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Pakistani court sentences man to death in teenage TikTok influencer’s killing

By The Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Tuesday sentenced a man to death for killing a teenage social media influencer outside her home last year when she rejected his offer of friendship.

Islamabad Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the conviction and verdict for Umar Hayat, who was arrested in June after the killing of 17-year-old Sana Yousuf.

Police said investigators traced and arrested Hayat, 22, who also creates content on TikTok, after reviewing CCTV footage that showed him leaving the street where Yousuf lived shortly after the shooting.

The killing sparked nationwide condemnation.

Yousuf had a wide following in Pakistan. After her death, hundreds of thousands of users began following her account on TikTok, among the country’s most popular social media platforms.

Originally from the scenic northern region of Chitral, she was known for promoting traditional Chitrali music and dress through her videos. She also advocated for girls’ education. Hours before her murder, she posted a photo celebrating her birthday with friends.

Speaking after the verdict, Yousuf’s family told journalists that justice had been served.

Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait following US strikes, threatens to end talks to end the war

By The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic — setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran. Iran insists it alone must govern the strait after the war, upending decades of the world considering that the strait was international waters free for all, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. Tehran has twice attacked vessels going through the Oman route, backed by a United Nations agency, in recent days. Early Sunday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key negotiator between Iran and the United States.
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