Infinity Social Updates

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...