Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, US tariffs on India, Brazil, and South Korea, updates from Gaza, and the Thai-Cambodia ceasefire holds. Locally, Trump-Pakistan launch oil pact, senior PTI leaders jailed over May 9 riots, and rain-caused roof collapses kill 3.

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Around The World

Tariff tango.

• 🇮🇳: US President Donald Trump ramped up the pressure on India, attacking India’s trade barriers and directly targeting its sustained reliance on Russian oil purchases and military equipment. He doubled down on his threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Indian imports and threatened an additional “penalty” in response to India’s energy purchases.

• 🇧🇷: Trump signed executive actions imposing a 50% tariff on Brazil, a 50% tariff on certain copper products, and suspending a tax perk for all countries that allowed cheap packages to fly into the US duty-free. Trump also accused the Brazilian government of serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil.

• 🇰🇷: Trump announced a full and complete trade deal with South Korea, charging a 15% tariff on imports. South Korea had been facing a 25% levy if it had not struck a deal. The deal, which will also see Seoul invest $350bn (£264.1bn) in the US, has been deemed a success in South Korea - especially given the record trade surplus of at least $56bn with the US last year.

Updates from Gaza. Canada has joined France and Britain in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September as pressure builds on Israel over the ongoing starvation crisis and war in Gaza. Trump blasted Canada’s decision, threatening to derail ongoing trade talks with Ottawa. 

Meanwhile, Israel’s bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip continues, killing at least 27 Palestinians since dawn on Thursday, including at least 51 people seeking aid. Gaza hospitals also recorded seven new deaths from “famine and malnutrition”, raising the total death toll to 154, including 89 children, since October 2023.

New day. A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia has been holding as border tensions linger, with the agreement in effect due to economic pressure from US President Trump. Cambodia has also called on Thailand to return 20 of its soldiers who were taken captive by Thai forces. However, the Royal Thai Army indicated that it wants the detainees to face the “legal process” before repatriation.

Pakistan

Greasy pact. US President Trump announced a new partnership with Pakistan to jointly develop the country's oil reserves, stating that both nations are in the process of selecting a leading oil company for the venture. While no tariff details were mentioned by Trump, Pakistan's finance ministry confirmed a broader trade agreement aimed at reducing reciprocal tariffs and enhancing cooperation in energy, minerals, IT, cryptocurrency, and other sectors.

All in this together. An Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad has sentenced several senior PTI leaders, including Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Hamid Raza, and Zartaj Gul, to 10 years in prison for their roles in the May 9 riots. Of the 185 accused PTI workers, 108 were convicted, while some, including Fawad Chaudhry and Zain Qureshi, were acquitted. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan condemned the verdicts as politically motivated and vowed to challenge them in higher courts.

Stormstruck. Heavy rains across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa caused multiple roof collapse incidents, killing at least 3 people in Lakki Marwat and injuring 3 others in Bannu. PDMA has also issued a high alert amid rising river levels caused by continuous monsoon rains and accelerated glacier melt, warning of potential urban flooding across Punjab. Reservoirs like Tarbela and Mangla are nearing capacity, and Indian dams on key rivers also pose a cross-border flood risk.

What Else Is Happening?

🏔️ German double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier, 31, died in a rockfall during a mountaineering expedition on Laila Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram mountains. 

🇵🇰 Pakistan successfully launched a remote sensing satellite from a launch center in China on Thursday, aiming to strengthen Pakistan’s agricultural monitoring and disaster management.

🛰️ India and the US have jointly launched the Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (Nisar), a satellite designed to monitor Earth with precision, detecting even centimetre-level changes in land, sea, and ice.