Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, powerful earthquakes hit Myanmar and Thailand, Putin on Ukraine, and big things are happening for OpenAI. Locally, FO rejects the US house bill, SC rules on married women’s legal rights, and an update on recent journalist arrests. 

The Biscuitt team will be off for spring/Eid break 🌸 next week, but we'll be back on 7th April!

☕ Grab your chaye (or don’t), let’s go.

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Around The World

Earthquake in Myanmar. Central Myanmar was hit Friday by a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake, with tremors felt across Thailand and in neighboring Chinese provinces. The quake was followed by a strong 6.4-magnitude aftershock. Forty-three construction workers are trapped under the rubble, and two people have been killed after an unfinished high-rise building collapsed in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced a state of emergency in her country. Live updates here and here.

Big talker. Speaking to a group of servicemen, Russian President Putin said yesterday that Ukraine could be placed under a “temporary administration” as part of a peace process overseen by North Korea and other Moscow allies. He also called for new elections in Ukraine and the signing of key accords under an international administration. 

Putin also said that US President Trump’s intention to acquire Greenland was serious, and it was clear that the US would continue to promote its interests in the Arctic. He noted that Russia is worried about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region.

Unnatural selection. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US has revoked at least 300 foreign students' visas as part of Trump's effort to clamp down on pro-Palestinian protesters on university campuses. Trump officials are using the Immigration and Nationality Act to revoke the visas, which allows the State Department to deport non-citizens who are adversarial to foreign policy and national security interests.

On fire. OpenAI said it had to limit the use of its controversial new image generator yesterday after users prompted it to create so many photos in Studio Ghibli style that the tech company’s GPUs started “melting”. OpenAI is also reportedly finalizing a massive $40B funding round, which would make it the largest private funding in history and double OpenAI’s valuation to $300B. The company is set to purchase billions of dollars' worth of data storage, 5 exabytes to be precise, potentially making it one of the world’s largest storage customers overnight.

Pakistan

None of your business. The Foreign Office (FO) dismissed the Pakistan Democracy Act, a bipartisan US House bill proposing sanctions on Pakistani officials, including the army chief, over alleged human rights violations and the persecution of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The FO emphasized that the bill does not represent Washington’s official stance and contradicts the improving Pak-US relationship.

The legislation, introduced by Republican Joe Wilson and Democrat Jimmy Panetta, calls for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act if Pakistan does not address human rights concerns. It also seeks to end military interference in governance and release detained political opponents.

Overruled. The Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s legal rights, autonomy, and financial independence are not erased by marriage. The court ruled in favor of Zahida Parveen, whose appointment as a primary schoolteacher under the deceased’s son/daughter quota was revoked by KP’s education department due to her marital status. Officials cited rules barring married daughters unless separated from their husbands. The court condemned this as discriminatory and reinforcing patriarchal assumptions that deny women financial independence. Ordering her reinstatement with back benefits, the judgment also criticized outdated language like “a married daughter becomes a liability of her husband,” calling it a perpetuation of structural discrimination.

Someone’s always watching. A Karachi district court dismissed the bail application of journalist Farhan Mallick in a case related to alleged anti-state content on his YouTube channel, Raftar TV. Mallick, a former news director at Samaa TV, was arrested on March 20 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016 and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Meanwhile, an Islamabad court granted post-arrest bail to journalist Waheed Murad after he was arrested for allegedly posting “intimidating content” online under cybercrime laws. Murad had been on a two-day physical remand. His family previously filed a petition claiming he was forcibly disappeared by intelligence officials on March 26. Murad’s arrest was linked to his social media posts on Balochistan issues and a report by Ahmad Noorani. 

What else is happening?

🛢️The UK climate activist group Just Stop Oil announced that it will end disruptive acts of protest, such as throwing soup on Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and spraying orange paint on Stonehenge. It will now be using a different approach to fight against a morally bankrupt political class as global temperatures rise.

🚘Tesla will start selling its electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf region’s largest economy, as its global sales are sliding. However, it may struggle to gain market share in Saudi Arabia as EVs make up a little over 1% of all car sales in the country.