Infinity Social Updates

At an Indian gourmet food store, Avanti Mehta is organising a blind tasting of drinks sourced from France, Italy and India. No, this isn’t wine, it’s water. Participants use tiny shot glasses to check the minerality, carbonation and salinity in samples of Evian from the French Alps, Perrier from southern France, San Pellegrino from Italy and India’s Aava from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains. “They will all taste different … you should be choosing a water that can give you some sort of nutritional value,” said Mehta, who is 32 and calls herself India’s youngest water sommelier, a term usually associated with premium wine. Her family owns the Aava mineral water brand. Premium water is a $400 million business in the world’s most populous nation and is growing bigger as its wealthy see it as a new status symbol that fits in with a spreading wellness craze. Avanti Mehta, 32, India’s youngest water sommelier, talks about different brands of packaged water at “Sip and Sense”, a ...

Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins was ruled out on Saturday for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup after failing to recover from a nagging back injury , and Ben Dwarshuis will replace him for the global showpiece. Cummins played just one of the five Ashes tests against England, but Australia kept him in the provisional World Cup squad hoping for his availability in the Super Eight stage of the tournament to be played in India and Sri Lanka. Matt Renshaw also replaced fellow batter Matthew Short but veteran Steve Smith could not break into the World Cup squad despite his strong form in the Big Bash League. “With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury, Ben is a ready replacement who offers a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late-order hitting,” selector Tony Dodemaide said. “We believe his ability to swing the ball at good pace along with clever variations will be well suited to the conditions we expect and overall structure of the squad.” The Mitchel...

US President Donald Trump walked back his conciliatory tone on Friday after outrage over the killings of two American citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents, branding one of them, Alex Pretti, an “agitator.” Footage shared online this week reportedly showed intensive care nurse Pretti in a scuffle with federal agents 11 days before he was shot dead on Saturday by officers enforcing an immigration crackdown. The White House has scrambled to stem widespread outrage over Pretti’s killing, which came weeks after Renee Good, another US citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by agents in the same city. Trump claimed he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in the fallout of the killings and appointed a new point man in Minneapolis, border chief Tom Homan, who said on Thursday that some federal agents could be withdrawn from the city after weeks of protests against immigration raids. On Friday, the US president said Pretti, 37, was an “agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist,” ...

The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group declared a ceasefire deal on Friday that foresees a phased integration of Kurdish forces with the state, staving off a potentially bloody battle for the northeast. The sides announced the agreement after government forces under President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured swathes of northern and eastern Syria from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) this month, forcing the Kurdish forces to retreat into a shrinking enclave. The fate of the SDF, which once held a quarter or more of Syria, has been one of the biggest issues looming over the country since fighters led by Sharaa toppled President Bashar al-Assad 14 months ago. US envoy Tom Barrack, who has been closely involved in mediation efforts, declared the agreement “a profound and historic milestone in Syria’s journey towards national reconciliation, unity, and enduring stability”. Deal aims to unify Syria Under the agreement, forces that had amassed on...

Pakistan on Thursday opted to bat first after winning the toss against Australia as the two begin a T20I series at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. “Pakistan elect to bat first against Australia in the three-match T20I series opener at Gaddafi Stadium,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on X. Speaking at the toss, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said the pitch seemed dry, so he expected less turn in the first inning. Noting that Australia were a “quality side”, he affirmed that the Green Shirts were prepared as well. Australian player Travis Head, who was at the toss, said his team was looking forward to the match. He stressed the need to be “adaptable”, acknowledging that the game was great preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Australian cricket team arrived in Lahore on Wednesday, marking the third time they have toured Pakistan. The tour was announced earlier this month. All three matches are scheduled to take place at the Gaddafi Stadium on January 29, 31 and Febru...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday. The Foreign Office (FO) posted on X today that the two foreign ministers had spoken on the phone, during which Dar expressed concern over the evolving regional situation. The foreign minister “underscored that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable way forward”, the FO said. It added that both leaders agreed to remain in close contact. The two leaders had already spoken on Saturday, when Dar received a call from Araghchi while on a visit to Dubai. According to the FO, the Iranian minister thanked the deputy prime minister for “his strong support and Pakistan’s position at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, including its call for a vote as well as voting against the resolution concerning Iran”. Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution to e...

Fifth seed Elena Rybakina booked her place in the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday with a dominant second-set display to hand six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek a 7-5 6-1 defeat at Melbourne Park. Looking to lift the trophy for the first time, the 28-year-old will take on American Jessica Pegula for a place in Saturday’s final. Rybakina fired 11 aces and 26 winners as she ended Swiatek’s career Grand Slam bid on Rod Laver Arena, winning eight of the last nine games to underline her authority. Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Poland’s Iga Swiatek. —Reuters ‘Really pleased with the win,’ said Rybakina. ‘We know each other pretty well and I was just trying to stay aggressive. ‘I feel like in the first set for both of us the first serve wasn’t working so we were trying to step in on the second serve to put pressure on each other. ‘I think in the second I just started to play more free, serve better and I’m really ha...