Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, Israel strikes Qatar, the Nepalese army moves in to control the protests, and Russian drones in Poland. Locally, Amnesty flags Pakistan’s mass surveillance, and floods wreak havoc in Karachi and Southern Punjab.

☕ Grab your chaye, let’s go.

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Around The World

Unprecedented? Yesterday, Israel attacked Hamas’s leadership in the Qatari capital, Doha, drawing widespread global condemnation. Hamas says five of its members were killed in the attack. A member of Qatar’s security forces was also killed. Qatar condemned the cowardly attack, as France, the UK, and Saudi Arabia also condemned the brutal Israeli aggression. Global outrage is still pouring in.

US President Trump also said he was "not thrilled" after the Israeli strike, while Netanyahu defended Israel, saying it targeted senior Hamas leaders who organised the 7 October 2023 attack. For more details about the attack, read here. 

Up high. Nepal's PM and three other ministers have resigned in the wake of public outrage over the killing of 22 people in police clashes with anti-corruption protesters. The massive protests over widespread allegations of corruption began over a social media shutdown earlier this week. Critics accused the government of stifling an anti-corruption campaign with the ban, which was repealed on Monday. 

The protests turned violent as thousands of Gen Z protestors took to the streets on Monday. Almost 200 people were injured in clashes with police, who used tear gas, water cannons, and live bullets. The protests continued on Tuesday, with demonstrators setting fire to the parliament building, the headquarters of the Nepali Congress Party, and the home of a former PM. Nepal's army has now deployed patrols in the capital, with nationwide curfews implemented until Thursday.

Target practice. Polish and NATO forces shot down over a dozen drones violating Poland’s airspace during a Russian aerial attack on neighbouring Ukraine. Ukraine’s foreign minister said that the events show Putin’s expansion of the war, and that Moscow is testing the West’s willingness to respond to aggression. Meanwhile, Trump called on the EU to hit China and India with tariffs of up to 100% to force Putin to end the war. China and India are major buyers of Russian oil, which helps to keep the country's economy and war machine afloat.

Pakistan

Peek-a-boo. Amnesty International has reported that Pakistan runs one of the world’s most far-reaching surveillance systems, combining a phone-tapping system with an advanced Chinese-built firewall to monitor and censor millions of citizens. This vast monitoring network is built with both Chinese and Western technology, including equipment from Geedge Networks (China), Niagara Networks (US), Thales DIS (France), and Utimaco (Germany), as well as deployment through UAE-based Datafusion. 

According to the report, the Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS) allows intelligence agencies to tap calls and texts from at least 4 million mobile phones simultaneously, with all 4 major telecom operators connected to it. In parallel, the Web Monitoring System (WMS 2.0) firewall can filter or block up to 2 million active internet sessions, and has already restricted access to around 650,000 websites and major social media platforms. Read more here.

Letting go. Over 260 opposition leaders and workers arrested during Monday’s wheel-jam and shutter-down strike in Balochistan were released on Tuesday after negotiations between provincial ministers and opposition parties. The strike had been called by opposition parties to protest the suicide bombing at a Balochistan National Party-Mengal rally, which killed 15 people. The government agreed to free detainees and withdraw cases filed under Section 144, while opposition groups pledged to keep future demonstrations peaceful.

Our precious. A Missouri-based firm, US Strategic Metals, has signed a $500 million investment deal with Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization (FWO) to set up a poly-metallic refinery and begin exporting minerals such as copper, gold, tungsten, and rare earth elements. Most deposits lie in Balochistan, where separatist groups continue to oppose foreign mining ventures. The agreement follows a recent US-Pakistan trade pact aimed at attracting American investment in Pakistan’s resource sector. A separate deal was signed between Pakistan’s National Logistics Corp and Portugal’s Mota-Engil Group for infrastructure projects.

Swamped. Heavy monsoon rains in Karachi raised the death toll to 6, with 3 more people reported missing, while over 300 residents were relocated from areas near the Malir and Lyari rivers after urban flooding. Southern Punjab is also facing an “unprecedented flood emergency” as the Chenab River continues to inundate Multan, Muzaffargarh, Jalalpur Pirwala, submerging hundreds of villages, displacing over 2 million people, and damaging nearly 2 million acres of farmland, while authorities warn of breaching embankments if water levels cross critical limits. 

What Else Is Happening?

🧠Neuroscientists from 22 labs have produced a landmark achievement: a neural map that shows activity across the entire brain during decision-making. The data encompass activity from more than 600,000 neurons across 279 areas of the brain.

🍎Apple has rolled out its next-generation iPhones, including a new ultra-thin “Air’ model and a slight price hike for one of its high-end models, while the company feels the squeeze of a global trade war.