Seven children were among 49 people who drowned in waters across Russia on Saturday as scorching heat blankets large swaths of the country, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said on Sunday. “A total of 65 incidents were registered on the country’s water bodies over the past 24 hours — 49 people died,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. That is 10 more drowning incidents than on the same day a year ago, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported. Over the past week, Russians braved some of the hottest weather seen in more than a century, with Moscow breaking a 1917…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
The ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza has resulted in nearly 500,000 people facing “catastrophic” hunger as Israel launched more deadly air strikes on the territory with the conflict reaching its tenth month on Sunday. The offensive has uprooted 90 per cent of Gaza’s population, destroyed much of its housing and other infrastructure, and left almost 500,000 people enduring “catastrophic” hunger, UN agencies say. With fighting raging across the Palestinian territory, fresh diplomatic efforts are underway to halt the violence. Israel has said it will send a delegation in the coming days to continue truce talks with Qatari mediators that began recently in Doha. But…
RAWALPINDI: Amid hot and humid weather, two to three hours power outages daily have added to the miseries of the people in the garrison city as water could not be supplied to the citizens for want of electricity. The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) Chief Executive Officer Dr Amjad Khan told Dawn that there was no load shedding in any part of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. However, he said overloaded transformers go out of order and repair takes time. “To repair the fault, Iesco switched off the main supply line of the area,” he said. He said that in…
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has banned the entry of tout mafia in the premises of its driving licence office. A statement issued by the ITP said, “The traffic chief strictly banned all dubious peoples’ entry in the office who allegedly involve in some illegal activities in driving licensing procedure. This step has enhanced merit and transparency in licensing mechanism.” The tout mafia has been active in almost every public service office in the capital. They charge heavy fee from citizens in the disguise of filling up forms, making appointments, preparation of files and extending protocol. The statement said…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and former prime minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif on Saturday underscored the need of national unity in addressing the multifaceted challenges facing Pakistan. He was talking to Senator Irfan Siddiqui, parliamentary party leader in the Senate. Nawaz Sharif expressed grave concern over elements working to destabilise the country and tarnish its image. He argued that these forces have no genuine stake in democracy or the people’s welfare, viewing Pakistan’s struggles as their political gains, says a press release. It said that reflecting on the country’s past achievements, Nawaz Sharif noted that issues like inflation, load-shedding…
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday reserved its verdict on pre-arrest bail petitions of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan in three cases related to the May 9 riots. The prosecution equated last year’s protests to the United States Capitol Hill attacks, while the defence rejected allegations of conspiracy. During the final arguments, Barrister Salman Safdar, Mr Khan’s counsel, stated that his client had been denied justice for a year. Judge Khalid Arshad noted that there had been delays due to various reasons, including some caused by the petitioner’s counsel, and pointed out that the Lahore High Court had directed the trial…
QUETTA: A soldier of Frontier Corps was seriously wounded in an explosion in the Margat coal mines area of Bolan district, on Saturday. Officials said that unidentified militants planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in Margat area and detonated it when a security forces vehicle arrived there for deployment of personnel at pickets. One FC soldier, identified as Hassan, received injuries in the IED blast. He was shifted to CMH, Quetta for treatment. The banned outfit Baloch Liberation Army later claimed responsibility for the attack.
LAHORE: Heavy rainfall across Punjab on Saturday brought an end to a prolonged spell of intense heat and humidity, bringing significant relief to the masses as temperatures dropped, accompanied by cool winds sweeping through the province. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the heaviest rainfall of 54mm was recoded in Jhelum, followed by Lahore (50mm), Rawalpindi and Sialkot (44mm each), Murree (40mm), Kasur (38mm), Mangala (31mm), Sheikhupura (30mm), Gujarat 23mm and Attock (10mm). Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad and Layyah experienced intermittent rain. According to the Meteorological Department, pre-monsoon rains are expected to continue for the next two days.…
GILGIT: Renowned climber Samina Baig, who was on an expedition to summit the world’s second highest peak K2, was evacuated from the base camp after she fell ill, on Saturday. Hailing from Shimshal Valley, Samina Baig is the first Pakistani female mountaineer to summit the world’s highest peak Everest and K2. She has also claimed Nanga Parbat, and the Seven Summits in seven continents. Currently, Samina Baig was part of an eight-member Pakistan-Italy joint women’s K2 expedition team. Led by Agostino Da Polenza and Samina Baig, the team comprises four members each from the two countries. The expedition team reached the…
GILGIT / PESHAWAR: Flash floods triggered by melting glacier have damaged over two dozen homes, hundreds of kanals of land, crops and trees along the Burgi nullah in Skardu, forcing the evacuation of dozens of households to safe areas. “The flood in the nullah sparked panic and damaged a large number of private properties, but fortunately, no human loss has been reported,” a district administration official told Dawn. The flooding has affected many villages situated along the Burgi nullah, and also damaged water supply and irrigation channels, resulting in the blockage of water supply to local residents. According to locals, dozens…
