A total of 52 deaths have been reported within two days as an intense heatwave grips the Indian capital of New Delhi.
As yet, 192 homeless persons have died in New Delhi in heatwaves that hit the ancient city between June 11 and 19, Indian media has reported.
More than 40,000 cases of heat stroke have been reported in India this summer, and at least 110 deaths have been confirmed between March 1 and June 18. Recent media reports suggested that the mercury hit 52 degree Celsius, however no break is in sight.
The Meteorological Department’s assessment says the temperature will be several times higher than normal this month, while New Delhi had its hottest night in more than 50 years on Wednesday.
The administration Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz conducted a grand operation across the province to reduce transport fares, and reportedly, for the first time in Punjab, excess charges were returned to the passengers.
According to the spokesman of the Punjab government, a total amount of 1,467,921 rupees was returned to the riders.
A fine of 27,08,405 rupees was imposed on the transporters who charged more than the official rate. On the day before the grand operation, rates for 3,220 vehicles, passenger tickets, and number of rides were checked.
1,448 vehicles were also fined for violation, while 354 vehicles were halted, while nine cases were registered against those who collected rent in excess of the prescribed rate.
Aur, the band famous for ‘Tu Hai Kahan’, has partnered with the recent Amazon Prime hit “The Idea of You,” which starred Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine.
In an Instagram post, the band announced the launch date as June 21 with the caption, “Anne Hathaway k liye kuch likha hai, sunnana hai?”
The band recently collaborated with Zayn Malik and now have become the first to collaborate on such a big scale.
The storyline of ‘The Idea of You’ revolves around a leading boy band member, Hayes, 24, played by Nicholas Galitzine, who falls in love with a forty-year-old Solene, played by Anne Hathaway. Although the steamy romance is the centre of attention, the original music from this fake boy band gained popularity among the audience. There are a number of tracks in the film, including Dance Before We Walk, Closer, The Idea of You and Taste.
Renowned political analyst Irshad Bhatti has been through a devastating personal loss that has shaped his life and career. He lost his wife, his best friend and support, leaving him to care for their young children alone. Recently Irshad Bhatti appeared on the show ‘On The Front Eid Special’ hosted by Kamran Shahid.
“When my wife died, I felt like I lost my companion, my best friend, the woman who used to pray for me. I remember her every day, and I believe that I will meet her one day,” he poignantly said.
Safina Bhatti passed away on December 9, 2020, after a long battle with cancer.
At least two people have died, and seven others suffered burns after a house in the Shareef Pura neighbourhood of Faisalabad caught fire when a laptop battery exploded on Wednesday.
The house caught fire while the laptop was charging, reported Geo News.
Rescue teams put out the fire and shifted at least nine members of the family, including five children and two women, to the nearby Allied Hospital.
Meanwhile, hospital sources told Geo News that two siblings, a brother and sister, could not survive their injuries, while seven others are receiving treatment.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed regret over the death of the children, extending condolences to the bereaved family.
According to the provincial government’s statement, she has ordered the provision of the best treatment for those injured in the fire.
Last week, a terrifying blaze at the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital took the lives of at least 11 infants.
Diplomats on Tuesday said at least 550 pilgrims died during the Haj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year.
At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP.
“All of them (the Egyptians) died because of heat” except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush, one of the diplomats said, adding the total figure came from the hospital morgue in the Al-Muaisem neighbourhood of Makkah.
At least 60 Jordanians also died, the diplomats said, up from an official tally of 41 given earlier on Tuesday by Amman.
The new deaths bring the total reported so far by multiple countries to 577, according to an AFP tally.
The diplomats said the total at the morgue in Al-Muaisem, one of the biggest in Makkah, was 550.
The Haj pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study published last month that said temperatures in the area where rituals are performed were rising 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) each decade.
Temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Monday, the Saudi national meteorology centre said.
Muslim pilgrims hold hands as they walk with umbrellas to the site where people take part in the Satan stoning ritual, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia on June 18, 2024 — Reuters
Heat stress
Earlier on Tuesday, Egypt’s foreign ministry said Cairo was collaborating with Saudi authorities on search operations for Egyptians who had gone missing during the Haj.
While a ministry statement said “a certain number of deaths” had occurred, it did not specify whether Egyptians were among them.
Saudi authorities have reported treating more than 2,000 pilgrims suffering from heat stress but have not updated that figure since Sunday and have not provided information on fatalities.
At least 240 pilgrims were reported dead by various countries last year, most of them Indonesians.
AFP journalists in Mina, outside Makkah, on Monday saw pilgrims pouring bottles of water over their heads as volunteers handed out cold drinks and fast-melting chocolate ice cream to help them keep cool.
Saudi officials had advised pilgrims to use umbrellas, drink plenty of water and avoid exposure to the sun during the hottest hours of the day.
Some pilgrims described seeing motionless bodies on the roadside and ambulance services that appeared overwhelmed at times.
Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the Haj this year, 1.6m of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities.
Unregistered pilgrims
Each year tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the Haj through irregular channels as they cannot afford the often costly procedures for official Haj visas.
This places these off-the-books pilgrims at risk as they cannot access air-conditioned facilities provided by Saudi authorities along the Haj route.
One of the diplomats who spoke to AFP on Tuesday said that the Egyptian death toll was “absolutely” boosted by a large number of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims.
“Irregular pilgrims caused great chaos in the Egyptian pilgrims’ camps, causing the collapse of services,” said an Egyptian official supervising the country’s Haj mission.
“The pilgrims went without food, water, or air conditioning for a long time.”
They died “from the heat because most people had no place” to take shelter.
Earlier this month, Saudi officials said they had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Makkah ahead of the Haj.
Other countries to report deaths during the Haj this year include Indonesia, Iran and Senegal.
Most countries have not specified how many deaths were heat-related.
Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al-Jalajel said on Tuesday that health plans for the Haj had “been successfully carried out”, preventing major outbreaks of disease and other public health threats, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Health officials “provided virtual consultations to over 5,800 pilgrims, primarily for heat-related illnesses, enabling prompt intervention and mitigating the potential for a surge in cases,” SPA said.
Wind and rain are likely to descend in different cities of the country on the second day of Eid.
The Meteorological Department says storms and rain are probably coming to different cities in the country between June 18 and June 22, reports Geo News.
Clouds are expected in upper plains and hilly areas, including Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, as per the report.
Along with that, wind, squall and rain have been predicted in different areas of Balochistan from June 20 to 22.
Meanwhile, wind and drizzling are expected in various Sindh cities on June 21 and 22, including Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, and Larkana.
US banking giant Wells Fargo has fired dozens of employees following claims that they were faking keyboard activity to fool the company into thinking they were working when actually they were not, reveals BBC.
In a statement, Wells Fargo said staff had been fired or had resigned “after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work”.
“Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behaviour,” it added.
The investigation was conducted when new rules recently came into effect in the US, according to which brokers working from home must be inspected every three years.
However, is not yet clear how the issue was discovered or whether it was specifically related to people working from home.
Since the work-from-home model has gained popularity post-pandemic, some large companies have been using increasingly specialised tools to monitor employees.
Such services can track keystrokes and eye movements, take screenshots and log which websites are visited.
Technology has also evolved to detect the so-called “mouse jigglers” which are aimed at making computers appear to be in active use which are widely available.
About 13 percent of full-time employees in the US are fully remote, and another 26 percent enjoyed a hybrid arrangement, according to the BBC.
Commissioner Karachi has banned bathing and swimming on various Karachi beaches for two months, from July 16 to September 15.
The office of the Commissioner has directed Deputy Commissioners to ensure compliance with the ban.
Citizens are advised to follow the orders to ensure safety.
“There is apprehension expressed by the concerned Deputy Commissioners that a large number of public is expected to visit the beaches in Karachi during Eid Holidays and there is every likelihood of drowning incidents occurring due to public bathing and swimming in the sea, owing to the monsoon spell and high tides in the sea,” the notification read.
However, bathing in the sea is banned at Canap Beach, Mubarak Village, and Sonera Beach until August 13, according to Geo News.
A letter circulating all over social media claiming that the United Kingdom will no longer accept financial documents from major Pakistani banks for visa or immigration applications and that English language tests, including IELTS, will be considered unacceptable for Pakistani students has turned out to be fake.
In the letter allegedly issued by UK Visas and Immigration, it was stated that certain Pakistani banks’ statements would no longer be acceptable for UK visa applications.
The letter then goes on to name nine major banks in the country.
It also listed English language tests allegedly rejected by the UK, including Oxford ELLT Digital, IELTS Life Skills, and Pearson Test of English.
The British High Commission in Islamabad debunked the letter as false, clarifying that no such restrictions have been imposed.
The official statement by the Commission was posted on X (Twitter) account and confirmed by the Geo Fact Check team via mail. It stated that the Commission is aware of a “fake document being shared pretending to be from UK Visa and Immigration.”
We are aware of a fake document being shared, pretending to be from UK Visas and Immigration, claiming certain banks and English Language Tests are banned from UK student visa applications. If you receive it, please delete it, don’t share it, and let the person know it is a fake. pic.twitter.com/kWMOboxLxa
