 10. It was initially scheduled for June 2 but was delayed due to prolonged discussions over tax relief and fiscal targets. Development spending under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), originally planned at Rs. 1.4 trillion (including Public-Private Partnership projects) has been revised downward twice — first to Rs. 1.25 trillion and later to Rs. 1.09 trillion — amid tight fiscal space.

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an $800 million financing package for Pakistan under its Improved Resource Mobilization and Utilization Reform Program aimed at enhancing fiscal sustainability and supporting economic reforms. The package includes a $300 million policy-based loan and ADB’s first-ever $500 million policy-based guarantee to help Pakistan raise up to $1 billion from commercial banks. 

A life cut short. Islamabad police have arrested a 22-year-old man from Faisalabad for the murder of 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf, who was shot dead at her home yesterday. Police say the suspect, described as a “cold-blooded murderer,” was obsessed with Sana and had repeatedly tried to contact her but faced rejection. He entered Sana’s home armed and shot her without warning in front of her mother and aunt, and later died in the hospital. Her mother had filed an FIR under Section 302. Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said the suspect, an unemployed matriculate, was arrested after 11 raids across Punjab. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed the suspect’s confession and the recovery of the murder weapon and Sana’s phone.

Prison break. Over 200 inmates escaped from District Prison Malir in Karachi on the night of June 2 after being let out of their cells for a headcount following minor earthquakes, according to Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon. Taking advantage of the confusion, 213 prisoners fled, with 78 later recaptured, one shot dead, and others injured in clashes with security forces. Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah termed the decision to let prisoners into the open ground a “wrong” one and promised action against those responsible. Most escapees were jailed for petty crimes, and no major terrorists or foreigners were among them.

What Else Is Happening?

🌋Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted again yesterday. The eruption forced tourists to flee after a plume of high-temperature gases, ash, and rock, billowed into the air above them.

🙅Japan has introduced new rules restricting how names are spelled and pronounced to quell a growing practice of parents giving their babies unconventional or “kira-kira” names like Nike, Pikachu, or Hello Kitty.