Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting and updates from Gaza. Locally,  monsoon rains kill 358 in KP as floods hit Karachi, SBP launches new digital payment system, and Germany presses Pakistan on Afghan deportations.

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Around The World

Table talk. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and top EU leaders met with US President Trump yesterday to discuss plans to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Trump convened the meeting after last week’s summit with Russian President Putin, where Putin rejected the idea of a ceasefire before reaching a comprehensive peace deal and urged Ukraine to surrender territory in the east in exchange for freezing the front line elsewhere. 

Here are the key takeaways from the meeting:

• Trump said the US would back Europe in protecting Ukraine as part of a deal to end the war, and that Ukraine had offered to buy $90bn worth of US weapons.

• Zelenskyy backed the elections if held under safe circumstances.

• Trump announced plans to convene a face-to-face summit between Putin and Zelenskyy to end the war.

• Trump dismissed the need for any ceasefire before negotiations could take place. When asked, Zelenskyy did not reiterate his previous calls for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have continued to trade strikes as war talks gain momentum. Get live updates here and here.

Updates from Gaza. Hamas says it has agreed to a new Gaza ceasefire proposal as mediators from Qatar and Egypt push to renew talks ahead of a major Israeli assault on Gaza City. The new proposal adheres closely to the last ceasefire plan and calls for a 60-day truce, and the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has received the Hamas response from mediators. However, the government’s position had not changed, which included calling for the release of all the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and Israeli security control of the besieged territory.

Meanwhile, at least 12 people were killed in Israeli attacks on tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah. Israeli forces blew up houses in southern Gaza City, bringing the death toll since dawn to 26.

Pakistan

Update from KP. Heavy rains and flash floods since August 15 continue to devastate Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaving at least 358 people dead and 181 injured, with hundreds of houses and over 400 cattle lost. Relief and rescue operations are still underway, with thousands evacuated, and extensive aid, including tents, food, and medical camps, distributed. The provincial and federal governments, armed forces, and volunteers are engaged in rehabilitation, with officials donating salaries to support victims.

Meanwhile, Early Tuesday rains in Karachi caused widespread power outages, slow traffic, and waterlogging in several areas, prompting authorities to declare a citywide rain emergency. The Sindh Chief Secretary ordered all departments, including PDMA, health, and Rescue 1122, to stay on high alert, while essential services, police, and KMC departments coordinate relief efforts. The Met Office forecasted continued rain across Karachi and parts of Sindh until August 22. 

8-bit assets. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched PRISM+, an upgraded payment and settlement system built on the latest ISO 20022 financial messaging standard, placing Pakistan among a select group of countries with advanced digital payment infrastructure. SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said PRISM+ enhances transparency, interoperability, and automation. In 2024, PRISM processed transactions worth Rs1,043 trillion—10 times the country’s GDP—demonstrating its critical role in financial stability. 

Bring ‘em back. Germany has urged Pakistan to allow the return of over 200 Afghans recently deported to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, despite being accepted for sanctuary under a German program for at-risk individuals such as journalists and rights activists. According to Berlin, Pakistani authorities arrested around 450 Afghans enrolled in the scheme, deporting 211 while releasing 245 others. The program, launched after the Taliban’s takeover, has been frozen under Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s stricter immigration policy, leaving some 2,000 Afghans stranded in Pakistan.

What Else Is Happening?

👀The US State Department revoked over 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law and overstays. The agency said the majority of the violations were assault, driving under the influence, burglary, and terrorism support.

🖥️ Pakistan launched the Uraan AI Techathon 1.0 in Islamabad, a national initiative to mobilize youth, developers, and entrepreneurs to solve real-world challenges with artificial intelligence as part of its broader transformation into a knowledge-based economy. 

🚫 Anthropic introduced an experimental safety feature for its Claude Opus 4 and 4.1 models, allowing the AI to end conversations when users persistently request harmful or abusive content, such as child exploitation or terrorism.