The federal government on August 7, 2020 appointed retired Brig Shujah Hassan as new

chief executive officer of the Pakistan Steel Mills. A notification issued by the
Establishment Division says the appointment of Shujah Hassan will be for one year with
immediate effect and until further orders. This is the first time since 2016 that a full time
PSM chief executive officer has been appointed by the federal government.

The first child protection court in the merged tribal districts will be virtually inaugurated
by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth in Ghalanai area here today
(August 8, 2020). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa already has three of the six such courts
functioning in the country. They have been established in Peshawar, Mardan and
Abbottabad under the KP Child Protection and Welfare Act, 2010, and Juvenile Justice
System Act, 2018.

US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping restrictions against Chinese-owned

social media giants TikTok and WeChat, his latest explosive move aimed at countering
China`s rising global power. Trump on August 6, 2020 signed executive orders giving
Americans 45 days to stop doing business with the Chinese platforms, effectively setting a
deadline for a potential pressured sale of viral video sensation TikTok to Microsoft. The
president cited national security concerns for the moves, which also threw into doubt the
American operations of WeChat`s parent firm, Tencent, an uber-powerful player in the
video gaming industry and one of the world`s richest companies.

According to chief executive Manu Sawhney ICC men`s T20 World Cup 2021 will be in
India and Australia would host the 2022 edition.

 After hectic two-day consultations with the country`s two major opposition parties, the
coalition government led by the Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI) on August 5, 2020 finally
managed to get the third FATF-related bill for exchange of information and criminals
with countries passed in the joint sitting of parliament after agreeing to include more than
two dozen opposition proposed amendments with a majority vote amidst noisy protest by
the religious and nationalist parties. The talks between the government and the leaders of
the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) on the
28-clause Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matter) Bill, 2020, the third one to meet
some of the conditions of the Financial Action Task ( Force (FATF) against terrorism, which
started on Wednesday evening, continued almost throughout the night and lasted till a
delayed start of the joint sitting on August 6, 2020 evening, finally became successful when
the government presented a set of amendments to the opposition containing their
proposed changes, including a number of steps to prevent possible misuse of the law and to
ensure parliamentary oversight over its implementation.

After warnings and negotiations with the telecom regulator, global short funny video
platform Tik Tok has not only upgraded its Community Guidelines, but also released its
Urdu language version for the first time. The upgraded Community Guidelines provide
general guidance on `what is and what is not` allowed on the platform to keep TikTok a safe
place for creativity and joy. The platform is now localised and will work in accordance with
local laws and norms. Tik Tok has taken measures for making its teams able to remove
content that violates the Community Guidelines and suspend or ban accounts involved in
severe or repeated violations.

The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was cruising to a big victory in the
island nation`s parliamentary election, early results received on August 6, 2020 evening
showed. The SLPP, established by former president and current Premier Mahinda
Rajapaksa and his brothers three years ago, has now emerged as the kingmaker in
contemporary Lankan politics, decimating the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The party
neither contested last year`s presidential election nor Wednesday`s parliamentary election.

People across Pakistan on August 5, 2020 observed Yaum-i-Istehsal and condemned the
Indian government for revoking special status of occupied Kashmir. A large number of
rallies and seminars were held in cities of the country to mark the first anniversary of
abrogation of Article 70 and 35A of the Indian constitution. Carrying flags of Pakistan and
Azad Kashmir and banners inscribed with slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and Indian forces who have been committing atrocities against innocent Kashmiris in the
occupied valley, participants of the rallies marched on the main roads and streets.
The Foreign Office on August 5, 2020 notified Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri as its new
spokesman. Mr. Chaudhri replaces Aisha Farooqui, who is reportedly proceeding on a
training course.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched on August 5, 2020 construction of a Hindu
temple at the site of a historic mosque that has sparked some of the country`s bloodiest
communal violence. The ceremony in Ayodhya, with Modi surrounded by saffron-clad
priests, came on the first anniversary of the removal of the special status enjoyed by
occupied Kashmir. For his Hindu nationalist supporters, both steps confirm Modi as a
decisive leader.

Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, RWP, RSP, psc, GR is a Sri Lankan
politician and former military officer currently serving as the 8th President of Sri Lanka
since 2019. He is the brother of Mahindra Rajpakse incumbent Prime Minister.

The Pakistan Post is to issue a special postage stamp of Rs.58 denomination marking one
year of Indian siege of occupied Jammu & Kashmir territory.
The Pakistan Post has announced that a commemorative postage stamp will be issued on
Thursday (Aug 7) on `Silver Jubilee of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and
Research Centre, Lahore. According to a press release, the Rs.20 denomination stamp
printed at the Pakistan Security Printing Company, will be available at all post offices from
the issue date.

Recession-hit Argentina announced on August 4, 2020 it has reached an agreement with

three major creditors over the restructuring of a $66 billion debt as it seeks to solve its
latest sovereign default crisis. The government of President Alberto Fernandez had set
an August 4 deadline to complete a deal but it has now pushed the date to Aug 24 to give
effect to the agreement, which came after months of wrangling and extensions. We
resolved an impossible debt in the biggest economic crisis in memory and in the midst of
the pandemic, said a delighted Fernandez. `Now the horizon is clear for where we want to
go to.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on August 3, 2020 appointed leading lawyers as amici
curiae in Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav case and asked Attorney General for Pakistan
Khalid Jawed Khan to once again seek response from the Indian government and the spy
regarding appointment of counsel for his defence. The IHC division bench comprising Chief
Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb warned against issuing
unnecessary statements in this case as the court observed everyone must keep in mind
right to fair trial while issuing statement related to Jadhav. We appoint Mr. Abid Hassan
Manto, Mr Hamid Khan, Senior Advocates of the Supreme Court and former
presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and Mr Makhdoom Ali Khan, Senior
Advocate Supreme Court and former Attorney General of Pakistan, as amici curiae
for our legal assistance in general and, in particular, to ensure that the judgment of the
International Court is effectively implemented,` the court order said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 3, 2020 appointed Dr Faisal Sultan as his special
assistant on health with the status of federal minister days after the resignation of
Dr. Zafar Mirza amid declining number of coronavirus cases. Dr Sultan, who has already
been serving as PM`s focal person on Covid-19 besides heading Shuakat Khanum Memorial
Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (the charity hospital founded by Mr Khan) as its chief
executive officer, is expected to take the charge of his office on Tuesday (today). According
to a notification of the cabinet division, signed by Joint Secretary Taimor Tajammul and
available with Dawn, PM Khan appointed Dr Sultan as special assistant to the prime
minister on health with the status of a federal minister, with immediate effect.

The World Bank has approved two projects for Pakistan worth $400 million one for
supporting measures being taken to reduce food insecurity caused by locust swarms
and the other for actions required to restore educational activities in schools which
have been closed because of the Covid-19 outbreak. The financing of $200m for the
Locust Emergency and Food Security Project will support emergency actions to control
the locust outbreak and prevent further spread across Pakistan and South Asia region. Out
of the total project cost of $200m, $125m will be financed through the regional
International Development Association (IDA), according to the project document.

The World Bank (WB) on August 3, 2020 announced appointed Najy Benhassine as new
country director for Pakistan.

The US government will pay $2.1 billion to Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline for COVID-
19 vaccines to cover 50 million people and to underwrite the drug makers testing and
manufacturing. The award is the biggest yet from Operation Warp Speed, the White
House initiative aimed at accelerating access to vaccines and treatments to fight Covid-19,
the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.