1 woman killed while 7 injured in latest ‘unprovoked’ ceasefire violation by Indian troops across the Line of Control
According to Muhammad Zaheer, a disaster management officer in Haveli, Indian forces began shelling and firing in the Nezapir sector at about 3:45pm and in Khurshidabad sector at around 6pm on Sunday “without any provocation”. “They used both small and big arms and targeted civilian populations, restricting people indoors till late night,” he said. Rehmat Jan, a 45-year-old woman who lived in Mandhar village, died after being hit by the splinters of a mortar shell, Zaheer told Dawn. Another resident of the village, Begum Jan (48) was injured due to Indian shelling, he said.
At least nine people, including two minors, died due to electrocution as rain lashed the provincial capital of Sindh
According to rescue sources, two children died due to electrocution while playing in the rainwater in the Malir area of the city. Another two people were killed due to electrocution following rain in the Paposh Nagar area, while the other deaths took place in Defence, Cilfton, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, and Khamosh Colony areas. The latest deaths raised the number of casualties from rain-related accidents in Karachi to nine. The continued downpour, which initially started with light drizzle as early as 6:00AM, continued until the evening, with heavy downpour later in the day inundating several parts of the metropolis.
Shireen Mazari announced the removal of Mir Iftikhar Loond as Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s focal person on human rights in Sindh
Announcing the move on Twitter, Mazari said the appointment had been withdrawn “on re-investigation and in the light of new evidence.”She did not specify what new evidence she had received.
According to the victim’s son, Allah Rakhio had had a disagreement with Shafiq Loond, following which he was called to Iftikhar’s residence where he was mercilessly beaten up by Shafiq, Rafiq Loond and Mumtaz Ali Loond in Iftikhar’s presence. A video of Rakhio lying on his back on a stretcher and narrating his ordeal had been shared widely on social media.
Imran Khan said there was no precedent in Islamic history for forcefully converting others and those who do so are going against scripture
The premier made the remarks while addressing an event around the National Minority Day hosted at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad. The premier said that Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) life was a road map for people to follow till the day of judgement. He explained that the Prophet himself had given minorities religious freedom and protected their places of worship, “because the Quran orders that there be no compulsion in religion”.
GLOBAL
An advertisement featuring an actor of Chinese origin with his skin darkened to portray different races has sparked anger in Singapore
Race is a sensitive issue in Singapore, which is home to ethnic Chinese, ethnic Indians and Muslim Malays, as well as a large number of expatriates from all over the world. The ad, part of a government-initiated campaign for cashless transactions in the tech-savvy city-state, featured actor Dennis Chew from broadcaster Mediacorp as four characters. His skin was darkened to depict an Indian man and a Malay woman wearing a headscarf, and he also portrayed a Chinese man and a Chinese woman. Each character was shown holding a plate of food paid for electronically.
At least 52 people have been killed in a prison riot in Brazil which saw rival gangs battle for five hours
Gang members from one prison block invaded another part of Altamira jail in Pará state, local media reported. Officials giving a news conference said 16 of the dead were decapitated. Other reports said part of the prison was set on fire, suffocating many. Two prison officers who were taken hostage have since been freed. Video reported to be from the prison carried by Brazilian media showed smoke billowing from at least one prison building, while another clip appeared to show inmates walking around on the rooftops. The two rival gangs involved have not been named by authorities.
An eight-year-old boy died and his mother was injured when a man pushed them in front of a high speed train in Germany
An Eritrean man has been arrested over the attack, which happened yesterday. Witnesses said the man deliberately pushed the boy and his mother on to the tracks before trying to run away. He was chased and stopped by passers-by. The 40-year-old suspect attempted to push a third person but failed. Police confirmed they had launched a murder inquiry. Investigators said they do not believe the suspect knew the victims and they are not yet aware of any motive.
SPORTS
Gareth Bale has pulled out of Real Madrid’s trip to Munich following the collapse of his proposed move to China
It is understood Bale is not in the right mental state to play after Real president Florentino Perez prevented him from joining Jiangsu Suning. Last week, Real boss Zinedine Zidane said the 30-year-old was “very close to leaving” having fallen out of favour. Zidane added his exit would be “best for everyone”.
The 33-time Spanish champions will play Bale’s former club Tottenham on Tuesday in the opening game of the tournament that also includes Bayern Munich and Fenerbahce.
Ashley Giles says that England has to “raise their game” for a “hard and tough” Ashes series
“Against any Australian team in any form, you’ve got to raise your game,” the former England spinner said. Australia hold the Ashes after their 4-0 victory down under in 2018-19, but England have not lost a series on home soil since 2001.”We’ve had some criticism that we shouldn’t have played any of the guys who played in the World Cup final [against Ireland] but I look at it the other way – it was an opportunity for them to perhaps be shocked back into Test cricket,” Giles told the media.
According to fans, Pakistan’s 12-run win over India at Chennai in 1999 was the team’s greatest game match to date in the country’s 432-Test history
The Test was played from January 28 to 31 with Pakistan coming back from behind to win back-to-back games on the Indian soil. From July 26 to 29, PCB ran a poll regarding Pakistan’s greatest Test win on its official Facebook page and Twitter handle in which 15,847 fans cast their votes. An overwhelming 65 per cent of votes went to the 1999 Chennai Test, while the 1987 Bangalore Test, the 1954 Oval Test and the 1994 Karachi Test received 15pc, 11pc and 10pc votes, respectively.
Technology
A Chinese court has sentenced a civil rights activist widely referred to as the country’s “first cyber-dissident” to 12 years in jail
Huang Qi is the founder of 64 Tianwang, a news website blocked in mainland China that covers alleged human rights abuses and protests. An official statement said he had been found guilty of intentionally leaking state secrets to foreigners. Huang has been detained since being arrested nearly three years ago. He has already served previous prison sentences related to his journalism. The statement, from Mianyang Intermediate People’s Court, added Mr Huang would be deprived of his political rights for four years and had also been fined 20,000 yuan ($2,900; £2,360).
The creator of the hugely popular video-sharing app TikTok has announced it is branching out into making smartphones
The app, which lets people post 15-second videos, is estimated to have been downloaded more than a billion times on app stores. TikTok developer ByteDance is making the move after acquiring patents and employees from device-maker Smartisan. Besides TikTok, ByteDance owns several popular AI-based video and news apps, such as Slack alternative Lark, video-chat app Flipchat, and news aggregator Toutiao, but TikTok is by far its most popular offering.
Uber launches “Check Your Ride” safety feature for its app users in Pakistan
The cab service has decided to launch check your ride push notification and in-app reminders to every rider across the globe where Uber service is currently operating. This feature through push notifications will remind every rider to check the license plate, driver photo, and car model before entering the vehicle. The rider can also ask the driver to confirm his identity through his name, as the driver will be notified of the rider’s name on the app. Same goes for the driver as well. The driver arriving to pick a rider can also ask the riders about their credentials. This exchange of information will further eliminate any confusion or misunderstanding about the ride.
Entertainment
‘The Ranjish Project’, an art exhibition showcased at Karachi’s Cinema 73, calls for an end to the stigma around mental health
Sarah Shamim, an A levels student, arranged this art exhibit with the help of other students who volunteered to assist her in bringing mental health issues to the public limelight. Speaking to the media, Sarah said “I decided to essentially deviate from the traditional methods of awareness and also get young, local artists’ art out there. There were 7 visual artists, 6 of whom were femme people. The event was closed off with a lineup of poets and musicians”.
Quentin Tarantino’s latest film Once Upon A Time in Hollywood has given the filmmaker his biggest opening weekend at the US box office
Its $40m (£32.4m) nudges it ahead of 2009’s Inglourious Basterds’ $38m (£31m) debut and Django Unchained’s $30m (£24.3m) opening in 2012. The new film, set in 1969 around the time of the Manson murders, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. Tarantino’s movie outperformed expectations of $30m in takings, despite a more audience restrictive R-rating. It scored an opening day record for the director, taking $16.8m (£14m) on Friday. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood has an 85 rating on Metacritic and has been largely well-received by critics.
Lori Loughlin’s daughter Bella Giannulli broke her social media silence to wish her mother a happy birthday
Loughlin turned 55 on Sunday and has been keeping a low profile ever since she and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli were among dozens of wealthy parents facing federal charges in a college admissions cheating scheme. Prosecutors allege that the couple paid $500,000 to a fake charity to get their two daughters, Isabella, 20 and Olivia Jade, 19, into the University of Southern California by falsely designating them as crew team recruits.
15-year-old Muslim boy has allegedly been set on fire in Uttar Pradesh, India for not chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’
Unidentified individuals allegedly set a 15-year-old Muslim boy on fire in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday for refusing to chant Jai Shri Ram, IANS reported. The boy is undergoing treatment at the Kabir Chaura hospital in Varanasi. “I was walking on Dudhari bridge when four men kidnapped me,” the boy said initially. “Two of them tied my hand and third one started pouring kerosene. After which they set me on fire and ran away.” He later said that he was being forced to chant Jai Shri Ram.
