An Iraqi TikTok personality, known as Om Fahad to her hundreds of thousands of online followers, was shot dead in a late-night attack outside her home in eastern Baghdad’s Zayouna district, Al Jazeera reported. Surveillance footage captured the incident on Friday, showing a lone assailant in dark clothing and a helmet dismounting from a motorcycle, approaching a black SUV, and shooting Om Fahad, who was seated inside. The Ministry of Interior has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her killing. Om Fahad, whose real name was Ghufran Sawadi, gained popularity on TikTok ..read more

The genocide in Gaza has left behind a staggering amount of debris, estimated at 37 million tonnes, much of which is contaminated with unexploded ordnance, The Guardian reported. This hazardous debris could take more than a decade to clear, according to a senior UN demining official. So far, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza  since October 7, 2023, as bombardment continues. Pehr Lodhammar, a former chief of the United Nations Mine Action Service in Iraq, highlighted the severity of the situation, noting that there is an average of 300 kilograms of rubble per square ..read more

A Lebanese man was killed on Saturday in southern Lebanon as a result of two Israeli airstrikes targeting the towns of Kafr Shuba and Shebaa. According to the Lebanese National News Agency, Israeli aircraft conducted raids at dawn, resulting in the death of Qasim Asaad in Kafr Shuba and the destruction of two homes. There has been no immediate response from Israel regarding this report. Tensions have heightened along the Lebanon-Israel border since the Israeli military’s genocide in Gaza following a retaliatory attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. This has led to cross-border exchanges of fire ..read more

Over the past 24 hours, the Gaza Strip witnessed 32 more deaths and injuries to 69 others, as Israel continues genocide in the besieged territory. This information was reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry on Saturday. The Health Ministry issued a statement condemning what it described as “four massacres” perpetrated by Israel against families in Gaza, resulting in the loss of 32 lives and leaving dozens more wounded. The statement also highlighted the harrowing reality faced by many who remain trapped under rubble or on impassable roads, unable to be reached by rescuers. Despite a provisional r ..read more

New Delhi: Concerns persist regarding the Ghazipur landfill site in Delhi following a recent fire outbreak, with a new study now highlighting the risks posed by increasing temperatures within its layers. The Ghazipur landfill, known for its vast size and environmental impact, experienced a fire on April 21, 2024, emitting toxic smoke that affected parts of Delhi and raised health worries among residents. The cause of the fire remains unknown, although landfill blazes often occur due to combustible gases released by decomposing waste. Each year, as temperatures rise during Delhi’s hot summers ..read more

WhatsApp informed the Delhi High Court that it would effectively cease operations in India if compelled to compromise message encryption. The Meta-owned company emphasized that end-to-end encryption safeguards user privacy by limiting access to message content solely to the sender and recipient. Tejas Karia, representing WhatsApp, conveyed to the Division Bench that if instructed to undermine encryption, WhatsApp would cease functioning. Karia highlighted the popularity of WhatsApp in India, with over 400 million users, underscoring the platform’s appeal due to its privacy features. Meta CEO ..read more

Losses being assessed, team of geologists to assess situation Ramban: At least 50 houses got damaged after a road caved in Pernote area of Ramban district on last evening, officials said on Friday Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Baseer-ul-Haq said that 30 residential houses got damaged in the initial stage and later 20 more got affected. “We are shifting the affected families to the safer places and the administration is making arrangements for food and other related stuff for the affected families,” he said. He further stated that the work on the restoration of essential services will be ensured ..read more

On Thursday, the Houthi group announced that they carried out attacks on an Israeli vessel and multiple locations in the southern Israeli city of Eilat. Yahya Saree, the group’s military spokesperson, stated in a televised address that their forces successfully targeted the Israeli ship MSC Darwin using missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Gulf of Aden. Additionally, Saree mentioned conducting missile strikes on targets within Eilat, Anadolu Agency reported. He emphasized that their forces continue to impede the navigation of Israeli and affiliated vessels in the Red Sea, Arabi ..read more

Maung Zarni, a renowned human rights activist and expert on genocide, has made striking comparisons between the situation in Gaza and historical atrocities, equating it to “Auschwitz” and a “collective white imperialist man’s genocide.” Zarni, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year due to his lifelong advocacy for democracy and research on genocides, firmly asserts that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza based on extensive observations spanning decades, Anadolu Agency reported. He emphasises that genocide entails the destruction of occupied populations, noting the enduring I ..read more

Jammu: The Jammu constituency has registered a voter turnout of over 42 percent till 1pm as it went to polls in the 2nd phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on Friday. An official told the news agency Kashmir News Observer that till 1pm,  Jammu registered a voter turnout of 42.88 percent even as polling has started picking up. Voting for the high-stake constituency started at 7 am amid heightened arrangements like deployment of armed forces in the area. Voting is being held in 88 seats across 13 states and Union Territories in the 2nd phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls across the country. Th ..read more