Human cases of bird flu climb to 8 in US

Four farm workers, who work at the same poultry farm, were infected with bird flu on Monday, increasing the total number of cases to eight, according to officials Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. The cases come, simultaneously, with a worrisome outbreak of the virus among cattle, which has also resulted in human infections. A fifth case is also suspected but must still be analysed to be confirmed. The risk for the American population is still “low,” the CDC said. The infected workers reported facing conjunctivitis…

In meeting with Biden, Schumer advises to end re-election bid

WASHINGTON: In a meeting with Joe Biden on Saturday, US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told the president that it would be better for the country and the Democratic Party if he ended his re-election campaign, ABC News reported on Wednesday. US House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has expressed similar views directly to Biden, the news agency reported, citing a source familiar with the conversation. In a statement, Schumer’s office called the report “idle speculation” and said Schumer “conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday.” Jeffries’ office…

KP, Punjab cities ‘at risk of urban flooding’ due to monsoon rain

ISLAMABAD: As country braces for monsoon rain, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued an alert warning of urban flooding in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country. NDMA’s Emergencies Operation Centre, in its warning issued on Wednesday, said that monsoon rains and thundershowers are likely to hit Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Islamabad, KP and central and northeastern Punjab from July 17 to 21 with occasional gaps. The alert comes as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday said that all four provinces including the AJK and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) regions…

Oman shooting incident claims lives of two Pakistanis

MUSCAT: Four people including two Pakistanis were killed while several others sustained injuries in a shooting attack near a mosque in Oman’s capital of Muscat.  “The Royal Oman Police have responded to a shooting incident that occurred in the vicinity of a mosque in the Al-Wadi Al-Kabir area,” police said in a statement. According to the police, all security measures have been taken to deal with the situation while procedures are underway for collecting evidence and probing the attack. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Oman Imran Chaudhry, in a statement, said the Omani…

Karachi to suffer from hot weather for two more days

As the residents of Karachi continue to suffer in the heat, a weather expert forecast on Tuesday that the city’s feels-like temperature would reach 43°C or might even surpass it on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to weather expert Jawad Memon, the maximum temperature in the port city is expected to rise up to 38 or 39°C during this time. Nevertheless, he said, thunderclouds may form in Karachi’s north, north-east, and north-west areas from today till July 18. Additionally, the weather analyst stated, “Moist winds coming from the Arabian Sea may…

‘Cool it down,’ Biden tells nation after Trump assassination bid

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden sought to calm a divided nation after his rival Donald Trump survived an assassination bid, saying in a rare Oval Office address Sunday it was time to lower the temperature of America’s hostile politics. “You know, the political record in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down,” Biden said in the televised speech, just the third he has given from behind the historic Resolute Desk during his presidency. As the country reeled from images of a bloodied Trump waving his fist…

Journalist Malik Hassan Zaib shot dead in Nowsehra

A local journalist Malik Hassan Zaib was shot dead by two unknown assailants in the Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Sunday. The incident took place in the city area of Akbarpura, where the victim came under gun attack while he was on his way in a car along with his brother, District Police Officer (DPO) Azhar Khan said. His brother escaped the attack, the police officer said, adding that the journalist’s body had been shifted to a nearby hospital. The law enforcers, arriving on the spot, collected clues…

Scarlett Johansson’s daughter ‘too scared’ from ‘Avengers’: Here’s why

Scarlett Johansson revealed her nine-year-old daughter Rose is not one of those millions of Marvel Cinematic Universe fans that just loves watching the action.  In a recent interview with People Magazine, the Black Widow star opened up about why her daughter, whom the actress shares with her former husband, French journalist Romain Dauriac, is “too scared” to watch her mother’s Marvel movies. “She likes that I play Black Widow, but she’s too scared to watch an Avengers movie,” Johansson, 39, told the publication. “She’s just like, ‘It’s violent.’ I’m like, ‘Oh God,’” the mother of…

Imran, Bushra to remain behind bars as arrest ‘declared’ in new NAB reference

After their acquittal in iddat case, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi have been “arrested in a new reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) related to Toshakhana gifts”, Geo News reported citing sources. The development came hours after a district and sessions court in Islamabad acquitted the former premier and his spouse in the iddat case — also known as the un-Islamic nikah case — which was the last hurdle in the couple’s release from jail. The court accepted the couple’s pleas seeking annulment of…