WASHINGTON: A rare species of tree cactus has gone extinct in Florida, in what is believed to be the first species lost to sea level rise in the United States, researchers said on Tuesday. The Key Largo tree cactus (Pilosocereus millspaughii) was restricted to a single small population in the Florida Keys, an archipelago off the southern tip of the state, first discovered in 1992 and monitored intermittently since then. But salt water intrusion caused by rising seas, soil erosion from storms and high tides, and herbivory by mammals placed significant pressure on the last population. By 2021, a once-thriving…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
RAWALPINDI: A few spells of rain in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad could not improve water level in Rawal and Khanpur dams and the civic body had warned that if the situation did not improve in coming days the water shortage would aggravate. The Pakistan Meteorological Department had issued four weather advisories in June and July with forecast of heavy rains in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and adjoining areas . These spells did not increase water level in the dams where less than two months water is available. The civic bodies officials said heavy rain in…
SAHIWAL: Saddar police of Pakpattan recovered a newborn girl who was allegedly kidnapped and sold to a stage actress of Lahore by two midwives. On June 18, a girl was born to Iqbal Kousar and Mahboob, residents of Chak 41/SP of Pakpattan, through a normal delivery under the care of midwives, Sakeena and Samina, residents of Chak 40/SP. The maternal grandmother, Lateefan, named the baby as Meerab. On July 3, Samina convinced the illiterate Kousar to accompany her to Sakeena’s house for routine vaccination. Kousar was accompanied by her mother Latefaan and brother Salman. The midwives told Kousar that Meerab…
SARGODHA: Opposition leader Omar Ayub appeared before the Sargodha Anti-Terrorism Court on Monday in connection with May 9 violence cases. The court canceled his warrants and summoned him on July 15 along with other accused nominated in two cases registered by the Mianwali police. Speaking to media, Ayub said intelligence-based operations against terrorists were already underway in the country. “Now there is no need for any new operation. People’s opinion should also be given importance,” he said. He said “agencies were servants of the state and thus could not be called state. They must perform their services as as required…
LAHORE: The Punjab police department has raised a new force comprising 200 personnel below 40 years of age under the banner of Eagle Squad Kasur, dedicating them only for the prevention of the violent crime of the city. Bounded on the north by Lahore and on the south-west by Okara district, the highly under-resourced Kasur has been creating enormous crime impact on the nearby cities, particularly, in the provincial capital where the hardened criminals used to come to commit crime being just at a 45-minute travel distance. In recent times, it has also been plagued by various child abuse scandals,…
RAWALPINDI: Sindh and eastern parts of Balochistan are set to receive a fresh spell of monsoon rain on July 8-9, while upper and central parts of the country, including Rawalpindi and Islamabad, from July 10 to 15, says a forecast issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday. Against this backdrop, the Disaster Response Committee (DRC), constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at a maiden session in Islamabad discussed a range of issues, including the current state of preparedness, resource allocation, early warning systems, and community engagement strategies. The Met office said strong monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea…
ISLAMABAD: A Kenyan court has ruled the murder of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif “unconstitutional” and “un-proportionate” and ordered the law enforcement agencies to pay 10 million Kenyan shillings (approx. $78,000) to the family of the slain reporter, who was shot dead by the police in Oct 2022. The judgement came in response to a petition by Javeria Siddique, widow of the journalist, who was pursuing the murder case in the High Court of Kenya in Kajiado. In a judgement authored by high court judge S.N. Mutuku, the court ruled that the ruthless killing of the journalist was “arbitrary, un-proportionate, unlawful…
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has linked economic prosperity with improved security as he called for consensus on national security and terrorism. While addressing a press conference in Peshawar on Monday, the PPP leader also said Pakistan should take up its concerns over terrorism with Afghanistan as it was in the interest of the people of both countries. “Mistakes have been made in the past; that cannot be denied. Our security situation is directly linked to the economic plight,” said Mr Bhutto-Zardari, who arrived in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital earlier in the day. He said that every decision made by…
KARACHI: The ministry of interior has defended the months-long ban on social media platform X on the ground that it is a “threat to peace and national security” as it spreads “misinformation and incites violence”, it emerged on Monday. The ban was imposed on Feb 17 on the basis of reports from intelligence agencies. In its reply placed before the Sindh High Court (SHC), the ministry said: “[The] hostile elements operating on X have nefarious intentions to create an environment of chaos and instability, with the ultimate goal of destabilising the country and plunging it into some form of anarchy.” It added…
QUETTA: Emphasising the need for reforms, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared on Monday that if Pakistan did not take “hard decisions”, the country would have to knock on the doors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) once again. “If we do not introduce reforms and take hard decisions, we will have to approach the IMF again after three years when the new loan programme will have concluded,” cautioned the prime minister, his voice betraying the grim situation a cash-strapped Pakistan is going through. “And it will be a shame if we again have to seek the IMF help. We have to get…
