EVOLVE publication hosted the event of the year, Thank EU 2017, on December 7, 2017, at Marriott - Islamabad. Event was commemorated to acknowledge the extended support of the European Union in Pakistan, especially in terms of GSP Plus. Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, Federal Minister for Commerce & Textile was the chief guest. Ambassador of EU in Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Jean-Francois Cautain and a large number of European Ambassadors in Pakistan, honored the event with their presence with a number of dignitaries from business and corporate community. The Ambassadors of European nations were honored with Thank EU awards at the end of the ceremony.

CEO CLUBS Worldwide launched its new chapter in Taiwan. All the Chapter Chairs from different countries including Mr. Joseph Mancuso, Founder & President of CEO Clubs Worldwide and Ms. Karla Mancuso joined the launch event and congratulated the new Chapter Chair. Mr. Muhammad Ijaz, Pakistan Chapter Chair represented Pakistan with a high-profile business delegation at the event.

The U.S. government says it has negotiated a significant cut in the United Nations budget. The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said that the U.N.’s 2018-2019 budget would be slashed by over $285 million. The mission said reductions would also be made to the U.N.’s management and support functions. The announcement didn’t make clear the entire amount of the budget or specify what effect the cut would have on the U.S. contribution. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said that the “inefficiency and overspending” of the organization is well-known, and she would not let “the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of.” She also said that while the mission was pleased with the results of budget negotiations, it would continue to “look at ways to increase the U.N.’s efficiency, while protecting our interests.”

China and Pakistan will look at extending their $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday, part of China's ambitious Belt and Road plan linking China with Asia, Europe and beyond. China has tried to position itself as a helpful party to promote talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both uneasy neighbors ever since Pakistan's independence in 1947. Speaking after the first trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Wang said China hoped the economic corridor could benefit the whole region and act as an impetus for development. Afghanistan has an urgent need to develop and improve people's lives and hopes it can join inter-connectivity initiatives. China has pushed for Pakistan and Afghanistan to improve their own ties so they can better tackle the violence in their respective countries and has also tried to broker peace talks with Afghan Taliban militants, to limited effect. The Belt and Road infrastructure drive aims to build a modern-day “Silk Road '' connecting China to economies in Southeast and Central Asia by land and the Middle East and Europe by sea.

Twitter has begun enforcing new rules aimed at filtering out “hateful” and “abusive” content on the social network including messages which promote or glorify violence. The platform has long faced criticism over how it deals with hate groups and content, which led it to removing verification badges from prominent US white nationalists last month. Specific threats of violence or wishing for serious physical harm, death or disease to an individual or group of people will be considered as violation of twitter policies as the new rules state. Twitter will also ban any content that “glorifies violence or the perpetrators of a violent act” as well as “hateful imagery” including logos or symbols associated with “hostility and malice” toward specific groups. Twitter also made it clear that it would suspend “accounts that affiliate with organizations that use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes.” But Twitter said it would not cut off accounts for military or government entities, and would consider exceptions “for groups that are currently engaging in (or have engaged in) peaceful resolution.” The policies drew criticism last month when it took no action following one of President Donald Trump´s tweets which appeared to threaten violence against North Korea. Twitter responded with a pledge to review its policy while noting that “newsworthiness” and public interest must be considered in deciding whether to take down a tweet. One account that was no longer visible on Twitter was that Britain first leader Jayda Fransen, whose anti-Islam messages were re-tweeted by President Trump, and another leader of the group, Paul Golding.