Infinity Social Updates

In a recent video report, German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle News observed that “more than two decades after 9/11, Al Qaeda hasn’t vanished, it’s adapted.” This assessment is reinforced by recent reports from the world’s leading news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera, which indicate that one of Al Qaeda’s regional affiliates, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), is on the verge of capturing the Malian capital, Bamako. Operating across the Sahel region of West Africa, primarily in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, JNIM is imposing an economic siege on the capital by blocking routes used by fuel tankers, effectively bringing the country to a standstill. Despite the elimination or arrest of its top to mid-ranking leadership in the Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) region over the last two decades — through extensive US-led counter-terrorism operations across Af-Pak, the Middle East and Africa — Al Qaeda has persisted by adopting a key strategy: evolving fro...

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Tuesday approved grants pertaining to Pakistan’s security and defence. In a post on social media platform X, the finance ministry said Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a meeting of the ECC that was attended by federal ministers, special assistants to the prime minister, secretaries, and senior officials from relevant divisions. It said the ECC approved “several strategic grants and reforms aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s security framework, defence capabilities, food security, and petroleum sector operations”. According to the ministry’s statement, a technical supplementary grant of Rs100.3 million was approved for the maintenance of defence equipment used by the federal civil armed forces. A technical supplementary grant of Rs841.56m was also approved for enhanced border management, internal security and law and order. Further, a technical supplementary grant of Rs50 billion was also approved for defence services proje...

One woman was killed and another was injured in a road accident on Karachi’s Super Highway on Monday, according to a statement from the Edhi Foundation. The statement read that a 22-year-old woman was killed in the accident on the Damba Goth bridge, while the injured 37-year-old was moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment. Traffic accidents are very common in Karachi. In the early hours of Saturday, a trailer hit an unidentified pedestrian, aged 35, as he was crossing the road near Brooks Chowrangi, the police said. The victim sustained critical injuries and was rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene, with police impounding the vehicle. They attributed reckless and negligent driving as the main cause of the accident. Last Thursday, a man was killed and another injured when a minibus collided with a motorcycle in the Korangi area, police and rescue services offic...

Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina, sentenced to death in absentia on Monday for her deadly crackdown on student protesters last year, has been a dominant figure in the South Asian nation for half a century, a career rooted in bloodshed. Thrust into prominence with the assassination of her father, independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and much of her family in a military coup, Hasina early on fought for democracy, but her long reign as prime minister became marked by arrests of opposition leaders, crackdowns on free speech and suppression of dissent. She was found guilty of ordering lethal force by a tribunal in the capital Dhaka 15 months after resigning and fleeing to India in the face of a student-led uprising that killed hundreds or more. Students celebrate after the verdict on cases against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on November 17, 2025. — Reuters Joined rival to seek democracy before feud Despite criticism of her years in power, Hasina, 78,...

The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia on Monday said a “tragic” bus crash involving Muslim pilgrims occurred near the holy city of Madina overnight, with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering his condolences. “Deeply saddened by the accident in Madina involving Indian nationals. My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones,” the prime minister wrote on X. “I pray for the swift recovery of all those injured. Our embassy in Riyadh and consulate in Jeddah are providing all possible assistance,” he added. Indian media reported dozens had potentially been killed in the incident, though officials have yet to provide a toll. Transporting worshippers around Saudi Arabia’s holy sites has frequently proven dangerous, particularly during the Haj, when roads can be chaotic with buses creating interminable traffic jams. Millions also visit Saudi Arabia for umrah, which happens outside of the Haj period. In March 2023 , a bus ferrying pilgrims to Makkah burst into...

Britain said it would make refugee status temporary, and the wait for permanent settlement would be quadrupled to 20 years under the country’s most sweeping overhaul of policy on asylum seekers in modern times. The Labour government has been hardening its immigration policies, above all on illegal small-boat crossings from France, in efforts to stem the soaring popularity of the populist Reform UK party, which has driven the immigration agenda. The government said it would take inspiration from Denmark’s approach, one of the toughest in Europe — where growing anti-immigrant sentiment has led to increased restrictions in many countries — and widely criticised by rights groups. Temporary status subject to review As part of the changes, the statutory duty to provide support to certain asylum seekers, including housing and weekly allowances, will be revoked, the Home Office (interior ministry) said in a statement issued late on Saturday. The department, led by Shabana Mahmood , said t...

A 40-year-old woman registered a case against her son-in-law in Punjab’s Bhadar village on Thursday, in which she accused a ‘djinn’ of taking over him and forcing him to commit sexual assault. According to the first information report (FIR) filed with the Kakrali police, a copy of which is available with Dawn , the case was registered under section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code . The victim alleged that her 18-year-old son-in-law had sexually assaulted her multiple times, but claimed that he was being possessed by a djinn and controlled into doing so. “A djinn named Adil is in love with me,” she claimed according to the FIR, adding that whenever he “gains control” of the suspect, he “does not become normal until he has sex with [her]”. The victim added that the incidents had “destroyed” her home life and requested legal action to be taken against the suspect. Reports of ‘djinns’ being responsible for criminal activity are uncommon, but not unheard of in P...