Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, updates from Sudan and Brazil. Plus, the aftermath of the Trump-Xi meeting. Locally, KP CM Afridi unveils a 13-member cabinet, the Pak-Afghan ceasefire holds with stocks rising, and FBR reports a spike in tax collection.

☕ Grab your chaye, let’s go.

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Around The World

What’s happening in Sudan? Last week, Sudanese rebels drove government forces from El Fasher, the last stronghold of the country’s regime in the western Darfur region, amid a brutal struggle for territory that has led to genocide and the most severe humanitarian crises. Mass executions and ethic targeting of non-arab groups were reported in the area, with clusters of bodies and blood-stained ground clearly visible in satellite imagery. 

UN officials condemned the massacre and also received credible reports of mass killings, summary executions, and house-to-house searches as civilians attempted to flee. More than 36,000 people have fled since Saturday, largely on foot, to Tawila, where roughly 650,000 displaced people are already sheltering. Read more about the situation here.

El-Fasher fell on Sunday after 18 months of an RSF siege, which blocked the entry of food and essentials for hundreds of thousands of people trapped inside. The RSF aims to establish a parallel government in the region and has been battling the Sudanese Armed Forces for power since April 2023. Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 people have died due to the conflict, while an additional 14 million have been displaced from their homes. 

Advantage Xi. US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time in six years on the sidelines of the Pacific Rim summit, where the two leaders agreed to dial back some of their trade measures and resolve others. Thursday's talks did not lead to a formal agreement, but China has agreed to suspend export controls on rare earth minerals and to buy large quantities of American farm products. The US, in turn, rolled back a 20% tariff increase to 10%, imposed over China’s role in producing fentanyl.

Update from Brazil. A state police operation targeting a major drug gang in Brazil resulted in the deaths of 132 people in low-income neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the deadliest raid in the country’s history. Protests against excessive police force have since broken out, and activists are calling for Rio’s governor to resign over the mindless slaughter. State police said the operation aimed to drive suspects into an ambush in a forested hillside.

Defend this. India and the US have signed a framework agreement to expand defense cooperation over the next 10 years. It comes as the two countries are trying to close a trade deal and tide over tense ties after Trump slapped 50% tariffs on India, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil and arms. The agreement is expected to provide policy direction to the entire spectrum of the India-US defense relationship.

Pakistan

Assembled. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced a 13-member provincial cabinet, comprising 10 ministers, two advisers, and one special assistant, with the oath-taking ceremony scheduled for later today. The move ends weeks of criticism from opposition lawmakers warned that the delay in forming the cabinet stalled governance and risked inviting emergency rule in the province. Here are the cabinet members named by Afridi.

Guns-down. Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to uphold a ceasefire after peace talks in Istanbul, following earlier failed negotiations to ease border tensions. The two sides, along with mediators from Turkiye and Qatar, will meet again on 6th November to finalize implementation details. Despite recent clashes, the ceasefire has largely held, though border crossings remain closed. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military reported killing 22 militants in separate operations in Balochistan and Bajaur.

Additionally, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged over 3,000 points on Friday, with the KSE-100 index rising 2.12% to 160,052.08 during intra-day trading, driven by optimism over the Pak-Afgan ceasefire. The market rebound followed heavy losses the previous day amid border tensions. 

Taxcellent job. The Federal Board of Revenue has reported a 54.7% surge in withholding tax (WHT) collection from the salaried class, rising to Rs605.6 billion in FY2024-25 from Rs391.4 billion the previous year, driven by reduced income tax and higher tax rates. Overall, the WHT collection reached was up 23.5% from last year, accounting for 59 percent of total direct taxes. 

Major revenue sources included contracts and electricity bills, with 14 of the 15 key WHT components showing growth, salaries now ranking as the second-largest contributor, while bank interest and securities fell slightly by 1.6%.

What Else Is Happening?

👋Britain’s King Charles has stripped his brother Andrew of his royal titles and evicted him from the royal estate in Windsor, in an attempt to quell the scandal over the disgraced prince’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

💎Over 1,000 items have been stolen from the storage facility of the Oakland Museum of California in an early morning heist. Stolen items include metalwork jewelry, Native American baskets, and everyday items like athletic trophies that tell the story of the Golden State.

🪫Extropic has introduced thermodynamic sampling units, a new chip architecture that handles probability calculations instead of traditional processing, claiming the hardware can run AI models using 10,000x less energy than current GPUs.