Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, Israel vs. France and Australia, a bus carrying migrants crashed in Afghanistan, and an India-China summit. Locally, Karachi reels from deadly rains, the Senate okays a terror law, and Imran names new opposition leaders.

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Around The World

The girls are fighting. A diplomatic row between Israel and France broke out after Israeli PM Netanyahu accused French President Macron of fueling the anti-Semitic fire in France by planning to recognize Palestinian statehood next month. The French president’s office hit back swiftly at Netanyahu, calling his allegations abject and erroneous, and promising that they will not go unanswered.

Netanyahu also accused Australian President Albanese of betraying Israel and abandoning Australia's Jewish community by his recent announcement to join the UK, France, and Canada in recognizing a Palestinian state. The Australian Minister for Home Affairs clapped back, saying that strength was not measured “by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry”.

Bus crash in Afghanistan. At least 71 people have been killed in western Afghanistan after a Kabul-bound passenger bus carrying refugees recently deported from Iran caught fire after colliding with a truck and motorcycle in Herat province. Police said that the accident was due to the bus’s excessive speed and negligence. The returnees are part of a massive wave of Afghans deported or forced out of Iran in recent months.

Nǐ hǎo! Indian PM Narendra Modi hailed “steady progress” in improving relations with China after meeting its top diplomat following a years-long standoff. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also met with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval about the countries’ disputed border in the Himalayan mountains, discussing de-escalation and boundary affairs.

The two sides agreed to resume direct flights and issuance of journalist visas and to facilitate business and cultural exchanges. The rebuilding of India-China ties coincides with friction between New Delhi and Washington after US President Trump imposed steep tariffs on India for continuing to buy Russian oil, which the US says is fueling Moscow’s war machine.

Pakistan

Flooding in Karachi. Karachi remained waterlogged on Wednesday after torrential rains killed 8 people in 2 days, triggering building collapses, electrocutions, and widespread flooding. The waterlogging also shut major roads, disrupted power, internet, and flights, and forced the Sindh government to declare a public holiday. Rescue teams recovered the dead and injured as authorities raced to clear underpasses and restore electricity. 

Additionally, the Pakistan Air Force evacuated 75 stranded people from Gilgit-Baltistan and airlifted 7 tons of rations and medicines for flood-hit valleys, as part of ongoing relief operations. So far, NDMA reports over 25,000 rescues, 411 medical camps nationwide, and an additional Rs4 billion allocated for relief, while warning of more intense monsoon spells until September 10. The death toll this season has risen to 707, with 967 injured.

Pass away. Pakistan’s Senate passed amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act allowing security agencies to detain terrorism suspects for up to 90 days, with government approval and oversight by judicial review boards, in what the government says is a lawful framework to strengthen counterterrorism and curb enforced disappearances. The law also gives legal cover to joint interrogation teams and aims to replace illegal detention practices, but opposition parties warn it could be misused to suppress critics and undermine constitutional freedoms. 

Switching seats. Incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan has nominated TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Azam Khan Swati for the Senate, following the Election Commission’s disqualification of Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz over May 9 convictions. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram said Imran has also sought five names for Punjab’s opposition leader, entrusting decisions to the party’s political committee.

What Else Is Happening?

📉MIT’s NADA report revealed that 95% of corporate generative AI pilots fail to deliver financial returns due to a learning gap in organizational adoption, whereas externally-sourced AI tools succeed 67% of the time, outperforming internal builds.

🚪The UK government has backed down on a controversial demand for Apple to build a “back door” into its technology to access private user data following pressure from the Trump administration.