Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, the US and China roll back tariffs, Russia-Ukraine talks, and updates from Gaza. Locally, the morning after a ceasefire and Pakistan-India set to hold rare telephonic conversation.

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Around The World

Couples counselling. The US and China have agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period in a major trade breakthrough. By May 14, the US will temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will cut its levies on American imports from 125% to 10%. Stock markets around the world rose on Monday after the announcement. The value of the US dollar and Chinese Yuan also rose at the news of the suspension.

Talk to me. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire this week. Here’s what happened.

After a meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, Ukraine’s major European allies gave Russia the ultimatum to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine by Monday or face massive new sanctions. Trump supported the initiative. However, Putin ignored the ceasefire offer and proposed “direct talks” with Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday, something not seen since the early weeks of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukraine’s allies spent Sunday stressing that there could be no further talks before Putin agrees to an unconditional ceasefire. But Trump undermined the efforts to put pressure on Putin, saying that Ukraine should “immediately” agree to meet with Russian officials on Thursday. Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared three-day pause expired.

Updates from Gaza. Hamas has announced the imminent release of Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage held in Gaza, as part of a ceasefire that will see the crossings into Gaza opened and humanitarian aid brought into Gaza following an Israeli blockade that has lasted more than two months. Israel says it has not committed to a ceasefire “in any way” and is not expected to release any Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Alexander.

Pakistan

What’s the latest? After the ceasefire and nationwide celebration rallies across Pakistan, and with India also signaling a pause, both countries are now cautiously weighing next steps. Pakistan’s military leadership has framed its response as a decisive restoration of deterrence, while maintaining that escalation was avoided deliberately.  The government has emphasized that any future dialogue between Pakistan and India must include three core issues: Kashmir, terrorism, and water. 

Meanwhile, India’s foreign ministry announced that the director generals of military operations (DGMOs) from both countries are scheduled to hold a rare telephonic conversation today to discuss the next steps. Pakistan has not yet officially confirmed the meeting. Read updates here. 

Our narrative. On the domestic front, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, during a visit to the family of drone attack victim Haider Ali in Lahore, declared that India has been defeated across five domains — military (army, navy, air force), diplomatic, and media. He warned that Indian proxies, particularly those active in Balochistan, will also be dismantled, and said India would think twice before launching future strikes. This seems to be the general sentiment in Pakistan. 

A little bit of pushback. The political opposition, led by PTI, has sharply criticized the government's handling of the situation. PTI leader and National Assembly opposition head Omar Ayub Khan condemned what he called a “shameful and unprovoked aerial assault” by India and accused the government of waiting four days to respond. He blamed the delay for the loss of Pakistani lives and held Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's administration responsible. 

Important to note. 

• Kashmiris have borne the brunt of this Pakistan-India military escalation. 

• The Pakistan Air Force has claimed it conducted its most extensive coordinated strike on Indian airfields since 1971, while the Pakistan Navy said it had been tracking Indian naval movements. 

• Senior Indian officials have refused to confirm whether Rafale jets were downed by PAF, saying only that “losses are part of combat” and all pilots had returned. 

• The memes. The edits. Enough said 👀

What Else Is Happening?

♟️The Taliban government in Afghanistan has banned chess until further notice due to fears that the game is a source of gambling. The game will remain prohibited indefinitely until its compatibility with Islamic law can be determined.

🔎Alibaba researchers have introduced ZeroSearch, a technique that teaches AI systems to search for info without using real search engines, cutting training costs by 88% while matching or outperforming the models trained with actual search APIs. Read the paper here.