Good afternoon,

Today’s news: Globally, Trump’s tariffs come into effect, climate change worsens weather disasters in Asia, and updates from Gaza. Locally, a militant blast hits Wana, police release detained PTI protesters, govt pushes QR code rollout, and gold prices soar nationwide.

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Around The World

Taxed out. US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on more than 90 countries have been implemented just before the deadline for deals to be finalised. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that billions of dollars were now flowing into the US due to the tariffs. 

Earlier, Trump hit India with a 50% tariff, which will take effect on 27 August unless it stops buying Russian oil. Trump also threatened a 100% tariff on foreign-made computer chips as he pushes tech firms to invest in the US, as Apple announced a new $100bn US investment.

Under the tariffs, the import taxes will reach an unprecedented level in the US, with Americans expected to pay an average of 18.3% more for imported products. That’s the highest rate since 1934. Here’s everything you need to know about the tariff rates and trade deals.

Weather woes. Torrential rains lashed China, Pakistan, and parts of India, while sweltering heat enveloped Japan and South Korea as extreme weather claims hundreds of lives in the region. This weather uncertainty is especially pronounced in Asia, which is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average.  

Meanwhile, Southern Europe is battling deadly wildfires and extreme heat this week, with record temperatures forcing evacuations across France, Spain, and Portugal. An enormous wildfire in southern France has killed one person, injured nine others, marking the country’s largest wildfire this season. The blaze has already scorched at least 37,000 acres in less than 24 hours.

Updates from Gaza. Israel’s assault on Gaza continued in the early hours of Thursday morning, with at least 23 people killed in attacks across the enclave since dawn. Another child starved to death, adding to 193 previous hunger-related deaths since October 7, 2023. 

The United Nations has said Israel’s blockade of Gaza means the lives of more than 100 premature babies are in imminent danger, as a lack of fuel impedes life-saving operations in hospitals. Slovenia has announced a ban on all imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Pakistan

Terror in KP. A bomb blast targeting a police vehicle in Wana, South Waziristan, killed two people and injured 15, including two police officers, amid a surge in militant attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The incident follows growing concerns over rising militancy, open gun displays, and recent attacks on officials and security forces in the region. 

Catch & release. Following PTI’s nationwide protests for Imran Khan's release, Lahore police arrested 212 activists, later releasing 170 and sending 42 to jail on judicial remand for violating Section 144. In Pakpattan, 41 PTI workers were booked under multiple charges, including instigating public disorder. Similarly, Okara police filed cases against 70 activists, including 35 named for participating in a protest rally, with eight securing pre-arrest bail until September 9.

Digital brag. The Prime Minister’s Office has directed federal and provincial authorities to ensure all retail outlets display Raast QR codes by August 31, 2025, as part of Pakistan’s push toward a cashless economy. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is leading the effort, setting ambitious targets to expand digital payment infrastructure, including increasing QR-enabled merchants to 2 million and doubling digital transactions to 15 billion by FY26. 

Golden hour. Gold prices in Pakistan surged on Thursday, with the rate per tola rising to Rs. 362,200 and 10-gram gold reaching Rs. 310,528, reflecting gains in the international market where gold hit $3,395 per ounce. Silver also saw an uptick, increasing by Rs. 49 to Rs. 4,059 per tola.

What Else Is Happening?

🦟China is battling its largest chikungunya outbreak ever, with almost 8,000 cases reported in the last month alone. This has prompted some COVID-style measures like patient tracking, plus mass mosquito control efforts in the affected areas

🎁OpenAI unveiled gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b, its long-awaited open-weight reasoning LLMs that match or exceed o4-mini and o3-mini in performance and are available for local deployment under an Apache 2.0 license.