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Schoolgirls jump out of window mistaking sounds of road roller for earthquake!

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Eight school girls in Pakistan leapt from first floor of school believing there was an earthquake 

Updated On – 18 December 2024, 05:18 PM


Schoolgirls jump out of window mistaking sounds of road roller for earthquake!


Lahore: Eight schoolgirls were seriously injured after jumping from a first-floor classroom in panic, mistaking the vibrations and sounds of a road roller for an earthquake in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Rescue 1122 said on Wednesday. The incident occurred on Tuesday in Jahanian, Khanewal district, approximately 350 kilometres from Lahore.

According to Rescue 1122, the students, aged between 12 and 14, were present in class at the Government Girls High School Jahanian when they felt strong vibrations and heard a thunderous noise caused by a road roller operating near the school as part of road construction work.

With no teacher present in the classroom, the students became alarmed, believing an earthquake was occurring and that the roof might collapse. While many students rushed downstairs, eight of them, overcome by fear, jumped out of the first-floor window, sustaining serious injuries. The injured students were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where the condition of three was reported to be critical.

Laiba Kulsoom, who suffered injuries to her arm and leg, recalled the chaotic scene in a talk with her family in hospital.

“There were around 20 of us in the classroom when we felt the tremors and heard the loud noise. We thought it was an earthquake and that the roof might cave in. In the panic, I saw some girls jumping out of the window, and I followed them,” he said.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has taken notice of the incident and directed health authorities to ensure the injured girls receive the best possible medical care.

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Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger take armies to maximum alert

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The announcement was made in the joint statement of the three countries’ leaders.

“The College of national leaders closely follows the deceiving maneuvers, initiated by the French junta, who declares the shutdown of its military bases only to replace them with another, less visible mechanism, which pursues the same neo-colonial goal,” says the statement, published by the AES info website.

“These actions are accompanied by operations on reorganization and regrouping of terrorist groups in the Lake Chad basin, in Sahel and in some border areas, including borders between Niger and Nigeria, Niger and Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso. These groups receive various support from foreign states, including funds and equipment, intended for destabilization of the Sahel Alliance,” the statement read, TASS reported.

Faced with these circumstances, the College of national leaders ruled to “take the defense and security forces to maximum alert, and make the confederacy’s territory a single theater of military operation, which coexists with the current national war theaters.”

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NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore to have a quiet Christmas

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The astronauts just got an extended stay in space—again! Their homecoming is now postponed until spring, marking 10 months of orbiting the Earth aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule

Updated On – 18 December 2024, 07:05 PM


NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore to have a quiet Christmas

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will face more time in space, return delayed till late March.

Cape Canaveral: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who will be stuck in space till mid-next year, will have a quiet Christmas and ring in 2025 light years away from humanity.

The astronauts just got their space mission extended again. That means they won’t be back on Earth until spring, 10 months after rocketing into orbit on Boeing’s Starliner capsule. NASA announced the latest delay in Indian-origin Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s homecoming on Tuesday.

The two test pilots planned on being away just a week or so when they blasted off June 5 on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station. Their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s problem-plagued Starliner capsule back empty in September. Now the pair won’t return until the end of March or even April because of a delay in launching their replacements, according to NASA.

A fresh crew needs to launch before Wilmore and Williams can return and the next mission has been bumped more than a month, according to the space agency. NASA’s next crew of four was supposed to launch in February, followed by Wilmore and Williams’ return home by the end of that month alongside two other astronauts. But SpaceX needs more time to prepare the brand new capsule for liftoff. That launch is now scheduled for no earlier than late March.

NASA said it considered using a different SpaceX capsule to fly up the replacement crew in order to keep the flights on schedule. But it decided the best option was to wait for the new capsule to transport the next crew. NASA prefers to have overlapping crews at the space station for a smoother transition, according to officials.

Most space station missions last six months, with a few reaching a full year.

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Several children killed in stampede at holiday fair event in Nigeria

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Several students were killed in a stampede. The incident occurred in Islamic High School Basorun, the venue of an event organised for families. Sadly, a stampede at the venue has led to multiple loss of lives and injuries

Published Date – 18 December 2024, 11:37 PM


Several children killed in stampede at holiday fair event in Nigeria

Several students were killed in a stampede. The incident occurred in Islamic High School Basorun, the venue of an event organised for families. Sadly, a stampede at the venue has led to multiple loss of lives and injuries

Abuja: Several children have died during a stampede on Wednesday at a holiday funfair in southwestern Nigeria, authorities said.

The incident happened at the Islamic High School in Basorun, Oyo State, near the economic hub of Lagos. Security forces attended the scene and arrested the event organisers, state governor Seyi Makinde said in a statement.

“Earlier today, an incident occurred in Islamic High School Basorun, the venue of an event organised for families. Sadly, a stampede at the venue has led to multiple loss of lives and injuries. This is a very sad day,” Makinde said.

“We sympathise with the parents whose joy has suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” he added.

Nigeria’s national emergency services said it has deployed a team to help provide assistance to the victims.

Children injured at the venue were taken to local hospitals where parents were asked to check for missing persons.

Video footage that appeared to be from the scene showed a large crowd of mostly children looking on as some children were being carried away from an open field.

Local media identified the event organisers as the Women In Need Of Guidance and Support Foundation, which held a similar event for children last year.

The group was preparing to host up to 5,000 young people at this year’s event, the Oyo-based Agidigbo FM radio station reported on Tuesday, citing the organisers who had featured on its program. Children “will win exciting prizes like scholarships and other bountiful gifts,” they said.

An investigation has been opened into the causes of the stampede, Makinde said, adding “anyone directly or remotely involved in this disaster will be held accountable.”

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Indian-origin man jailed for life for mother’s murder at UK home

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After killing his mother, Singh went out and bought a sack barrow and spade to dig up the garden. He intended burying Mrs Kaur’s body but was disturbed before he could do that.

London: A 48-year-old Indian-origin man who attacked his 76-year-old mother in their family home in Leicester, eastern England, has been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sindeep Singh was arrested after Leicestershire Police discovered the deceased, Bhajan Kaur, with significant injuries to her head and face on May 13. Following a 16-day trial at Leicester Crown Court, Singh was found guilty of murder and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum term of 31 years behind bars before being considered for parole.

“This was a deeply disturbing case which uncovered the lengths Singh went to, to cover his tracks,” said Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit Murder Investigation Team.

“After killing his mother, Singh went out and bought a sack barrow and spade to dig up the garden. He intended burying Mrs Kaur’s body but was disturbed before he could do that. The house had been cleaned and there was a very strong smell of disinfectant. There was clear evidence showing the planning after her death,” he said.

The detective revealed that when Singh was approached by officers, he provided false details and initially claimed to have no knowledge of the incident. But during the police investigation, it was established that Singh acted following several arguments over the ownership of the family home, which he believed had been left to him by his late father.

“This has been an extremely distressing and challenging time for Mrs Kaur’s family, they have been left devastated at the loss of their dear mother. They have shown immense courage and dignity throughout the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that this case ended with a trial and the family had to sit through the proceedings and listen to the details of Mrs Kaur’s final moments. This is in no way easy for them – they’ve lost a loved one and will now have to live with the fact that Mrs Kaur’s life was taken by one of their own,” he added.

The court heard how previously Kaur had reported Singh for his behaviour and he was even arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour and released on bail while those enquiries were ongoing. The investigation revealed that Singh had been living in his car on the driveway of the home, and on the day of the murder, Kaur had let him into the house.

CCTV evidence showed Singh leaving the property later on the same day and going to purchase a sack and spade from a nearby shop. He then returned to the house on Bolsover Street and when relatives were unable to get hold of Kaur, they went to her home where they discovered her body. When police officers arrived at the scene, they also found that ground in the rear garden had been dug up creating a large hole.

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Saudi Arabia reopens embassy in Afghanistan

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Saudi Arabia has resumed its diplomatic operations in Kabul, reopening its embassy on Sunday.

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the Saudi Embassy announced its decision to resume activities, emphasizing its commitment to providing “all services to the brotherly Afghan people.”

The embassy had been closed since February 2023 due to “security concerns,” KabulNow reported.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had earlier revealed Saudi Arabia’s intentions to restart diplomatic operations in Kabul, describing the Kingdom as a key partner.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently met with Saudi representatives, expressing a desire to expand bilateral relations. Saudi officials reaffirmed their commitment to providing humanitarian aid and strengthening collaboration in various fields.

MP/

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Oldest known stone tablet inscribed with Ten Commandments sells for over $5M

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The tablet dates from 300 to 800 A.D. and is inscribed with the commandments in Paleo-Hebrew script — the only complete example of its kind from antiquity, according to Sotheby’s

New York: The oldest known stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments sold for more than USD 5 million at an auction on Wednesday.

Sotheby’s said the 155-pound (52-kilogram) marble slab was acquired by an anonymous buyer who plans to donate it to an Israeli institution.

The New York-based auction house said the final price exceeded the presale estimate of USD 1 million to USD 2 million and followed more than 10 minutes of “intense bidding” during the global competition.

The tablet dates from 300 to 800 A.D. and is inscribed with the commandments in Paleo-Hebrew script — the only complete example of its kind from antiquity, according to Sotheby’s.

It was unearthed during railroad excavations along the southern coast of Israel in 1913 and was not recognised as historically significant at first.

Sotheby’s said the tablet was used as a paving stone at a local home until 1943 when it was sold to a scholar who grasped its significance.

“A tangible link to ancient beliefs that have profoundly shaped global religious and cultural traditions, it serves as a rare testament to history,” the auction house said.

The text inscribed on the slab follows the Biblical verses familiar to Christian and Jewish traditions but omits the third commandment against taking the name of the Lord in vain. It includes a new directive to worship on Mount Gerizim, a holy site specific to the Samaritans, Sotheby’s said.

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Ukrainian drones strike high-rise building in Russia’s Kazan

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Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia Saturday morning with drone attacks that local authorities said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line, according to AP. 

The press service of Tatarstan’s governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, said that eight drones attacked the city. Six hit residential buildings, one hit an industrial facility and one was shot down over a river, the statement said.

A video posted on local Telegram news channel Astra, verified by The Associated Press, shows a drone flying into the upper floors of a high-rise building.

Local authorities said there were no casualties. Flights were halted at Kazan’s airport and all mass gatherings canceled on Saturday and Sunday.

The attacks, which Ukraine didn’t acknowledge in keeping with its security policy, comes after a Ukrainian attack Friday on a town in Russia’s Kursk border region using US-supplied missiles killed six people, including a child.

Moscow sent 113 drones into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 57 drones were shot down during the attacks. A further 56 drones were “lost,” likely having been electronically jammed.

MA/PR