Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, updates from Gaza and the Middle East, and the latest on Trump’s tariffs. Locally, Pakistan’s first Bitcoin reserve unveiled, child marriage ban bill faces backlash, and suspected drone strike injures 22 in Waziristan.

☕ Grab your chaye, let’s go.

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Around The World

Updates from Gaza. Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 55 people so far today, including 23 killed in an intense wave of strikes on central Gaza’s Bureij. The Israeli government has also approved 22 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, the largest one-time approval in history. Condemnation is growing over the killings of 10 Gaza aid seekers by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, with authorities in the Strip saying soldiers opened fire on hungry people. Live updates here.

Trading barbs. A United States trade court has ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed blanket tariffs on imports from US trading partners. The court issued a permanent injunction that immediately halts the tariffs and demands a government response within 10 days. 

The ruling, if it stands, could derail Trump’s global trade strategy to use steep tariffs to wring concessions from trading partners. Stock futures worldwide surged on the ruling. The Trump administration swiftly filed an appeal, disputing the court’s jurisdiction.

Hold your chariot. US President Donald Trump has said that he told Israeli PM Netanyahu to hold off on any strike against Iran to give his administration more time to push for a new nuclear deal, as several rounds of talks have been held. The Israeli leader has been threatening a bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities. 

Iran has said it would respond with severity if any such attack were launched. In the meantime, the deal is close to being finalized, in which Iran will pause uranium enrichment if the US releases frozen Iranian funds and recognises its right to refine uranium for civilian use under a political deal.

Bye, sister. Elon Musk has announced that he is leaving the Trump administration, where he led a months-long project to cut costs in the federal government. Musk’s departure coincides with the 130-day limit for “special government employees”, and the White House said DOGE efforts to cut federal spending and restructure the government would continue.

Pakistan

Bitcoinistan. At Bitcoin Vegas 2025, Bilal Bin Saqib, Pakistan’s Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Blockchain and Crypto and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, announced the country’s first government-backed strategic Bitcoin reserve. Addressing a high-profile audience, including the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr, Bilal unveiled a national Bitcoin wallet and detailed the allocation of 2,000 MW of surplus electricity for Bitcoin mining and AI data centers. 

Not child’s play. The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025, which bans child marriages under 18 and has passed both houses of parliament, faces backlash from religious circles after the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) declared it un-Islamic, claiming it contradicts Sharia and societal norms. Clerics and JUI-F leaders urged President Asif Ali Zardari not to sign the bill, arguing it promotes a Western agenda and was passed without CII consultation. In contrast, PPP MNA Sharmila Faruqi defended the bill as a human rights measure, citing a 2022 Federal Sharia Court ruling allowing the state to set marriage age.

Drone attack. At least 22 civilians, including children, were injured in a suspected quadcopter drone attack near a volleyball ground in Azam Warsak, South Waziristan, amid ongoing military operations against the Tehreek-e-Taliban. The origin of the drone remains unknown, and authorities have launched an investigation. This follows a similar drone strike in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, earlier this month that killed four children and wounded five others. Local officials and residents have condemned the attacks and demanded accountability, with growing public outrage over repeated civilian casualties.

What Else Is Happening?

💄Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand, Rhode, was sold to budget makeup powerhouse e.l.f. Beauty for $1 billion on Wednesday. It’s e.l.f.’s largest acquisition to date, eclipsing its $355 million purchase of skin care brand Naturium in 2023.

👔Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that AI could eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar positions in the next five years and drive unemployment as high as 20%. Amodei predicted that  AI will write 90% of software code within 6 months and virtually all code within a year, completely reshaping tech employment.