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Gallery – General
A 16-year-old girl died on Saturday after being mauled by a shark in a river in Western Australia’s state capital Perth after she jumped in the water to swim with a pod of dolphins. The girl was pulled from the water with critical injuries and she died at the scene, police said in a statement.
More than 4,300 people are dead after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria early Monday, according to officials. The pre-dawn quake was centered in the town of Pazarcik in Turkey’s southeastern Kahramanmaras province and was followed by several powerful aftershocks. Thousands of buildings were toppled on both sides of the border, and the death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched for survivors in the massive piles of rubble. Both Turkey and Syria have declared a state of emergency.
The Turkish company STM handed over to the Pakistan Navy the second modernized conventional submarine of the Agosta 90B project – PNS Khalid [S-137]. This is Turkey’s first export foreign submarine modernization project. BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that at the end of 2022, Pakistan began the construction of its sixth Hangor-class submarine. This is a diesel-electric submarine. A total of eight submarines will be acquired by the Pakistan Navy.
More than 160 people have died from the cold in Afghanistan this month in the worst winter in more than a decade, authorities said on Thursday, as residents described being unable to afford fuel to heat homes in temperatures well below freezing.
Two popular Sydney beaches were closed Saturday after swimmers witnessed several bull sharks attacking a dolphin, according to Surf Life Saving New South Wales. The closures led to the canceling of several surfing and Ironman and Ironwoman events. The dolphin suffered injuries to its tail and was later euthanized, the organization said.
The Sup¬reme Court of Pakistan ordered the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) Lahore to use “persons with disabilities” or “persons with different abilities” instead of “disabled” — to refer to people with special needs — in public advertisements, notifications, and official correspondence.
Chinese authorities have confirmed that the death toll in a avalanche in China’s southern Tibet region climbed to 28 after eight more bodies were found at the site on Friday, according to local media. A deadly avalanche hit the city of Nyingchi in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region Tuesday.
Rescuers resumed searching on Monday in Nepal for four people still missing after the Himalayan nation’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years, officials said. Rescuers had recovered 68 bodies out of the 72 people onboard the ATR 72 aircraft operated by Yeti Airlines that crashed in the tourist city of Pokhara minutes before landing on Sunday in clear weather. The plane, on a scheduled flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara, the gateway to the scenic Annapurna mountain range, was carrying 57 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one person each from Argentina, Ireland, Australia and France.
Thousands of Indians in despair over mass eviction fears. India’s top court has temporarily stayed the demolition of over 4,000 homes in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, but people are still worried about the fate of their homes, which they have spent a lifetime building.
An attacker stabbed six people on Wednesday at the busy Gare du Nord station in Paris before being shot and apprehended by police, authorities said. The Gare du Nord is a busy commuter hub which also serves as a departure point for trains to northern France, London and northern Europe. Police were treating the stabbings as attempted murder, not as a terrorist attack, a source close to the case said.(Image: AFP)
The UK’s first-ever space mission has failed after “an anomaly” prevented the Virgin Orbit rocket from reaching orbit. The Start Me Up mission lifted off the runway at Cornwall Airport at around 10.15pm as hundreds of people watching cheered. But shortly before midnight, an official on the live stream announced the rocket suffered an “anomaly” that meant it failed to reach orbit.
Nearly 1,700 journalists have been killed worldwide over the past two decades between 2003 and 2022, an average of more than 80 a year, according to an analysis published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Iraq and Syria were the most dangerous countries to work in as a journalist, accounting for “a combined total of 578 journalists killed in the past 20 years, or more than a third of the worldwide total,” RSF said. They are followed by Mexico (125), the Philippines (107), Pakistan (93), Afghanistan (81), and Somalia (78). Three RFE/RL journalists were killed in Afghanistan in 2018 and one — Mohammad Ilyas Dayee — in 2020.
At least four people are dead, and three others critically injured after two helicopters collided on Australia’s Gold Coast near a Sea World theme park Monday afternoon. Police said the crash drew emergency aid from beachgoers who had been enjoying the water during the southern summer. Police official Gary Worrell said people on Jet Skis, family boaters and others rushed to help.
The Indian Air Force successfully tested the extended range version of the BrahMos Air Launched missile against a ship target from Su-30 MKI fighter jet. The extended range of the BrahMos missile is believed to have the ability to take out targets in sea 400 km away. The extended range capability of the missile coupled with the high performance of the SU-30MKI aircraft gives the Indian Air Force a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the future battle fields, the Indian defence ministry said in a statement. (File photo)
One person was killed on Wednesday when more than 200 vehicles were involved in a pile-up on a bridge in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou in heavy fog, rescuers and the CCTV state broadcaster reported. Cars and trucks could been seen crumpled and piled on top of each other on the Zhengxin Huanghe bridge in pictures and videos posted on social media.
Pages from of one of the oldest Qurans in existence, and a painting described as Uzbekistan’s “Mona Lisa,” are among the historic treasures on show at a new exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The exhibition, created in partnership between the Louvre Museum and the Uzbekistan’s Art and Culture Development Foundation, takes visitors on a political and historical journey of Uzbek life across 1,600 years, starting from the first century BC.
Giant laser from ‘Star Trek’ to be tested in fusion breakthrough. The breakthrough came in an impossibly small slice of time, less than it takes a beam of light to move an inch. In that tiny moment, nuclear fusion as an energy source went from far-away dream to reality. The world is now grappling with the implications of the historic milestone
The death toll from a Buffalo-area blizzard has risen to 27 in western New York — with the toll at least 60 deaths nationwide — as the region was left reeling from one of the worst weather-related disasters in its history. Much of the rest of the United States has been hit by ferocious winter conditions.
An 18-year-old Afghan student endured Taliban taunts and insults at the weekend as she staged a solo protest against the ban on women attending university. “For the first time in my life, I felt so proud, strong, and powerful because I was standing against them and demanding a right that God has given us,” Marwa told AFP, asking not to be further identified.
No visa restrictions have been placed on Pakistanis from specific cities by the United Arab Emirates, said UAE Consul-General in Karachi Bakheet Ateeq Al-Remeithi, condemning reports of a UAE visa ban for people born in certain Pakistan cities as “fake news”. “Citizens of Pakistan can apply for a visit visa to the UAE or any other visa without discrimination. They are being given visas,” the foreign diplomat said. Posters are circulating on some social media websites in which a ban on UAE tourist visa is being advertised for Pakistanis born in certain cities.
This December marks 20 years of storytelling for two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Celebrating this milestone, Obaid-Chinoy and her team present SOC20, a digital exhibit unpacking her creative and personal journey, introducing the audience to not only the outcomes of her work, but also her life-changing and inspirational moments, and pivotal relationships.
Experts describe Karachi as ‘bowl of poison’ due to worsened air quality. The Sindh government came under fire for the lack of concern and action towards growing environmental degradation in Karachi.
With two investigations against her running in parallel, in Belgium and Greece, MEP Eva Kaili is set to appear on Thursday before the Belgian authorities, who will decide whether or not to remand her in custody regarding the Qatargate scandal. According to reports, if Kaili is also found guilty in Greece, the sentence handed down by local judicial authorities will be more severe than in Belgium where penalties for the crimes she is accused of are milder, ranging from three to a maximum of five years.
Security forces have wrapped up their ‘search and kill’ operation after gunning down the terrorists holding hostages inside the Counter-Terrorism Department’s (CTD) compound in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The operation was launched after Taliban terrorists stormed the CTD compound in Bannu and held hostages on Sunday. According to AFP, more than 30 TTP militants were holding several officers hostage on Monday after breaking free from custody and seizing a police station
Dania Shah, the third wife of the late Aamir Liaquat, the politician and televangelist, has been arrested by the FIA from her home in Punjab’s Lodhran. She is being investigated in a case relating to the release of an “obscene” video of Liaquat. The video in question — not independently verified but also not called fake by Liaquat — featured him in a state of complete undress in his home, allegedly after the consumption of an illegal substance.
The Islamabad High Court has agreed to hear a petition against former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking his disqualification on the grounds that he concealed the existence of his alleged daughter, Tyrian White, in nomination papers.
Travel photography blog Capture the Atlas has published the 5th edition of their annual Northern Lights Photographer of the Year, a collection featuring the best 25 photos of the Northern Lights. It reflects the stunning works and how the photographers captured them, in their own words.
Iran has hit out at Australia after new sanctions were imposed over human rights violations and the supply of drones to Russia. Its foreign ministry has accused Australia of promoting violence and hatred after financial and travel sanctions were placed on senior members of Iran’s regime, including the morality police and the paramilitary group the Basij Resistance Forces, which have been responsible for crackdowns on anti-government protesters. (Image: Reuters)
US and Scottish authorities say that the Libyan man suspected of making the bomb that destroyed a passenger plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 is in US custody. The US Justice Department confirmed the information, adding that “he is expected to make his initial appearance in the US District Court for the District of Columbia”. It gave no information on how Mas’ud came to be in US custody.
Pakistan has been ranked 94th, sharing the slot with Somalia, in terms of passport strength while the UAE has topped the list of the world’s most powerful ones. Below Pakistan are Iraq (ranked 95th), Syria (96th) and Afghanistan (97th). UAE nationals can travel to 180 countries without a visa. According to the list issued by Arton Capital, a Pakistani passport mandates travel to only 44 countries without a visa.
A rare moment of feline disgrace has taken out top honours at this year’s Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. US photographer Jennifer Hadley’s shot of a baby lion misjudging what could have been his first leap (aptly named ‘Not so cat-like reflexes’) was giggle-inducing enough to take out the overall prize, as well as the Creatures of Land award.
A New Zealand court has taken temporary custody of a sick infant whose parents blocked life-saving heart surgery because potential blood donors may be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Auckland High Court ordered six-month-old “Baby W” to be placed under partial guardianship — allowing an urgent operation to correct a heart disorder known as pulmonary valve stenosis to go ahead. The baby’s parents had blocked the procedure on the grounds that any blood transfused could have come from a donor jabbed with an mRNA vaccine.
Astronomers now routinely discover planets orbiting stars outside of the solar system – they’re called exoplanets. But in summer 2022, teams working on NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite found a few particularly interesting planets orbiting in the habitable zones of their parent stars. One planet is 30% larger than Earth and orbits its star in less than three days. The other is 70% larger than the Earth and might host a deep ocean. These two exoplanets are super-Earths – more massive than the Earth but smaller than ice giants like Uranus and Neptune.
International humanitarian Angelina Jolie is visiting Pakistan to support communities affected by the devastating floods. Heavy rains and floods across the country have impacted 33 million people and submerged one third of the country under water. Ms Jolie is visiting to witness and gain understanding of the situation, and to hear from people affected directly about their needs, and about steps to prevent such suffering in the future.
Taiwan was hit by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Sunday, leaving at least one person dead and 146 injured. It was the strongest of several tremors over the past three days, with another 5.6-magnitude earthquake following on Monday.
Hurricane Fiona has struck Puerto Rico’s south-west coast, causing an island-wide power blackout and threatening to dump “historic” levels of rain expected to produce landslides and catastrophic flooding.
