Infinity Social Updates

KARACHI: A minor boy was killed when the pistol of his father accidentally went off in Azam Basti on Sunday morning, police said. Police identified the victim as five-year-old Burhan and said that the pistol went off when his minor cousin was holding it. Mehmoodabad SHO Aijaz Pathan said that the six-year-old boy took out the loaded pistol of victim’s father Babar Javed. He said that the child was playing with it when it went off and a bullet hit Burhan who died on the spot. The body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities. The police said that further investigations were underway. ASI found dead A policeman was found dead in his residence in Police Lines on Sunday. The Nabi Bux police said that the body of Assistant Sub-Inspector Ghulam Sarwar, 50, was found from his second-floor quarters. Area SHO Mohammed Ashfaq said that that it appeared that the body had lain there for around three days. He said that he was suffered drom dengue fev

TikTok will attempt to convince a federal court on Monday that a law requiring the video-sharing app to divest from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the United States is unconstitutional. The fate of Americans’ access to TikTok has become a prominent issue in the country’s political debate, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump opposing any ban of the wildly popular app. Democratic President Joe Biden, whose vice president Kamala Harris is running against Trump, signed the law that gives TikTok until January to shed its Chinese ownership or be expelled from the US market. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has stated it has no plans to sell TikTok, leaving the app’s legal appeal — focused on US guarantees for free speech — as its only option for survival. A ban would likely provoke a strong response from the Chinese government and further strain US-China relations . A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will hear arguments fro

Volunteers rushed to areas inundated by floods in Myanmar on Sunday as the country’s death toll from the Typhoon Yagi deluge surged to 113 and remote areas reported increasing numbers of dead and missing. Floods and landslides have killed more than 400 people in Myanmar , Vietnam, Laos and Thailand in the wake of Typhoon Yagi, which hit the region last weekend, according to official figures. However, with roads and bridges damaged in Myanmar and phone and internet lines down, information has been limited. One man told AFP how he had tried to rescue people with ropes as floodwaters four metres high surged through the hill town of Kalaw in Shan state on September 10. “The current was very strong and even some buildings were destroyed,” he said, describing pieces of furniture being washed through the streets. “I could see trapped families in the distance standing on the roofs of their houses,” said the man, who works for a local non-governmental group. “I heard there were 40 bodies

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday nominated umpire Saleema Imtiaz for the ICC International Panel of Development Umpires, enabling her to officiate women’s bilateral international matches and ICC women’s events. The nomination of Saleema, who is the mother of Pakistan Women’s cricketer Kainat Imtiaz, sees her become the first Pakistani female match official to rise to the ICC panel. In a press release , PCB said: “With her nomination to the ICC International Panel, Saleema Imtiaz not only breaks barriers but also sets an inspiring precedent for the next generation of female cricket professionals”. Saleema, 52, began her umpiring career with the PCB Women’s Umpires Panel in 2008. Her extensive career included officiating at high-profile events under the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) such as the 2022 and 2024 ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cups as well as the 2023 ACC Emerging Women’s Cup in Hong Kong. Most recently, she was part of the umpiring panel for the ACC Women’s Premier Cup

BRUSSELS: Olympic 100 metres champion Julien Alfred completed her perfect season at the Diamond League finals in Brussels on Friday, while Sweden’s undisputed pole vault king Armand Duplantis brought the curtain down on an unbeaten season with another fantastic victory and Jakob Ingebrigtsen secured victory in the 1,500 metres to make up for his Paris hiccup. Alfred, the Olympic gold medallist from St Lucia, led most of the women’s 100 metres but was pushed close to the line by Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, to finish in 10.88 seconds. American Sha’Carri Richardson, the silver medallist in Paris, ended a disappointing eighth. It had been Richardson who triumphed in Zurich last week, edging Alfred at the line. But the Saint Lucia sprinter turned the tables when it mattered. Richardson eased off well before the line in the knowledge she had been well beaten, eventually finishing in 11.23sec. “I am so happy, it feels amazing to finish my season on a good note and to take the win,” said A

Two policemen were martyred and another injured in a planted bomb blast targeting officials in Kuchlak town near Quetta on Saturday, police said. Speaking to the media, Quetta’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Azhar Rashid said that the explosives were planted at the site of the incident beforehand and they exploded as soon as the police vehicle arrived. “Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Zainuddin and gunman Mohammad Tahir embraced martyrdom whereas the driver got injured and was moved to Mufti Mehmood Memorial Hospital”, DSP Rashid said. After receiving medical aid, the driver was shifted to a trauma centre in Quetta, the DSP added. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the explosion and paid tribute to the martyred officials, expressing heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family. “The eternal sacrifices of Balochistan Police, levies and security forces against terrorism cannot be neglected,” Bugti said in a press release, adding that the government wi

Six people, including five members of the same family, lost their lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as heavy rain, accompanied by strong winds, continued to sweep across the province, causing damage to two houses in separate rain-related incidents. KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Spokesperson Anwar Shahzada told Dawn.com that heavy rain accompanied by strong winds started on Friday morning and continued for a second consecutive day. Shahzada said that a house had collapsed in the Charsada district due to heavy rainfall where five people from one family died. Their bodies were retrieved by Rescue 1122 and shifted to a nearby hospital on Friday night. The PDMA official said three children, a woman and her husband were among the deceased in the Turangzai area of Charsadda district, adding that a man was killed in a separate incident on the same night after being struck by lightning in Upper Dir. The PDMA official added that two houses were also damaged in the rain and th

A gunfight with suspected fighters left two Indian soldiers dead and two others injured in Kashmir, days before local elections in the disputed Himalayan region. India-occupied Kashmir has seen a rise in clashes between fighters and security forces ahead of the first local assembly polls in the region for a decade. The Indian army said the firefight took place on Friday in Kishtwar district, paying tribute to the “supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts” in a post on social media platform X. Freedom fighters have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan. About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers, and fighters since 1989. The territory has been without an elected local government since 2019, when its partial autonomy was cancelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. A total of 8.7 million people will be eligible to vote for the re

Amid the rise in mpox cases nationwide and calls for precautionary measures, a total of 146,722 travellers were examined at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport in August, a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Friday. The mpox virus presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications. Pakistan’s fifth case of mpox was confirmed in Peshawar on Wednesday. The 33-year-old patient arrived in Pakistan from a Gulf country at Islamabad International Airport on September 7. On September 1, Pakistan’s fourth mpox case was confirmed, also from Peshawar. The first three cases of the virus were all found at the Peshawar airport. On Sunday (September 8), all four patients in KP had recovered and were discharged from isolation after they tested negative for the zoonotic ailment. According to Friday’s press release, the number of

The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday killed two terrorists during an operation carried out in Dera Ghazi Khan, a statement issued in this regard said. According to a CTD spokesman, the law enforcement agency carried out an operation on the district’s Quetta Road on Thursday night upon receiving information related to the presence of terrorists. During an exchange of gunfire with the CTD, “two terrorists were killed by the firing of their own accomplices, while the other two terrorists managed to escape from the scene taking advantage of the darkness,” the statement said. The CTD also recovered explosives, two rifles, bullets, and a hand grenade from the hideouts of the militants, the statement said, adding that they had devised a plan to target important installations and conduct terrorist activities on a large scale in the province. It further said that the process of identifying the terrorists was under way, while further investigation continued and a search op

The deaths of 13 family members in Khairpur on August 19 were allegedly caused by consuming poisonous milk, a chemical report has revealed. The report from the Chemical Laboratory Sukkur (Rohri), seen by Dawn.com on Friday, confirmed the presence of intoxicating substances and poison in the bodies of the deceased. The incident occurred in the village of Haibat Khan Brohi near Pir Goth, Khairpur, police said, adding that the victims included Gul Baig Brohi, his wife, five sons, three daughters, and others, as per hospital sources. According to the chemical report, Insecticide and Benzodiazepine were detected from the tests performed. “We are thoroughly examining the medical report which confirms that the victims were poisoned,” Khairpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Samiullah Soomro, overseeing the investigation, told Dawn.com . “Every aspect of the case is being considered, and we will take legal action accordingly,” SSP Soomro said. He further added, “This is a highl

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) leadership on Wednesday sharply criticised recent remarks by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who extended an invitation to AJK’s residents to join India. AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq advised Indian leaders to abandon their “ridiculous rhetoric” and instead allow the residents of the disputed region to determine their future on their own terms. Speaking at an election rally in Ramban last weekend, Singh had urged the residents of AJK to join India, claiming they were considered “our own,” unlike in Pakistan, where they were treated as “foreigners.” The Hindustan Times reported that the Indian minister was referring to a statement made by Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Duggal, who claimed AJK was a foreign territory. According to Aaj News , Duggal had argued that “Azad Kashmir has its own constitution and judicial system, and Pakistani court decisions are treated as foreign judgments there.” In a response on Wednesday,

More than 100 police personnel who provide security for polio vaccination teams in the country’s restive border areas went on strike on Thursday after a string of deadly militant attacks this week. Police officers who are routinely deployed to protect polio workers going door-to-door frequently come under attack by militants waging a war against security forces. Hundreds of police and polio workers have been killed over the past decade . “Any constable who learns of the protest is leaving their polio duty to join the demonstration,” said a police officer at the sit-in who asked not to be named. He told AFP that negotiations have failed between the protesting police and senior officials in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Since the launch of the latest vaccination drive on Monday, at least two police officers and one polio worker have been shot dead in separate attacks in rural districts near the border with Afghanistan, including one officer escorting a team on Thu

After trekking deeper into space than any humans in the last half-century, a pioneering private crew is set to make history with the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts. The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, led by fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman, had launched early Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, reaching a peak altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers). That’s more than three times higher than the International Space Station, in a region of space called the inner Van Allen radiation belt — a zone teeming with dangerous, high-energy particles. Now, with their Dragon spaceship’s elliptical orbit reduced to a low point of roughly 120 miles and a high of 430 miles, the crew of four is gearing up for the mission’s centerpiece: an audacious extravehicular activity (EVA) scheduled for 0958 GMT on Thursday, with a backup window on Friday. SpaceX had pushed the time back by a few hours early Thursday, without explaining why. It planned a webcast of the even

Gunmen in Bajaur killed a polio worker and a policeman on Wednesday during the latest campaign to vaccinate millions of children in the country, police said. “After completing their duties, a polio team was returning to the local (health unit) when two unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on them,” Waqas Rafiq, a senior police official, told AFP . He said a polio worker and a police officer were killed and a third person was wounded. The attack happened in Bajaur district, close to the border with Afghanistan, just two days after the Islamic State group claimed an improvised bomb attack on a polio vaccination team in the same district that wounded nine people. Wednesday’s attack happened on the third day of a campaign to vaccinate 30 million children in a week-long campaign, which will now be paused in part of Bajaur district. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic despite an effective vaccine. Militants have killed hundreds of o

India’s push to become a factory titan has hit a snag: to become a credible alternative to China for global firms, it first needs to warm up to its long-time rival. Ties between the world’s two most populous countries had been strained since a deadly Himalayan border clash in 2020, slowing the exchange of capital, technology and talent, despite exploding demand for electric vehicles, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. The Modi government’s heightened vetting of all Chinese investment over this period effectively had turned away billions of dollars from the likes of BYD, Great Wall Motor and had created new layers of red tape for Indian firms with Chinese stakeholders. But now, New Delhi is looking to loosen some of these restrictions as businesses struggle to scale up manufacturing, even with a host of government subsidies designed to boost local production. “There is a realisation that you cannot be part of any major supply chains, especially in high technology products

ISLAMABAD: At an event marking World Suicide Prevention Day, speakers highlighted the alarming rise in suicide rates in Pakistan and called for a national strategy to address this urgent issue. They noted that the suicide mortality rate was on the rise. Citing the World Health Organisation (WHO), a speaker said there were 7.3 suicides per 100,000 in 2019, which rose to 8.9 in 2020, and 9.8 in 2022. Chairperson Psychiatry Department Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Professor Rizwan Taj reported a concerning trend in Pakistan, with 40pc of cases involving burns as the method of suicide. Rural areas in Pakistan have reported 12pc of suicidal ideation, with individuals expressing thoughts of self-harm. The renowned psychiatrist, who is also the President of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, said between 2019 and 2020, there were a total of 2,295 reported suicides in Pakistan, with a majority of these (61.87pc) committed by males as against 38.12pc by females. Multipl

LAHORE: The federal government has filed an intra-court appeal (ICA) in the Lahore High Court challenging a single bench’s order that set aside the appointment of Lt Gen Muhammad Munir Afsar, a serving army officer, as chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra). The appeal, filed through the attorney general office, pleads that the single bench ignored facts and the laws in passing the decision. It argues that the federal government is competent to undertake rule-making exercise under the mandate of Section 44 of the Nadra Ordinance, 2000, which included the power to amend the rules. The appeal says the appointment of the chairman had been made under Rule-7A of the Nadra (Appointment and Emoluments of Chairman and Members) Rules, 2020 and when discretion is exercised, there is no requirement of issuing a public advertisement or to undertake competitive recruitment process. The government asks a division bench, which will take up the appeal, to set aside t

A crew of four private astronauts on Tuesday were in the final stages of preparation for a risky SpaceX mission to attempt the first-ever private spacewalk using the company’s new spacesuits and a redesigned spacecraft. A billionaire entrepreneur, a retired military fighter pilot, and two SpaceX employees are poised to launch at 3:38 am from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, the spacecraft’s fifth — and riskiest — private space mission so far. An attempt to launch last month was postponed hours before liftoff over a small helium leak in ground equipment on SpaceX’s launchpad. SpaceX fixed the leak, but the company’s Falcon 9 was then grounded by US regulators over a booster recovery failure during an unrelated mission, further delaying the Polaris launch. Permitted to resume Falcon 9 flights, the Polaris mission is now set for a pre-dawn launch Tuesday, but with only a 40 per cent chance of favorable weather, according to US Space Force lau

With the US presidential election just two months away, recent polls reveal a tight race between Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris. A survey conducted by The New York Times and Siena College shows Trump with a narrow lead at 48 per cent, just one percentage point ahead of Harris. However, when averaging polls conducted across the nation, Harris has edged ahead with 49pc, giving her a 2-point lead over Trump. The poll results highlight the competitive nature of the race as the candidates prepare for their first televised debate on September 10. The debate, set to take place at ABC News studios in New York, will be a crucial moment for both candidates as they vie for voters’ support ahead of the November 5 election. Nearly 30pc of the respondents admitted they were not well-informed about Harris’s political stance, indicating potential challenges for the Democratic candidate in solidifying her platfor

Pakistan’s dire recent performances in international cricket have sparked debate over the invasion of politics in sport, with claims nepotism at the top is sabotaging success on the field. Pakistan last week fell to eighth , their worst Test ranking in nearly six decades, after a shock 2-0 home series defeat to Bangladesh. It was the 10th winless home Test in a row for the country and came after humiliating early exits from both the 50-over and T20 World Cups in the past year. The current Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman is Mohsin Naqvi, who has a second full-time job as interior minister in a nation grappling with a surge in militant attacks . In the past two years Pakistan cricket has ploughed through four coaches, three board heads, three captains and numerous formats of the domestic competition — instability experts say rides on the whims of politicians. “This has a knock-on effect on team performance,” said cricket journalist and former PCB media manager Ahsan Ifti

A judicial magistrate on Monday denied post-arrest bail to Natasha Danish — the driver booked in the Karsaz accident — in a case filed against her by the police after her medical report showed she was under the influence of methamphetamine (crystal meth). On August 19, a speeding Toyota Land Cruiser, driven by Danish, hit three motorcycles and another car before overturning on the city’s Karsaz Road. Sixty-year-old Imran Arif and his 22-year-old daughter Amna were killed in the accident, while three others were wounded. The driver was arrested and booked for manslaughter charges. The police then said that Danish’s medical report — conducted upon the request of the victims’ counsel — showed she was under the influence of crystal meth. Consequently, a separate first information report (FIR) was registered by the police against Danish under Section 11 (drinking liable to tazir ) of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order (PEHO) of 1979 . Danish was granted bail last week af

Amina Sohail veers through heavy traffic to pick up her next passenger — the sight of a woman riding a motorcycle drawing stares in Karachi. The 28-year-old is the first woman in her family to enter the workforce, a pattern emerging in urban households coming under increasing financial pressure in Pakistan. “I don’t focus on people, I don’t speak to anyone or respond to the hooting, I do my work,” said Sohail, who joined a local ride-hailing service at the start of the year, transporting women through the dusty back streets of the city. “Before, we would be hungry, now we get to eat at least two to three meals a day,” she added. The South Asian nation is locked in a cycle of political and economic crises, dependent on IMF bailouts and loans from friendly countries to service its debt. Prolonged inflation has forced up the price of basic groceries such as tomatoes by 100 per cent. Electricity and gas bills have risen by 300pc compared to July last year, according to official dat

ISLAMABAD: As the PTI finalises its preparations for the Sept 8 power show on the outskirts of the federal capital, the capital police have blocked almost all entry points of the city amid intelligence reports about a ‘medium-level’ terrorism threat in light of the political gathering. According to a security plan, there is a likelihood that some miscreants may create a law and order situation in Islamabad, in this regard containers are placed in the capital at various places, including all the entry points. The 21 points blocked with containers are Nicholson’s Monument, New Margalla Road turn on G.T Road, Sangjani Toll Plaza, Water Tanki on Margalla Road, New Margalla Road Loop opposite F-10/2, 26 Number Chongi, Zero Point, Faisal Chowk, Khayban Chowk, Rawat T-Cross, Khanna Bridge, Tramri Chowk, Shahpur Road Turn, U-Turn on Murree Road, Bridge on Murree Road near Traffic Office, Faizabad, 9th Avenue, Gandum Godown, Golra Mor Haji Camp, Motorway Old Toll Plaza, and Tarnol Phattak,

The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said on Saturday it had arrested 33 suspected terrorists in 475 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted across the province in the past month. The counterterrorism efforts come amid heightened security concerns across the country. Pakistan experienced an increase in terrorist attacks as a total of 59 terrorist attacks occurred countrywide in August compared to 38 attacks in the previous month, according to a digital database maintained by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think-tank. In a press release issued today, the Punjab CTD said it had interrogated 475 suspects during the IBOs and seized various items, including explosives, weapons and banned texts. “During these IBOs… 33 suspects belonging to defunct organisations were arrested,” the statement said. The CTD detailed that the groups included Fitna Al Khwarij (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan), Daish (also known as the militant Islamic State gro

Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner made its long-awaited return to Earth on Saturday without the astronauts who rode it up to the International Space Station (ISS), after NASA ruled the trip back too risky. After years of delays, Starliner had launched in June for what was meant to be a roughly weeklong test mission — a final shakedown before it could be certified to rotate crew to and from the orbital laboratory. But unexpected thruster malfunctions and helium leaks on the way to the ISS had derailed those plans, and NASA had decided it was safer to bring back crewmates Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a rival SpaceX Crew Dragon though they will have to wait until February 2025. The gumdrop-shaped Boeing capsule touched down softly at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 4:01am GMT on Saturday, its descent slowed by parachutes and cushioned by airbags, having departed the ISS around six hours earlier. As it streaked red-hot across the night sky, ground teams reported h