Infinity Social Updates

A Syria war monitor reported on Saturday that more than 300 civilians from the Alawite minority have been killed in recent days by security forces and their allies, as authorities clash with militants loyal to the former government of Bashar al-Assad. Restoring security has been one of the most complex tasks for Syria’s new authorities, installed after forces ousted Assad — himself an Alawite — in a lightning offensive in December. They are now facing their fiercest attacks yet by members of the Assad clan’s Alawite minority and have launched a major counter-operation in the ethnic group’s Mediterranean heartland. Deadly clashes on Thursday triggered the security operation, after previous tensions in the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that “340 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal regions of Syria and the Latakia mountains by security forces and allied groups” since then. The Observatory indicated they were killed in “executions” car...

A man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting the administrator of a community WhatsApp group who removed him from the chat, police said on Saturday. Mushtaq Ahmed was shot dead on Thursday evening in Peshawar, a province that borders Afghanistan, having a history of bloody violence . A man named only as Ashfaq has been charged with his murder, according to police documents seen by AFP and a local police official. Mushtaq allegedly kicked Ashfaq out of the WhatsApp group following an argument, according to a statement by Mushtaq’s brother seen by AFP . He said that both parties had arranged to meet and reconcile but alleges that Ashfaq turned up with a gun and opened fire, killing his brother. Ashfaq was angry “in reaction to removal from WhatsApp group,” according to his statement. The availability of firearms , the influence of tribal customs, and sometimes weak law enforcement contribute to the frequency of such incidents . from The Dawn News - Home https://i...

LAHORE: A video clip showing Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz snubbing the medical superintendent of the Mayo Hospital went viral on Friday, drawing criticism for her “public humiliation” of a senior doctor, with some suggesting she should empower and task the health ministers to improve the service delivery at public hospitals in the province instead of indulging in “political stunts”. During her visit to the hospital on Thursday, the CM had ordered removal of its chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Asghar Nauman and medical superintendent Prof Dr Faisal Masood on complaints of some patients regarding the non-availability of medicines , besides poor treatment and sanitation conditions at the major healthcare facility. PML-N lawmaker Hina Pervez Butt uploaded the video on her X account in which CM Maryam was seen snubbing the senior medic in front of a team of her party fellows and bureaucrats. X users suggest funds used for CM’s publicity could be diverted to hospitals “Are you M...

Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri will return to the national team at age 40 in an unexpected reversal of his decision to hang up his boots last year . The former captain, the fourth-highest men’s international goalscorer of all time, played his last match for India in June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier. Chhetri said last year that “instinct” told him the match against Kuwait should be his last, and he bowed out in front of nearly 59,000 fans in Kolkata. But on Thursday, India head coach Manolo Marquez announced the return of India’s most-capped player for the March international window. India are out of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and are now targeting the Asian Cup in 2027. “The qualification for the Asian Cup is very crucial for us. Given the importance of the tournament and the matches ahead, I discussed with Sunil Chhetri about making a comeback to strengthen the national team,” Marquez said in a statement from the All India Football Federation. “He agreed, and so w...

The Punjab home department on Friday released a list of proscribed organisations and urged citizens not to give charity to these unregistered and banned charities. The process of maintaining a list of proscribed organisations started on Aug 14, 2001, when the state banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-i-Mohammad Pakistan. On Jan 14, 2002, the government banned Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Tehreek-i-Islami, and Tehreek-i-Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi. “Providing any kind of assistance to banned organisations is a crime under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997,” the Punjab government statement said. It added that those assisting banned organisations involved in terrorism and anti-state activities would be punished by the law. “Registration with the Punjab Charity Commission is mandatory for charitable organisations in Punjab,” the statement continued. Citizens should give their zakat, charity and donations only to organisations registered with the Punjab Charity...

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday issued notices on a petition filed by the PTI against the Punjab government for alleged “wastage of public funds” through a recent extensive promotional supplement. A 60-page newspaper supplement was published in most national dailies on Feb 26, 2025, highlighting the Punjab government’s performance in its first year under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. While the supplement generated debate and questions on social media, including from a PPP leader, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari defended it and dismissed the criticism from the PTI as “propaganda”. Today, Justice Farooq Haider took up the petition filed by Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar on March 3 through Advocate Abuzar Salman Niazi. Subsequently, the judge issued notices to the respondents in the case — namely the Punjab government, its information department, and the Public Relations Directorate General. In his petition, Bhachar had requested that th...

National Food Security & Research Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges in the dairy sector, referring to reviewing the impact of the 18 per cent general sales tax on packaged milk. According to a Press Information Department (PID) press release , Hussain met a delegation from the Pakistan Dairy Association (PDA) to “discuss key challenges faced by the dairy sector”. According to the statement, the meeting focused on the need to boost investment in dairy farms and review the 18pc GST on packaged milk. The previously tax-exempt packaged milk is now taxed at 18pc, making it more costly than in France, Australia, and Amsterdam. A Bloomberg article compares that in dollar terms, a litre of packaged milk costs $1.33 compared with $1.29 in Amsterdam, $1.23 in Paris, and $1.08 in Melbourne. The hike in packaged milk prices in Pakistan has raised serious concerns about the nation’s already prevalent malnutrition issues. Acco...

US prosecutors gave a graphic account on Wednesday of the torture and murder of a transgender man whose case has highlighted the growing dangers faced by the trans community. Sam Nordquist was abducted, beaten and sexually assaulted for weeks before his body was hidden, prosecutors said, announcing seven adults had been indicted for the Black 24-year-old’s murder. Nordquist travelled from Minnesota to New York to meet an online contact who was among those indicted Wednesday. Nordquist’s family had not heard from him since January, and the last time he was seen was in early February. The seven suspects had previously been indicted for lesser crimes, with the charge of first-degree murder — the state’s most serious and carrying possible life imprisonment without parole — added Wednesday. Two children were also allegedly involved in the beating of Nordquist, who was brutalised in a motel in Canandaigua, located in upstate New York. “Sam was beaten, assaulted, sexually abused, starve...

LAHORE: Aiden Markram had one last look at the pitch as he walked off. The ball had sat up and he couldn’t adjust, offering a tame return to Rachin Ravindra at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday. Chasing a mammoth 363 to win, South Africa had been reduced to 189-5 at the end of the 33rd over; the ghosts of the past returning to haunt them. In the crunch game of yet another ICC tournament, South Africa had flattered to deceive. Their dreams of Champions Trophy glory were quickly unravelling. About 10 overs ago, South Africa had seemed to have got a foothold in the semi-final, only to be derailed by New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner (3-43). After seeing the end of his South African counterpart Temba Bavuma (57), and ending a 105-run second-wicket stand in the process, Santner sent back Rassie van der Dussen (69) and Henrik Klassen in the space of 11 deliveries to put New Zealand in the box seat. Michael Bracewell then removed Wiaan Mulder after Ravindra’s intervention and they se...

The number of Trojan banker attacks on smartphones surged by 196 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity company. In its report called “The mobile malware threat landscape in 2024”, the company said that cybercriminals were “shifting tactics, relying on mass malware distribution to steal banking credentials”. “Over the past year, Kaspersky detected more than 33.3 million attacks on smartphone users globally, involving various types of malware and unwanted software,” the report said. Additionally, it noted that the number of “Trojan banker attacks on Android smartphones increased from 420,000 in 2023 to 1,242,000 in 2024”. “Trojan banker malware is designed to steal user credentials for online banking, e-payment services and credit card systems,” according to the report. It added that victims are tricked into downloading Trojan bankers through links via SMS or messaging apps — as well as through attachments in messengers — and ...

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Wednesday visited her hometown Barkana in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district for the first time since being shot by the Taliban in 2012. Malala was shot in the face by the Pakistani Taliban when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl, amid her campaigning for female education rights. Her activism earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, and she has since become a global advocate for women’s and girls’ education rights. Her most recent visit to Pakistan was in January when she spoke at a summit in Islamabad on girls’ education in Muslim nations and emphasised that women living under the Taliban system were in a “gender apartheid”. Malala, who belongs to Shangla, has been living in the United Kingdom since October 2012. The Nobel laureate on Wednesday met her family members in Barkana and visited their ancestral graveyard. She also met with her uncle, Ramazan, who recently underwent surgery in Islamabad after suffering from heart problems. Karora ...

A delay in the audit process of state institutions has worried the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Ajmal Gondal told a meeting of the Publics Account Committee (PAC) on Wednesday. The development comes as discussions began this week between the IMF and Pakistan for the first biannual review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility to address governance and corruption vulnerabilities. While addressing today’s meeting, AGP Gondal disclosed that the IMF had expressed its concerns over nearly 600,000 pending audit paras. “The IMF has demanded early settlement of audit cases of institutions,” Gondal said, adding that there were about 500,000 to 600,000 pending audit paras pertaining to ministries and institutions. He continued that despite the orders of parliament, no chief internal accountant had been appointed. “The financial audit system is flawed due to non-implementation of the rules. “Secretaries and chief financial officers of institutions...

Pakistan cricket fans and former players seethed on Wednesday after the host country’s already disappointing Champions Trophy suffered one last blow: no final . “It’s totally unfair,” said Moeed Ali Khan, a private car driver outside Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium to watch the second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand. “I am disgusted, neither our team is in the final nor is the final in Pakistan.” Pakistan celebrated on February 19 when the country began staging its first major international cricket tournament in three decades. But it was all downhill after that. The hosts lost the opening match to New Zealand and their title defence was over with a comprehensive defeat to arch-rivals India. Their dead-rubber final group match, against Bangladesh, was washed out. This Sunday’s final was scheduled for Lahore, but with one big caveat: not if India reached the title decider. By defeating Australia in the first semi-final on Tuesday, India did just that. India have...

Steve Smith announced his retirement from one-day international cricket on Wednesday after captaining Australia to a semi-final exit at the Champions Trophy, bringing down the curtain on a career in the format that included two World Cup wins. The 35-year-old batsman, who was his team’s top scorer with 73 as Australia lost to India by four wickets in Dubai on Tuesday, said he would still be available for selection for Twenty20 internationals and test matches. “It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia statement. “There have been so many amazing times and wonderful memories. Winning two World Cups was a great highlight along with the many fantastic teammates who shared the journey. “Now is a great opportunity for people to start preparing for the 2027 World Cup so it feels like the right time to make way.” Smith scored exactly 5,800 runs at an average of 43.28 with 12 centuries in 170 ODIs since making his debut in the for...

An Indian defence committee has recommended including the private sector in military aircraft manufacturing to shore up the capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF), whose falling squadron strength and delayed fighter deliveries have irked its chief. The move, if accepted, would boost India’s private defence firms and reduce the burden on state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd , which makes most of India’s military aircraft. The committee, headed by defence ministry’s top bureaucrat, submitted its report to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh yesterday, the government said in a statement late on Monday, adding that Singh had directed that the recommendations “be followed up in a time bound manner”. The IAF’s fleet of mainly Soviet-origin aircraft has been operating with only 31 fighter squadrons compared with a target of 42 amid tense relations with neighbours China and Pakistan. India’s Air Chief Marshal AP Singh has said that the country should involve the private sector to speed...

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday arrested six fugitives from the UAE — wanted in cases of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, robbery and fraud. A spokesperson for the FIA said that the arrests were made through major operations led by the agency’s National Central Bureau (NCB) Interpol. The arrested individuals — identified as Sufyan Ali, Akasha Iqbal, Zohaib Shehzad, Abdul Latif, Muhammad Jaleel, and Muhammad Ramiz Ashraf — were wanted by Punjab police in various criminal cases. Ali was wanted in a terrorism and attempted murder case registered at the Wazirabad city police station in 2022 in Sialkot, while Shehzad was involved in a robbery case at the Satrah police station. Meanwhile, Latif was wanted in a murder case by the Airport police station in Rahim Yar Khan. Jaleel, who was a fugitive for nine years, was wanted by Dera Ghazi Khan police in a robbery case. Ramiz was wanted in an attempted murder case by the Sadiqabad police station in Rawalpindi. Simila...

“Dram”, meaning a measure of whisky. “Turm”, describing a cavalry unit. “Taupie”, a foolish youngster. Not words in a typical teen’s vocabulary, but all come easily to Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion. Despite a musty reputation, the word-spelling game has a cult youth following in Pakistan, a legacy of the English language imposed by Britain’s empire but which the country has adapted into its own dialect since independence. In the eccentric field of competitive Scrabble, Pakistan’s youngsters reign supreme — boasting the current youth world champion and more past victors than any other nation since the tournament debuted in 2006. “It requires a lot of hard work and determination,” said 13-year-old Asher after vanquishing a grey-bearded opponent. In this photograph taken on February 16, 2025, Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion, competes against professional Scrabble coach Waseem Khatri during an event organised by the ...

The Sindh police on Monday asked the provincial government to approach its Balochistan counterpart for the arrest of tribal leader Shahzain Marri, whose guards were held last week for allegedly torturing a citizen in Karachi. The development comes after Karachi’s South Zone police arrested several “guards”, who were seen in a viral video attacking two occupants of a car in the city’s Boat Basin area. While the police had claimed arresting seven guards, a later document written by the police states that five guards were taken into custody. The prime suspect was identified as Shahzain Marri, a grandson of late Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Khair Bux Marri , according to South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza. The guards worked for Marri, who — along with his security men — had tortured a citizen before fleeing to Balochistan. Sindh Inspector General (IG) Ghulam Nabi Memon wrote a letter to the provincial chief home secretary today, requesting the Sindh government to ...

New Zealand go into their Champions Trophy semi-final against South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday buoyed by beating the Proteas at the same venue in a tri-series last month. The Black Caps lost to India in their final Group A match on Sunday in Dubai but Tom Latham said it would have no bearing on the encounter for a place in the final. More relevant is that New Zealand chased down 305 against South Africa in Lahore after Kane Williamson scored 133 and also beat hosts Pakistan in the tri-series. “We’re fortunate that we had a tri-series in Pakistan and against South Africa,” said the wicketkeeper Latham. “We’ve got a chance to look back on those experiences and give our best in a semi-final, which is pretty cool,” he added. New Zealand’s Tom Latham addressing the press conference in Dubai on March 2. — © ICC 2023 New Zealand were already into the last four of the Champions Trophy prior to Sunday’s loss to India in Dubai. They also already knew they would have to head ba...

People shop for iftar on the first day of Ramazan at a market in Dhaka on March 2. — AFP Kashmiri children play at the Jamia Mosque in Srinagar during Ramazan on March 2. — Reuters Muslims walk at Souq Waqif as they prepare for the holy month of Ramazan, in Doha on February 28. — Reuters Qatari policemen fire a cannon to announce iftar in Doha during Ramazan, on March 1. — Reuters Muslims attend afternoon prayers at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka on March 2, during the first day of Ramazan. — Reuters Header image: A security guard reads a Quran in a shopping mall in Karachi on the first day of Ramazan on March 2. — Reuters from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/O06g2Pf

KARACHI: Residents of Karachi will continue to face gas loadshedding during the upcoming month of Ramazan as the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) announced new schedule on Wednesday, saying it will ensure gas for domestic consumers during Sehr and Iftar times. While the winter season is over, the city hardly gets uninterrupted gas supply even during the notified timings, compelling a large number of consumers to either temporarily or permanently switch to the use of expensive LPG. An SSGC spokesman said that the utility would like to assure consumers of uninterrupted gas supplies for Sehr and Iftar preparations. He also said that around annual 10pc depletion in the country’s gas reserves had led to the widening gas demand-supply gap. “For this reason, in order to ensure improved gas pressure, the SSGC would be carrying out gas pressure profiling from 9am to 3:30pm and then during night times from 10pm to 3am during Ramazan,” he added. The spokesman said that gas would be availab...

PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui has said that its ally in the ruling coalition, the PPP, was unlikely to quit the government as the party did not want to steer the country towards “another crisis”. The differences between the PML-N, which heads the coalition, and the PPP have been simmering for months as the key ally has expressed frustration over unfulfilled promises . A meeting in December between the top leaders from both sides, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari, seemingly failed to put an end to the disagreements. Even after that meeting, PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla claimed that directives issued by the Presidency were not being heeded by the PM’s Office. During an interview with DawnNewsTV programme ‘Doosra Rukh’, aired on Saturday, Senator Siddiqui said the PPP “would not want the country going into another crisis” as a result of it quitting the government alliance. “If the National Assembly dissolves, we would head towards another instabilit...

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad police team narrowly missed a firecracker attack near Lal Masjid in the federal capital while on special duty, police said on Saturday. Around 11 members of the police team including two lady constables were deployed at Gali No 2, G-7/3 to ward off any untoward incident during a down-played stand-off between the clerics and students of Jamia Hafsa following the arrest of Ume Hassan, the wife of cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz. The police said an applied for Passo car appeared from Al-Habib Market G-7/3 and tried to run over the police personnel on duty. However, the police officials reportedly avoided any harm. Video featuring cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz hurling threats at law enforcement personnel goes viral on social media Meanwhile, two occupants from the backseat of the moving vehicle allegedly hurled crackers at the police team. Fortunately, the police said, no one was hurt despite the fact that the cracker went off dangerously close. After carrying out th...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday launched a Rs20 billion Ramazan package for 4m deserving families — about 20m people — across the country. The premier last month said that the government would unveil the Ramazan relief package without the Utility Stores Corporation’s (USC) role to prevent corruption and the distribution of low-quality commodities to the people. In January, the federal cabinet formed a high-level committee to develop a comprehensive strategy for the prompt shutdown of the USC operations nationwide. Traditionally, the prime minister’s Ramazan package is offered to the general public through Utility Stores. In the recent past, there have been different proposals to restructure the corporation to improve its finances or shut down around 1,000 of its loss-making outlets nationwide. Addressing the launching ceremony of the package today in Islamabad, the premier said that a total of 4m deserving families, about 20m people, would receive relief from ...

Pope Francis, hospitalised for two weeks with pneumonia in both lungs, spent a peaceful night after suffering a breathing crisis , the Vatican said on Saturday, as Catholics prayed for his speedy recovery. The 88-year-old pontiff was put on a ventilator because of an “isolated” breathing crisis on Friday, sparking concern. “The pope spent a peaceful night and is resting,” the Holy See said in a statement on Saturday. A Vatican source said: “There have been no crises like yesterday. The pope woke up, had breakfast, and read the papers as usual.” His doctors have said it would take the next 24 to 48 hours to see if this breathing trouble has worsened his condition or not. The Vatican source said the pope’s prognosis of “reserved” had not been modified. On Saturday, people continued to flock to Rome’s Gemelli hospital, braving rain to light candles and pray at the foot of a statue of John Paul II. An old man stood for about five minutes under an umbrella with a lit candle that he...

Two brothers died while as many others were injured on Saturday after a landslide struck two vehicles in the Loter area of Upper Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hazara division, officials said. Yesterday, link roads connecting dozens of villages to the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road and the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Hazara remained blocked as snowfall and rain continued for the fourth consecutive day. The incident took place earlier today on a road between Dasu and Raikot as an oil tanker and a poultry supplier truck fell into a ravine after landslide boulders hit them, Upper Kohistan Additional Assistant Commissioner (AAC) Khaib Gul confirmed to Dawn.com . Vehicle after it was struck by landslide in Upper Kohistan, KP on March 1, 2025. — Photo via author The brothers were identified as Islamzada and Sahibzada, aged 32 and 33 years, respectively, according to a statement released by the Upper Kohistan District Headquarters Hospital. It added that two others, 40-year-ol...

At least four people died from their injuries in India after an avalanche hit a remote border area, officials said on Saturday, as rescuers deployed helicopters to search for the remaining five missing. A total of 55 workers were buried under snow and debris after the avalanche hit a construction camp on Friday near Mana village on the border with Tibet in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. In a statement issued yesterday, the Indian army said 50 people were initially rescued, but among them, four succumbed to their injuries. “Unfortunately, four injured persons have been confirmed as fatal casualty,” they said. Five workers were still missing, the army said, adding that six choppers had been deployed into rescue efforts as the “roads are blocked”. Uttarakhand state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the rescue teams were “continuously engaged in relief efforts”. “The government is fully committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected in this hou...